It is crucial to learn how to take care of a dog well before taking ownership. A dog requires a serious investment of the following resources:

Yes, your pet bird can potentially get you or your child sick. Infectious diseases that can be transmitted between humans and animals are called zoonotic. Unfortunately, birds can carry at lease five different serious illnesses. Not all birds carry disease but the potential is there so you must be cautious, especially with very young children, very old people and immune system compromised people. Immune compromised people would include organ transplant recipients, people in chemotherapy and HIV infected people.

Many people think that a bird is a fun low maintenance pet that can provide you with good company. While birds are fun, intelligent companions they do require quite a bit of maintenance and care. Some birds require more maintenance than others so here's some guidelines on bird care that might help you pick a bird that's perfect for your lifestyle.

One of the unique aspects of having a bird for a pet is that this is one of the few pets that may actually be trained to talk. Many people feel that they'll be able to communicate and have conversations with their pet birds but this may not be true in all cases. Even if a bird can talk fluently you must remember that even the smartest birds only have the intelligence of a toddler and therefore may not be able to tell you how they are feeling.

Like other pets, your bird can get sick but unlike other pets your birds illness can become serious, even life-threatening, very quickly. If your bird is acting even the slightest bit ill you should get him to your veterinarian right away since birds can go downhill very fast.

One common misconception about pet birds is that they live for hundreds of years and need to be willed to someone in order to ensure their care after you're gone. While birds do live for quite a long time in the wild, their lifespan in captivity is actually much shorter. Below are some common pet birds and their average life span in captivity given that they receive superior care and a proper diet.