These care instructions are not meant to be absolute rules, and do not cover every aspect of bird care, but I hope they are helpful. You might also want to read good books or Internet articles (www.BirdChannel.com can be a good place to start) about birds, preferably about the kind of bird you own, subscribe to a bird magazine, talk to other bird owners, and/or become a member of a bird club so you can learn more about birds and their care.
GENERAL BIRD CARE:
CAGE: Big, roomy cages—the bigger the better—are preferable for all birds. At minimum, all cages should be at least large enough for the bird to be able to move about freely and sit on its perch without its tail rubbing against the bars of the cage or being over any food or water dishes. Birds that do not get let out of their cages frequently need cages roomy enough to fly in or otherwise adequately exercise. This is also preferable for birds who do get let out of their cages frequently, but not quite as important.
For climbing birds, such as Conures, it is great if at least some of the bars of the cage are horizontal so they can climb around easier.
For many birds (such as Bourke’s Parakeets), the best cage is longer than it is tall, to allow more flying or running space. However, a tall cage is fine for finches, who can fly almost straight up, or for Conures, who would rather climb than fly in their cage any day.
Round cages or fancy, many-sided cages were designed more for the human eye than for a bird’s living space. A simple, square or rectangular, easy to clean, galvanized metal or stainless steel cage is a much better choice.
The bars of the cage should be set at intervals that are appropriate for your bird. For an example: the intervals between the bars of a finch cage should be no bigger than about ½ of an inch.
Pet birds do not like to have to duck to get out of their cage, so it is good if a door on the cage is large enough that when your bird is sitting on your hand, it doesn't have to duck to go through. Also, birds can be pretty smart! The doors of a parrot’s cage should latch securely to prevent escape.
The picture at left shows a cage that is both reasonably acceptable and of decent size for a pet Green Cheeked Conure (shown) or smaller bird.
If you plan to use a used cage, thoroughly clean it and all accessories to prevent disease. (see section Cleaning the Cage).
CAGE ACCESSORIES: Put all accessories in the cage before you first put your bird in:
Perches: Perches can be wooden dowels, or, better yet, non-toxic branches that are not sprayed with insecticide. Branches make good perches because the size around varies, but if you use them, make sure to sanitize them (like cooking them in the oven for an hour with a low heat) to kill any mites or other harmful things on them. Although you can use plastic perches, they are not as good for your bird's feet. Cement perches trim your bird's toenails, so they are good. However, don't have all the perches made of cement. Pick perches that are a suitable size for your bird's feet. Several perches in the cage is good, but don't put any more than space permits. Arrange them so that your bird's tail will not rub against the side walls of the cage, and make sure they are not over any food or water dishes.
Put down some kind of cage liner or absorbent material at the bottom of the cage. Plain newsprint or paper towels are usually a very good choice. You can use cage liners that can be bought at pet stores, but avoid the gravel-coated ones as your bird may over-eat the grit, causing crop impactions.
Your bird also needs a few things to keep it busy and entertained, such as bird toys to play with and chew, swings to swing on, etc. However, don't crowd the cage with toys—put a few in for a while and then take them out and put others in for variety.
CAGE LOCATION: Put the cage in a smoke-free, cooking-fumes-free (fumes from non-stick cookware are especially bad), draft-free place, where the temperature is reasonably stable and comfortable. Your bird should have access to sunlight (but be able to get out of direct sunlight), and/or have its surroundings lighted with full-spectrum light. The best place to keep your bird can vary, depending on you and your bird. However, most pet birds like to be in a spot where you will spend a lot of time, like your living room or equivalent. Easily-frightened birds and birds who are breeding usually prefer to be in a more private place.
FOOD AND WATER: Your bird needs to eat a well balanced diet. This can include an appropriate seed mix, non-toxic fruits and vegetables, and/or a pelleted diet. Seed alone is not a balanced diet—it does not provide for all needs of your bird, such as Vitamin A. That is why you need to supplement a seed diet with fruits, vegetables, cuttlebone for calcium, etc. Pelleted diets, although designed to be a complete balanced diet, can also be fed with fruits, vegetables, and seeds. If the diet you plan on feeding your bird is drastically different from what it has been eating, switch it over to the new food over a period of a few days.
Don't use any food that was used for a sick bird. Keep any pellets or seed that you will not use pretty soon in a closed container in a cool place.
Place a dish of food and a dish of clean water (NOT city water. Drinking water is preferable) in your bird’s cage. Make sure the dishes are not under any perches.
Change your bird's water once or twice a day; or when dirty—whichever comes first. Clean all the grime out of the dish by washing the dish with water and a wash cloth each day. Give your bird more food as needed. If feeding seeds, blow the husks, (seed 'shells') out of the food dish at least once a day.
REMEMBER—ALWAYS HAVE FOOD AND WATER AVAILABLE TO YOUR BIRD.
Fruits and Vegetables: Most kinds of fruits and vegetables are okay, but make sure you don’t feed your bird anything toxic. Most fruit seeds are poisonous to birds. Never give your bird chocolate, cheese or caffeine. Lettuce that was sprayed with pesticide, sugary stuff, junk food, tomatoes, sour stuff, etc, should also be avoided. You can grate apples and carrots so that your bird can eat them easier. You can also feed your bird small amounts of things such as scrambled or hard boiled eggs, cooked brown rice, healthy, whole wheat muffins or breads that do not have yeast in them, spray millet, and plain Cheerios or Shredded wheat. Keep perishable food in a dish separate from the seed dish, and make sure you take it out of the cage after a couple of hours.
Don't let your bird eat any household plants unless you know they are not poisonous. Although all are not fatal, just be on the safe side and keep all questionable house plants out of its reach.
CLEANING THE CAGE: Change newspaper, paper towels, liners, etc, once or twice a day or as needed.
Thoroughly clean the cage regularly—when it looks like it obviously needs cleaned, or before that. I usually put the cage in a sink or bathtub (if it fits!) and wash it with hot water, dish soap, and a wash cloth.
Make sure you also clean or replace the perches, and clean all the other stuff in the cage!
I usually clean perches and stuff in the same way as the cage. However, woods, fibers, and ropes are virtually impossible to really thoroughly clean or disinfect, so if you have some of these that were used by a bird that could have been sick, they need to be sterilized. To do this you can: 1.Clean (with a dish cloth) all debris off with soap and hot water. 2.Put in a pot. 3.Cover with water. 4.Put pot on stove and turn on heat. 5.When water is very hot, turn off heat. 6.After the water has cooled, take out your bird stuff.
If your cage was once home to a animal that could have been sick, you need to wash it thoroughly with hot, soapy water. Then disinfect it or soak it in a solution of bleach and water (¾ of a cup added to 1 gallon of warm water) for at least 30 minutes. Rinse and allow to dry before using.
Never use chlorine bleach sold for pools. Never mix disinfects and bleach, and read the labels!
Besides cleaning the cage, you will also have to clean the surrounding areas regularly.
TRIMMING THE NAILS: Birds that use cement perches regularly usually don't need their toenails trimmed. However, if your bird doesn't use one, it will probably need its toenails trimmed occasionally.
When the toe-nails are very long with sharp points (I.e.--it hurts when your bird sits on your hand), you should cut them back a little bit with nail clippers, scissors, or a file. Make sure you don't cut into the blood vessel (if you hold the toe nails up to light, you should be able to see the red vessels in the toenail). If you do accidentally cut into the blood vessel, put a pinch of QuikStop®, cornstarch, or other blood stopping powder on the end of the toe nail to stop the bleeding.
If you have never trimmed bird's toenails, you might want to watch an experienced person do it before you try. If you do not feel comfortable doing it yourself, have a veterinarian or other experienced person do it for you when needed.
CLIPPING THE WINGS: Generally, birds that are allowed out of their cages should have their flight feathers clipped, so that if someone should open the door, they won't be able to escape. This also aids in taming your bird, if it is not already tame.
As it is too hard for me to write how to clip your bird's wings, ask a experienced person who has done it before to show you how to do it. Make sure you do not trim your bird’s feathers too much!
OUT OF THE CAGE: You should supervise your bird at all times when out of its cage.
I do not recommend taking your bird outside unconfined—even if its wings are clipped. Accidents can happen! If you would like to take your bird outside with you in nice weather, I advise buying some sort of flight suit, with a leash, for your bird.
BREEDING: Birds do not have to breed. Also, tame birds can get less tame if you breed them.
But if you decide to breed your birds, make sure your male and female are not related to each other, and are mature (the minimum cage varies on bird). Generally your birds should not be allowed to have more than 3 full clutches per year. If you let your birds over-breed, it will result in worn out birds who could die young, and the babies can be weak and sickly. Breeding birds need an especially good diet, which can vary from their regular diet. For more information on breeding, consult a good book or breeder or something like that. Do your research first!
There are things other than buying your bird a mate that you can do if you do NOT want to breed your bird, but it lays eggs or otherwise shows that it wants to breed. This can include: cutting back on the amount of light your bird gets each day, making sure there are no perceivable ‘nests’ around, etc.
PLAYING & EXERCISE: Your bird should have toys to play with and chew. For variety, rotate the toys in the cage.
After your bird has settled in, you should let your bird out of its cage regularly so that it can get lots of exercise. If you have a big cage this is not absolutely necessary, but your bird will like it if you do. When your bird is out of the cage, you should make sure that all windows and doors to the outside are closed! Also, at first, if your bird's wings aren't clipped, you might want to cover the windows when you let it out of the cage—otherwise it might try to fly out the window, and injure its head.
After they have settled in, tame birds should be interacted (got out of their cage and played with, etc.) with regularly.
BATHING: Birds need to bathe to keep their plumage in good condition. Some will bathe in their water dishes, while others like to take a shower (with warm to a little bit cold water), or get sprayed with a water spray bottle once or twice a week. Never use soap.
STRESS: The following can put a lot of stress on your bird, which can make it sick:
Excessive or loud noise.
New objects such as balloons.
Long training sessions.
Overcrowding.
Caging and handling by untrained people.
New cage location.
New food.
Other pets staring into the cage or harassment from other birds and pets, as well as humans.
Any environmental changes, including: Temperatures that are too cold or too hot; too much darkness—more than 15 hours a day; too much daylight—more than 15 hours per day.
Your bird needs 10-12 hours of sleep each night. You can make sure it gets it by putting a blanket or cage cover over your bird's cage for the night.
Never leave a bird in a car during hot weather, even with the windows open.
Of course, you can feed your bird new food, or something like that. Just have the maybe-be-stressed factor in mind.
SICK BIRDS: Birds don't like to show that they are sick. However, any unusual signs, such as the ones below, may mean that your bird is sick:
Coughing or sneezing; discharge from nostrils; dull eyes that close often; diarrhea; black droppings; a change in the white part of the droppings to another color like red, yellow, or green; weight loss; feathers are all “fluffed up” for more than just a few seconds (when it isn't sleeping or mad or something like that); breathing that is not normal; sitting on the bottom of the cage for a long time; sleeping more during the day; a change in the voice or harshness.
If your bird shows any weird signs such as the ones above, the best bet for your bird would probably be to contact a Avian veterinarian (a vet with bird training).
SOME PRECAUTIONS: 1. Saliva can be bad for birds: don't share your food with it or give it kisses (yuck!). 2. Don't let your bird get in contact with wild birds, who can carry diseases. 3. Always be kind, loving and gentle to your bird, even if it makes you really mad.