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There seems to be a resurgence of people recommending that you feed your pet bird mealworms. I don’t know why…these people seem to come around in cycles.

We were introduced to mealworms several years ago. A salesman called us up. At that time we were at the biggest stage of running our aviary, and did some advertising. That usually brings the salesmen to us. We were already aware of mealworms, but just barely.

This guy told us that pet birds LOVE mealworms. After all, wild birds eat them all of the time, and captive birds would greatly benefit from the protein they supply to the diet. Well….OK, that sounded reasonable.

He gave us a box of samples, and some literature, and basically was trying to get us to push his product on our customers. Again, this was reasonable request. But since I was the main nutritionist for our aviary, I needed to be more convinced. So I experimented for the next few weeks with feeding mealworms.

My first “test subject” was my breeding pair of African Grays. Since their diet required lots of protein, especially for breeders, they would probably love to try them. They took one look at their food dish, saw that it had a bunch of crawling bugs in it, screamed and ran into their breeding box. It took several hours to get them to return to the food dish again.

The only birds that seemed even a bit interested in mealworms were my finches, and even with those birds we had mixed results.

WHAT ARE MEALWORMS?

Mealworms are the larvae of the darkling, or flour beetles. They are not really “worms”, but the larvae just before turning into beetles (after about 10 weeks). They are an excellent source of protein, which is severely lacking in many fruit and seed diets that wild birds are accustomed to. Therefore, wild birds look to insects to supplement their diet. And mealworms are mighty tasty to them.

They are very easy to grow. Generally, fill up a box with rolled oats, toss in some slices of apple, potato, or carrots, and add some mealworms. They can also be purchased in a freeze-dried state. These are commonly sold in pet stores, and are used mostly for reptile and fish food. But home-grown mealworms are very popular for feeding wild birds. But since captive pet birds were never introduced to them, they are generally fed by their parents, or hand fed a powered formula by their breeders. Foraging for insects never quite got into their education.

Mealworms come in a variety of sizes. Small ones are ½ inch, and will grow to as much as an inch in size. The very large sizes are just common mealworms that are treated with a growth hormone that prevents them from developing into beetles, and grow even larger!

If you want to try your birds out on mealworms, what I would suggest is getting a small quantity of them. If your bird shows an interest in them, grow your own. They are a little expensive to buy, but since they are easy to grow yourself you can keep a never ending supply of them on hand.

The main advantage of mealworms is the high protein they supply. Most captive birds do not require such a high amount. The birds that seem to eat them are soft billed birds, such as Finches and Canaries. These types of birds love the small seed diets, like millet. Since these seeds lack a not of nutritional value, you need to supplement their diet with whatever you can find. If they will eat mealworms, that’s great!

But for other birds, I have not found any great advantage of feeding mealworms. They will have an easier time eating other sources of protein. The expense and trouble of feeding mealworms does not justify making this a major portion of their diet. If your bird will eat them, give it a try. But I wouldn’t try changing their diet over.

OK, allow me a few moments to vent, let off steam, and do some primal screaming. I know my birds are having a field day with this. I hear them giggling in their cage. They read the news in the newspaper on the bottom of their cage and they are laughing at me!

Buttered microwave popcorn is bad? No way!

A group of doctors have decided that based on one single known patient, and very little research, that the butter flavoring in microwave poses a major health risk. This single patient was known to eat two bags of popcorn per day, and has been doing it for ten years!

The problem, according to Denver’s National Jewish Medical and Research Center is with the food flavoring additive Diacetyl. This ingredient has been around for many years. It is a naturally occurring flavoring found in a wide variety of foods, including butter, milk, cheese, and fruits. It has already been examined and approved by the FDA for use in food manufacturing.

The disease, known as bronchiolitis obliterans, has been researched at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine. Their research indicates that there are numerous infectious agents that can cause this disease. It’s extremely rare, and mostly develops in patients who have gone through lung transplants and are already in high a risk group.

One case of “popcorn lung” is diagnosed….out of how many millions of people who eat buttered popcorn? And now it gets a bad rep. My wife tossed out all my popcorn! What do I eat while watching television now?

So why are my birds making fun of me? It’s payback time because I tried to change their food over to organic pellets!

THE PELLETED FOOD DEBATE

If you have read my book The Easy Parrot System – Feeding and Nutrition, then you know I’m a big believer in pellet diets. They contain all of the vitamins, minerals, and protein that your bird needs. But if it doesn’t taste good, your birds will not eat it. If it doesn’t look appealing, or doesn’t have any flavor, the birds will not want to eat it.

>>My book also goes into great detail about pellet food diets, and gives you a step-by-step method to convert your birds from a seed diet. It’s very easy to do, and you will extend the life of your bird, plus eliminate a lot of health problems. This information and much more is available at The Easy Parrot System – Feeding and Nutrition

Many of the “organic” pellets do not contain artificial coloring or flavoring. That assumes that you use a very liberal definition of what “artificial” means. They taste like cardboard. Go on…taste it! Would you eat that stuff? Does it smell good? Then why would you want your bird eating it?

Don’t get me wrong! I am not against the “natural” or “organic” brands of pellet or formulated diets on the market. If your bird will eat them, that’s all that counts. My problem is that there are a lot of uneducated bird enthusiasts who are dead set against many brands of pellets. When you ask them why, they give you the same set of responses. So let me give you my opinion on these “facts”.

“PRESERVATIVES ARE BAD FOR YOUR BIRD”

This one is easy. Without preventives the food will go stale, become rancid, and very unpalatable. Your bird will refuse to eat it. Like it or not, you have to put preservatives into the food.

Many of the ingredients that are used in pellets (organic or not) use ingredients that already come with preservatives in them. They seem to forget this fact when talking about their products. As long as “they” don’t add more preservatives, it is ok, and they can still call it “organic”.

These are grain and protein products, and they only have a certain amount of shelf life. Unless you send them directly from the factory to the store, and they are sold within a couple of weeks, they will go bad. But bird pellets are manufactured and shipped to distributors, where they will sit in a warehouse for several weeks. Then they are shipped out to stores where they are again shelved for weeks or months! Ask your pet store how often they rotate their products? Even with preservatives, the shelf life of most pellet diets is only 1 year.

Therefore preservatives are added. The problem is which one to use. Many manufactures, such as Kaytee, Zupreem, and Prettybird use an antioxidant called Ethoxyquin, along with other natural antioxidants like Vitamin E and C extracts. This makes people nervous because they can’t pronounce it and do not know what it is. Used in small quantities these preservatives are perfectly safe. This is an FDA approved additive.

However, due to a narrow group of organic food enthusiasts, panic set in when they began to spread rumors about this product. Their concern was based on lab studies where rats were fed huge amounts of ethoxyquin in their diet caused transient depression and organ damage. But upon reading the study, it clearly goes on to report that “chronic toxicity in animals is reported as ‘apparently low’”. Isn’t it funny how this statement never got out in their warnings? This original study was done many years ago, and proven to be flawed and poorly developed. Numerous studies since then have proven this preservative to be very safe.

Some manufactures (such as Roudybush and others) caved in to the pressure (and lost a lot of sales) and changed over to a vitamin E derivative called D-Tocopherol. While this is a more natural preservative, it is not as effective or long lasting. It also has not been tested for safety in birds. They may be one reason it’s not readily available at pet stores, due to the short shelf life.

I guess that fact never gets mentioned in the anti-organic literature either.

ARTIFICIAL FLAVORINGS OR COLORINGS

In nearly every article I’ve read about the evils of these in pellet diets, they rarely ever target any particular chemical. But when they do, they go after them in vague accusations. Try this one:

“Artificial colors are derived from coal tar dyes or petroleum.”

The fact is that in the US, there is only a small handful of approved food colorings used in human and pet food production. And with these colorings, they are made of a huge variety of ingredients. Some are derived from tar/petroleum products, but to label the entire coloring as such is extremely deceptive. You will note in these articles that they never mention natural coloring or flavoring…..many of which are used in pellets, and are completely safe.

“Norway banned all products containing coal tar and coal tar derivatives in 1978”

True. But they lifted the ban in 2001 when the claims of their danger were proven false.

“Erythrosine is linked to thyroid tumors in rats”

Yeah, you remember this one I’m sure….the Red Dye #3 scare. Feed a lab rat 1000 times the normal consumption and it certainly did cause problems. So if you intend to drink 40 gallons of red soda a day, you need to be very concerned about this. The rest of us can relax.

My point is that even though many of these chemicals have been researched and approved by the FDA for human consumption, they should also be safe for your pets. And if it makes the food more palatable and appealing for the bird, without causing an unreasonable health risk, why all the fuss?

I am more concerned that birds are not getting a proper diet. I do not need tons of lab research to tell me that an all seed diet will cut the lifespan of a domesticated bird in half! I’ve seen too many cases of this myself, and my eyes do not lie to me.

So in conclusion, it is my “educated” opinion that the vast majority of pellet diets are safe, and I will continue to encourage them. If your bird will eat the “natural and organic” brands, so much the better. But my experience is that they will be more likely to eat the colored and flavored pellets such as Kaytee, Zupreem, Pretty Bird, and the rest. This does not make them better! But birds are like kids, and they can be very picky. They want their food to taste good, and not taste like cardboard.

Now, if you will excuse me…I need to run to the store and replace the buttered microwave popcorn my wife tossed out yesterday!

We recently had a question about Nanday Conures. This lady purchased and older bird for a pet and all it does is scream and holler. She can hold it and work with it, but the screaming is beginning to create problems with the neighbors.

* For starters, you really need to do some research into the birds you plan to buy, and especially their behavioral traits. Nanday Conures are known to be a very loud bird. Their screech can be heard all over the neighborhood, and make it a terrible pet if you live in an apartment.

This behavior comes from their past. They are a very sociable bird, and in the wild would often stay in very large flocks. It is not unusual to see them with flocks of Monk Parakeets. Their mating and social habits are associated with their screeching.

Nandays that have been born in captivity and hand fed are usually not as loud. This is why it’s preferred to get them when they are quite young.

As a pet, they are very playful and affectionate. They are a very good “intermediate” bird for people interested in raising them, and the price is not that expensive. We usually recommend this type of bird to someone with no bird handling experience, and are considering the purchase of a large parrot. Once you can get the hang of a Nanday, and can train and handle it, you are ready to take on the challenge of a large bird.

As a pet, Nandays are fairly hardy. They do take a lot of showers, and should be allowed access to a water bowl for bathing daily. Like many conures, they are more then happy sitting in a sink while you use the sprayer to “rain” down on them.

Nandays are capable of talking, but it does take some work. I have heard stories of success with those “Get your parrot to talk” tapes, but I have not talked to anyone who has ever been successful with this. Just use the tried-and-true method of working with your bird, praising it when it makes appropriate sounds, and socialize with it. Interaction with your bird works far better then those store bought tapes!

To get your bird to stop screeching all the time, there are some methods. First, keep in mind that this behavior can be triggered if the bird is afraid. Something in the environment is bothering him and needs to be changed. So look around.

They also scream when they feel neglected, depressed or bored. Get your bird more toys and swap them around frequently. One mistake bird owners will make is to put the bird into a distant part of the home, so their screams can’t be heard. This may only cause it to scream more! They want attention! They are calling for their flock!

Sometimes a bigger cage will help. Just keep in mind that this breed of bird is loud by nature. They tend to scream in the morning and evenings.

DIET

Nandays diet should consist of lots of fruits and vegetables. They require a low to medium protein content, with lots of dark green and orange vegetables. They are used to having a variety of foods, and will become quickly bored with an all pellet diet. Try to get your Nanday on a 60% pellet diet, and push those veggies!

The Nandays we had were suckers for apples! We would put apple quarters into their cage and they would be devoured! This made it easy to add additional vitamins and calcium to their diet by sprinkling them over the apple.

They also like grapes, broccoli and carrots. You can get protein into their diets by adding some diced eggs and bits of cheese to their food dish. Also give them a few shreds of chicken and meat occasionally.

HEALTH ISSUES

I have noted that Nandays have a tendency to pluck their feathers. This is usually caused by a combination of a poor diet and boredom. They are also prone to Conure Bleeding Syndrome. This disease results in internal bleeding of the bird and can be fatal. This is thought to be cause by a diet lacking in Vitamin K and Calcium, both of which are readily available in broccoli. I won’t touch the stuff, so my Conures got to clean off my plate! One more reason to keep Conures as a pet…….

Just remember, a proper diet will ensure that your bird will stay healthy.

*Picture taken from http://www.birdchannel.com/images/species/subspecies/nanday-conure.jpg

When we started out as bird breeders, we though we knew everything. We knew everything about nutrition…well, actually we knew they need more then seed, just didn’t know why. We know how to breed them…just leave them alone, they don’t need our help. We knew why the parents fought with each other all the time… OK that’s a lie… Nobody knows that answer!

We started out with cockatiels, and had quite a bit of success.

Then one day we were quickly brought back to earth, and reminded that we didn’t know nearly enough! One of our breeding pairs gave us a deformed chick. The baby’s legs were splay legged. That is when the legs are growing out sideways from the bird, and not under it where it can stand. We did our best and tried to help it, but it died after a few weeks.

A few months later it happened again, and with the same results. That is when we began to read everything on the subject we could get our hands on, and try to prevent it from happening again.

This little Quaker here will be able to live a normal life because it’s owner knew what to do to correct it’s splayed legs. If treatment is started early the legs will continue to grow normally, in a few weeks she will be able to remove the splints.

WHAT CAUSES IT?

Most of the research on splay legged birds seems to indicate the main cause is … You guessed it… Nutrition. How many times have I said this? Most problems that develop with birds can be directly blamed on poor diets, especially all-seed diets!

It is believed that when you have parents being fed an all seed diet, they are not getting nearly enough protein and calcium. Iodine, manganese, magnesium and many other minerals that are critical to reproduction are totally deficient in their diets. And this gets passed down to the chicks.

Other possible cause is not enough, or incorrect, bedding in the nest boxes. Remember, parents sit on their birds to keep them warm. The chicks are being forced down to the ground where they can not get their legs under them, causing the legs to get deformed. In come cases, their legs or joints become fractured.

Some research also indicates that this can be traced to a genetic problem. This is especially true if the parents come from a line of inbreeding. With inbreeding, there is a huge risk of passing along characteristics which can be undesirable, and will multiply with future lines. These genetic problems are suspected in a number of health problems in chicks.

The funny thing is that the parents seem to already know their baby is not quite right. They will refuse to take care of that chick, and concentrate on the rest of the clutch. There is absolutely no visual sign that the chick has a problem! This is what happened with our cockatiels. We had to start hand feeding at a very early age, making us think the splay legged problem was something we did.

In researching this, we also discovered one other possibility. In the wild, birds are always outside and in the sunlight (very important for health). When the chicks hatch, they are also in areas where they get some direct sunlight. But bird breeders were lead to believe that you put up a breeding box and the chicks are born and grown up inside of them. They spend their first few weeks of life…in the dark bottom corner… where there is no sunlight! To solve this, you need to be certain to give the parents a good pelleted diet that contains “active” Vitamin D3. Most of the better mixes do contain it, and it’s passed along to the chicks when the parents feed it.

HOW TO PREVENT IT?

It’s easier to prevent splay legged problems than it is to cure it! So start by getting your birds on a good diet. Many seed mixes contain a lot of millet. This is a very sweet seed and is more appropriate as a snack. It contains only a small amount of protein and calcium, and if this is the “seed of choice” for your bird, then the chicks will certainly have problems.

>>In my ebook “The Easy Parrot System”, I go into great detail about the proper diets for birds. Learn how to convert your birds from a seed diet to a pelleted diet with my step-by-step instructions, and some great ideas on getting your birds to take vitamins. This and many hints can be found in one convenient source:

The Easy Parrot System – Feeding and Nutrition

Breeding birds require a lot of calcium. This can be supplied by using cuttlebones, or by sprinkling powered form over the food. You can even use Tums pills! They contain tons of calcium in an easily digestible form, and do not contain anything that can hurt your bird. The flavored Tums also make it more appealing for them to eat. Just ground them up and sprinkle over their moist food.

If your bird is not on a pellet diet, you must begin getting vitamins and other minerals into their diet. Even the use of mineral blocks is better then nothing.

CURING A CHICK OF SPLAY LEG

The method used to rehabilitate a bird with splay leg will depend on how severe the condition is, and how old the chick is. If the chick has gone untreated for too long, it may not be treatable.

It’s sad that many bird breeders will not take care of such birds, as they are a waste of their time. These birds require a tremendous amount of “special care” that could go on their entire lives. Cages may need to be modified to allow ramps or special perching areas since the bird is unable to walk or easily move around.

What we prefer to do is locate a family that will adopt it. They have to be a very special person who understand what the bird is going through…Like maybe another handicapped person? Several of our birds were adopted out to elderly people with lots of time on their hands, and lots of love to give.

But this medical problem is curable! There are a lot of different and creative ways to go about it.

Step one is to try and identify what is causing it and fix the problem. If the parents are putting too much weight on the chick, add more bedding. Double check the diet and be sure it’s sufficient. Try to get more sunlight into the case… Find some way to get additional light to the chicks.

Curing the bird will involve trying to straighten the legs back under the bird. In severe cases you will need to find some creative ways to accomplish this.

Start by putting some soft bedding, such as paper towel, soft cloth or cotton, into a cup, and place the baby in it so that the legs are fairly straight under him. This will need to be done for a few weeks until the legs heal.

Another method is to “hobble” the legs by strapping/splinting them together. Care must be exercised to ensure that they are not too tight, and won’t cut off circulation or scratch up the legs. One method is to take some “vet wrap” tape (this is bandaging tape that sticks to itself, available at all drug stores). Cut off a thin strip about 4 inches long and gently wrap around the legs in a cross fashion. This will hold the legs together but not force them together too much. Remove the wrap a couple times a day to allow the bird to get the circulation moving in the legs.

Some breeders have created other methods to make a “cast” for the legs out of surgical tubing or cardboard. This would be a better method for larger birds, but it may be difficult to do this with small chicks and prevent scratching up the legs. One method I read about involved using some wooden craft sticks (like they used with popsicles), cutting them to the correct length, and strapping them to the legs using Vet-Wrap. This not only keeps the legs straight, but in the correct position under the chick.

You may also want to check with your vet. Once it has been determined how severe the problem is, a trained avian vet can suggest some additional methods. In very severe cases some sort of traction may be called for. Just remember that even the best methods may not completely cure the birds deformed legs. That does not mean it can’t live a very long, productive life.

>>Check out my ebook at http://www.TheTameParrot.com/cb/ - I believe every parrot owner should have a copy of this. Discover more about getting the perfect bird to fit into your home in “The Easy Parrot System”

Living with a parrot can be challenging, rewarding, fun-filled, stressful, heartbreaking, nerve-wracking, and many other adjectives. Our parrot’s behavior is directly related to their interaction with us and how we care for our birds. Below are some tips for living comfortably with your pet parrot:

1. Don’t teach your bird to behave badly – Many parrot owners unknowingly teach their birds to behave badly. For example, you’re watching a movie on TV. Your parrot is on the other side of the room squawking loudly so you can’t hear what’s being said in the movie. You turn to your bird and shout “Shut up, Oscar!” Boom! You’ve just taught your bird that s/he can get your attention if s/he squawks loudly when you are watching TV. Completely ignoring the squawking will teach a parrot that the noise won’t get a reaction from you (hang in long enough for the bird to learn!). Turning up the TV volume won’t work because a parrot might squawk louder and louder until its voice can be heard above the TV volume. Be aware of your reaction to your bird’s behavior to ensure you aren’t teaching your bird the opposite of what you want her/him to learn, and also to ensure you don’t confuse your bird. A confused parrot may behave badly because s/he isn’t sure how to behave.

2. Rewarding (or not) – Always, always, reward positive (good) behavior immediately after the positive behavior. This means when your parrot steps up on your finger when you give the “step up” command, reward the bird with its favorite treat (just 1, not a dish full), pet the bird, or praise the bird. In some way, let your parrot know you are pleased with his/her behavior. Your bird will learn this is acceptable behavior. Never reward negative (bad) behavior. For example, your parrot is sitting on top of its cage and it’s time for bed. You ask your bird to “step up” and the bird tries to bite you. You pull your hand back and allow the bird to stay on top of its cage. Boom! You’ve just rewarded your bird for trying to bite you by allowing her/him to stay out. You’ve also taught your bird that biting results in the bird getting its own way. A reward to a bird can be eye-to-eye contact with you, a look from you, you covering its cage and other subtle reactions. When your bird tries to bite you or actually bites you when you are interacting, you should put your hand right back up to your bird and insist the bird step up in order to be put away. You may need to use a perch to get the bird inside its cage. Control your bird; don’t allow your bird to control you.

3. Healthy diet is key – A nutritious, healthy diet is key to your bird’s behavior, psychological (mental), and physiological (body) well being. A variety of nutritious food during a bird’s lifetime will help to ensure your bird stays healthy and happy. Good nutrition for a bird is no different than good nutrition for humans. Fast-food, fried foods, salt, sugar, caffeine, soda, chocolate, avocados, dairy products, and citrus seeds should not be fed to parrots. Raw, clean, pesticide-free vegetables are great, cooked beans/lentils, various fruits, multigrain/wholegrain foods like dry, sugarless cereals/breads, etc. , cooked brown rice, or any other types of food that are healthy and nutritious. Parrots can be finicky about their food, so you might have to try various shapes and sizes to find what suits your bird’s fancy! Piece size should be based on the parrot’s beak size, not the size of the bird. Also, some species of parrots don’t like particular types of foods and some parrots have specific dietary requirements which must be met, so research your particular bird’s species for this information. For example, a lot of parakeets and cockatiels don’t particularly care for fruit, and Lories require fruit, nectar, and pollen in their diets. An important tip about parrots and food – a parrot won’t eat something it doesn’t recognize as food. Therefore, keep offering the new food every day…the bird will eventually try it. To encourage your bird to try the new food, allow your bird to see you enjoying it!

4. Mental stimulation – An often overlooked part of keeping a parrot healthy is mental stimulation. Parrots are intelligent, some more than others. As a result, they need mental stimulation every day in order to stay psychologically fit. Provide challenging toys to fit the type of bird. A challenging toy would be one where, for example, the bird has to find the nut hidden inside; the bird has to open the lid to find the treat inside, a series of rings a parrot can climb through, etc. Many parrots enjoy music (or TV) when you’re away, but watch the type (they can learn to mimic what they hear)! Talk, play, and interact with your bird daily, particularly with cockatoos, macaws, and grays (not exclusively). Allow your parrot to be part of your flock (family)…your bird considers you (your family) his/her flock…by including him/her in as many things as possible with you in your home. Lack of mental stimulation can result in feather plucking, bad behavior, shortened lifespan, and a very unhappy bird.

5. Start with a tame bird – Most people confuse taming with training. Taming is the process of imprinting a parrot to humans so a bird is friendly. Training is the process of teaching a bird tricks, to step up/step down, to fly to you on command, etc. If you want a pet bird, one that doesn’t bite, that will sit on your finger or shoulder, and otherwise be a good companion, you have to start with a tame bird. Taming a bird begins by handfeeding when the bird is very young (about 10 days old). By handfeeding, a baby bird imprints on humans, resulting in a friendly (tame) bird. Once tame, daily human interaction has to occur or tameness can diminish. Don’t fall prey to many pet shop statements “you can start training it as soon as you get it home.” Taming takes much time, patience, and knowledge on the new bird owner’s part. Buy your just-weaned parrot from a reputable parrot breeder who handfeeds their baby parrots so you start with a tame bird. This isn’t to say all pet shops sell untamed birds…you have to do your homework and know what you’re buying. Most pet bird owners want tame birds they can handle right away, so seek out a parrot breeder or search pet shops carefully to find the tame, young bird you really want.

6. To breed or not to breed – It is a myth that parrots should be kept in pairs. The best pet bird is a single bird in the home. This means one parrot in the home can be tame and friendly, but when a second parrot is added, since birds prefer other birds to humans, some or all tameness can disappear. In most cases, one cannot keep pet parrots as breeders. In other words, a bonded pair of birds is either breeder birds or pet birds, but cannot be both. There are exceptions to the latter statement. In addition, if you don’t want baby birds, don’t buy a male and female of the same species and house them together. Baby birds may eventually result and/or the female may become an excessive egg-layer. Before you start thinking how nice it would be to have baby parrots, do some research to see if this would be something you’d enjoy. Dealing with baby parrots is a whole new aspect to keeping birds. Stick with a single bird. If you want multiple parrots, think about keeping different species if you aren’t interested in breeding them.

7. Think like a bird – You have to learn to see the world the way your parrot sees the world. Most parrots have a mental capacity of a 2-year old child. They are very psychologically skilled! Therefore, one should deal with them based on these facts. In addition, be aware that most parrots are afraid of new things, that is, things that are new to them. You might be familiar with something, but that doesn’t mean your bird is! Birds don’t know about things, such as window glass, water running from faucets, hot stoves, sinks of hot soapy water, commodes, the toy your child is playing with, the neighbor or your friend that they shouldn’t fly out of the open door, etc. A parrot does know the cat and/or dog is a natural enemy though! Be aware your bird can become stressed out, frightened, disoriented, and confused by new things. Painting the walls, bringing in new furniture, changing the furniture around, moving to a new home, addition of a child, loss of someone, are examples of some things your parrot might not understand so be sensitive to how your parrot might perceive changes in his/her world.

8. Respect your bird – A bird’s cage is its personal space, its territory, its safety zone. This is the one place in a bird’s world s/he can call his/her own. Of course, bird owners have to enter the bird’s territory to accomplish certain chores. However, when your bird is taking its afternoon nap, put off the cage cleaning until your bird awakens. Our parrots don’t always want to do what we want them to do when we want them to do it! Set up a daily routine of when you service the cage, when your bird naps, when you play together, etc. Birds love routine! There are some days when a parrot might not feel “up to par” or is in a bad mood. Give your bird the time it needs.

9. Time to visit the vet – A trip to the bird veterinarian can be a very stressful experience for a parrot. Some parrots get so stressed out they go into shock and die as a result of a car ride. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to occasionally place your parrot in a pet taxi or small, escape-proof cage, for short trips in your vehicle. Being ill is stressful enough for a parrot. Eliminate added stress and possible death by preparing your parrot for this occasion. If you own a parrot, you will eventually find it necessary to take your parrot to the birdie vet.

10. Lifetime Commitment. Be prepaired for a lifetime commitment. A healthy, well cared for bird will live for a long time. Small birds live for 15 to 25 years. Large parrots live from 30 to 50 years (or more). The birds can easily outlive you! What if your health fails, or an emergency develops where you can no longer care for your bird. Do you have someone ready to take over? Most birds turned over to rescue agencies are the results of an owner passing away, and none of the family members want the bird! Many people think of their children when they prepare their wills…and totally ignore their most loved pets.

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