To summarize we said:

1. Make Sure that the Parrot Cages are Big Enough
2. Dont Let Your Parrot on top of the Cage to Play
3. Don’t buy Round or Cylindrical Cages for your Pet Parrots

Today we want to talk about perches for your parrot cages as well as whether we should have the grid at the bottom of the cage.

First, let’s talk about perches for the parrot cage. These perches come in a variety of styles and sizes and it is generally best to consider buying at least two different types of perches. One of course would be the regular wooden perch which should fit the width of your parrot cage. When choosing wooden perches make sure that they are thick enough for your pet parrots to stand on easily. You don’t want a thin perch if you have a large parrot. The thinner perches are fine for small parrots such as lovebirds or budgies, but you will need a larger perch for African Gray Parrots or Macaws etc.

Be sure to place the main perch along the width of the cage and make sure that they are not directly above the food dishes. There is nothing more unsanitary than having your pet parrots drop their excrement into their food or water dishes. Also, make sure that the perch is placed far enough away from the edge so that your bird will not be rubbing it’s feathers against the bars of the cage when sitting relaxed on the perch.

Besides the plain wooden perches it would be a good idea to get a branch like perches also. These are comfortable for your pet parrots because the width of the perch varies giving your bird a bit of relief from their feet always being in the same position all the time.

I do not recommend that you buy the concrete perches. These are sandy like perches and can be very irritating on the feet of your pet parrots. Stay away from them. Even though the pet store owners may tell you that it is good for keeping your pet parrots nails trimmed, it is not worth the problem of having sore feet. You can always get the avian vet to clip your pet parrots nails once in awhile if you are worried about doing it yourself.

Just a word of caution about nail trimming. Do NOT try and trim the nails yourself if you are not sure what you are doing. If you trim them wrongly, you may end up having your bird bleed to death. Get  your avian vet to show you how to do it correctly if you plan on doing this yourself.

I also want to talk about the grid that comes with some parrot cages. There is a bit of a debate over whether we should use them or not. I personally find them to be a pain in the butt because when the bird defecates it ends up getting stuck on the grids. I tend to take these out when I purchase a cage and just line the bottom of the cage. Then when the bird defecates I can just remove the liner on the bottom and presto! Clean cage bottom

Lastly, I want to talk about parrot toys. Just be sure not to buy a mirror when purchasing your parrot toys. WHY? Because your pet parrots may fall in love and bond with the bird in the mirror not realizing that it is actually him in there. The bird in the mirror is a perfect companion as far as he/she is concerned. He/she does everthing that your pet parrots do. Ahhhhhhh, wouldn’t life be lovely if our companions did exactly what we wanted them to do…….oh, I’m dreaming now…lol

So, I hope these tips will help you when you finally decide to purchase a pet parrot and your parrot cages.

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Sadly, many people think that owning pet parrots is one of the easier choices to make for a family pet rather than say, a dog or cat. They erringly think that parrot care is not as time consuming as if they owned a pet dog, but surprise! Pet Parrots generally require more parrot care than a pet dog would need.

Let’s just take a moment to think about the comparisons here.

Dog Care vs. Parrot Care which is easier?

Dogs need to be walked a few times per day

Parrots need to be let out of their cages a few times per day

Dogs need to be brushed and bathed

Parrot Care involves bathing your pet parrots a few times a week

Dogs need to run

Pet Parrots need time outside their cage to exercise and fly (if their wings are not clipped)

Dogs eat out of their food dishes

Pet Parrots love to throw their food around. It’s a foraging instinct that they have. Be sure that you will be picking up a lot of food from the floor if you own pet parrots.

Pet Parrot Care involves a lot of diversity in the parrots diet also. It’s not enough to just give you pet parrots bird seed. They need fruits and vegetables and some pet parrots may even need more specialized food such as suet. Parrot Care is a lot more involved when it comes to feeding than it is with a pet dog.

Pet Parrot Care may involve wing clipping. This is something you should discuss with your avian vet. Many people prefer to clip their pet parrots wings in order to ensure the safety of their pet parrots. This is something you can learn to do yourself, but it can be dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing. Only certain feathers will need to be cut from your pet parrots wings and you must take care not to cut any blood feathers.  You will definitely need to know what to look for when doing this so you must take great care not to injure your pet parrots.

If you decide to get this done at the avian vets then it will cost you money. This will need to be done at least twice a year, along with nail trimming. Be sure to add this to your list of things to do for Pet Parrot Care.

Pet Parrots can get caught in drafts and or get sick from toxins in the home very easily. Once the bird appears sick then it is a good chance that it is too late to even save the bird.  You will have to get to the avian vet as quickly as possible. Pet Parrots are much more delicate than pet dogs and therefore Parrot Care is a little more demanding and more expensive.

Avian veterinarians are specialist in Parrot Care and usually charge more than a regular animal veterinarian will cost.

Pet Parrots are also very intelligent creatures and need constant stimulation to keep them occupied. This means lots of time socializing with family and plenty of time playing with parrot toys. You will need to keep the cost of parrot toys in your Parrot care budget because they go through toys very quickly because of their strong beaks. They will rip apart anything made with wood and this is to be encouraged. They are used to doing this in the wild and so it should not be stopped just because they are now a family pet. Pet parrots need lots of parrot toys and these should be changed about regularly to keep up the interest in them by your pet parrot. Introducing new pet parrots toys will be discussed in another post as it needs to be done with care.

These are just a few things to think about when considering parrot care. If you don’t think you have time for all that is involved then perhaps you should consider getting a cat instead.

Technorati Tags: Parrot Care, parrot diet, Parrot Toys, Pet Parrots, wing clipping

Many people see pet parrots which are owned by others or on videos, such as YouTube.com and immediately start to get ideas in their head about how much they too would love to have such a sweet companion in their own home.

Pet Parrots are truly adorable and they do make great companions, but….and a big but….what you see in your friend’s home or on videos is not exactly what you will get when you purchase your pet parrots.

The majority of persons who have purchased pet parrots in the past can tell you that they require a lot of time and attention devoted to them. In many instances, you will need to train your pet parrots (see our recommendation on the right of this blog post) if you wish them to become a loving member of your family. Sadly, it is a very common thing to see pet parrots purchased and then left by them-selves in some basement covered up to help deter their screaming. Here are just a few things you should be aware of before purchasing your pet parrots.

• The Larger they are, the more time is required with them.
• It is imperative that you spend a scheduled time each day with your new pet. Pet Parrots love schedule. They need to know what is going to happen when, in most instances.
• Ask Yourself “Are you a scheduled type person?” if you are more of the laid back type, you may end up with a bird that is confused and lonely.
• Screaming can truly become a big problem if you don’t know how to train your bird properly. Pet Parrots are loud to start off with, especially the Large Parrots.
• All Birds love to greet the day and give their adieus to the evening sun. Be prepared for the noise. They cannot help this, it is in their genes and punishing them in any way for this is not being realistic.
• If your pet parrots are not getting enough quality time with you they may start to pluck their feathers. Feather plucking can get very obsessive and so you will need to be sure that your pet parrots have lots of social time and plenty of parrot toys to play with.
• Be prepared to be buying plenty of parrot toys as they chew through them very quickly.
• Most pet parrots are very intelligent. Especially known for their great intelligence are the African Gray Parrots. They are known to have very great vocabularies and a very high I.Q. The more advanced pet parrots like these will require much more from you as they will get bored very easily if not stimulated. This can cause a very great demand on your time.
• A smaller bird may be more suitable if you are looking at pet parrots but don’t have the time necessary to give as much attention to. Male budgies for example can very often be taught to talk and are not as noisy as their larger parrot counterparts. Because of this, they may be the best choice especially if you live in an apartment.
• Bearing in mind the volume that pet parrots can reach, it is always best to keep in mind that the larger parrots are not suitable for apartment dwelling. You will definitely need a house if you plan on buying pet parrots such as the African Gray Parrot, the Cockatoo, or the Macaw, for example.
• Pet Parrots like to bite. The bigger their beak the more damage they can cause. If you get the proper training with pet parrots before you purchase them, then this training will help to dissipate the likelihood of a major problem.
• Most Pet Parrots like to bond with one person. They may change their allegiance from time to time but generally they bond with only one person in the household. This person may not be the one who is actually doing all the work for the bird. Just because you are there everyday, talking to your pet parrots, feeding them and playing with them, this is not a guarantee that they will choose you as their favorite. To help inhibit the over bonding of your pet parrots to any one particular person in the household it is important that all individuals of the family spend time with your new pet parrot daily.