Parrot Care Made Easy

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• Resolved Question: what is the easiest type of parrot for a first time parrot owner to keep?

June 18, 2009
- I think a budgie is perfect for a first time parrot owner. What do you think?

• Parrot Basketball: Ringneck Parakeet Dribbles, Dunks Basket *…*

June 18, 2009
- Could definitely make the British basketball team!

Although seed is an important Parakeet food, it isn’t the only food you should feed your pet. In the wild, seeds are only available for a short period each year, so Parakeets eat other foods for much of the time. Even feeding your Parakeet with seeds that have been fortified with vitamins etc… isn’t sufficient, because seeds are typically fortified by sprinkling a powder on the outside of the seed, and Parakeets remove the outer shell before eating the seed!

In their natural habitat (Parakeets originate from the Australian grasslands) they eat a staple diet of fresh greens, berries, and fruits – i.e. the foods that are readily available. Therefore, these foods should form a large part of your Parakeet’s diet. A good combination is as follows:

• 50% cooked beans, cooked rice, cooked pasta, and seed.
• 45% fresh fruit (pips removed) and vegetable (e.g. apple, banana, grape, broccoli, carrots, yams, spinach, dandelion greens etc…).
• 5% eggs, fish (no bones), and well cooked meat.

DO NOT give your Parakeet any kind of dairy products, because they are lactose-intolerant.

DO NOT give your Parakeet chocolate or avocados – it could kill him!

Only leave fresh Parakeet food (i.e. fruit, veg, meat etc…) in the cage for a few hours, because it quickly deteriorates, and it can attract pests such as flies. Empty and refill the seed cup daily – it is easy to think it is full, when in fact all it contains is the hulls of eaten seeds. Parakeets aren’t greedy parrots, so you don’t need to worry about over-feeding them with seeds. Make sure your pet’s water supply is regularly refreshed.

photo credit: MinivanNinja

As with all parrots, Canaries love (and need) a bit of variety in their diet. The staple Canary food is Canary seeds, but just feeding your pet this alone will result in a very unhealthy parrot. A seed-only diet will drastically reduce the life of your Canary – you have been warned!

Like their larger parrot cousins, Canaries should regularly be given fresh fruit and vegetables (except avocado, which is poisonous to parrots). Ideally, you should feed them this every day, but you don’t need to go overboard with the amount – one small piece of fruit or vegetable is ample. Simply serve the fruit or vegetable raw and washed, with all pips/seeds removed.

Canaries also need some protein in their diet, and a perfect source of protein is a hard-boiled egg. Half an egg is more than enough, and you can leave the shell on as well, because parrots often like eating it. You should feed your Canary protein about once or twice a week. Note: Be careful not to leave the egg in the cage for more than an hour or two, because harmful bacteria can develop very quickly on eggs.

A key Canary food that is often overlooked is cuttlebone. It’s a vital source of calcium for your pet, and, as such, should be left in your pet’s cage permanently.

Cockatiels make very interesting pets, but, unfortunately, they seem to struggle to remain interested in anything themselves for more than a few minutes. This is why having lots of different Cockatiel toys, that you frequently change around is absolutely vital. I like to have a set of anywhere between 3 and 5 toys in their cage at any one time, and then switch this set for another set every couple of days or so. Three of these sets of Cockatiel toys are all you will need.

You will probably find that your Cockatiel isn’t all that interested in the usual parrot toys that you find on the internet, but he instead loves anything that he can chew on. Some people recommend giving Cockatiels simple things such as the card tube inside a toilet roll, but I personally don’t think this is a good idea, because your Cockatiel will naturally swallow some of the card, which won’t be great for his digestion.

The best Cockatiel toy as far as I am concerned is cuttlefish. Your bird will really enjoy chewing it, and it has the added advantage of keeping his beak sharp enough to crack seeds, but not that sharp that he rips up everything he comes into contact with. You will obviously need more than just this to keep him stimulated, so my advice is to search the internet for ‘Cockatiel toys’, and mainly choose toys that are designed to be chewed.

photo credit: Arcadiareptiles

All parrots should be given lots of toys to keep them mentally stimulated and amused, and the Macaw is certainly no different. However, when choosing Macaw toys, you need to pay particular attention to the strength and durability of the toys, because Macaws have extremely strong beaks and claws that are able to destroy virtually anything.

Macaws love hanging toys, and any kind of toys that they can climb on, such as parrot towers. They also get a great deal of mental stimulation from treat-stuffed toys, which need to be dismantled to extract the treats. Another great choice is foot toys, because they will help your Macaw with his co-ordination.

A simple online search for Macaw toys will provide you with more choice than you know what to do with. However, one word of caution when choosing parrot toys – make sure they are made by a responsible, and reputable parrot toy manufacturer. The reason I say this is that it has been recently discovered that a number of toys on the market have been made from materials that are poisonous to parrots.

photo credit: Just chaos

When choosing budgie cages you need to consider the following:

Cage Size/Style
Although budgies are only a small parrot they need a reasonably large cage, because they are pretty active. The minimum size of cage you should consider is 20 inches wide, by 12 inches deep, by 18 inches high. The best style of cage is one with horizontal bars to help them to climb up the sides, with gaps between the bars that are no more than 1/2 inch wide.

Budgie Cage Accessories
Budgie cages need to contain a lot of perches of varying sizes and textures. This is important because it will help to keep your budgie’s legs, feet and beak very healthy and very strong. Budgies also like toys, so make sure there are a few in the cage to keep your pet entertained – budgies love toys!

Cage Location
Budgies (like most parrots) are very sensitive to smells/aromas that are found in most normal homes (e.g. certain cooking smells). In the worst cases, exposure to some of these smells could kill your budgie. Another thing that budgies are really sensitive to are drafts. For these reasons, you need to pay careful attention to where you locate the budgie cage – don’t locate it in the kitchen, and don’t place it in a draft.

At Night
Budgie cages need to be covered at night. The complete darkness that this affords will enable your budgie to get a proper rest. Another benefit of covering the cage is that it will stop any drafts from disturbing your pet’s important overnight rest period.

• how do you store your bird seed?

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- Simple tip for storing bird seed

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• Weeds as *parrot food* | Tops Chatter

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A bit more info for you about the main types of parrots:

Parakeets
Parakeets originate from South Eastern Asia. They range in size from 7 to 12 inches long. They come in a wide range of colours, such as dark green, white, yellow, light blue, violet, and a variety of combinations of these colours.

Cockatiels
Cockatiels originate from Australia. They grow to be about 12 or 13 inches long. The most common colours are:

• Grey on the body, with a yellow (male) or grey (female) head, and black feathers underneath the tail.
• White or creamy yellow body, with orange patches on the cheeks.

Parrotlets
Parrotlets originate from Central and South America. They grow to be no more than 6 inches long. They come in a variety of colours, including blue-green, bright green, and dark green.

Conures
Conures originate from South and Central America. They grow to be about 11 inches long. They come in a variety of colour combinations, including:

• Predominantly green, with a red head and wings, and yellow tail.
• Predominantly lime green, with a tan head, and a light maroon tail.
• Predominantly yellow and red, with a dark head.
• A breast made up of several bright colours, with a tan head, and a lime green back.

Lovebirds
Lovebirds originate from Africa. They grow to be about 5 or 6 inches long. They are primarily green, but they come in a multitude of colour combinations, that are too numerous to mention.

Macaws
The Macaw originates from Central and South America. They vary a great deal in size – anything from 12 to 39 inches long. They come in a wide variety of colours, which is clearly indicated by the names given to some of the Macaw species (e.g. Blue and Gold Macaw, Red and Yellow Macaw, Greenwing Macaw, Maroon Macaw, Red and Blue Macaw, Red Fronted Macaw etc…).

Amazons
Amazons originate from Central and South America, and some Caribbean Islands. They vary in size from 12 to 16 inches long. They are mainly green, with various colour combinations on the cheeks, crown and shoulders.

Cockatoos
Cockatoos originate from Australia, and North Western Asia. They vary in size between 12 and 27 inches long. The most common colour is white, but there are some variations that are tinged with pink or yellow, with a different coloured crest.

Caiques
Caiques originate from the Amazon Rainforest. They grow to be about 11 inches long. They come in a variety of colour combinations including yellow, white, blue, green, black, and orange.

Poicephalus Parrots
Poicephalus parrots originate from Africa. They vary in size between 5 and 13 inches long. They come in a variety of colour combinations including:

• Green and orange, with a grey head.
• Grey, with a blue or green chest, and yellow markings on the head and wings.
• Fawn brown, with a red chest (male) or with a orange or green chest (female).
• Emerald green, with black wing feathers, and red or orange markings on the head, wings and socks.
• Olive green, with a wine coloured head.

So there you have it – a really brief overview of the various types of parrots. Hopefully, If you are looking for your first parrot you will find this information to be really useful.

Variety is really the key when it comes to cockatiel food, or any parrot food for that matter. Left to their own devices, cockatiels would probably just eat bird seed, because they love it. However, this isn’t very good for them, because seeds are high in fats, and lack many of the nutrients required to keep your cockatiel healthy. A seed-only diet can dramatically shorten the life of your cockatiel!

You must ensure that you feed your pet fresh fruit and vegetables every day. These foods should be raw, washed, cut into small pieces, all pips/seeds removed, peel/skin left on, and served at room temperature.

Note 1: Do not leave fruit and vegetables in the cage for more than a few hours, because they will probably attract flies, and just become generally unpleasant.

Note 2: Do not give your bird avocado, because it is poisonous to birds.

In the wild cockatiels eat protein in the form of insects, so it’s a good idea to occasionally include some protein in their diet. You don’t have to feed them live insects, but things such as beans, cooked meats, and eggs are good alternatives.

So, there you have it, there isn’t just one type of cockatiel food that is best – your bird needs a variety of foods to remain healthy. However, because a lot of baby parrots are fed only seed by breeders, they might be reluctant to try new things such as fruit and vegetables. This means you need to be persistent and patient, and only introduce one type of new food at a time, and resist the temptation to introduce anything else until your parrot has started eating this new food.

photo credit: Frazzled Jen

When choosing a cockatiel cage you need to consider the following:

Size/Style
Cockatiels need to have a large bird cage, because they are very active parrots, which like to do a lot of flying and climbing inside their cage. The minimum size you should consider is 20 inches wide, by 20 inches deep, by 26 inches high. The best style of cage is one with horizontal bars to assist in their climbing activities. The gaps between the bars should be less than 3/4 of an inch.

Cage Accessories
Cockatiel cages should contain lots of perches of varying sizes and textures. This will help to keep their legs, feet and beak healthy and strong. You should also make sure that it contains several toys to keep your pet amused.

Location
Strong smells such as insecticides, smoke and air fresheners etc… can very easily damage a cockatiel’s respiratory system, and may even kill him. Something as simple as over-heating a Teflon pan can give off a gas that is fatal to cockatiels. Therefore, where you locate the cage is really important. You need to ensure that it is located away from any such odors, and also away from any drafts, because cockatiels like to keep warm.

At Night
Make sure your cockatiel cage is covered to prevent any drafts, and to allow your cockatiel to get a good night’s rest.