Babies and Birds

by Kim
(UK)

I just moved to the UK. I have a six month old baby and my husband is underway for long periods of time. Im looking into getting a pet bird, but i don’t know if a bird is ok to have around a baby, or if they will mesh well together. But id love the extra company a bird might be able to give.

Answer:

As a mother to a nine month old girl, I can tell you that babies and birds don’t really mix well at this age, but you can definitely have both at the same time.

My daughter absolutely loves our Amazon, though she is too rough to be able to touch him safely yet. He is a wonderful companion and is part of our family, but we keep him out of reach of our daughter for now until she is old enough to be gentle. It is very easy for children to ruin their relationship with a bird early on so we are careful not to let her scare him.

I would also make sure to not choose a bird that needs to be “on” you most of the time – like a Cockatoo. Our Amazon is able to be put on a perch in the room and be content spending time with us that way. If the bird needs to be on your shoulder to be content, then you will find your baby and your bird contending for your attention too much.

I hope this helps! 🙂

God bless,

Michelle Jay