How to Take Care of Parrots

Owning a parrot is a big responsibility. Some parrots live to be over 75 years old. You should research the type of parrot you want to purchase before your purchase, and make sure you want to take care of your parrot for many years to come because he may even outlive you.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Take Care of Parrots

1. Clean your parrot’s cage every day. Old bedding or newspapers should be removed and fresh bedding should be put in.

2. Give your parrot fresh water every day, at least once a day.

3. Feed your parrot twice a day. Different parrots eat different things so make sure you know what a proper diet is for your parrot.

4. Play with your parrot every day. You must spend at least two hours per day with your parrot, especially if your parrot is a cockatoo. Give your parrot plenty of toys to play with. Parrots are intelligent and get bored easily and once they are bored, they may start plucking their feathers.

Cleaning Your Parrot's Cage

5. Remove all bedding. The cage should be wiped down every day with a damp towel. Most parrots create a soft powdery substance that gets all over the place.

6. Remove your parrot from his cage and scrub the cage thoroughly once a week. You can use a 50/50 mixture of bleach and water or dish detergent. Rinse the cage thoroughly and dry it off before putting your parrot inside the cage.

7. Wash the food and water bowls thoroughly. They can be washed by hand during the week, but should be put into the dishwasher once a week.

Feeding Your Parrot

8. Feed your parrot a variety. While parrots need some seed, seed can be very fattening. It would be likened to a human eating fast food every day.

9. Feed fresh fruits and vegetables. Chop them up into 1/2-inch sized pieces.

10. Make toys out of food for your parrot. Take fresh vegetables and hang them on a skewer from his cage.

11. Make birdie bread. There are recipes all over the Internet for birdie bread. Most parrots will eat this and you can change the recipe and put whatever you like in the mixture. Birdie bread can be made in a large batch and frozen.

Playing With Your Parrot

12. Play with your parrot every day. Parrots are very intelligent and social birds, some more than others. They must have some type of interaction every day. Umbrella Cockatoos are known as “velcro birds,” because they would stay attached to you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, if you let them.

13. Make sure your parrot has plenty of toys in his cage. This will keep him busy when you are not able to be with him.

14. Make sure your parrot has plenty of chew toys. You can buy wooden toys, or you can make your own. A 6-inch block of 2 x 4 wood will keep a parrot entertained for a few hours. An old phone book hung through the rungs in the top of the cage has very high entertainment value.

15. Find things to make noisemakers out of. Or toys you can put treats inside, so your parrot has a puzzle to keep him occupied.

16. Make a bird stand, so your parrot is not in his cage most of the time. If you put it on wheels, you can wheel it around to the room you are working in.

Tips & Warnings

• Keeping your bird occupied and giving him lots of human interaction will head off many behavioral plucking problems.
• Parrots are not for everyone. Please research the parrot you would like to have. Make sure you understand the bird’s personality.
• Your whole family must agree to get a parrot. This is a long-term commitment, and parrots are a lot of work.
• Think twice about getting a parrot if you have dogs, cats or other animals. They can live in harmony together, but you must never leave them alone unsupervised.
• If you have children, think twice about getting a parrot. Most parrots do not like children because children tend to move fast and speak in loud voices or yell when they are playing. This type of behavior, while normal for a child, scares parrots.
• Parrots are never really tame. They may bite you. Cockatoos can snap a stick the size of a woman’s index finger in half. Be prepared to be bitten, and be prepared to have some emergency room visits.
• Do not get a parrot to “try it out.” Know what you are getting into before you purchase or take in a parrot. They do not like to be moved from home to home. You must think of them as a family member.

Resources

• Birdie Bread Recipes