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Comment by ta1234567890 | Hacker News Reader

> most people shouldn’t have parrots unless they can devote many hours a day to their care and playing with them

No one should have any pets (or kids) unless they can devote enough time to them. Otherwise you are just making your life and their lives a lot harder. Pets (and kids) are not toys.

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Sure, but some require more effort and time than others. The cat largely takes care of herself and doesn't seem upset if we leave her for a day or two. But if you don't clean her litterbox, she'll let you know the hard way.

Many hours a day for a parrot seems surprising though. So is life go to work, go home, parrot time, sleep, every day?

Parrots are extremely social. Their colonies are complex. They have relatively large brains.

I’ve never owned, but have friends who do, and parrots seem like more work than most pets.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/science/parrots-are-a-lot...

Here in San Diego (El Cajon) area there are a few flocks of wild parrots. You can hear them from a good distance.

http://www.cbs8.com/story/27356961/flock-of-parrots-flying-a...

Parrot time can also just be letting him sit on my shoulder while I am writing or coding, or make sure he is near us when we watch a movie after dinner. I didn’t intend to say that I have to be scratching his head a few hours a day, although he would be fine with that. Also my wife doesn’t work and our parrot is near her desk at home during the day. He basically likes to have someone in the room with him.

When you say 'someone in the room with him', does it have to be a human? Would another parrot suffice? What about other pets (large dogs for example)?

One parrot is a loud pet. Two parrots isn’t parrot+parrot, it’s parrot^parrot. I know this because I have a metered conure, and an ex girlfriend has a sun conure. I was hospitalized for six months and she volunteered to take my bird. The were LOUD together, each feeding off the other.

I had it explained to me as Parrot + Humans, the bird will 'talk human'. Parrot + Parrot, the bird will 'talk bird' i.e. screeches and calls, louder.

Or maybe an Alexa?

Possibly related, some dog like the radio going when no one is around, talkback or similar. The idea of being confined and listening to talkback seems beyond dismal to me but the dog seems to like it.

When we also had a dog, the parrot seemed to like the dog. They would touch nose to beak.

People seem to more or less broadly "get" the time and effort commitments of dogs and cats and possibly horses.

More exotic pets are often completely mishandled. Birds, fish, and reptiles are often sold without a clear understanding of state-of-the-science for care. Animals that could live 20 years in captivity check out in two because nobody taught the owners their proper nutrition and environmental needs.

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