A Bird's Home: The ABC's of Companion Parrot Care
Bonnie Kenk, CPBC, Founder & Executive Director, Parrot Education & Adoption Center, www.peac.org
Psittacine Psychology
It has been shown that most parrots have the intelligence level of a 2 - 5 year old human. However, their emotional level usually doesn't develop past that of a 2-year-old human. Sally Blanchard reminds us in her lectures and articles that parrots, not being domesticated animals like dogs and cats, do not hatch knowing how to be good pets. However, because of their extreme intelligence, they can be taught how to live successfully in our homes. Using the up command every time you pick your bird up and a down command every time you put your bird down, will enable the learning process. Parrots, being sensitive creatures, do not understand physical discipline and may react adversely to it. Disciplining physically will also help erode the trust you are trying to develop in your relationship with your parrot.
Baths
Parrots are prey animals. Their only form of defense, besides congregating in flocks, is to fly away from danger. Therefore, they spend a great amount of their time keeping their feathers in good condition. Many species of parrots are from rainforest areas, and would receive a bath in the wild on a daily basis whether they wanted it or not. Bathing helps keep the bird's feathers in good condition.
In captivity, we recommend that your bird be bathed at least 3 times weekly. Unless your avian veterinarian recommends an additive, use only clear lukewarm water when bathing your bird.
There are different methods of bathing parrots, and you will need to find which one your bird prefers. I have found that the easiest method of bathing our birds is to take them in the shower with us. My husband is the bird bather in our house and we play "musical birds" during his shower. One bird in, that one out, the next one in, so on and so forth. It takes him a long time to shower, but he doesn't seem to mind.
My second favorite method, for birds that my husband is either afraid of (he's really not a bird person) or that don't like the shower, is to use a spray bottle. We bathe our Orange- winged Amazon this way. Unfortunately, I have carpal tunnel syndrome and my hands give out pumping the spray bottle long before she is finished. Therefore, I bought a one-gallon plant mister and I can now give her the bath she always craves. Make sure when you use this method that you don't spray the bird in the face. Direct the spray so it falls down over their head, mimicking rainfall.
Some birds like to take a bath in a running stream of water. Conures particularly enjoy this method. If you don't have a dishwasher and do your dishes by hand, you'll probably not want to do them when your conure is around.
Some parrots prefer bathing in a pool of water. Place a baking pan with an inch or two of water in the bottom of the cage and enjoy the fun as they go to town in it. You may, however, want to do this on a warm sunny day and place the cage outside - unless you like having your carpet and upholstery soaked.
Diet & Nutrition
Parrots can live a very long time if fed a proper diet. Unfortunately, the number one reason birds become sick is due to poor nutrition. For best nutritional value, we recommend a base diet of pellets. If your bird is on a seed diet, it is best to switch him to a pelleted diet. Even though we recommend a natural pellet (without any dyes and artificial flavors), when you initially switch your bird, use the pellet he prefers. Once he's eating pellets, you can then easily switch him to a better brand.
Pellets and water should be accessible to your bird at all times. Parrots should also be offered vegetables and small amounts of fruit on a daily basis. Good choices of vegetables include broccoli, carrots, mixed frozen vegetables thawed, and corn on the cob. Chopped greens such as red Swiss chard, endive, kale, mustard greens, collard greens, etc. are also an essential part of your bird's daily diet. Fruits to feed include mango, kiwi, apple, banana, cherries, and papaya. Most parrots also relish fresh foods like sprouts. You may also offer your parrot small amounts of foods such as cooked pasta, rice and beans. We also have begun offering small amounts of uncooked pasta on a daily basis. This seems to be the first item devoured from the bowl. Because they love it so much, I decided to start offering a pasta made from the extremely healthy grain, quinoa.
Water dishes should be cleaned and replenished daily, and more often if the bird likes to make soup in the water bowl.
Seeds and nuts should be given as treats only. I firmly believe that parrots have a psychological need to crack seeds, so my birds are given seeds when they are out on their playstands every day.
Avocado, rhubarb, chocolate, alcohol and caffeine should never be given to birds. Also, avoid foods with a high fat, sugar or sodium content.
Parrots should be included in your mealtime. They should be offered a portion of whatever you are eating, as long as it is healthy. Being social beings, offering them part of your dinner will help increase their bond with you, plus it's just plain rude to eat in front of them without sharing. Just try it. They'll be the first to complain of your bad manners.
Evaluating a Sick Bird
Symptoms of a sick bird include diarrhea, constipation, loss of appetite, change in vocalization, or sitting shivering with fluffed feathers when the room isn't cold. Other signs of problems include a loss of 10% or more of total body weight, a discharge from the nares (nostrils), excessive sneezing, discharge or matted feathers around the vent area. All of these signs indicate that an experienced bird (avian) veterinarian should see the bird as soon as possible. A bird that is on the bottom of the cage may be an emergency. Bleeding is also often a sign of an emergency.
Foolproof Cleaning
Cage paper should be changed daily and cages should be thoroughly disinfected monthly. I wipe down all the bars of the cage, the grate and the perches on a daily basis, as well. It makes the mess easier to keep up with that way. I usually don't like to use grates in my cages, since they are one more thing to clean. However, if I have a "paper shredder" in the house, I do put the grate back in the cage. Shredded paper flying around my hard wood floors makes my cleaning all that much harder, so I try to discourage this activity with my birds.
We recommend using only paper in the bottom of the cage. We discourage parrot owners from using any type of shaving for several reasons. First, the purpose of shavings is to absorb the droppings and old food dropped to the bottom of the cage. Because it absorbs the mess, shavings will give you a false sense that your cage is actually cleaner than it really is. This will create a breeding ground for bacteria and fungus. In addition, one of the best methods to detect that your bird is sick (besides weekly weighing) is a change in the color and/or consistency of his droppings that is not related to diet. If the droppings are absorbed by shavings, you won't be able to "read" them and may allow an illness that would otherwise be detected get past you. Additionally, stories abound of birds suddenly dying and the necropsy showed that the cause of death was an impacted gastrointestinal tract due to ingested shavings.
Water should be replenished as soon as you notice that your bird has made "parrot soup" in his dish. If you work during the day, and live with a "dunker" you may want to consider switching your bird over to a water bottle.
Grooming
Overly long and/or sharp nails can get caught in fabric and are uncomfortable for you when your bird is on your hand. In my opinion, unclipped wing feathers are hazardous because they allow your bird the possibility of flying into mirrors or windows or escaping outside. We recommend trimming nails and wings as soon as you see the need. Clip both wings. One unclipped wing will throw the bird off balance or may still permit the bird the ability to fly. I believe all owners should learn to clip their birds' wings. I can't tell you the number of calls I get from people who have lost their bird to the great outdoors because it needed clipping, but they didn't have the time to take it to have it done.
Hazards in the Environment
Heated nonstick-coated pots and pans (i.e., Teflon™, Silver Stone™, etc.) can emit invisible gases that will kill your bird in minutes. [Editorial note: This is not internet hysteria - this is well documented FACT.] We recommend using stainless steel or cast iron cookware only. Additionally, you should know that the non-stick material used to coat the pots and pans is also found in ironing board covers, irons, some hair dryers as well as other items.
Uncovered pots containing hot food or liquid, some house plants, spray cleaners, lead solder from stained glass, foil from wine bottles, and open sources of water (uncovered glasses, pots, toilets, and fish tanks) can be hazardous to your bird when he is out of his cage. Do not ever leave your bird alone unsupervised, especially with a dog, cat or small child.
Cages
One of the most expensive investments you will make for your bird is the purchase of his cage. Cages are an essential part of a bird's environment in captivity and should be viewed as safe, secure places that a bird can call home, not as prisons or jails.
Some cages are safer than others. A safe cage is well constructed, escape proof, has a durable finish with bar spacing appropriate for the species of bird inhabiting it. Cages should also be easy to clean. A cage with a skirt allows the area surrounding the cage to be kept cleaner as well.
Size & Shape
A cage should be big enough to accommodate three food/water dishes, at least five toys, and at least two perches, plus allow the bird to turn around and completely spread his wings without hitting any part of his body on any part of the cage or accessories. The bar spacing should be appropriate for the species of bird inhabiting it. If the bar spacing is too wide, the bird can get his wing or head stuck.
We used to tell people to purchase the largest cage they could afford. However, after working with birds for several years, I've found that in order to feel secure, some parrots need a cage that is the appropriate size for their species. In other words, a budgie housed in a cage suited for a macaw may not feel as secure as he would if he was housed in a somewhat smaller cage. When it comes to size, width is more important than height with cages. Give your parrot lots of horizontal room in which to move. Birds do not fly up and down like helicopters. Tall, narrow cages are useless.
The cage should be rectangular and the width should be greater than the height. Round cages do not provide corners for parrots to go to when they are feeling insecure and need a place to hide. Round cages are often constructed with converging bars at the top that can trap toes, legs or tongues. So, a rectangular cage is best.
The door of the cage should be in the center of the front of the cage and should encompass at least ¼ of the entire front of the cage. The top of the door should end just before the top of the cage or dome top, and the bottom of the door should end just before the bottom of the cage where the paper tray slides in.
Construction
My favorite type of cage comes apart completely and is easily assembled in a minimum of time with out screws, nuts or bolts. This feature allows the cage to be put in any room in the house, even if the constructed cage wouldn't normally fit through the doorway. It also allows easy, thorough cleaning. Since each piece fits into the other without any additional screws or tools, a person is much more likely to take the cage apart for a thorough monthly cleaning. Additionally, the skirt of the cage should be held onto the cage without any screws or bolts. The skirt I favor is held onto the cage by sliding into brackets. Each edge of the skirt sits on top of the other edge. This skirt is also easily removed and replaced for thorough cleaning.
I'm not a fan of welded bars, so my favorite type of cage has bars that fit completely through the framework of the cage. Welding allows for spaces that collect debris, which will eventually allow the cage to rust in those spots. Additionally, a bored or determined parrot more easily breaks welded bars. A broken bar may cause an injury when the bird gets his head stuck. Bars that fit through the framework are much less likely to be broken and are much easier to clean.
I prefer dome top cages over play top cages. Dome tops should be constructed so that the frame of the dome is in the front and back of the cage, not on the sides. Framework on the sides of dome tops requires bars to converge, to hold it together. Converging bars are very dangerous because a bird can get his toe, foot, neck or tongue caught in the narrow part of the bar. Dome tops allow the bird more headroom. It is less likely that a bird will be permitted to perch on top of a dome top cage, therefore lessening the chance of potential aggression problems.
Food and water feeders should be accessible from outside the cage. This feature will allow you to take vacations every once in a while, since when you're away, someone else will be able to feed your bird without fear of being bitten. My favorite type of cage has feeder doors that are completely solid so the bird really doesn't have any access to the fingers of a stranger that is feeding him.
Avoid any cage that has decorative scrollwork. Not only does the scrolling make the cage much more difficult to clean, but it can also trap toes, legs or tongues.
Escape Proof
In order to provide an escape proof cage, the door and feeder locks should be spring-type and the bird should not have access to the spring-lock mechanism from inside the cage. Some cage manufacturers include built-in keyed locks on their cages, but I've found that a cleaver bird can manipulate the lock from the inside of the cage. The purpose of cage locks is to keep the bird inside the cage, not to keep people on the outside from entering. If they are designed correctly, spring-type locks do away with the need for built-in key locks.
As mentioned previously, I'm not a fan of grates in the bottoms of cages because they provide one more thing to be cleaned on a daily basis. However, some cages do not permit the removal of the grate, because there is a large gap between the grate and the paper tray, providing an escape route for the bird. Therefore, my favorite type of cage is designed so that the grate can be removed without providing any gap for the bird to escape.
Note: If your bird likes to play on the bottom of his cage, or if he loves to destroy the bottom tray papers, you should definitely keep the grate in the cage.
If your bird does need a grate in the cage, it should slide easily out of the cage for proper cleaning. Grates that need to be lifted out of the cage will require you to remove all perches and other accessories - which is so much trouble that you may be less likely to clean it often enough.
Cage Finish
The finish on recently manufactured cages should always be safe for your bird. However, cages manufactured 7 or 8 years ago may contain harmful substances such as an overabundance of zinc in the coating used to finish the cage. So, to be on the safe side, purchase a new, not used, cage for your bird.
The finish can be either powder coating or stainless steel. Powder coated cages come in a variety of colors to suit your needs and if manufactured recently, are safe for your bird. However, some birds like to chew on the bars of the cage and over time, the powder coating in these instances will be removed. If you live with a bird that plays hard on his cage bars, you should consider a stainless steel cage.
Stainless steel cages, while being more expensive than powder coated cages, last a lifetime. Stainless steel cages are beautiful and extremely easy to clean - and stainless steel is guaranteed to be safe for your bird.
Cage Placement
To provide added security, cages should be placed against at least one solid wall. A corner is the best place for the cage, but if you don't have a corner available, make sure there is at least one solid wall behind your bird's cage. Cages should not be placed next to doorways or in heavy traffic areas of the home. Avoid placing the cage in front of a window or sliding glass door. The kitchen is also not an ideal place for a bird to live.
The best place for your bird's cage is in the corner of your family room or living room. However, if you are late-night people and are in the room where the bird is trying to sleep until all hours, it is best to provide an additional cage in a quiet out of the way room so your bird can regularly get a good night's sleep. The sleep cage doesn't need to be as large as your bird's regular cage, and doesn't need as many accessories. A perch, a cup of water and pellets, and one toy is all that is necessary for your bird to have in his sleep cage.
