[Astrid660]

1) Teenagers are not all incapable, many have parrots and take excellent care of them. I started having them at 15, but I wouldn't recommend a bird to many of the adults that I know either. It takes a special *person* regardless of age to take care of a parrot. Just trying to stop people from generalizing here, as there are teens here on the board and I recently was one and see this particular statement a lot. Why don't people ever say someone is too old to have birds, or why did they get one at 45 if they won't live long enough to care for it, etc. All stereotypes and generalizations can and should be avoided because not everyone fits in that slot of how a teenager acts.

2) I think if you're going to live, you're going to have upheavals like marriage, children, moving, travel.. I think rather than avoiding those things, it's about accommodating the birds. I've moved several times with them and had different relationships.. but they adjust. If their life is the same for 20 years straight and nothing changes, the bird would probably get stressed.

3) You have to be able to let go of some things, have a lot of patience. My birds test my patience to the max some days with their antics. I have had many things destroyed in the past from headphone cords, camera lens to beautiful pairs of earrings, laptop keys, display case for my earrings... All wrecked by the birds!
Not to mention the ones my parents aren't too happy about, like the windowsils and carpets being chewed on.

4) Renting! It's hard to find a place to rent when your birds are loud.. I'm sure one or two is not nearly as bad as the nine that I have, but even one Macaw can be hard on the ears. So someone who has their own place or knows their landlord would be ok with it ! I find myself back at home in the basement suite once more, hoping to find a suitable rental soon...