Pet Parrots Blog

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Many people are curious and want to know if pet parrots can swim. I suppose this should be classified under Pet Parrots Care because it definitely is something that you should be aware of when caring for your pet parrots.

There are many species of birds that can swim, for example we see ducks swimming. In fact, there is an old saying, “He took to it like a duck takes to swimming”. In Germany as well as many other places you can see beautiful white swans swimming in the lake. Penguins can swim. So it seems only natural that people would think that birds can swim.

If you own a pet parrot you will undoubtedly realize how much your bird loves water. Many pet parrot owners will bring their large parrots as well as small parrots into the shower with them and the birds seem to love this. There are actually special perches that can be purchased which will stick to the shower wall in order for your pet parrots to shower with you. I would advise buying these as it is much safer than having a pet parrot such as an african gray parrot or blue and gold macaw sitting on your shoulder. We never advise that any parrot be allowed to sit on your shoulder for reasons dealing with dominance issues. It can be extremely serious if your beloved pet parrot becomes frightened or angry and decides to rip out your eye or take a chunk out of your cheek. Never let a pet parrot rest above your eye level.

It is true that birds do love water and bathing is essential for them to keep themselves clean and healthy. Pet Parrot care is not complete without making sure that your pet can easily bathe him/herself.

Pet Parrots should not be allowed in water which is above their belly. The more shallow, the better. They can do quite a good job of cleaning themselves without too much water.

Pet parrots cannot swim. Their feet are designed differently from ducks and swans. They are not webbed so they cannot paddle themselves through water like their cousins can, therefore please do not allow your pet birds near water deeper than their underbelly and watch them closely. Good grooming is necessary for pet parrot care, so water is necessary, but just be careful and follow the advice above.

Below is a video I found that you will probably find useful regarding bathing your pet parrots:

Technorati Tags: large parrots, Parrot Care, parrot dominance, Pet Parrots, small parrots

Owning pet parrots can be a real joy for you and your family as long as you take the time to do a little research and find out what you can learn about raising pet parrots in your home.

Pet parrot care can become very expensive if we do not learn the proper way to care for our pet parrots correctly.

One of the main areas that will keep costs down in the long run is in choosing the proper parrot cages. Many people do not put too much concern about this particular purchase because they assume that any parrot cage will do if it is not too small for the pet parrots. This is a very wrong assumption. If you choose the wrong parrots cage you will run into many problems down the road.

Many people will rely on the advice of the pet shop from where parrot cages are usually sold. Please bear in mind, that not all people who work at a pet shop are experts in the care of pet parrots. Many work on commission basis and will try and sell you something that gives them a good commission so do your own research before buying your pet parrots.

There are a few things that I think we should discuss here before you run out and buy your parrots cage.

1. Make sure it is big enough! Remember your pet parrots will be spending much of their time in their cages so be sure that the cage is big enough to give them room to roam around a bit. If the parrots cage is too small you will end up with the pet parrots feathers all bent and messy looking. This will upset your bird because pet parrots love to preen themselves and if they find their feathers are all amuck they will try picking them out. Pet parrots are notorious for feather picking anyways so you do not want to give them an excuse to do it or inadvertantly get a bad habit started.

2. Don’t get a cage that opens up on the top so that a little play gym can be added up on top of the cage. Here is an example below:

Althought this is a very nice parrot cage, we don’t want our pet parrots to climb around on top of the cage. Why? I will let you know a little secret that many people will not tell you. You will notice that when you get your pet parrots they will go to the highest spot that they can fly to whenever they get the chance. This is very normal behavior for parrots because in the wild this is the spot with the best vantage point. They can  easily see their predators from this view. I am sure you have heard the expression “wanting to get a birds eye view of a situation”, well this is what that is. Parrots want to get to the highest spot they can and then they feel secure knowing that they have a good eye on the situation.

Why wouldn’t we want our pet parrots to have this advantage? It seems strange that I would say in one breath that this is what they love and makes them feel secure and then in the next breath tell you not to allow them to get up high. The reason we dont’ want our pet parrots high, especially on the parrot cages is because when they feel secure, they feel in control.

In order to train your pet parrots properly we should never give them the upper hand like this. So, because of this reason we don’t buy cages with play gyms on top, or ones that open up at top like this example below:

The best cages for pet parrots are wide or long and high. Pet Parrots need lots of room to move around in their cages or they can get stir crazy. (not really, that is an old saying, but they will get bored more easily).

Also be careful never to buy a round bird cage for any bird, even a budgie or finch. Birds need to spread their wings and fly and they can’t fly vertically, they need the horizontal area to fly on so please don’t buy cylindrical cages like this example below:

I’m going to stop here for now and pick it up in the next post where we will discuss perches and grating on the bottom of the cage.

Till next time Adieu

Technorati Tags: bird cage, cage, how to choose, parrot cages, Parrot Care, Pet Parrots, round bird cages

When deciding to purchase pet parrots many people tend to forget about the subject of parrot care. Well, maybe they don’t forget about parrot care, but the reality of how much care a parrot needs is not generally on the top of their list.

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

Large Parrots and small parrots, we love them all! Pet Parrots are just so adorable and loving, if you know how to take care of them properly. Parrot Care is an important issue and we will deal with this a lot here.

Pet parrots definitely come in a variety of sizes to meet every fancy. I don’t know about you, but many people are curious to know the size of particular parrots and their age expectancy before deciding on which pet parrots to think about.

Some pet parrots are very large but if you live in an apartment and want a smaller parrot then it is best to find out which pet parrots are better for apartment dwellers.

I have made up a list that will help you if you are deciding on which pet parrots to look into based on size and life expectancy.

Pet Parrots Based on Size: Largest to Smallest

(The Canary is not part of the parrot family but I have added it so you can get an idea of the size of the Pacific Parrotlet)

If you plan on buying a pet parrot then I strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with proper pet parrot care. The Parrot Training Videos below will help you to learn to handle all types of parrot behavior. Please consider purchasing these DVD’s as part of your pet parrot care.

Technorati Tags: large parrots, Parrot Care, Pet Parrots, small parrots

If you are like most animal lovers, it is hard to pass a pet store without going inside and seeing all of the cute little pets that are being offered for sale. Pet Parrots are especially fun to watch as they climb up their cage rungs and do their flips and slides around their bird cages. Catching the acrobatics of these lovely pet parrots is quite amusing. It generally doesn’t take long before those old familiar questions come rising up inside asking “I wonder how much he costs?”

Pet Parrots vary in size and the larger the parrot, the larger the chunk from your pocketbook. Smaller species of the parrot family, such as budgies will cost your anywhere from $20.00 – $100.00 dollars, depending on whether they are hand-fed or not. Large Parrots, such as African Gray Parrots, Cockatoos and Macaws can cost about $2-3,000 dollars at the time of this writing. (August 2009).

When considering the purchase of pet parrots the cost of the actual bird is only a part of the equation. There are some basic things that are necessary no matter which type of pet parrots you plan on buying.

Parrot Cages: This is the next most expensive item necessary for your pet parrots and one that you should research very carefully. You will want to have a bird cage which is the right size for your potential playmate. Since you are planning (hopefully) on keeping your new little friend for a long time, you will want something that is not only large enough but also sturdy and easy to keep clean. A parrot cage that has a sliding tray at the bottom are the most convenient. This way you can just slide out the tray daily and clean the debris.

You will also want to look for a parrot cage that has water and feed dishes which are accessible from the outside of the cage. Especially when you bring your pet parrots home, they will require a certain amount of time alone to get used to their new environment. You will want to be able to change their food and water dishes daily without disturbing your pet parrots or making them too anxious.

I always suggest that you purchase the very best and largest cage you can afford for your pet parrots, because they can live a very long time. Some African Gray Parrots have been known to live to 75 years old. This is not the place to skimp on your pet parrots new home.

Parrot Toys of course are also necessary to keep your pet parrots busy and entertained. Again, don’t hold back on buying good parrot toys for your pet parrots. The little plastic ladders from the dollar store can become very dangerous if your bird were to break it and ingest the pieces. Always buy quality materials and you will save yourself money in the long run.Remember, Parrots like to chew everything so be safe with what you buy for parrots toys.

One last thing I would like to mention before ending is that you need to allow extra money for visits to an avian veterinarian. This should be one of the first priorities when buying your pet parrots. You need to be sure that they are in good health, and many people also want to have their pet parrots DNS tested to find out if they are male or female. Male parrots are generally the best talkers if you are looking for a talking parrot. Even little male budgies can be taught to talk also, so don’t give them up when considering pet parrots. If your budget is limited these little parrots can add many years of love and companionship just like their large parrot relatives.

I highly recommend that people purchase the course here below. It will save you a lot of problems when purchasing your pet parrots. Parrot care is a lot more involved than just providing toys for your parrot. You really do need to be informed on how to properly train your parrots, whether they are large or small and this DVD below is an excellent source to help you. Consider it one of the many expenses necessary for proper pet parrot care.

Technorati Tags: African Gray Parrot, large parrots, parrot cage, Parrot Care, Parrot Toys, Pet Parrots