This article is for everyone who brings home a bird, we’ll discuss the main points for having a pet bird.
Nutrition
Specially formulated pellets are an ideal food and should ideally represent approximately 75 to 80 percent of the bird’s diet. Fruits, vegetables, and greens should account for about 20 to 25 percent of the daily diet. Seeds and nuts are high-fat foods that you can offer as occasional treats.
Start by giving your bird 1 cup of pellet-based parrot mix and a 1/2 cup of fruits and vegetables daily, then adjust according to their appetite.
To transition a bird to a pellet diet, it should be done gradually with a 20% pellet/80% seed mixture for 2 weeks and then increasing the ratio of pellets over time, with the bird being monitored for weight and fecal output throughout the process.
Additionally, you can encourage the bird to eat by pretending to eat the pellets, eating with the bird, or placing pellets on the ground or on mirrors at the bottom of the cage.
Housing
Cages are one of the main things you have to get for your pet bird. if they’re to spend most of their lives in a cage, it must be a welcoming and comfortable environment.
It’s important to get the proper cage for your pet bird, so here is some advice to get the perfect cage for your bird:
The cage size should be proper for your bird. Large parrots like Macaws should have a big cage, while small parrots like Cockatiel should have small cages.
The cage must contain perches placed at different vantage points, in order to create an environment similar to their natural one.
Food and water dishes should be affixed to the side of a cage and not placed directly below a perch.
The ideal cage location is in the corner of the room such that there’s good ventilation and sunlight can go through this place.
Try to keep a bird bath in your parrot’s cage since they need to wash and enjoy splashing in the water. This ensures healthy hygiene and a cooling off in the summer
Clean the cage periodically since wastes and dirt affect your bird’s health.
Keep your bird entertained by providing a good bunch of chew toys, ropes, and perches.
Grooming
Most owners are asking about grooming for their birds, especially wing trimming, it’s not an essential thing. We need to do it on a certain occasion for a specific purpose.
Wing Trimming: Since the flight is a natural behavior and provides exercise, so if owners can provide a safe environment for flight, wing trimming may not be recommended. The frequency of feather molting is based on nutrition, exposure to natural sunlight, photoperiod, and humidity.
Wing trim should only be done to distal primary flight feathers and only the number of feathers trimmed is based on the weight and flight ability of the individual bird. Excessively aggressive wing trims should be avoided as they can cause physical and psychological damage to birds.
Nail trimming is often requested for the owner’s comfort. Blunting the needle-like tip while still leaving sufficient nails to allow a stable grip can be a reasonable compromise.
Beak trimming is sometimes necessary for an overgrown upper or lower beak, but healthy birds provided adequate environmental abrasive surfaces rarely require beak trims.
Microchipping could be applied to birds replacing banding as a means of identification.
Taming
Once you get a bird pet, you want to play and interact with them. This process may take some time so you should be patient and follow these tips:
Place your birdcage in your living room where you become around your bird most of the time and make them get used to you and your family member
Spend more time around your bird and interact with them by calling them by their name and don't try to scare them or do any sudden movements.
Put your bird food and water every day by yourself.
Once you notice that your bird gets used to you and didn't go away or try to fly ( you can decrease this by trimming his feature a bite ) when you open his cage, try to take them out of the cage on your hand or long stick, try this many times since it'll not work from the first time and once the bird stands on your hand or the stick, give them treats as fruits ( apple, banana, pineapple cut in small pieces or nuts )