According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA),  anywhere from 10-17 Million Parrots are kept as pets in the United States, alone.

Please use the provided Menu to easily Navigate this page:

• Cages & Housing
• Providing Proper Toys
• Foraging Enrichment in Captivity
• Parrot Trick Training
• Where to Buy Birds
• Hygiene & Cleaning
• Diet
• Water Bottles & Birds
• What Not to Do with Parrots
• Bathing & Grooming
• Sleep Requirements

By Dr. Greg Burkett, Board Certified Avian Veterinarian

"One of the most common problems in parrot-keeping today is not providing our feathered friends with the size of cage they need. Housing a bird in an undersized cage can lead to all of the worst behavioral problems found in pet birds: screaming, phobic behavior, biting and aggression, and feather plucking. A common misconception is that a cage is a place of confinement. We do not think of a cage as a place of confinement but as a home and comfort zone, similar to the way we view our own homes. This is where the food is kept and where the familiar water bottle hangs. When a parrot is under stress, you will probably notice that he or she is most relieved when returned to its cage. Pet birds spend a vast majority of their time housed within these four walls.

A factor that often gets overlooked when looking at cages is that these cages will be occupied by not only the parrot but also food bowls, three to four perches, at least three toys and with whatever else the owner decides to spoil the bird. These objects, while absolutely necessary, dramatically cut down the amount of open space in the cage. Another important determinant is the bird's activity level. You will notice some discrepancies between birds and the size of the cage required. A good example is a parrotlet. If you have ever spent time around parrotlets, you know that they rarely stop to catch their breath. They are very playful and are rarely in a state of rest. For these reasons, they need a larger sized cage than the slightly larger budgie that has only a moderate activity level.

Round cages cannot be used. They do not give your pet a point of reference and will can lead psychological problems. Also, the vast majority of commercial parrot products are not made to attach to a curved surface. If you are having any problems with your parrot, look closely at its cage size. This is often the root of many different problems. If you currently have a cage that is too small, use the suggestions below as guidelines and you will be on your way to an improved relationship with your pet bird!

Minimum Cage Size and Maximum Bar Spacing:
Budgies, Parrotlets, Lovebirds - 18"x18" with 1/2"
Cockatiels - 20" x 20" with 1/2" or 5/8"
Small Poicephalus,Conures, Ring-necked Parakeets - 22" x 24" with 5/8" or 3/4"
Caiques, Timnehs, Pionus, Jardine's, Small Mini Macaws - 24" x 24" with 3/4" or 1"
Small Amazons, African Greys - 32" x 23" with 1" or 1 1/4"
Mini Macaws, Cockatoos and Amazons - 36" x 24" with 1" or 1 1/2"
Large Macaws, Large Cockatoos - 3' x 4' with 1 or 1 1/2"

If your bird was not listed, find one of similar size and use that as a base but be sure to take into account the activity level of the species."

---

Examples of inadequate cages:

The cages shown above are highly impractical for the use in which they're intended.  Birds needs room to fly.  These cages do not allow for flight their shape greatly dimishes space.

Examples of Adequate Cages:

Above cages, and more, can be found at: www.parrotworldusa.com

These cages provide the maximum amount of space and are highly practical.  They are the only cages that I reccomend & use for the smaller Parrots.  (Quakers/Conures/Similar love the cage to the left, Lovebirds/Budgies/Similar love the middle cage & Small Conures/IRN's/Multiple Smaller birds love the cage to the right.) The middle cage also makes a very nice travel cage for Quakers/Conures & Similar.

By Angie Johnson, Certified Avian Specialist

Toys are essential for a birds' well being;  Mentally & Physically.  They provide them with excersize and mental stimulation.  Parrots are widely known for their intelligence.  They are thought to have the intelligence of a two year old human, and therefore require a bit of extra work to keep their minds occupied, especially if you plan on working, as most parrot caretakers must do. 

There are different toy groups that appeal to different senses for your bird.  Some of them may entice their natural instinct to forage for their food, while others provide them with an outlet for their pent-up energy. 

1.) Destructive Toys.  It's common knowlledge that parrots chew, a lot.  As the owner, you are responsible to provide for them toys that are meant to be destroyed.  Soft Woods, Hard Woods, Rawhide/Dog bones, Leather, & those Bird Pinatas are great examples of Destructive Toys.  Not only do these toys help your bird express his natural urge to chew, but they also encourage & teach your bird to chew on acceptable items, which can save your furniture, woodwork & body quite a bit of pain.

2.) Sound Toys.  Parrots love noise. They love hearing it, and they love making it.  These toys appeal to a birds' instinct to communicate as well as a toy to have fun with.  Bells are a great noise making toy for birds.  However, special care should be taken if your bird likes to rip the clinker out of the bell.  Small pieces may become ingested.  If your bird is a clinker-ripper-outter, you should instead try the newer metal pipe bells.  They now have bells that look like a wind chime, and the clinker is enclosed inside the bell so the bird cannot get to it.  Music boxes hung to the side of the cage can also teach your bird animal noises and other things that are pretty entertaining.

3.) Interactive Toys. Most commonly seen in the form of acrylic.  They are non-destructible, usually; and feature many gears, pumps and links for your bird to figure out. These puzzles are very important for parrots, since they stimulate the mind and prevent boredum.  Beads are mainly features on small bird interactive toys.  Parrots love to maniuplate objects, and there are many great Enrichment/Forage toys that offer the psychological benefits of the puzzle toys.

The Talking Babble Ball is a popular Sound Toy for Birds.

4.) Foraging Toys.  Please see article below for information on Enrichment in captivity. 

5.) Snuggly Toys.  Snuggly toys are to satisfy your birds' cuddly side when you're not with him.  Those soft things you twist tie to the cage bars for him to snuggle up next to, and "happy huts" or "sleepy tents" to sleep in.  Some birds think of these things as nests or other birds and can become sexually frusterated, therefore becomming aggressive towards you if these are provided.  It all depends on the bird.  Just watch out.

Snuggly Sleeper bird tents (pictured left) are cozy bird tents that provide secrurty as well as warmth.  Click here to be redirected to the Parrot World USA Store page.

6.) Excersize Toys. Grippable perches, Boings, swings and foot toys would all fall into this category. Birds often seem fascinated with things they can do with their feet.  Offer them an acrylic "toy box" that can be screwed onto the cage bars and fill it with interesting foot toys.  The bird then has to open the toy box to play with its toys.  Things like knotted ropes with beads and rings strung onto them, plastic balls with bells in them made for cats, putting plastic rings onto straight wooden perches that go from one side of the cage to the other, or wooden shapes will all satisfy your birds' floor play needs.  Also, birds typically like to hang out in the upper area of the cage, so its nice to provide something to do on the bottom for them to increase the cage space used by the bird.

7.) Play Gyms. Also an important factor when considering a pet bird,  is where are you going to let them play during the day when you're home?  Certainly not let them sit in their cage?  Play Gyms offer a wide variety of exploring and fun from a birds' perspective.  I would have at least 3 play gyms for your bird to play on when you're home to supervise.  One on top of the cage, for when you are in the birds' room, one in some other area of the house, such as the living room; for your bird to be in with you, but not on you at all times.  Also, getting a Boing and hanging it from a ceiling with a "ceiling saver" and then hanging a toy down the middle with a swing off the bottom is a good play gym for any room without enough floor space.  Just make damn sure you put a long shoe box or something on the floor below it to catch the droppings!  Many birds enjoy just being NEAR you.  It's called Ambient Attention.  When your bird is with you, but not ON you.  You look over at it and whisper sweet nothings at it, the birds happy, your happy; everyone's happy.

On another note, when and if there is a toy that your bird does not seem to play with, I would NOT remove it.  Birds, like many people and children, appreciate things just for the simple fact that they have the oppertunity to play with something, weather the actually do or not.  Your bird will certainly notice if one its toys is missing, and will really miss it; even if it wasn't a favorite toy. 

So now you've got this big, nice cage and plenty of toys.  Where should you put it all?  Be sure that you are making the most of your cage space.  Many, if not most, toys sold incorperate a short chain with a link on the end to hang the toy from the ceiling of the cage.  Hanging all your toys this way will ensure that ALL the toys are right at the top.  Try buying long chains from pet stores which will help YOU decide the height that the toy will be hung at, and so on.  Using a rope perch as a climbing area will provide for great foot excersize as well.  Ladders are my birds' favorite.  Also, you will want to switch things up, rotate the toys every couple of weeks to reduce boredum.  You'd be amazed what switching places with a couple of toys will do for the birds' interest!  Remember to keep all your toys acessable!  At "beak height" for maximum usage from the bird.

Try to get a good look at where your bird spends most of its' time and go from there.  Rotate the toys about every week or so so as to not let your bird get bored.  Boredum in parrots is often the cause of destructive behavior, such as feather plucking, mutilation, biting and screaming to name a few of the most common.  To live happily with your parrot, be sure to allow the bird to be happy, and then you'll both be happy. 

 By Angie Johnson, Certified Avian Specialist

I HIGHLY recommend anyone thinking of trick training their parrots read the Clicker Training Starter Kit by Karen Pryor before ever attempting to train.  In the opinion of more than just myself, the operant conditioning methods she uses to train parrots is much more advanced than many other trainers offering DVD's or books with advice.

I highly suggest that you use a clicker when training a parrot, and I am going to write this article under the assumption that you're going to be using a clicker for training, and that you're going to follow the advice in Karen Pryor's book, which advocates training a parrot with a prop before training with a behavior, to avoid confusion & frustration when the bird goes to learn a prop trick. 

A quick example of how to train your parrot to WAVE using the clicker:

• With the bird on a perch, facing you, bring your finger up to the bird's foot (whichever foot the bird usually steps up with, first) so that the bird instinctualy raises her foot, as if to step-up onto your finger.  Click & Treat as soon as the bird's foot lifts off the perch.
• Raise your finger higher, so that the foot must come up a tad higher off the perch to try to step-up.  Click & treat.
• Continue this until the bird is raising her foot as soon as she see's your finger coming near her foot. Click & Treat.
• Once she is lifting her foot for your finger reliably, ONLY click & treat when she raises it HIGHER and HIGHER, each time.
• Once she has her foot high enough in the air to pass as a "wave," you can (if you wish) add a little waving motion to it by WAITING to give her the click & treat until she puts her foot HIGH in the air, and shakes it around, in a waving motion.

The end result of the "Wave" is anything that YOU want it to be!  You can either just have her raise her foot up high, raise it up high and move it in an up & down position OR raise it up high and do the crunching motion.  Anything you want.  I have Sparx raising her foot up high and doing a side-to-side motion, like a beauty queen's parade wave. 

Stick to ONE trick at a time.  She will get confused & frustrated if you try to teach more than one trick at a time.  Especially tricks that are closely related to one another, such as the "wave" and the "shake."

All parrots do enjoy neck scratches, and in the wild, they would have flock mates there to preen and rub their necks, but in captivity, that's our job!  And that can be the case with some parrots, that they prefer verbal praise rather than treats.  I have personally never met a parrot who preferred verbal praise over treats, but I have heard of it! 

Usually, I have found that when a parrot does not appreciate a particular food item you're giving as your reward, it tends to be that you need to find a new food reward.  It might be that the most common food items used as rewards for parrots is a food item that she is already given, daily.  The food reward should be something the bird does not get, expect as a food reward.  Also find something your bird READILY accepts and really seems to love to eat.  For example, I use un-salted, un-shelled sunflower seeds, broken into halves for Sparx.  It's a treat she LOVES (as most parrots do) but it is highly fattening and therefore only given to her during training.  Since she loves it so much, she is willing to work for it and do whatever she thinks she needs to do in order to get that treat- which happens to be tricks!  But I have to make sure that I do not give this treat to her on any other occasion, otherwise she will not feel the need to WORK for it, because it is readily available in another location.

Imitation is a common method that people will use to try to train their animals, especially parrots, since they are so well known for imitating what their "flock mates" are doing, both in the wild & in captivity.  It's my opinion that this is not the most reliable method.  A tried & true method that involves this type of training, though, is what Dr. Irene Pepperberg had huge success with when training that famous Grey, Alex.  She used what's known as "Model-Rival" training.  That involves a handy volunteer on your human part. :)  What she would do to train Alex was she would "train" the HUMAN volunteer in FRONT of Alex, and reward and praise the volunteer when they did the task correctly, and correct the human when they did the task incorrectly, to train the bird the material by making the bird see the trials & errors of the human volunteer.

That way, if there are a NUMBER of ways the behavior/trick can be done, none of which are natural behaviors your bird might learn from seeing someone else learning to do it, and being rewarded.  That is what I am going to try with Sparx and the Skateboard.

Need Parrot Trick Training Props?  Click Here.

Above is a video of my Quaker Parrot, Sparx, doing a few tricks that I recently taught her using Clicker Training.

If you're buying parrots or supplies from large chain Pet Stores, you may want to reconsider your stance on Animal Rights & Animal Cruelty. Many people do not know the inhumane treatment that animals must undergo at breeding facilities before they are shipped to chain pet stores. Purchasing supplies or animals from these places only supports the causes that most animal lovers are against.
Click here to see a video of the conditions that animals are bred and raised in before being sold to large chain Pet Stores. In addition, many people who already KNOW this still choose to purchase these animals, thinking that the animals were "rescued" because of them, when in all actuality, buying animals under the assumption you're "saving" the animal only pays the bills of these facilities, allowing them to continue running just that much longer. To ultimately ban these establishments, everyone must DISCONTINUE buying everything from these places and purchase supplies from petstores that do NOT sell live animals.

Alternatives include purchasing your Parrots and other animals from private, reputable Breeders or Adopting them from shelters. Countless animals are put to sleep everyday because shelters are overcrowded. So if you really want to save an animal, adopt one from a shelter.

Purchasing your supplies from privately owned & operated stores who either do not sell animals, or who breed their own animals. These stores are typically online stores. Parrot related online stores not only offer a humane environment, as they don't purchase their animals from the places like that shown in the video, but you may also get better deals. The reason being that online stores usually do not have much overhead costs in which they need to cover in the price of their supplies- especially larger items like Play Stands, Cages and similar. Physical Pet Stores need to pay not only for shipping & handling on these larger items TO their store, but also many overhead fees, such as paying employees, feeding animals, advertising, bills, etc. Which is ALL included in the price of the items you're buying, anyways.

A quick list of bird-friendly parrot supply stores:
Parrot World USA
The Perch Store
Avian Love

Hygiene is also VERY important when you have a parrot.   Keeping the toys clean is essential to a happy & healthy bird.  So many bacteria, viruses & pathogens can linger on your birds' food & water cups, toys, cage & eventually then onto your bird, itself.

I suggest cleaning the paper lining the tray at least once a week.  But preferably once every other day.

The bottom grate should be soaked & scrubbed weekly as well, especially for parrots who drop fresh foods to the floor and later go back to eat them.

Food dishes should be disinfected in the dishwasher every other day, and water bottles should be thrown in the dishwasher once a week, and the metal stopper scrubbed out with a scrubber brush/pipe cleaner brush.  (I use one that came with fish tank filter cleaning brushes)   If you have water dishes, those should be thouroughly disinfected daily.  Birds tend to make "soup" with their food in their water dishes, and LOTS of other nasty stuff gets in there on a daily basis.  (I suggest round dishes, since corners can be difficult to get at when cleaning.  Stainless Steel is always a great option.)

All "waterproof" toys in the cage should be soaked & scrubbed with a natural disinfecting solution such as GrapeFruit extract or Lemon Extract.  Remember:  Birds are VERY sensitive to many things, including cleaning solutions.  Using natural or bird-safe disinfectants lessen the irritants caused to your birds.

Cleaning cages can be a TEDIOUS task.

  This is the monthly cleaning routine that I prefer, so hopefully it can help you: 

• Make up a cleaning solution (Pet Focus) with 1 part solution to 2 parts hot water.  Fill a cleaning bucket with this solution.
• Fill an indutrial spray bottle with hot water and 5% Chlorine Bleach (For disinfecting).
• Get at least 3 rags, sponges, brushes, many Q-Tips & Tooth Picks.
• Remove all the toys in the cage.
• Anything that will be safe in the clothes washer, like happy huts & other snuggly items, throw in the washer.
• Everything else that is safe to get wet (I.E. Acrylic & Plastic toys, and foraging toys WITHOUT treats in them) soak them one by one in the Pet Focus bucket. 
• While those toys are soaking, work on wiping off any fecal or food matter from perches that cannot get wet, like Rope Perches, calcium & seashell perches, some wood perches, etc.  Scrub these perches with a rag and the plain hot water.
• For any material perches, snip off any dangling strings or loose ends.
• Scrub the toys that have been soaking with the disinfection solution until free from all fecal matter.  For toys with hard-to-reach crevices, use the toothpicks to scrape everything out. 
• Dip and clean off in the plain water bucket and dry off with another towel.
• Repeat with all the toys.  (wooden dowels & manzanita perches & similar can get wet.)
• Remove the bottom grate if it is removable.  Scrub the grate and tray with a rag or a textured scrub sponge to get all the fecal & food buildup matter off with the Simple Green. This is an important step since disinfecting solutions (Such as bleach) are neutralized by organic matter- Like food & fecal matter.
• Spray  the bottom tray & grate with the bleach solution, getting all the hard-to-reach crevices with your Q-Tips.
• Allow the bleach to dry off naturally on the grate & tray- this allows the bleach to work it's disinfecting magic, best.
• Rinse all toys [that were cleaned in Pet Focus] in clean water, dry with a rag..
• Replace all toys.

Repeat this routine as neccesary.  (Will depend on amount of birds in each cage, size of birds, size of cage, etc.)  It is not reccommended that you use bleach with every cage cleaning- your bird should live in a clean enviroment; not a sterile one.

This routine also works very well to rotate toys.  I usually stock up/collect toys, so that I have enough toys for me to completely switch EVERYTHING out monthly.  I have a storage container to store all the toys that are not in the cage, and then the other half of toys goes in the cage.  Make sure they have enough of each toy group in the cage at a time.

This keeps the bird entertained as well as interested in each of her toys.

---

For the best diet suggested for your particular bird, you should ask your avian vet.  However, this section will outline the basics in companion parrot diet.

To get the best nutrition for your pet bird, you should first look at where your bird comes from.  Many Rainforest birds eat mostly fruits and a few nuts.  Lories and Lorikeets eat mostly nektar with their brush-like tongues.  Eclectus have unusually long digestive tracts which are seemingly meant to extract every last bit of nutrition out of their food, so diets high in nutrients can cause Eclectus to tap their toes, be sick or mutilate themselves.  Budgies & Cockatiels do not do well on a pellet OR seed only diet.  An all-pellet diet is too rich in nutrients for their systems, while an all-seed diet is too fattening & lacks vital nutrients.

Budgies do best on a live seed diet, supplemented with Vegetables and some fruits & tablefoods. (A diet that is made up mainly of very fresh sprout seeds.  These seeds can be purchased at Health Food stores.)

Seed diets are very low in nutrition, even if the package says "Enriched with Nutrients!*" These seed mixtures usually consist of hard corn, little seeds, raw sunflower seeds, some colored pellets and the like.  These are ALL carbohydrates and fat. As a high in carbs diet may be needed for high energy Caiques, it can be deadly for those species that are prone to liver damage; such as Quakers.  A pelleted diet is usually reccommended for your bird.  Not the colorfull pellets, either.  Those tend to not be as high in nutrients that your bird needs as the organic, brown colored pellets. 

*Commercial bird diets advertised as 'complete' or 'balanced' are not truley scientifically formulated, since the exact nutritional requirements for all of the various caged birds have not been determined.  These diets are the result of breeding successes or have been derived from Poultry diets.  Also, bird seeds that claim to be "enriched with nutrients," the birds do not get any nutrition.  They treat the outter shell of the seeds with valuable minerals and nutrients, but unless your bird eats the hull of a seed/nut; they are not getting the nutrition that you paid extra for!

Pellets are not only good for nutrition reasons, but also it will help cut down on food costs.  Especially if you have a 'Bird-Zerk Breeder Feeder" or "Bird Manger" type of a contraption to feed your birds with.  I highly reccommend this, since it recycles your bird's food, when your bird eats a nibble off a pellet, and drops the rest, it automatically falls into a chamber; out of the cage, that you can later re-use.  It also helps those birds who 'throw' their food, as it has a sheild around their eating area.  Also, because of this sheild, it makes it nearly impossible for your bird to turn around and take a dump right in their food.  They are great, also because you don't have to refill their food bowl every day, as you pour the seeds in an upper chamber that is on the outside of the cage, and the food is filed in through the cage bars into the eating chamber.  Visit www.bird-zerk.com  for more information or to purchase one of your own.

If you choose to go this route, please note that the BEST diet for a parrot is one that is varied often.  Feeding pellets ALONE will not help your bird with it's health.  One must feed their bird a variety of foods in order to get maximum nurtition.  Varying your birds' fruits & vegetables, table foods like noodles, rice, cooked meat and egg products, etc.  Also note that organic pellets are the best route.  Colored pellets, like Zupreem Rainbow, which smell like breakfast cereal are not much better than seeds.  The colorings that they use to dye the pellets with can be hard on their kidneys. 

Parrots have tendancy to 'throw' their seeds EVERYWHERE.  As long as it's out of the cage, it's a good throw!  They also tend to think that the very best seed in the dish lies at the VERY BOTTOM of the dish.  So they dig through to the bottom, throwing and splashing all else in their way out. Providing them with pellets also helps deterr this habit, since all the pellets are the same!! 

If you have tried training your bird to do tricks, and your bird just doesn't seem food motivated, it could be because it is on a seed diet.  Most people use sunflower seeds and the like for treats when training their birds, but if your bird has an abundance of this in their dish already, then why would they feel the need to do a trick for it??!  Offering a pelleted diet could also help you train your bird!

The typical reccommended break-down of your companion parrots' diet is as follows:

• 20% should be constituted of Seed and nut mixtures
• 20% should be organic, or non-colored pellets.  (Zupreem, Roudybush, Harrison's are all good choices)
• 60% of your birds' diet should be tablefood items (whole grain food, dry pasta, uncooked oatmeal, some cheese, some fruits & vegetables)

Although the actual diet your bird requires may vary, depending on how much excersize or "fly time" your bird gets.  (It is not advised that EVERYONE let their birds fly free in their home. )

Vegetables are REAL nutritious and healthy for your bird.  AVOID AVACADOE, AND THE SEEDS & PITS OF MOST FRUITS, especially Apple seeds; which contain cyonide.  (The amount of cyonide in one apple seed is enough to kill your bird)  Fruits are OK in moderation, but they typically have too much sugar to be considered part of the daily diet.

It is reccommended that you buy fresh veggies, rather than canned or frozen veggies, though these are OK.  (Sometimes the preservatives they use in canned fruits/veggies can be a bit too much for the birds' system and cause them discomfort) Cut them up into edible chunks for your bird, and store in a sealed tupperware or ziplock container in the fridge.  Serve them every day on a fresh plate or dish.

My birds are quite fond of fresh & dehyderated grapefruit, apple chunks, pineapple,  grapes, and bannanas; but since they are a sugary treat, I hide them in homemade foraging toys to essentually make them 'work' for their treats; thus increasing the mental stimulation and physical excersize involved in such an instinctual, natural teqnique.

If you try to feed fresh veggies, and your bird does not eat it, DON'T GIVE UP!! Birds that have not been introduced to these foods will be a bit wary of it at first.  But parrots often times respond well to "monkey see, monkey do."  Especially if that bird is bonded to you, they will often be more willing to try a food that you eat or pretend to eat, or offer with your hand.  Just keep on placing the foods in their cage every day, and sooner or later, they will subside to the yummy pleasures of fresh foods.  All my babies are weaned in abundance on fresh fruits and veggies so that their future owners have no problems in getting them to eat healthy!

Also, I must add that 'grit' or 'gravel' (small pebbles/rocks/sand grains used by soft billed birds to aid in digestion in the gizzard) are NOT reccomended for hookbilled birds (parrots).  These can be deadly, since they eat bits of food at a time, and not peck it up whole, if they eat grit, it will not stay in the gizzard to aid for digestion like intended; instead it will continue on down the digestive system like food and possibly clog the birds' intestine or other organs passed through.  

Let it be known, also, that Budgies do not require pelleted diets and veggies.  They do just fine on seed-only diets, but I would highly reccommend getting them accustomed to a variety of foods like raw or cooked noodles, soups, angel food cake (This is used a lot of times to hide medication when birds are resistant to take their meds.) and the like.

There are alot of great birdie recipes out there on the internet and in books.  We now have a "Recipes" page to provide you and your feathered friends with great bird-friendly recipes.

 

 By Dr Greg Burkett, Board Certified Avian Veterinarian
"One of the most common health problems that veterinarians encounter in birds is bacterial infection. And, the most common source for infection is the water bowl.

An open dish is a breeding ground for bacteria. Most birds will poop or dunk food in their water dish. These organic materials feed the bacteria and cause them to grow even faster. Bacterial growth is measured in doubling time - the time it takes for bacteria to double in number. Doubling time for many bacteria is 2-3 hours. This means that when you put a clean water dish in the cage at 9:00 AM, by 1:00 PM there is enough bacteria growing in the water to potentially cause illness, even in a healthy bird. This situation is completely avoided when using water bottles.

When putting the bottle on your bird’s cage, mount it above a perch the height of your bird’s head. Be sure to fill the bottle completely to prevent leaking. One or two drops will escape to form the vacuum.

Switching your bird is very easy. After all, hamsters drink from a bottle and we all know that birds are much more intelligent than hamsters. It is my theory that birds are able to smell water. Simply showing birds where the bottle is in the cage will be enough to get them to switch. Just tap the little ball on the end of the drinker when your bird is watching. The noise and bubbles will make your bird curious. When your bird beaks the ball, water will come out and your bird will immediately be on a bottle. If not, then remove the water dish in the morning. In the evening offer your bird water in a dish. If your bird does not drink form the dish, then it probably drank from the bottle during the day. If it does drink from the dish then it likely did not drink from the bottle during the day. Repeat demonstrating the bottle to your bird until you are comfortable that your bird is drinking during the day. Nearly all birds will drink during the first day.

The bottle must be changed every day. The bottle and tube need to be scrubbed and disinfected daily.

One of the most often concerns expressed is that 'My bird likes to wet its food'. No problem. Birds can still wet its food with the bottled. Candy, our resident Congo African grey nearly always wets her pellets and treats. She simply gets the food in her beak and then drinks from the bottle.

There is no reason not to put your bird on a bottle."

Lixit makes great water bottles, especially for larger Parrots who tend to dismantle Water Bottles easily.  These water bottles connect to the cage in a way that makes it impossible for your bird to remove or break, and the tube spout is available in what is referred to as a "Tuff Tip" for those larger beaks, if you're worried about the bird breaking the tube. I have been using these water bottles for several years, and they are still in brand-new condition!

You can find Lixit Glass Bird Waterers in many sizes at: www.ParrotWorldUSA.com

So what about those vitamin supplements that are added into water? They are reccommended if your birds' diet lacks in nutrients, but it is important to make sure they include vitamin D3 and Vitamin A. (Vitamin D3 is the only form of Vit. D that is souluble to birds. And vitamin A neccesary to maintain healthy skin, eyes, beak, feathers and lining of the gastrointesinal tract.) HOWEVER, it is reccommended that if you use these supplements, you consult your avian vet first, and clean the water bottle out 2-3 times a day with a scrubbing brush, since the compounds in the supplements provide ample conditions for bacteria to grow. It is not reccommended that you add these products to dry seeds, despite what the package may tell you.

 DON'T FEED YOUR PARROT:

• AVACADOE
• CHOCOLATE
• ALCOHOL
• APPLE SEEDS
• GRIT
• SEEDS & PITS OF MOST FRUITS
• LARGE AMOUNTS OF SALTY FOOD (A few salted nuts offered as treats on occasion is allright)
• RHUBARB
• CAFFINE
• CARBONATED BEVERAGES
• DAIRY PRODUCTS* (Birds are lactose intolerant, so dairy products such as cheese & milk should be kept to a minimum)
• UNCOOKED MEAT OR EGG PRODUCT

*=Yogurt contains many healthy probiotics, which is good for birds.  Feeding them small amounts of yogurt on occasion is actually good for them

 

DON'T LET YOUR PARROT:

• BEAK IN YOUR MOUTH (Some people are known to have some serious mouth-action with their birds.  Our saliva [along with the saliva of cats & dogs] has deadly bacteria in it from our intestines.  DO NOT let your bird 'drink your saliva' in any way.  It's gross, anyways..)
• SIT OUTSIDE, WITH OR WITHOUT A LEASH/HARNESS UNATTENDED!
• SPRAY ANY KIND OF ROOM SPRAY, OR USE ANYTHING THAT RELATES TO GLAD PLUGINS OR SCENTED OILS.
• BE AROUND OBNOXIOUS PEOPLE, KIDS & ANIMALS

DON'T DO THE FOLLOWING AROUND YOUR PARROT:

Your parrots' respiritory system is 7 times more sensitive than ours.  It's also 10 times more complicated.  A sinus infection for a bird is deadly.  If you have any question about weather something will be OK to your birds' Resp. System; don't risk it. 

• BURN INSCENSE
• SPRAY FEBREEZE
• SMOKE ANYTHING
• BURN CANDLES
• SPRAY ANY KIND OF ROOM SPRAYS
• HAVE ANY THING THAT RELATES TO A GLAD PLUGIN OR SCENTED OIL
• COOK WITH NONSTICK (TEFLON) COOKWARE (Number 1 Killer of Captive Parrots)
• DRILL OR CUT ACRYLIC
• PAINT
• POISION YOUR HOUSE WITH CARBON MONOXIDE
• ANYTHING WITH FUMES
• OVENS IN THE 'SELF CLEAN' CYCLE
• SPACE HEATERS (Your bird will be better off adapting to the cooler temperatures that to be poisioned with the fumes from a space heater.  If the you feel the bird is that cold, that it can't be where it is without a heater; invest in a Thermal Perch & cover the cage with thick blanket at night; or even better.. Move the bird to a warmer room of the house.  "Thermal perches" are heated, safe perches that warm your bird up in colder seasons. They work great, since Parrots expell and gain heat through their feet. So perching on a warm surface does a great job at warming their bodies. They can be purchased at: www.ParrotWorldUSA.com

It is neccesary to allow your bird to bathe at least weekly, to keep his feathers in prime condition.  You do not need to use any soaps, but a few squirts of an Aloe Vera spray intended for birds is highly reccommended.  This will soothe the skin & feathers, especially while the bird is molting. (Make sure the spray you buy does NOT include alchohol.  Many sprays on the market do include alcohol, which is very harmfull to your bird.  I use "Canopy Scientific Avian Elite Molt Ease" retails around $14 at any local or online shops.)

Molting is the process in which the old feathers are replaced with new ones.  Much like when a snake sheds his skin.  Birds typically molt once a year.  Some will shed many feathers at once, resembling a bald turkey (covered with down), but it is more often to see a bird loose just a few at a time.  This process, of feathers growing in, requires the kind hand of the owner to assist in breaking off the keratin casing that the feathers grow in, if the bird does not have a mate or other bird friend to do this for him.

Feathers grow in wrapped in little keratin casing.  As the feather grows inside the casing, the bloodvessel will diminish downward.  The caretaker should carefully rub their fingers together on the lightest colored parts of the casing (towards the point of the case) to take the casing off.  This will alleviate itchiness & discomfort the bird may feel during molting or new feather growth.  You should also allow the bird to bathe frequently during these times as well as keep the room from becomming too dry, which can make this whole process harder and more uncomfortable.

Bathing is a very natural activity that many parrots love to do, naturally.  Should it appear that your bird does not enjoy bathing, or will not voluntarily bathe, here are some methods for trying to make the whole process something he enjoys & loves to take part in.  Of course, do not use very cold or very hot water.  Always use lukewarm, or on hot sunny days, colder water and on long winter nights*, warmer water.

• Try giving your bird an open, shallow dish of water on the bottom of his cage.  Most birds will hop right in once they're alone with this bowl of water.
• Many birds are stimulated to bathe by the sound of running water.  With a clean sink, try turning the water on lightly and setting your bird up on the counter next to it.  Splash the water stream with your fingers and talk happily to your bird about how fun bathes are.  Doing this frequently, your bird should begin to chatter and chirp excitedly and one day; hop into the sink and begin bathing.  (Video provided below of this method-The method my Quaker prefers)
• Another way to bathe with the same running water idea is to shower with your bird.  It sounds crazy, but they make shower perches intended for this.  Many birds who are very afraid of bathing or seem to hate bathing will be alot more open to it if their mate or flockmate is with them.  Many studies have shown that parrots learn the best, this way.  Monkey see, monkey do.  You can purchase a shower perch from just about anywhere, which are PVC perches that have textured or sand covered perches for grip and suction cups to stick the perch to the shower wall.  These perches prove to be VERY usefull, not only for showers.  I stick mine to windows, fish tanks, car windows, etc. All of which give your bird great mental stimulation.  (Fish tanks are great not only for providing moisture in the air to aid in great feather condition, but birds also have been known to watch the fish.  My birds love to bite at the fish while sitting on the perch that's stuck to the fish tank.)
• Spray bottles or the mist setting on your hose can also prove usefull for the skittish or birds who've never been introduced to water.  It is very non-threatening when compared to the running water in the sink or shower, and is light and airy, and plenty of fun for your bird.  The trick with this method is to replicate a light rainfall.  Face the hose sprayer or spray bottle nozzle upwards and spray, to form a slight mist fall up and down onto your bird.  Spraying right at them could scare them even more, and should be avoided.

*= You should never bathe your birds late in the evening or at night, always early in the day or in the morning; to assure they are completely dry before they go to sleep.

If it's the colder time of the year, many birds appreciate being wrapped in a towel after their bathes to keep them warm while they dry off.  This is also a great way to get them accustomed to being held in a towel and therefore make vets visits easier for you, the bird & your vet when they must be restrained this way while at the vet's office.  If it's the sunnier, warmer time of the year, you can bring your clipped birds outside to dry off in the sun.  Be sure your bird is not TOO wet, so that skin is showing and they could get sunburned.  Offer plenty of shade in the hot days, as parrots can easily overheat and can better accustom themselves to dreary cold than blistering heat!

This (above) is Sparx, my Quaker, taking a bath with her preffered method.

As for grooming, you should make sure your bird's beak & nails are always in proper legnth. Most birds will naturally file their own beaks by chewing, but sometimes they will require them to be filed professionally.  YOU SHOULD NEVER ATTEMPT THIS BY YOURSELF.  Always bring your bird in to your avian vet for beak filing.  Sometimes birds get flakes of the beak chipped off, and your vet can help determine what, if any, methods should be taken concerning the health of your bird's beak.  Nails can be done relatively easily by yourself, if you know where to and where not to cut.  Accustom yourself to where the quick is in your birds' nail, and ALWAYS have syptic powder, flour or at least bar soap on hand when cutting your birds nails.  A bird's blood has a harder time clotting while bleeding than a mammal's, for which reason you should always have an avian first aid kit available in your household with an abundance of syptic powder.  Should you cut the quick, apply pressure immediatly.  If the bleeding does not stop within a minute, dip a Q-Tip in the syptic powder and apply to the bleeding area of the nail.  If you do not have syptic powder, use the same method with the Flour.  Many applications may be neccesary to stop the bleeding.  If you do not have Flour, use bar soap.  Not liquid soap, BAR SOAP.  Scratch some off using the birds' bleeding nail until the bleeding stops.  If none of these methods work, and your bird is continually bleeding for longer than 5 minutes, bring to your avian vet immediatly and they can apply hot metal to your birds' nail and saueter it closed.  (Very risky & painfull, DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF!!!!!!)

Many birds have dark toe nails, so you cannot locate the quick.  You must be carefull.  Normally people will only cut the tip of the nails off in this case, and use a metal nail file or an emery board to file a dark toe nail down. 

Diagram (left) shows the Quick ("Blood Supply") and where to cut.

As mentioned above, you can use a metal nail file or an emery board to file your birds' nails if you prefer to do it that way.  Although this method is great, it requires two people to accomplish, if the bird does not allow you to grab his toes willingly (as most birds don't).

It is preffered that you use an animal nail cutter for this job, since the shape of the nail differs greatly from that of a humans, and if you use a human nail cutter, you run the risk of crushing the nail shaft and causing great injury & pain to the bird.   A smaller, more handheld cutter is best:

This nail cutter (right) is much more appropriate for birds, cats & small animals.

Wing clipping is another important factor to look at when owning a Parrot.  Many people clip their birds, preffering that they miss out on all of what it is to be a bird, rather than run the risk of the bird one day flying away.  I think daily flight time is neccesary for companion birds for a number of reasons:

• It provides them with essential excersize.  Birds have very quick metabolism which was designed to exert a lot of energy for flying almost all day long.  Companion birds often suffer from obesity because they eat more than they exert with flying.  Obesity in birds is quite hard to dignose without a gram sensitive scale, since the feathers hide any and all "fat" they might have.  Sometimes in severe cases you can feel the skin under the feathers and feel the fat, but a scale is more accurate.
• For health reasons.  Birds' respritory systems are one of the best on this planet's; rivaled with that of fishs' gills.  Birds have relatively small lungs, plus nine air sacs.  While mammals have a bidirectional air flow (air flow moves back and forth into the lungs), birds have Undirectional air flow.  Meaning that they breathe in many times before they get a breath.  (Air is breathed into one air sac, while the next breath pushes that air into the next sac, and the third breath pushes the first breath out, etc.)  They rely on the movement of their chest to breathe (another reason you should not apply pressure to a birds' chest while restraining) and the motion of flying helps that process, since birds were designed to fly.  You'll prolong your birds life, if you allow him to fly.
• Another health-related reason is the chest muscle that protects the keel, or breast bone of birds.  The chest muscle is highly developed in wild birds, because they fly almost all day, everyday.  The strong muscle creates protection for the Keel bone.  Many birds who are clipped too short will try to fly, and instead of fluttering to the ground; they will hit the ground hard, resulting in a damaged breast bone.  Plus with a highly developed chest muscle, they can withstand more pressure to the keel without it breaking or causing damage.
• Believe it or not, but also for safety reasons.  Birds that escape often times do not return because they are scared to come down from a tree, do not recognize their house from the sky or fall prey to other animals because they do not know how to fly, or cannot fly well.  And so that they can escape from predators-even your cat that has always gotten along with your bird.

I think the best way to live with a companion parrot is to allow them to be fully flighted, while teaching them Flight Commands.  This way, you are still in control of your bird, but they are given all these essential benefits from flight.  It is reccomended that you begin training your bird when he is clipped to establish a bonding relationship built on trust.

However, a fully flighted bird is not reccommended for every household.  There are many disastourous results that can occur from a bird in the home, fully flighted:

• Flying into boiling water or hot food on the stove. 
• Smaller birds that will somehow fly out open windows or doors.
• Birds develop a negative relationship with you, and/or do not feel the need to be with you anymore because they do not rely upon you for transportation.
• Birds fly into windows or walls.
• Birds fly up to places where they get themselves into trouble.  (Open doors can swing shut with an unknowing parrot perched upon them, with a bad result.  Parrots who have 'free run of the house' may use their powers unwisely; such as perching somewhere up high and destroying decorations, objects of interest, drapes, woodworking, doorframes, etc.)
• Birds cannot be fully trusted to be outside without a cage or harness.  The result? Birds who do not cooperate with harness training will rarely be allowed outside.  Being in the natural sunlight is VERY important for birds' health.

So it is mainly up to you to decide which you prefer.  I leave my Quaker fully flighted during the colder seasons-Fall & Winter, for the beneficial excersize; but usually clip her during the Spring & Summer because I bring her outside often.  She has been outside on numerous occasions with her flight feathers grown in, but I would not reccomend this unless your bird has reliable flight command obidence.  My Budgies are always fully flighted, and live in an outdoor aviary in the summer.

As for the actual clipping of the wings, I would also highly reccomend you get trained how to clip wings by a professional before attempting yourself.  If you prefer to have them done routinetly by a professional, you can bring them to most any petstore and for $5, will get a wing & nail clipping.  Vets will usually do the nails & wings for free during annual examinations as part of the exam, and any birds purchased from Sunny Hollow Aviaries can always be brought back here for this service for free.

By clipping your birds' wings, you are not disabling him from flying.  You are only preventing him from gaining great height during flight.  A properly clipped bird should be able to slowly flutter to the ground.  There are many different types of wing clips that serve many different purposes.

• Typical Clips

I clip the first 3-5 primaries about where the blue line shows in the picture below.   Be sure to hold the wing from the elbow/shoulder, like the picture shows.  Pulling the wing out from the feathers can cause the bird to pull his wing back in, and possibly snap the fragile bone.  I would suggest toweling birds for this, as it is easier to hold them this way.

A note about wing clipping: Many people clip even more feathers than that for a "great flying" bird, believing that a clipped bird should not be able to fly what-so-ever, and will clip all the Primary feathers, even farther UP the shaft than shown here.  This is useless because all a bird needs to fly is a straight, flat surface. So cutting a "great flier" this way will not prevent them from "flying."  In fact, a wing clip should not prevent the bird from flying, it should prevent the bird from gaining altitude.  Birds NEED to be able to flutter themselves safetly to the ground, or serious injury will occur.

Another note, you should not attempt wing clipping if you're not aware of a blood feather, how to recognize a blood feather or what to do if you accidentally cut or break a blood feather.  If you cut a blood feather, you can try applying Syptic Powder, corn starch or flour on the bleeding tip to clog the bleeding. If this doesn't work, or you end up breaking the blood feather, it needs to be pulled out.  This can be a delicate process, though, since if you don't pull the feather close enough to the skin, you could end up breaking the feather shaft from under the skin. (Think of pulling a weed and not getting the entire root. Some of the root left in the ground/some of the sharp feather shaft left under the skin.)  A forceps (usually included in a First Aid kit) is a good tool for this procedure.

• Show Clip

The popular clip among bird enthusiasts whose birds are often in bird shows, is this show clip.  It involves cutting at the same midway point where the typical clip is cut, but they leave the first 2 or 3 Primary Flights for the look.  When the wing is closed upon the birds' body, it will appear as though the bird is fully flighted, which is very pretty.  As mentioned above, birds need a flat, smooth surface in order to fly.  Many non-showers use this clip simply because it breaks the birds' aerodynamics, and of course for the beauty of it.  Some people claim this clip can cause injury to the bird when the 2 flights that remain get caught between cage bars or other toys and items and can hurt the birds' wing.

 

• Odd Clip
• I have only ever seen this clip once in my life.  The red lines in this diagram represent the feather Shaft.  This clip involves running a scissor along the barbs of the feather, leaving only the feather shaft in tact.  The reason for this clip, the owner said, was to leave the beauty of the feather shaft, and disable flight.  Now if what is said about the Show Clip is true, that the unclipped feathers get caught easily on things, then this Clip is deadly!!

(Red lines represent feather Quills, and Blue represents the barbs of the feathers)

 

 Parrots need more sleep than you think!!  Many behavioral problems result in avians from lack of sleep. 

*under construction*