Are You Ready for a Pet Bird?

Coming home to the enthusiastic greetings of your flock after a long day at work is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Before you add companion birds to your family, though, check these tips and make sure you’re prepared.

The Good

• Intelligent – The idea of a “bird brain” being stupid is nonsense. Birds can count, recognize words, and learn tricks. Some kinds can learn to speak. For a long time, people believed that the parrots and starlings were simply mimicking sounds. They can actually compose sentences that are appropriate for the situation, and talk around the words they don’t know, just like a human trying to speak a foreign language.
• Friendly – Most pet birds enjoy cuddles and they love to be involved in whatever you’re doing. Your budgie, grey, or cockatiel will enjoy crawling around on you while you lounge in front of the tv or chat online with your friends. The finches will sing along with your Youtube videos.
• Beautiful – What else needs to be said here?

The Bad

• Easily bored – If a dog is bored too often, he might chew things he shouldn’t and make a mess. If a pet bird is bored too often, he gets depressed and starts to cut himself or pull out his feathers. This is especially difficult with a single bird. If you decide to adopt a bird, consider getting two or more, so they can keep each other company.

• Risk of injury – This is mainly about the parrots. A frightened bird will bite. The beaks that are meant to dig into live trees and to crack open walnuts are strong and sharp enough to draw blood. The larger ones can bite off fingers. Never leave small children alone with a pet parrot. If there are children in the home, enforce the rule that they never approach the parrot without you or another adult whom the parrot trusts.
• Cost – Care and maintenance of a bird is not a cheap hobby. Food and chew-toys for two or three conures or cockatiels will run approximately $100 a month. The same for five or six finches will often come to $25-50. This is not including the purchase price of the animal, the cages, the first round of toys and dishes, or veterinary fees. You probably don’t want to know the monthly costs for the largest macaws, but here’s a little hint: the price of a single chew-toy to last three or four days is in the range of $60-$120.
• Noise – Some kinds of birds are surprisingly loud, even when they are calm and happy. Will you always be living in situations that can tolerate this? If not, be very careful in your choice of pet.
• Pet-sitting and long-term care – It can be very difficult to find a competent pet sitter for a bird. Start your search early, and introduce the sitter to the bird before his services are needed. If you choose a type of parrot, you’ll also need to make arrangements for someone else to take in the birds when you are no longer around to care for them. Again, start early and also contact the local rescue organizations.

The Verdict?

If you’re sure you’re ready to add a bird or three to your family, wait a week or so and then start looking for the right individual bird or birds.  There are many rescue birds in foster care and parrot shelters.  Consider helping one or more of these birds find their forever home.

Why Do Parrots Scream?

Noise levels and screaming are common reasons for birds becoming homeless. Parrots are very vocal animals; yet many people try very hard to force their birds to be quiet. We must accept a certain level of noise if we have birds in our homes – but there are things we can do to control the noise.

Birds use vocalizations as a means of communication. In the wild, birds live in flocks. The flock is a very safe place for a bird to be. It provides protection from predators, a chance to socialize, help with finding food and a safe place to nest. When we have birds in our homes, we become the bird’s flock. Parrots will try to communicate with us just as they would communicate with their wild flock. The problem is that we don’t speak “parrot.”

Contact calls are one of the most common forms of vocalization. When parrots get separated in the wild, they will call out in an attempt to locate their flock. Other birds in the flock will call back, helping the lost bird to find his way home. In captivity, birds often feel abandoned by their human flock when we leave for work or for school, or even to go into another room. The parrot calls out, and if we don’t answer them, its calls will get louder and more persistent. As its call gets louder, it turns into a scream which is usually when we humans come running, asking “my goodness, what is the matter?” The bird learns that she must scream very loudly to be reunited with her flock. In order to ease her separation anxiety, we can develop our own contact call with the bird. A simple whistle or phrase, such as “I’ll be right back!” or “I’m right here!” can work if used consistently. When your bird first begins to call for you, simply use the contact call. If used consistently, the bird can eventually learn that your call means that you will be coming back. Of course, we can also make an attempt to bring the bird with us when we are in different rooms in our homes. Having perches throughout your house can make this easy.

Birds can also make lots of noise for other reasons. Boredom, illness, injury, lack of exercise, or simply as an expression of joy are all reasons for vocalizations in parrots. If birds are left alone too often or for too long, they can start to scream because they have nothing else to do, and because it usually gets a human in the room to pay attention to them. Birds need a stimulating environment if they must be left alone for any period of time. A nice variety of toys and food will keep a bird occupied if she is accustomed to having to entertain herself. Parrots need to be out of their cages for at least 3-4 hours a day. By allowing your bird to exercise (by flying or by flapping vigorously), your bird will be able to expend some of the energy that may be making her nervous. This time should also be used to interact with your bird if she doesn’t have another bird that she is bonded closely to. Birds need social interaction to remain happy. Birds that are ill may vocalize more, but it is more likely that they will vocalize less. You need to be aware of your bird’s habits and call the vet if you notice anything out of the ordinary. An injured bird will usually scream in pain. Any sudden screaming should be investigated. Birds will also scream if frightened. Birds are prey animals and can be fearful of other animals both in the home and outside it — such as hawks seen out of a window.

All birds will vocalize at some point in the day. Most parrots have a routine of vocalizing during the morning and late afternoon, as they would in the wild. All birds should be allowed this freedom to express themselves. Your bird is simply happy to be alive! Birds may also reflect the general noise level in your home. Loud children, dogs, televisions, stereos, vacuums, etc. can all cause parrots to make lots of noise. Lowering the general noise level in your home should make your birds a bit quieter.

Quick fixes often don’t work in the long run to control screaming. Birds will naturally quiet down when it is dark, so many people think that covering the cage or placing the bird in a dark room, closet, or garage will keep them quiet. This will certainly work, but is it humane to keep your bird locked away simply for doing what comes naturally? The health and mental stability of a parrot will deteriorate if subjected to this kind of treatment. Many people will inadvertently reward the bird for screaming by screaming back. Birds love drama, and the noise will only get worse if your parrot thinks you will be taking part in a screaming match. Hitting the cage, throwing things at the cage, or hitting your bird are highly unethical and could result in permanent physical and mental damage to the bird. Once your bird loses trust in you, your relationship will be hard to repair.

Vocalizations, including some screaming, is normal for parrots and should be expected. If you, your family members or neighbors will not be able to tolerate noise, do not get a parrot. If you are dealing with a bird that screams incessantly and you are at your wit’s end, please contact a reputable avian behaviorist. It’s important to work hard at your relationship with your bird so that she may be able to keep her home for many years to come.

How to Take Care of Your New Parrot

You've just bought your new parrot, now what? This article will address the care needed in those first few days to get off on the right foot with your new friend.

The first thing you'll need to bring your parrot home is a pet carrier and appropriate lining material. (Birds poop every 20 minute to an hour) The store should have a carrier they will give you or sell you, but a breeder may need you to bring your own. It's dangerous for your bird to be outside or in the car loose. Your parrot could fly away, even if clipped and a bird loose in the car can cause accidents or be easily injured.

You may want to buy a pet carrier made just for parrots online and it's a good investment for all those times you will want to take you pet with you somewhere. I've even bungeed my carrier to my bike and taken my parrot for rides. Acrylic carriers are another possible option. If you will be flying, airlines have specific requirements for carriers and require a veterinarian certificate of health.

You'll want to be sure your parrot is properly banded. All parrots should have a band around one foot giving information regarding their history. In addition, you'll want to be sure you get copies of any guarantees the breeder or pet store provide. Locating an avian vet in your area is probably also a good idea in case your parrot needs care.

Hand feeding an unwearned parrot baby takes practice, and it's beyond the scope of this article. I did hand feed my parrot but you can hurt your bird if you don't know what you're doing. If you choose to take home a baby parrot that needs hand feeding be sure you get your breeder or pet store to show you how it's done and what formula they are using. Taking good care of an unweaned baby parrot can be difficult.

Assuming you bought a weaned parrot it's important to check with the pet store, breeder, or former owner, to find out what your parrot was eating before you bought him. If at all possible, buy that brand of feed for your parrot and only slowly change his feed by mixing greater and greater amounts of your new feed into your parrot's food bowl.

It's commonly felt; the best diet for parrots is a formulated pelleted diet. These foods are similar to dog or cat food but formulated for parrots. My conure Tiko, absolutely refuses pellets. I've tried several kinds with no success. I use KayTees fiesta conure mix for my bird. It's a seed and pellet mix fortified with vitamins and mineral. Tiko generally throws the pellets on the floor and just eats the seeds! I supplement his diet with fresh vegetables and fruits. I generally attach these to his cage bars or his foraging tree on wooden skewers. He also enjoys these thing cooked. Just remember any warm food is only good for an hour and then at risk of growing bacteria that could hurt your bird.

Acceptable fruits and vegetables for parrots:
Broccoli
Kale
Zucchini
Yams
Carrots
Hot peppers
Bell peppers
Corn
Cauliflower
Squash
Blueberries
Strawberries
Pineapple
Watermelon
Citrus
Mango
Banana

Unsafe foods for parrots are avocados, caffeine, and alcohol. Foods high in fat and sugar are also bad for your bird as his system can't process these foods very well. (O.K...., Tiko does get a small conure size piece of pizza every now and then. You can also give your bird small amounts of eggs (with the shell if you like) and cheese.

A simple recipe for "parrot bread" is to mix a package of cornbread mix according to the directions and throw in any fruits or vegetables your bird like. You can refrigerate or freeze this in weeks worth packages and unfreeze as needed. I do the same thing with a mix of whole wheat pasta, brown rice and beans which I then warm up for 10 seconds in the microwave and serve on a tablespoon. This serves the double purpose of keeping your parrot use to thinking good thing come in spoons in case you need to give his medicine.

Vitamin and mineral supplements are available for your bird, but the only thing I use is a cuttlebone in his cage. I would check with your vet before using these supplements to be certain they are alright for your particular parrot.

To ease your parrots, transition into your home, make sure his cage is set up in an appropriate place. If you buy an older parrot you may want to try to buy his cage as well. Birds can be very attached and territorial about their cages.

For the first few days, if not longer, your parrot may need to just be in his cage getting use to his new environment and "flock" from a safe space. It's probably not a good idea to have lots of friends over to meet your bird those first few days.

If small children are in the house, they will need to be supervised closely in their interactions with your new family member. Those parrot beaks can injure small fingers easily.

Parrots are very fragile and are prey animals who respond with "flight or fight" when stressed or afraid. They also have long memories and it's much easier to prevent mishaps than overcome them once they've happened. After your parrot settles in, the work of socializing him can begin.

In this article we've covered bringing your parrot home safely, what to feed him, and making the first few days as easy as possible, and basic parrot care.

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Polo The Macaw Laughs Like An Evil Villain (VIDEO)

There's hardly anything funnier than when an animal thinks he's people.

Take Polo the Macaw here, for example. Doesn't he laugh just like an evil villain plotting world domination? What's even more amazing is how he shrugs his shoulders, "stomps" his feet and appears to double over with laughter, just like we do when we can't stop laughing.

And just wait for his exasperated sigh at the 44 second mark. It's so endearing and humanlike, it almost makes you forget how truly villainous he sounds. But perhaps that's all part of his evil plan?