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METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) – Come on over and meet File (as in the gumbo), a double yellow-headed Amazon parrot. At just nine years-old, File is still considered young by parrot standards. In fact, parrots can live around 45 to 50 years. If you’re thinking about bringing someone like File into your home, keep in mind that bird ownership is a lot like any pet commitment.

Fillet the Parrot

Dr. Gregory Rich tells us that birds require a fair amount of healthcare needs. No more so than a dog or a cat, but the same concept in that they need yearly health exams. They need good quality diets and they basically need a lot of individual care. You can’t just put them in a cage and feed them every day.

But don’t let that dissuade you from owning a bird. Birds like File are intelligent creatures so you can train them not to bite, when to come, and how to step up. Birds, like people, need stimulation to thrive, so these training tools are a good way to do that.

Blue Parrot

Another way is to introduce toys or structures into their environment that mimic the wild. Out in nature birds don’t just go out and have somebody give them a basket of fruit. They’ve got to go out and find the fruit, pick it apart and eat it. So what we can do now is devise either toys or structures that they can tear apart to get to treats on the inside.

So what if you want to bring a bird into your life but don’t know where to start, or maybe you have some questions you want to ask? You’re in luck. There’s a bird fair this weekend at the Lion’s Club in Ponchatoula. There will be plenty of vendors with birds like File and others to enjoy and also many of the items you’ll need for bird ownership as well.

Orange Parrot

Big, small, white or colorful, there are plenty of choices when it comes to bird ownership to meet your wants and needs. There’s so many choices for you to give a new forever home to.

If you’re interested in checking out the Ponchatoula Bird Fair, they’ll be at the Lion’s Club off Exit 26 on I-55 in Ponchatoula. The fair is open Saturday and Sunday and you can find more information on their website.