Am I Ready for a Parrot?
A parrot is the longest commitment on this entire site — some outlive the person who buys them. They are brilliant, emotionally complex, loud by nature, and they need company and occupation on a scale most households underestimate. Nothing here is meant to discourage you. It is meant to make sure that if you do it, you do it with both eyes open.
The 6 questions worth answering honestly
Work through these before you decide rather than after. There are no wrong answers and a "not yet" is a perfectly good result — it usually means one fixable thing stands between you and a pet you would do well by.
Big parrots can live 30–70+ YEARS — your parrot may outlive your childhood, your college years, maybe even YOU. Has your family truly planned for this?
- Yes — including who inherits the parrot
- We knew, but no real plan
- I had no idea
If that one gave you pause: Parrots often need to be "willed" to a younger family member! Have the full family meeting before anything else.
Parrots SCREAM. Loudly. Daily. (It's how they say good morning.) Can your home — and neighbors — handle it?
- We've heard it in person and we're fine
- We've only heard videos
- We need a quiet home
If that one gave you pause: Visit a parrot rescue and listen to the real volume — a cockatoo scream can hit 135 decibels (louder than a rock concert!).
A parrot needs HOURS of attention and training every day — like a toddler that can fly. Does your family have that time, every day, for decades?
- Yes — someone's home and committed daily
- Busy weeks would be hard
- We're out most of the day
If that one gave you pause: A bored parrot plucks its feathers and screams. Map out an honest daily schedule — hours, not minutes.
Parrots demolish wooden toys (on purpose — it's healthy!), and toy budgets run high every month. Plus exotic vet bills. Family budget ready?
- Yes — toys, food, and vet are budgeted
- Partly
- No budget talk yet
If that one gave you pause: Price it with a grown-up: pellets, fresh food, monthly destroyed toys, and exotic-vet checkups. It adds up fast.
Parrots bond like family members and can get jealous, moody, and nippy — they're emotionally complex. Has your family kept birds before?
- Yes — we're experienced bird people
- Small birds only
- This would be our first bird
If that one gave you pause: Big parrots aren't starter birds. Consider a parakeet or cockatiel first — or volunteer at a parrot rescue to learn.
Why do you want a parrot?
- A lifelong, brilliant companion to learn with
- Mostly because they talk
- They look cool on a shoulder
If that one gave you pause: Talking is a bonus, not a promise (some parrots never talk). Love the bird, not the trick!
The part people underestimate
The lifespan, and what it actually means. A parrot bought today may need a home in fifty years, which is a plan rather than a hope — people genuinely write parrots into wills. The second thing is noise: a happy parrot is loud, at volumes that carry through walls, and no amount of training changes that. Neither fact is negotiable and both are usually discovered late.
Who a parrot suits — and who it does not
Right for you if somebody is home most of the day, you can offer hours of interaction and enrichment, noise is not a constraint, and you can genuinely plan for the animal outliving your current circumstances.
Probably not if the house is empty on weekdays, if neighbours are close, or if this is a first bird — starting with a smaller species teaches you an enormous amount before taking on something that may share fifty years with you.
What a parrot actually costs
Running costs land around $50–$120 a month once you are set up, on top of the one-off cost of housing them properly. The setup is usually the number that surprises people, not the animal. And it is not a short bill: expect 30–70+ years of it. Our pet cost study compares the running cost of all 50 pets side by side if you want to sanity-check the number against the alternatives.
Questions people ask before getting a parrot
Should I get a parrot?
Only with a genuine long-term plan for the bird's whole life, daily interaction, and tolerance for real noise. Given those, few animals are more rewarding.
Are parrots good pets for kids?
They are a family commitment rather than a child's pet. A parrot may still need care long after the child who wanted it has left home.
How long do parrots live?
Decades — larger species can reach fifty years and beyond. Plan for the bird needing a home after you, not just with you.
If a parrot is not the one
A "not yet" is often really a "not this animal". These three ask less of a household on the things parrots ask most — worth a look before you rule out getting a pet at all.
Still deciding?
If you are not certain a parrot is the right animal rather than just an appealing one, the quiz is a faster way to check than reading ten care guides: it scores all 50 pets against your space, time, budget and allergies in about a minute.