So You've gotten a parrot....whether you have bought it, inherted it or adopted it, you now are a parrot owner!!!! Or should I say YOU are now OWNED by a parrot. You will soon find out that they require much attention and interaction than you may have first thought, but, what you will discover is that there is no other pet quite like a parrot.

 What next you ask??? Food , Housing, Toys, Perches , They are all important when it comes to taking good care of your new pet bird. Perches are the most important thing you can buy for your parrot...Most people think that a dowel is good enough...Not so....A parrot lives it's whole life standing on that dowel...How would you like to stand on that your whole life!!! Not so comfy is it???  They need their feet and toes to be exercised so that arthritis does not set in..Yes I said Arthritis!! Birds can get it too...be sure to put perches of different widths in the cage for gripping and comfort....a soft perch is also nice for them to rest thier feet on...a small cement perch can be put in to help groom the nails, please no sandpaper perches, they scratch and hurt the inside of the feet.  

Cage size can vary due to available space and how much out time a bird will have to spend in it. The rule of thumb is that it should be wide enough for the bird to spread its wings fully and high enough that the tail and head room is at least  8 to 10 inches after the perch is installed for the smaller parrots. As for the Larger ones such as, Macaws, Cockatoos, Amazons, they need much more room than that, at the very least  18 to 24 inches of head and tail room. If your cage is too small, it will result in unkept looking wing feathers along with broken and ugly tail feathers. This is unhealthy for them as they cannot exercise properly.

Food and nutrition is so important to a caged bird. No one realizes how important it is until they take that first trip to the vet and is told that the bird has a nutritional problem. From feather plucking to screaming and biting, all can be a problem due to lack of certain nutriets in the birds diet. My theory is to feed the bird a well rounded diet consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and some pellets. I do not believe in feeding just pellets. This has been the subject of much controversy for years between the breeders, vets and pet owners. So much has been written on the subject, but one thing is for sure everyone agrees that birds need to forage for some of the foods that they eat. What is foraging you ask??, that is when your bird has to WORK for his food. Some manufacturers make what they call a foraging toy. You put treats inside them for the bird to rip apart to get at the treat inside...or you can skewer pieces of fruit on sticks or metal skewers and hang them in the cage. There are many ways to get your bird to forage for their food. 

What Sex is your bird? I hear owners purchasing a bird say "I don't care what sex it is, just as long as it is friendly". It is so important to know what sex of bird you are dealing with. As the bird matures personality and behaviour between the sexes tend to change. Females tend to lay eggs, and that can become a problem to the extent of being fatal. Females and males also have different nutitional needs as they get older. As the Female ages she tends to need more calcium, vitamin A  and magnesium in her diet especially if she has begun to lay eggs. If she does not have enough calcium and minerals in her, then the body tends to rob other parts for it such as her bones, feathers and even her beak and toenails will suffer. Good dietary sources of magnesium include nuts; dried peas and beans; whole grain cereals such as oatmeal, millet, and brown rice; dark green vegetables; bone meal, soy products and dark green vegetables are important sources of magnesium. Mineral water can also add magnesium. I prefer to give my birds Fiji water.  When a male comes into maturaty, all he may want to do is regurgatate his food to you and masturbate on you. This can be quite embarrasing to some, especially if company is over and while you are showing him to your church going aunt or grandmom he starts on your shoulder or hand and they ask "What's he doing??". Males and females can become aggressive during this time. Once they mature each year for a few months they have a few months where it is the season to breed and the behaviour changes. After a couple of months, they revert back to the sweet loving parrot you always knew they were. During this time of "season" a few precausions can be taken for both parties concerned...Take the time to observe the males behaviour....Eye's that seem to widen and the get smaller is known as "pinning" this is behavior can be brought on be several different reasons....Excitement is usually the cause...birds get excited over many reasons and causes, and when they are sexually mature and you (he may consider you his mate) walk in the room will excite him and he will do this. His eye's pin and he starts to flap or flutter his wings, talking or screaming for you to pick him up. The best thing to do for this, is to walk over to the cage and talk to him in a soft comforting voice to calm him down before reaching in the cage and getting him out. Doing this may stop him from biting you out of excitment and not aggression as some people think. Birds bite their mates in the wild for many reasons. Sometimes its to say Hi, others is to warn them about possible dangers. They are only acting out thier natural instincts. It is during this time that people or humans decide to get rid of them. This is where the second owner becomes a chew toy for them. You may possibly be the third or even the fourth owner for this misunderstood animal. Patience and love is the key to unlocking your parrots trust. If you decide that you just don't have the time or the patience, it is better to give him up to someone who does. You are the better human if you give your bird to someone who will love him and give him the attention he deserves. If you are the human that keeps him locked up and isolated for punishment or because he cost you a lot of money and you are trying to recoup some of your losses, then you are the selfish human.

Some parrots never come back once they are left to themselves in a cage with nothing but solitude and few toys. They end up in a Sanctuary or sometimes sold off to a breeder. This is not neccessarily a bad thing, but if this owner had taken the time and effort, the bird could have been a happy little camper and the best pet ever.

Parrots have come and gone in my house. Not because I don't want them or love them, it is because I do love them so much.  I know that I cannot take care of all the unwanted parrots in the world, so I find homes for the ones who are in need. I connect people and parrots who need a good home. Some come to me so bad that they need to be put in sanctuary as I previously mentioned. I have many sad and happy stories alike in the almost 20 years of owning birds....gee has it been that long. Time flies when your life is busy, and birds do keep me busy.

Large parrots need lots of chew toys to exercise that large beak of theirs. I make most of my toys. It is cheaper and I know what they are made of. They don't need colored blocks, just ones that they can chew on. I like all pine natural wood, and so do they. I just cut up squares and hang them with chain or cotton rope. You have to be careful and use stainless steel chain and check the rope for hanging threads, as they can be a danger to the birds. I tie old baby blakets to the bars of the cages for them. They don't tread apart like an old towel or other materials do.