General Care

Note – for more detailed information please contact us, follow our links or consult your avian veterinarian.

Clean food dishes
The bird’s food dishes should be kept clean and free from droppings, wet food, insects, etc. If this means cleaning them more than once a day, it should be done. If you won’t eat out of the dish, the bird shouldn’t either.

Clean water dish or water bottle
The water source for your foster bird is a perfect place for fungal and bacterial growth. Many birds dunk their food before eating it, turning it into soup. If you won’t drink the water, your bird shouldn’t either. Modern pelleted diets are very drying to a bird, they need lots of clean water to properly digest them.

Clean grate and cage
Grates and perches should be wiped off regularly and disinfected, since this is where your bird walks and plays. They are an easy source of bacterial and fungal growth if they are not kept clean. Care should be taken when chemically cleaning and disinfecting to make sure that the chemicals you use are non-toxic. Be sure to rinse well.

Safe place to roost and play
Make sure your foster bird’s cage and play stand are located in a safe place, away from kitchen hazards, aggressive pets, open doors and unscreened windows, drafts, etc. Don’t forget the ceiling fan; even the slowest fan can cause severe damage to an unsuspecting bird.

Birds are often noisy, it is natural
If you go running to the cage every time the bird starts screaming he will learn to scream to get attention. Try to ignore the bird when it is screaming, and as soon as it quiets down go praise it and give it some attention.

When to call an Avian Veterinarian
The following are guidelines for when an avian veterinarian should be called:

Birds that may be seen at the owner’s convenience:
Annual physical examination
Breeding check
Blood collection for DNA sexing
Chronic feather picking
Microchipping
Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease/
polyoma virus screening
Wing, beak, nail trim
Birds that should be seen the day of call:
Cough or sneeze
Eye or nasal discharge
Acute feather picking
Watery droppings
Loss of appetite
Feather loss around the eyes
Fluffed appearance
Newly acquired healthy baby bird examination
Postmortem examination (death)
Vomiting or regurgitation (some regurgitation is an affectionate feeding response and not from illness.)

Birds that should be seen immediately:
Eye injury
Cat or dog induced injury
Mate induced injury
Broken Blood Feather
Excessive bleeding/torn nails
Bleeding from mouth or vent
Seizures
Lying on the bottom of the cage
Labored breathing
Laying hen appears ill
Head Trauma
Blunt trauma
Fracture
Open Wound
Ingestion of foreign body

Diet
It is important that you keep your foster bird on the same diet that it was on when you got it and start offering the Greyhaven mixture in a separate bowl. If the avian veterinarian suggests that the diet be modified, do it only under his direction over a period of weeks or months. Until your bird recognizes the new food as “food”, it could lose weight and even starve to death. Care needs to be taken that the bird has sufficient droppings to indicate that it is eating enough. Following are suggested diet guidelines:

Pellets
Pellets should be placed in a clean bowl by the perch the bird uses the most. The bird should always have pellets available. Many experts think a bird’s diet should be about 75% pellets or more.

Fruits and vegetables
These need to be thoroughly washed. Fruits are more in the treat category; many of them, like grapes and apples, are mostly sugar and water. Dark vegetables are generally the most nutritious, like squash, carrots, broccoli, yams, beans, spinach.

Seeds and nuts
These should be treats only. They are very high in fat and low in nutrition. An all seed diet is VERY BAD! If the bird came into rescue on an all seed diet, be sure to discuss it with the veterinarian or a Greyhaven Director.

Carbohydrates
Birds typically love pasta of all kinds. There are many commercial pasta/bean mixes available that are healthy and generally well-accepted by pet birds. You can also make your own but be sure to discuss it with a Greyhaven Director. If you are eating cereal or rice you can share a little with your bird if it doesn’t have heavy cheesy or salted sauces on it.

Vitamins and supplements
If a bird is on a good pellet-based diet it will seldom need these. Extra calcium may be important for African Greys and laying hens. If you have any concerns in this area, discuss it with a Greyhaven Director.

Toxic Foods
Most of what we eat can be safely eaten in small quantities by your bird but use common sense. Fatty and salty foods are not good for either of you! Keep your bird away from avocado, coffee, chocolate, alcohol. A bird has very delicate lungs, DO NOT SMOKE around the bird! Many houseplants are toxic as well, so do not allow your bird to chew on them.

Grit
Parrots chew their food; therefore, they DO NOT NEED GRIT in their diets like some other birds do.
Bathing
All birds need frequent baths to maintain good feather quality. If the bird won’t bathe in a bowl of water try other options like misting it with a misting bottle or taking it into the shower with you. Bathing promotes healthy preening and keeps the feathers clean and flexible. It also helps prevent dry skin.

Clipping Wings and Nails
Always keep the bird’s wings clipped if the bird has always been clipped. The veterinarian can refresh the trim at the initial visit and that clip should be maintained. Do not attempt to modify the clip by yourself. Clipping too severely can cause the bird to drop like a rock and it can injure itself. If not clipped, they can fly into walls, furniture, windows, or out the door.
If a bird has always been fully flighted then it should not be clipped until an appropriate action plan has taken place between the avian vet and yourself to determine what is best for the bird.
The veterinarian may suggest having the bird’s nails trimmed during their checkup. Long nails can get caught in things, and sharp nails hurt. A cement perch can be used to help keep nails trimmed, but be careful that your bird doesn’t spend all its time on it, sore feet can result. You should check the birds’ feet weekly for sores if you are using a cement perch.

Caging
The cage should be large enough that the bird can exercise and stretch its wings without touching the bars of the cage or hanging toys. The bars should be spaced so that the bird cannot get its head caught and look for pinch points where toes or the band can become caught. The cage should be located against at least one wall, away from windows and doors that open, and out of the reach of other pets (think Tweety and Sylvester). Care should be taken to make sure it is not situated where the bird can become overheated (hot sun) or chilled (drafts).

Lighting
Birds should not be kept in dim areas, they need light. Full-spectrum lighting is good as it helps them use the calcium and vitamin D in their diets. Sunlight is the best though. During warm weather take the bird outside in its cage for short periods but never leave the bird alone. Also, ensure it can get out of the hot sun.

Toys
Parrots are smart animals that need stimulation. They must have toys to play with and chew on. But many toys are dangerous. Rope toys can fray and wrap around toes, nylon and plastic rope is absolutely forbidden because the strands will not break. Rope toys need to be supervised, and all frayed ends cut off.

Be very careful that the links and connectors on toys can’t trap toes and beaks as parrots will pry open connectors and sometimes they will snap back on them. Chain links should be welded closed. C-clips are best for hanging toys.

Many household items make good cheap toys. Toilet paper rolls are great for play and chewing, as are wooden spools, popsicle sticks, plastic bottle caps, old fashioned clothespins. Birds need to have chew toys to exercise and trim their beaks. Try new toys and rotate to keep your bird busy and his environment stimulating.

Foraging is also a great activity to create for your parrot. It helps create how they would act in the wild. There are several ways to recreate this activity. One ways is a Foraging Tray or station which is a tray or station full of “stuff” for your bird to rummage through for long stretches of time. Your bird should find buried nuts and dry treats or foods amongst some toys, paper strips.

Parrots are not goldfish … they can’t be left in their cage all day without interaction with the family. You need to spend at least 2-3 hours a day playing with the bird or it will likely be very unhappy.

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