My mom has 6 large parrots, and I know she loves them and feeds them an excellent diet, but honestly, I hate to say it but I think parrots are a completely inappropriate creature as a "pet." They should be able to fly around far and wide. They should be able to scream because, you know, that's what birds do to keep tabs on their mate and flock. They should be able to forage for their food or splash in a puddle whenever they want to. They don't belong in people's homes.
I know this is a very thin line I walk on. I have 3 small dogs who are given a good diet, toys, exercise and lots of love and attention. I have 4 piggers who are in a very large cage with unlimited hay, hideys and random toys, pellets and fresh veggies and fresh grass when in season. They are all quite happy as near as I can tell and don't exhibit any signs of stress, whereas my mom's birds, 2 are pluckers (the cockatoo a multilator, poor thing) several are unhandlable and the rest are screamers. She gives them run of the house most times but they are caged when she is not home or on vacation. Of course, being in a suburb, they don't have an outdoor aviary to let them fly and get sunshine. They are just terrible pets, imho, no matter how much someone loves them.
