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Parrots for Sale: An Abundance of Options and Beautiful Colors

Once you perform your analysis on parrot, your first order of business will be to pick the species. Next, you need to locate a reputable breeder or decide if you want to go through a rescue or sanctuary. Baby parrots for sale can typically eat on their own by the age of eight weeks, but many breeders will keep them for an additional month. Some are 12 to 14 weeks before they are completely weaned. Ideally, you want a hand-raised bird that eats on its own by the time you acquire it. Look for birds that are free of any discharge from the nares, eyes, or cloaca, and have bright clean feathers. Choose outgoing parrots for sale that are alert, curious, and active.

Overview of Parrots for Sale

History

Pet Parrots in Europe

Parrots evolved over 50 million years ago, so their presence in ancient human civilizations should come as no surprise. Pet parrots lived among the ancient Greeks by the 350s BC. The family received its name from Aristotle’s parrot who he called Psittacae. Many of the original parrots came from India, with Alexander the Great acquiring one around 327 BC. Ancient Rome carried on the tradition of keeping parrots, but the birds were luxury items and lived in expensive cages of ivory and other rare materials. Romans were responsible for the expansion of pet parrots throughout Europe. Their popularity waxed and waned before they became fixtures of the pet trade in the late 1700s.

Parrot Trade in America

It appears the pet parrot spread through the US via the native tribes who acquired their birds from Mexico as early as 850 AD. But native parrot species had been pets in Brazil since about 3,000 BC. Not only did the Americas begin exporting birds to Europe in the 1400s, but parrots became more readily available in areas of South America outside of Brazil as well as further north into Central and North America. Australian birds would become available in the 1800s, causing the parrot trade to explode. Parakeets and Cockatiels, most of them natives of Australia or Indonesia, remain the most popular pet parrots in the US. Since the foundation of the World Parrot Trust in 1989, there has been a concerted effort to restrict pet parrot ownership to captive-bred birds. The focus is to preserve dwindling wild parrot populations.

Parrots for Sale come from a huge family.

Parrots belong to the family of birds known as Psittacine or Psittacidae and are characterized by a hooked upper beak, a large and strong lower beak, sturdy legs, zygodactyl feet (first and fourth toes orient opposite to other two when perched), a large cranial capacity, and an upright body. You will see pet parrots divided into several groups which in and of themselves can be quite large. Although many parrots can mimic human speech to varying degrees, their excellent pet qualities stem from a strong desire for flocking and their exceptional intelligence.

Parakeets or Budgerigars

Parakeets are small or medium-sized parrots with slender bodies and tapered long tails. Because of its smaller size, a parakeet often subsists on a seed-based diet in the wild. Budgerigar or budgie has become a term synonymous with a parakeet, but some only use it to refer to the Australian common budgerigar. The parakeet group is comprised of about 115 different species and includes over a couple of dozen genera.

Conures

Conure is an avicultural term whereby all conures are parakeets, but not all parakeets are conures. Conures are medium-sized parrots or large-sized parakeets that are native to South and Central America. They are lightly built with long tail feathers and small ceres (the fleshy part at the top of the beak). Their beaks are usually black or gray. Some species are compared to small macaws.

Lorikeets

Lorikeets and lories belong to a subfamily closely related to parakeets. They have a brush tongue that allows them to feed on nectar, pollen, and fruits. Lorikeets also have brightly colored plumage. They tend to be slightly larger than parakeets but have slender bodies and long tails. Lories are bigger than lorikeets.

Cockatiel

Cockatiels, as you might expect with their long crests, belong to the same family as cockatoos. Cockatiels are much smaller than their cousins and have a multitude of color mutations in captivity. Wild birds sport the common pet bird color of gray with orange cheek patches and a yellow head. Females have gray heads.

Large Parrots for Sale Near Me

There are three types of large parrots. The basic parrot body type is rather square with a blunt tail. You will also see them referred to as the broad-tailed parrots. Large broad-tailed parrots are often excellent talkers. Cockatoos are parrots with a prominent crest on their head that rises with extreme emotion. Although most are predominantly white, they can come in other colors. Cockatoo distinguishing features that the cockatiel shares are powdery down, suppressed cloudy-layer coloring (suppresses any expression of blue or green), the presence of a gallbladder, and an erectile head crest. Finally, macaws are generally the largest of the parrots with a bigger relative beak size, a long graduated tail, and a patch of bare skin on the side of the face and adjacent to the beak. Some species have thin stripes across this patch.

Common Types of Pet Parrots for Sale

There are millions of pet parrots spanning numerous different species.

Quaker Parrot

  • Alternative names: Quaker Parakeet, Monk Parrot or Parakeet, Montevideo Parakeet
  • Native regions: southern Brazil, central Bolivia and Argentina
  • Classification: parakeet
  • Size: 11 to 12 inches long, 3 to 5 ounces
  • Diet: pellets, seeds, fruits, nuts, and veggies; too many peanuts and sunflower seeds can be fattening
  • Colors: vivid green; gray hood on head, bib, breast, cheeks, and belly; blue on flight feathers and yellow under tail; beak horn-colored, legs gray; color mutations exist including cinnamon, blue, and albino
  • Dimorphic: no
  • Lifespan: 20 to 30 plus years
  • Habitat requirements:
  • Temperament: bond closely with owner, social, bold, extroverted, clownish, cuddly, gentle if hand-raised
  • Distinctive characteristic: bob and shake (quake) to reflect emotional state
  • Talking ability: excellent vocabulary, great clarity

Indian Ringneck Parrots

Indian ringneck parrots were probably the first species to come to Europe as pets.

  • Alternative names: Indian Ringneck Parakeet, Rose-Ringed Parakeet
  • Native regions: Ceylon, Pakistan, India, Sudan
  • Classification: parakeet
  • Size: 16 inches long, 4 ounces
  • Diet: pelleted feed, fruits, veggies, and some human foods (chicken, rice, beans)
  • Colors: lime green with yellow under wings and blue under the tail; many color mutations including greens, albino, cinnamon, and blues
  • Dimorphic: 3 neck rings in male (blue, black, pink), black markings on the face, and deeper red in beak; female – no neck rings or black facial markings
  • Lifespan: 25 to 30 years; rarely up to 50 years
  • Habitat: 24 inches long x 24 inches wide x 36 inches tall
  • Temperament: charming, sweet, not extremely affectionate
  • Distinctive characteristic: good watch birds – will alert to danger with loud calls
  • Speaking ability: among best talking parrots; 200-word vocabulary, high-pitched soft speaking voice

Amazon Parrot

Amazon parrots represent a genus of birds rather than a species. They are prolific singers and considered among the best talking parrots.

  • Native regions: wide range in South America
  • Classification: broad-tailed medium-sized large parrot
  • Diet: 70% to 80% balanced pellets; may also include some seeds, very few nuts; most food that is not pellets should be fruits and vegetables
  • Lifespan: 40 to 70 years
  • Habitat: Caribbean, South America, and Mexico depending on the species
  • Temperament: extroverts, boisterous, loud, susceptible to sensory overload and subsequent aggression, can be excitable but mostly laidback, affectionate and strongly bond with owner
  • Speaking ability: large vocabulary, love to sing
Yellow-Naped Amazon Parrot
  • Size: 14 inches long, 17 to 20 ounces
  • Colors: green with yellow patch at base of skull throughout back of neck
Red Lored Amazon
  • Size: 13 inches long, weighs 13 to 14 ounces
  • Colors: green with yellow cheeks and a large red patch above the beak
Double Yellow Headed Amazon Parrot
  • Size: 15 to 17 inches long, weighs 17 ounces
  • Colors: green with yellow head and neck and reddish-orange with yellow patch at the bend of the wing; red patch at base of the tail and parts of the wings; can see black or bluish-purple on the flight feathers
Southern Mealy Amazon Parrot – gentlest of the Amazons
  • Size: 15 inches long, weighs 25 to 27 ounces
  • Colors: green with faded bluish-black on the back, a yellow crown, and a white ring around the eyes
Blue Fronted Amazon
  • Size: 15 inches long, weigh 11 to 18 ounces
  • Colors: green with blue face

African Grey Parrot

African grey parrots are often touted as the best talking parrots and their intelligence compared to that of a two-year-old toddler.

  • Alternative names: Grey Parrot, Congo Grey Parrot, Congo African Grey
  • Native regions: areas of Africa near the equator
  • Classification: broad-tailed large parrot
  • Size: 13 inches long, weighs 14 ounces
  • Diet: pellet-based mix, fruits, and vegetables
  • Colors: grey with red tail feathers
  • Dimorphic: female’s tail feathers become tinged with silver; male has shorter neck and more slender head, and tail feathers remain solid red
  • Lifespan: 40 to 60 years
  • Habitat: 24 inches wide x 24 inches long x 36 inches tall
  • Temperament: social, sweet, affectionate, often prefer one person, not particularly cuddly
  • Distinctive characteristic: sensitive to your stress; may react negatively to chaos
  • Speaking ability: the best of talking parrots, mimics hundreds of words; evidence of some comprehension of human speech

Macaw Parrot

Macaws include about 18 species and several genera. As pets, macaws tend to be demanding and loud.

Hyacinth Macaw
  • Alternative names: Hyacinthe Macaw
  • Native regions: Brazil, northeastern Paraguay, and eastern Bolivia
  • Classification:
  • Size: 40 inches long, 48-inch wingspan, weighs 2.6 to 3.75 pounds
  • Diet: Macadamia and other nuts, fruits, and vegetables; can supplement with species-formulated pellets
  • Colors: deep blue with yellow ring around eyes and yellow patch near beak
  • Lifespan: 40 to 60 years
  • Habitat: powerful beak is hard on cages; consider stainless steel or dedicate a room to your bird; need lots of space and exercise
  • Temperament: gentle, bond strongly with owner, a happy fulfilled hyacinth is exceedingly friendly and curious
  • Distinctive characteristic: largest of parrots
  • Speaking ability: not fluent but can learn some words and phrases as well as context; vocalize with high-pitched shrills and low growls
Blue and Gold Macaw
  • Alternative names: Blue and Yellow Macaw
  • Native regions: Panama south to Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia
  • Classification: macaws
  • Size: 33 inches long, 40-inch wingspan, weigh over 2 pounds
  • Diet:
  • Colors: green forehead, teal back, wings, tail; yellow breast throat, and belly; white bare skin on face with fine thin lines of black feathers
  • Lifespan: 30 to 60 years to 100 years occasionally
  • Habitat: dedicated room best; cage 4 feet wide x 4 feet long x 5 feet tall
  • Temperament: sweet, willing to learn, affectionate, intelligent, attention-seeking, extremely loud calls
  • Speaking ability: about 20 words and phrases; what it lacks in vocabulary the bird more than makes up for in clarity
Other Macaws
  • Scarlet Macaw – red with gold and blue plumage along their edges; 33 inches long
  • Military Macaw – different shades of green with a red forehead; reddish-browns and yellows on the tail, and blue on the wings; 30 inches long and about 2 pounds
  • Green-Winged Macaw (Green and Red Macaw) – red with green band on wings that transforms into blue wing feathers; tail feathers red tipped with blue; white eye patches; 40 inches long, 3.75 pounds

Caring for Parrots

Research is crucial before you buy respond to anyone promising, “Parrots for sale near me.”

Attention

Not only should you visit a nearby bird before purchasing it, but you also need to soul search to determine whether you have the time required for a psittacine. Parrots are much more emotionally dependent and fragile than dogs. They often fail to understand your prolonged absences. When you work long hours or take frequent vacations, your bird may not only resort to feather picking and destructive behaviors but may lose trust in you. Regaining a parrot’s trust after you have lost it may be prolonged if it happens at all. Small parrots such as parakeets, budgies, and cockatiels require less space but no less care, attention, and exercise than their larger cousins. Many owners acquire multiple birds to make sure their parrots have sufficient companionship. This is not often practical for the larger parrots; it underlines the fact that getting a smaller bird does not let you off the hook regarding your time and emotional commitment.

Love

How much physical contact a bird will tolerate depends on several factors.

  • Hand-raised birds tend to be tamer and more receptive to physical demonstrations of affection
  • Species – some are more loving than others
  • Bond – a bird may only bond with you and not accept affection from others, even within your family
  • Socialization – you need to interact with your bird every day to have it display the maximum amount of affection

Regardless of whether a bird is overly affectionate or not, it is a social creature and invariably craves attention. Plan on spending several hours with your bird daily. Quality time can involve training your parrot and talking to it as well as petting and cuddling it. Some birds like their heads scratched while others will only tolerate light touches on the chest or legs.

Other Parrot Basic Needs

  • Hydrate feathers – mist your bird or offer it a shallow dish to bathe in
  • Feeding – talk with your avian veterinarian if necessary to determine a balanced and species-appropriate diet for your parrot; most psittacines require a lot of variety in their diets
  • Exercise – minimal cage dimension requirements assume your bird will spend a lot of time outside of the cage; parrots need 2 to 4 hours outside of the cage to have the opportunity to fly and move around; exercise should always be supervised
  • Sleep – parrots need several hours of uninterrupted sleep; cover the cage or windows if necessary
  • Fresh drinking water
  • Cuttlebone – provides extra calcium and a way for birds to file their beaks
  • Wing trimming – clip flight feathers every 4 to 6 months
  • Multiple perches of different types
  • Toys – chewing is an essential activity for parrots; rotate toys to avoid boredom and plan on replacing them frequently, especially with macaws; wood and leather are the most functional materials
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