Basic bird care

Basic bird care

1. Exotic Bird Hospital, Inc.
8820 Old Kings Rd. S.
Jacksonville, FL 32257-5303
[phone]
Basic Bird Care
The following are helpful hints to enhance the comfort and health of your bird:

 A varied diet is best. The bulk should consist of
pellets with a little seed. Offer fruit and vegetables
daily. Fresh is ideal but they can be canned or
frozen, served at room temperature or warmer.
Place in a separate dish and discard daily. What
is healthy for you is generally okay for your bird.
You can share your meals if you avoid salt, sugar,
and excess spices. No avocado, chocolate,
alcohol or caffeine. Store pellets and seed in the
freezer or refrigerator.

 Grit is not necessary for most parrots.

 Change water frequently, at least daily. Do not
use liquid or powder vitamins in the water. Little
gets ingested and the water will become fouled
easily. You cannot control the dosage with this
method.

 Do not use sandpaper perches. This can irritate
the feet. Use perches of various sizes. The bird’s
opposing toes should not touch when grasped on
a perch. Put the most comfortable perch up high
for the nighttime roost.

 Do not use sawdust, sand or other medium on the
cage floor where you cannot see the droppings.
Newspaper, paper towels, computer paper or such
works well and should be changed daily.
Newspaper ink is not toxic.

 Birds have very extensive respiratory systems.
Avoid smoking or using aerosols such as hair
spray, deodorant, perfume, cleaning products, etc.
around your bird.

 Do not use Teflon nonstick cookware, irons or
ironing boards with Teflon covers around birds.
The fumes, which we cannot detect, are toxic to
birds.


 Be careful what your bird chews on and make sure
it’s not toxic.

 Birds preen constantly. This is normal behavior
and does not indicate mites. Do not use mite disk
or insecticides near your bird.

 Your bird should be bathed once a week with plain
water; no shampoo. It can take a shower with you
or it can be misted with lukewarm water from a
clean spray bottle. It can splash around in a clean
shallow bowl. The bird should be completely dry
by nightfall.

 Keep both wings trimmed at all times for your
bird’s safety. Before taking your bird outside, test
its flight ability by letting it land on a bed. This will
make sure it cannot gain any height.

 Spend quality time with your bird each day. Take
it out of its cage and let it interact with you, or play
on a gym. Let it get some exercise.

 Provide numerous safe toys for a variety. Always
watch a bird with a new toy. Make sure there are
no small pieces to ingest or parts to get entangled
in.

 Never leave a bird unattended out of its cage,
even for a minute.

 Do not let your bird be near, or “play”, with cats,
dogs, reptiles, larger aggressive birds, or children
too young to understand how to handle them.

 Birds need lots of sleep; 10 hours at least. Provide
this quiet time each evening.