The stress and anxiety from being away from the flock. The restrictions on movement and stunted social development. You need multiple birds not just two we are talking a flock. They need their community, and more room and freedom then a house or a yard. Just the same as if you took a two newborns to be raised by gorillas. Those children would have severe developmental and mental issues. That is what you are doing to them when you keep them as pets. When breeding in captivity the traits most needed for reintroduction are not passed on. They are less intelligent, and more prone to mental disorders than their wild counter parts. Because again they evolved with a flock, their very existence is the flock. They need it for social reinforcement, to show off how good they look, to feel safe from perdition, because they evolved that way.

I was trying to sugarcoat it but it’s like this. You can feed a kid all candy and never make them go to school for 18 years. Yeah the kid is happy, for now, but it’s not what the kid needs. Think of all the issues that kid is going to have. They never learned self discipline, how to act around others, that there are others their age, limited communication, no chance at finding a mate, not even able to be accepted in society.

Ok so understanding what they need, and realizing that not giving them what they need stunts their development. Makes them more prone to mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, separation anxiety, PTSD, aggression, and probably many more. Probably (imho) to serve as a incentive in the wild to move on and search for a new flock, if ever isolated. But that last one is just my crack pot speculation, so grain of salt.

The research showing this is so prevalent you can just google it to find it. I don’t think you all realize how incredibly intelligent and conscious these birds really are. They have very good problem solving, very good memory, and very good rationality. They learn our language fam, this tells us they have their own language. They understand language fam, as in the concept. They understand that they need to communicate with us, they recognize we use language, they teach themselves our language. I’m not talking about them speaking to us, I’m talking mainly about us speaking to them. You need to understand they deliberately do this. It is a choice they make, and they can do it wicked fast.

Ok you take that type of intelligence, that evolved to be communal, and take it from its societal grounds and it environment. You are going to cause developmental issues and mental illness if born in captivity, or mental illness if captured. Same as us fam, only their social instincts are turned up to 11.

Seeing as they aren't domesticated, and you're basically rewiring them to live solo and not nest in large broods. Yeah, I'd say it's pretty essential. There's no getting around it, there is a cruelty element to keeping wild animals as pets. You not being intentionally cruel doesn't really change that.

Technically, yes if you live in an area that has the right weather you technically could keep them that way.

However pigeons are domesticated. And happily live in a coop. Most parrots are not going to live in something like that. Instinct will drive them to go make a nest. You would have a few that hang around for food but most would just fly off at some point.

Yes, but just like any species they are at risk of becoming invasive. Israel has a major issue with aggressive Drara parrots who were let loose and multiplied and have driven out many local bird varieties in the past 30 years or so. Invasive species are no joke.

That said you don’t need an excuse for having a bird much like you wouldn’t need one for having a dog or a cat. Parrots love their family. They are warm and affectionate pets and just as you wouldn’t lock a dog in a cage for life, you shouldn’t do this to a bird.

My parrot was my closest companion growing up and his cage was only rarely closed. He preferred staying there by choice and we would often go on trips together. When I got hospitalized he got depressed and was thrilled and happy when we were reunited. Today I have a rabbit at home that’s also free and is living his best life at 11 years old.

The important bit is to invest in the relationship as much as you would with a dog or another family member depending on you, and to not get a pet blindly without learning a lot about them and meeting some to understand what they’re like.

Classic Reddit moment when they think they know your situation better than you do

>safely in our homes as pets

That's what I take issue with. It's not true. They're often not safe because people don't understand that smart birds make bad pets.

Nothing you said, referencing YOUR good experience with YOUR well adjusted parrot, makes my statements untrue. They're very difficult to care for. They need constant stimulation that most people can't provide. They need to be taught boundaries that most pets don't really require. They hold grudges against people and can attack them - attacks which can easily require a trip to the ER. Sometimes they become so possessive of a person that they attack anyone who comes near or visits. Children and pets can be included.

I also fail to see how people keeping them as pets helps their population in the wild in any way.

Feel you, luckily my work allows me to work from home. But voluntarily staying at home and to stay locked up all the time are different.

Yes that is why buying one is against most international laws, and it is heavily restricted to research and conversation. But if ever able to be released it will never be the real Spix. It’s the same difference between a dog and a wolf. By breading them in captivity we fundamentally change them. Different genes are passed on when organisms are in different environments. So they will evolve to something else. The real Spix died off a few decades ago from poaching for pets, and habitat destruction. Now we keep a few alive to sate a guilty conscience. But screw it fam, y’all don’t want to hear it so I’m just going to bounce. Love ya fam.

I've helped breed birds most of my life, and I've concluded they aren't very good pets. They develop romantic bonds to people that can't (shouldn't) come to fruition. It's one thing to keep an aviary, but all these people doing what amounts to foreplay with them isn't what's best.