BASIC BIRD CARE FOR BEGINNERS

MEDICAL ATTENTION | HOUSING | DIET | LIGHTS AND SCHEDULES | WATER FOR DRINK AND BATH

 

Contrary to popular belief, birds are not easy pets to keep.   With very few exceptions, they require a lot of general and breed specific knowledge, special environmental conditions that humans find uncomfortable and difficult schedules to keep.   All bird species are different and require specific diet, environment and attention but there are a few basics that all birds need:

 

MEDICAL ATTENTION:

All birds should be vetted.   Where or from whom we got the bird is irrelevant: breeder, pet store, rescue, shelter, another family, etc.   Unless we are given written proof of a clean bill of health issued by an avian veterinarian within the last six months, no assurances or promises are a guarantee of good health.  Many breeders and stores will state that their birds are vetted but the truth of the matter is that a complete check up is very expensive, and in the case of small birds, several times more than the cost of the bird itself, so it’s impossible for a breeder or a store to have them vetted and make any profit.

See more under Health Care.

 

HOUSING

All birds need to fly to stay healthy and you will need to provide a safe place for them to do it.   For owners of psittacines (parrots and parrot-like birds) and columbines (pigeons and doves), this means bird-proofing a room where the bird can be allowed free flight and setting aside a number of hours every day for this necessary activity.  For the owners of passerines (finches, canaries, cardinals), this means providing a flight cage large enough for the bird to take, at least, five flaps of the wings from side to side.  Clipping does not only handicap the bird physically by taking away the only thing that will keep their respiratory system healthy, it’s also a cause of high stress and promotes feather destructive behavior and other behavioral problems.

The cage needs to be large enough for the bird to open his wings and move in every direction without ‘bumping’ his tail or the tips of his wings against the bars.

It should always be rectangular in shape, never round.  For passerines and columbines, it should be as long as to allow, at least, five flaps of their wings from side to side as they are horizontal fliers.   For psittacines, it also needs height as they like to climb.

Make sure the cage was made in USA, cages made in other countries tend to be cheaper but they could be painted with leaded paint which is poisonous.

It should be placed in a draft-free spot at eye level against a wall or have a piece of thick material covering the back and be firmly attached to the wall or resting on top of shelf, never hanging from a stand or a hook. 

The separation between the bars should be right for the kind of bird you have.  Too small and the toes could get stuck and broken, too large and their head could get stuck between the bars.

It should have a concrete perch put up high in a corner for the bird to sleep on and natural tree branches for additional perches.  The branches need to be from a non-poisonous tree (please refer to our list of non-poisonous woods), they should be washed thoroughly with soap and water and baked in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes to kill any insect, fungus or parasite in them.   The branches should have different circumferences (but never so small that the claws touch when perching) for the bird not to develop foot sores and the bark should be left on to wear out the nails naturally and, in the case of psittacines, to wear out their beaks, also.   For passerines, the perches should be placed leaving as much free room as possible in the center and with as much ‘bounce’ you can manage.  For psittacines, a boing or ladder for vertical climbing is also needed.

Never buy a cage without a bottom grid.  It’s an added chore to scrape and wash it off but most birds will ground forage and, if there is no grid, they will end up eating their own poop which will sicken them.

Keep it always clean and dry.  Wash it with a non-toxic detergent (I use Simple Green now but hot water with white vinegar, a touch of Dawn and a bit of baking soda is good, too).  Cover the bottom with a clean newspaper (no, the ink hasn’t been poisonous for ages).  Be careful of any other kind of bedding like dried corn cobs, wood shavings, sawdust, paper pellets, etc.  It’s not that important with passerines but psittacines can die from ingesting the wrong thing (yes, even the picky eaters).  Alfalfa is a good bedding for psittacines.

Depending of the species and number of birds you keep, you will have to consider and provide adequate temperature, humidity and air quality for your bird.

 

 DIET

Birds diets are VERY species-specific and cannot really be generalized much but all birds need fresh leafy greens, vegetables and fruits.  Anything goes except for: iceberg lettuce, avocado, rhubarb, artichoke, eggplant, asparagus, mushrooms, parsley (I also don’t give them any cilantro as I find it too similar to parsley), onion and the green parts of tomatoes (leaves, stems, sepals, etc).  Legumes (beans, peas, lentils, etc) need to be cooked and rationed (due to their high protein content) and soybeans are a no-no in any form.   All fruits and vegetables need to be thoroughly washed (warm water with a splash of vinegar is good for it) or peeled (cucumbers and any other vegetable that is waxed for shipping) and the apple seeds should be removed (they contain arsenic).  Leafy greens should be washed leaf by leaf, on both sides, with lots of cold water with a splash of vinegar.     Yellow, orange and red vegetables and fruits, as well as dark leafy greens should be given preference over others as they are rich in vitamin A which birds need in large quantities to keep healthy.    Root and hard rind vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, green/winter/spaghetti/butternut squashes, pumpkins, etc) can be boiled or, better still, baked in the shell or skin. 

Natural seed eaters like canaries, finches, doves, etc. do well on a seed based diet and it’s fairly safe to free-feed it (fill up the bowl and just leave it there all day long) but it should not be replenished until it’s almost all gone, even if it takes a number  of days, so the bird is forced to eat all the different kinds of seeds in the mix.   Blowing on the surface of the seeds while gently shaking the bowl sideways will get rid of the empty hulls (this is necessary because most passerines will not eat what they cannot see and can starve to death with a bowl full of seeds covered with a thin surface of empty hulls).   Fortified seeds are just a bird industry gimmick.   Birds do not swallow the hulls and that’s where the vitamins and minerals are so they get no real benefit out of this more expensive kind of food.   Always buy from a reputable source to ensure freshness and in quantities small enough to be consumed in a couple of weeks during the warm weather and up to four weeks in the winter.  Always store it in a tight container in a cool and dry place.   Mycotoxins (toxins from mold and/or fungus) are deadly to birds at levels that are safe for humans and, as the spores are always present in grains and seeds, we need to be ever vigilant of shelf life, temperature and humidity so as to prevent their developing and reaching dangerous levels.
 
Psittacines (except for eclectus -which need less protein and more fiber than the pellets offer- and parakeets -which tend to have liver and kidney problems) do better on pellets but if you happen to have a seed junkie which refuses to be converted to pellets, a cooked mixture of grains, rices, legumes, vegetables and fruits is a great solution.  If you are able to feed pellets, always choose the ones that have no artificial coloring, flavoring and preservatives in them.  I like the Harrison’s brand because it’s not only organic and natural, it’s also cold-extruded so the enzymes and co-enzymes are still alive in them. 

White flour, sugar, caffeine (and that includes tea and chocolate), alcohol, salt, preservatives, artificial coloring and flavoring, milk and/or products made out of milk, meat or vegetables that were stewed or boiled with meat or lard or meat-by-products or anything fried should not be fed to birds.  Rice should always be cooked.

Vitamin/mineral supplements and liquid avian calcium round up their dietary needs. 

See more under Species-Specific Diets.

 

LIGHTS AND SCHEDULES

Light is much more important to birds than to humans, so much so that some ornithologists consider it a nutrient.    Light quality is crucial to birds, and full spectrum lights of a CRI (color rendering index) higher than 93 are essential to their health.   They need the full spectrum to activate their pituitary gland and to produce vitamin D 3, which creates the protein that allows calcium to bind to their system.   Full spectrum lights need to be put about 8 to 10 inches above the cage for them to be completely effective but, as they produce a lot of heat (unless you use the fluorescent tubes which are quite clumsy), this short distance can be dangerous to them so I put them overhead in the ceiling fixtures and give them a calcium supplement, as well, only not as often as recommended.  

But quality is not all that needs to be taken into consideration when talking about birds and light, length of exposure is as important as quality.   Birds follow the seasons by the length of daylight hours so they need to be kept at a strict natural daylight schedule or their metabolism will get out of synch.   Twelve hours or more of light indicate the coming of spring, which is also the breeding season.  Therefore, when birds are kept at an unchangeable number of hours of light of twelve or more, it will react to the stimulus by producing sexual hormones.  This is the reason why birds become chronic layers, breed off-season, develop sexual frustration manifested through behavioral problems like screaming, biting, plucking, etc.    It is highly detrimental to their health and the number one reason why people end up giving their birds up for adoption. 

 Keeping a bird to a natural daylight schedule which changes with the seasons is not an easy thing to do for somebody who works but doable if the birds are passerines or columbines.  It is a schedule impossible to keep for a psittacine owner during the winter because these birds need hours of interaction with their owners every day so this is something that should be taken into consideration when debating whether a bird is the right pet.  A natural daylight schedule means simply that the bird will wake up when the sun is going up and go to sleep when the sun is going down.   It is also important to expose them to the twilight during dawn and dusk because it triggers responses in their brains.  Once dusk is over and the sun has set, the bird needs to have quiet and darkness to achieve a deep sleep that will allow it to rest.

Birds also eat early in the am and right before they go to sleep.  Again, for passerines and columbines is not a problem as they can be free-fed so whether the owner is present at these times or not is irrelevant but psittacines, that need a controlled protein intake, need to be given both breakfast and dinner.

 

WATER FOR DRINK AND BATH

Water should be spring or distilled (tap water has too many chemicals in it, including fluoride which prevents the body from absorbing iodine needed for a healthy thyroid function) and should be changed daily.  The water fountain or bowl should be washed thoroughly before refilling it.

All birds like to bathe, some more than others.  Passerines will enjoy a daily bath and miss it if they don’t have it.  In my experience, with the exception of Amazons and lovebirds, most psittacines are not as ‘clean’ as passerines and, although they will eventually bathe themselves if provided with an adequate container, they might need to be misted on a regular basis.  A bit of natural aloe juice in the water will go a long way towards preventing their skin and plumage from drying out.

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