Why Birds Make Great Pets

Birds have become popular with pet owners, with 8% of U.S. households now including a pet bird. While still not as popular as dogs or cats, many animal enthusiasts are beginning to see why adding a bird to their homes can bring a lot of benefits. Birds can be great companions, often live long lives and are ideal for those with limited space or budgets. Read on to see why birds may be the best choice for your next pet.

They Are Extremely Intelligent

In the wild, birds will often have to travel long distances and coordinate with their flock for survival, and these ingrained behaviors make them smart and capable pets. Because of their intelligence, they are often much easier to train than other animals and are also very curious and social. If you are looking for a pet that is inquisitive and loves being where the action is, birds are a great choice.

One of their most well-known traits is their vocal abilities and their penchant for learning to replicate speech and even noises they hear in their environment, and teaching a bird to talk is often one of the main reasons owners choose to adopt them. A parakeet named Puck was even found to have a 1,728-word vocabulary!

They Are Relatively Low-Maintenance

For those with limited space or in places where adopting a larger pet may not be feasible, birds are a good option. Birds do not require many of the extensive routines that other animals do, like daily walks or frequent grooming, and their cages are often small and unobtrusive additions to your home. Many people in large cities or small apartments may want to adopt a pet but find that a dog or cat is not practical, which is why a bird might be a good choice instead.

They are Cost-Effective

Pet food can often be a big expense for a household, and for those looking to give their pets high-quality food options, that cost can be even higher. Compared to many other types of pets, birds often require less of a budgetary commitment, and high-quality pellet diets can often be found very affordably. While birds are typically long-lived, the cost to care for them throughout their life is often substantially lower than other animals.

Adopting a bird can be a great choice for first-time pet owners and seasoned enthusiasts alike, taking up less space and requiring less work than other animals while also being fun and entertaining to be around.

At MyBird, we know how much joy birds can bring and seek to give bird lovers the knowledge they need to best care for their pets. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and be sure to check out our other posts about birds or take our quiz to see which types of birds may be right for you!