Beginners Guide To Parrot Care Parrots are intelligent, long-term companions. This complete beginner’s guide by a vet covers the essentials of housing, nutrition, mental enrichment, and preventative health to ensure your feathered friend doesn’t just survive, but thrives with you for years to come. Parrot species, also known as psittacines, make wonderful and intelligent pets. From cockatiels to ringnecks, parrots are clever and incredibly full of personality.
But caring for a parrot is not as easy as it might seem. In fact parrots have complex needs and require a high level of care often for several decades depending on the species with many parrots living 30-50 years or even longer.
Beginners Guide To Parrot Care Diligent care needs to be take with their husbandry, hygiene and diet to ensure they don’t become ill, malnourish or depress. Incorrect housing and husbandry practices are a common cause of health problems in birds. Before you rush out and buy a feathered friend, it’s important to have a basic understanding of their unique care requirements. To help get you start we’ve set out a complete guide for beginner bird parents. This guide applies to all species of parrots including Budgies (also known as parakeets), Cockatiels, Ringnecks, Lovebirds, Conures, African Greys, and Macaws.
Personality and Psychology of Parrots
Beginners Guide To Parrot Care Parrot species are highly social. From budgies to macaws, these birds always require company and typically form ‘mate’ pairs. In the wild, they often form flocks made up of numerous pairs.
Does this mean you should always buy parrots in pairs? Well, not necessarily. Parrots are unique because they have the ability to transfer this instinct and form a ‘mate’ bond with a human. However, this ability is influence by their rearing phase; where hand-rear birds are more likely to bond with humans than those rear by birds.
Beginners Guide To Parrot Care In the absence of another bird, your bird will probably form a bond with one human in particular. Birds aren’t bird brain in fact they are almost like a five year old child! They may show fierce loyalty to this one human – if you bond with your bird but do not pay them enough attention, they can become depress forlorn, and neglect. Therefore, if you work away from home, or can’t commit to showing your bird hours of daily devotion, it might be kindest to consider a same-species ‘friend’ to keep your bird pair and happy.
How Long Do Parrots Live?
Beginners Guide To Parrot Care Before buying a new feathered friend, it’s important to know that birds are a long term commitment. Many people are surprise to learn the estimated lifespan of many popular species. Many parrots can live for several decades. You should of course only adopt a bird if you are prepare to keep it for life.
Parrots Need More Than A Small Cage
Beginners Guide To Parrot Care When looking for a cage or aviary for your parrot you should always aim to give your bird the largest space possible. And whilst birds certainly shouldn’t be keep in a cage all the time and need exercise outside of the cage, it’s still important to provide a cage or enclosure as a ‘home base’. Instead of viewing this cage as a means of constant restraint, think of their cage as their ‘house’ from which they are free to leave from under supervision provide the is tame enough to do so and the surrounds have been made safe for your parrot. For untamed, aviary birds, providing a large enclosure in which they can fly, forage, explore and access shelter is a must.
Beginners Guide To Parrot Care Some people like to have their bird free to roam at all times, as this encourages bonding with their human. Take care as kitchens and fans are a major hazard for your free ranging birds. Bird proof your home by ensuring that you keep your bird away from kitchen stoves and minimise the use of teflon in your home (as the fumes are toxic). Make sure moving objects such as fans are switch off, or blocked off from your bird to access. Electrical cords will need to be hide or protect as birds will chew on them whilst exploring. Always free range your bird under close supervision.
How to Choose the Best Cage For Your Bird
As a general rule, bigger is better when it comes to choosing a cage for your bird. You can never have too large a cage, but you can certainly have too small a cage. Look for a cage which is big enough to allow your bird species to stretch their wings fully and fly for 3-4 wingbeats. Cages should also be at least 3 x the length of your bird from tip to tail and allow them opportunities to climb.
Where To Place Your Bird’s Cage
Birds are very sensitive to smoke and can even succumb to toxicity from teflon vapours (which are produce from some non-stick cooking pans). Therefore, it is ideal to place your bird’s cage away from the kitchen and in a well-ventillated area.
With regards to sunlight, your bird will benefit from having some exposure to the sun each day to obtain adequate Vitamin D and maintain strong bones. If you’re unable to let your bird out of their cage during daylight hours it is worthwhile considering an avian specific UV light to help ensure proper internal vitamin D and calcium levels and reduce the risk of metabolic bone disease.
You may wish to place your bird’s cage near an open window so they can get some sunlight – provided there is adequate shade to escape to when they get too hot.
And finally, remember that your bird will probably make quite a mess when they rummage through their food each day. Make sure you place your bird’s cage in a position where regular floor clean ups are easy and practical.
Nutrition
Note: This section applies to most parrot species, however some species such as the Lorikeet require a nectar-based diet. Always research your bird’s individual species dietary requirements on our Discover Page for Birds, or if you aren’t sure, you can Ask a Pet Circle Vet.
Nutrition is one of the most important, and sadly one of the most misunderstood, facets of bird care. Many people believe that psittacine birds should be fed a seed-only diet, and unfortunately many commercial ‘bird food’ producers still sell seed mix advertised as a ‘complete diet’ which only perpetuates the belief.
While feeding a seed-based diet is convenient and relatively cheap, birds will selectively pick out the parts of the food they like, including particular seeds which can lead to an array of health problems – often vitamin and mineral deficiencies as well as obesity and liver disease and ultimately a shortened lifespan. Seed diets are generally either carbohydrates (e.g. millet) and/or fat (e.g. sunflower seeds) and lack a number of vitamins, minerals and protein.
Seeds can be use to make up part of a balance bird diet, but should not be the ENTIRE diet. Instead, we
Parasite Prevention
Both external and internal parasites can pose a risk to pet birds, even if housed entirely indoors. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to take your parrot to an avian vet to check for both internal and external parasites as soon as you bring them home from the breeder or pet store, particularly before they are introduced to other. birds in the household. If your birds are housed in an outdoor aviary or have any contact with wildlife, it’s worth treating them for mites every 6-8 weeks, and worming them every 3 months.
External Parasites
Mites and lice are the two most common external parasites that affect pet birds. Your bird may become infected from the aviary you purchased your bird from, or from wildlife that passes near your house. Both bird mites and lice are not transferable to or from humans.
Mites
Mites are microscopic creatures that cannot be seen with the naked eye. They cause an itchy, scaly, crusty look to the face or feet of pet birds and are particularly common in budgies and cockatiels. There are other less common mites that can affect the air sacs and cause breathing difficulties.
Lice
Lice, unlike mites, are often visible to the naked eye. They are more common in chickens but can affect parrot species as well. They tend to cause itchiness and can lead to feather loss and skin conditions.
If you suspect your bird might have mites or lice, always consult with your veterinarian to determine an appropriate and effective treatment.
Always make sure you check with your vet with regards to dose and frequency, so as not to overdose your bird.
Internal Parasites
There are many internal parasites that can affect birds, including roundworms (nematodes), tapeworms (cestodes), flukes, and protozoa including coccidia, cryptosporidia and giardia. Thankfully these parasites are rare in pet birds who were purchase from a reputable breeder and have been keep mostly indoors.
Pet birds, house indoors don’t generally require regular worming every three months like dogs and cats, as birds don’t get outdoors as much as their furry friends. However, you should consider worming your bird if they have access to the outdoors, live in an aviary with many other birds as well as worming any newly adopted birds before introducing them to your current aviary.
