Common Worries

Common worries occur much more often than the common problems you can find in all parrot books and on the internet. Few owners publicize their successes, only their problems. This situation can present a picture of hazards everywhere. The truth is that chance favors the prepared mind, so read on and the common worries will be much less common.

Prior to the time the baby begins to feather out, there are many potential issues that occur for many different reasons. Once the baby has been weaned for a few months he has more in common physically with an adult than a baby and most of the hazard potentials are minimal or do not exist.

Perspective is important when considering the possible problems that may be associated with handfeeding a baby parrot. When asked, most veterinarians and small breeders use the words “often” or “regularly” when reporting the incidence of handfeeding disasters. When further asked to define “often and regularly” we find that these worst case scenario problems are seen only a few times a year. When we compare the number of problems to the number of baby parrots successfully raised each year, the chance of being struck by lightning comes to mind.

Those fear mongers that over report the hazards are rarely able to substantiate their claims. They often know someone that knows someone or resort to the comment “if even one baby suffers it’s too many”. I wonder if these same individuals are recommending that all inexperienced mothers give up their children until they are weaned. Life carries risks and to get the most out of life some risks are acceptable.