Posted on Leave a comment

Birds As Pets: A Simple Guide On Keeping Pet Birds

Birds are active, intelligent and wonderful as pets. According to a recent statistics more than 25 million birds live as pets just in U.S households alone. The life expectancy of some pet birds is up to 100 years which means they can be great pets for generations. Their inquisitive nature makes them very smart and fascinating pets. They are not only compatible pets and great companions but also fill our home with vibrant sounds and colors.

Pet birds require constant responsibility – devotion and companionship, like any other pets. However, it is relatively easy to take care of birds compared to other pets. They do require mental and physical stimulation. It is fairly easy to train them as they are extremely social creatures. They strongly bond with their owners and it is very rewarding to have birds as pets.

Where to get a bird?

Get your bird from reputed sellers or breeders to ensure that the bird is healthy. Healthy birds are active, clean and eat a lot. Birds that sit on the bottom of the cage, look tired and lazy, breathe heavy and have nasal discharge are most definitely sick.

If you are introducing new birds into a cage, make sure that you keep them separate from the rest for at least a week to see any signs of sickness. This is to ensure that other birds do not get sick as well. Taking about sick birds, your pet bird should be taken to an avian vet at least once every six months for checkups.

Housing your birds:

Housing them depends on where you live, how big your bird is and how many of them are you going to house. It is always best to provide your pet bird with a largest cage or aviary you can accommodate. Large parrots, cockatoos as well as small birds like budgies, finches and canaries do great in a decent sized aviary.

Bird-aviary
When it comes to bird cages bigger is always better.

The aviary should be kept in well stimulated environment. The best place would be in a well lit area, with a good outside view, where most of your family activity occurs. A little sunshine is good but don’t expose birds to hot sun, sudden temperature change and foul odor.

Newspapers or paper towels should be used as cage liners instead of wood chips or kitty litters for easier cleanup. Wire barrier should be used at the bottom of the cage to ensure that the birds do not have direct access to the cage liners. Regularly cleaned cages, perches and toys keep birds healthy and in turn make them happy.

Feeding and Caring for birds:

Pet birds require highly nutritious diet and fresh water daily in order to be healthy. Different species of birds have different diet so do a little research on the kind of diet for your pet. Along with seeds, nuts, bird feed and powdered vitamin supplements from the store, wide variety of human foods like fruits, vegetables, noodles, cooked chicken, yoghurt, boiled eggs etc can also be added to their diet.

Taking care of pet birds is pretty easy. Food, supplements, vets care can cost you overtime however so be prepared. Frequent baths with plain water is all they need as they preen their feathers to stay clean. Use nail trimmer to trim the toes and beak from time to time. Emory boards can be used to file the nails and use some styptic powder in case of bleeding while trimming. Nail and beak maintenance perches can also be used if you don’t want to trim the nails by yourself.

Taking the bird out of the cage and letting it fly around indoors supervised gives it a good exercise. Exercise and training will make you have better control over your bird; thus making it less territorial. Rewarding the bird with treats helps strengthen the bond you create in training sessions. Consistency, patience and reward are the key in training pet birds.

Please feel free to comment down below and share your thoughts. Plus, if you like this pet article Tweet it, share it in Facebook or your favorite social media outlets.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge