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Parakeets

December 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Parakeets are beautiful and intelligent pets, but before buying one, it helps to learn a bit about good parakeet care. This will help ensure that you and your pet bird enjoy a long, happy relationship.

Parakeet Cages

Parakeets, also called budgies, require the proper cage. Make sure it’s a cage designed for small birds, with narrow gaps between the cage bars. Get the largest cage you can afford – it should have enough space for your parakeet to open his wings fully. The cage should have a swing, and at least two perches. Attach a cuttlebone to the side of the cage so your parakeet can keep his beak trim.

Make sure the cage has a pull out bottom drawer so you can easily keep the floor clean. Place newspapers or bird paper down on the bottom to absorb the droppings. You can sometimes find parakeet cages with a grated floor above the bottom of the cage – this will keep your parakeet off the dirty bottom.

Position the cage off the floor in a draft–free area. If you’re concerned about drafts, cover the sides or parts of the cage with towels to be on the safe side.

Parakeet Feeding

Give your parakeet fresh food and water daily. Buy a good seed mixture designed for parakeets and supplement their diet with vitamin drops and bird gravel (available in most pet stores). Whenever opening their cage, use caution and make sure all the doors and windows are closed – because a parakeet can escape in a flash. Also make sure no household predators are around (dogs, cats, etc.).

Parakeet Handling

Parakeets frighten easily, so try to avoid any noisy or sudden movements towards them. Take your time and be gentle whenever you’re around them, this will gradually gain their trust. You should immediately begin the process of getting them used to you and your hand. You can do this by placing your hand in their cage and leaving it there for 5 – 10 minutes, as often as you can. While your hand is in their cage, sing and talk soothingly to your parakeet and this will help establish a bond of trust. After a period of time, you’ll be able to place your forefinger under your budgie’s chest and he’ll hop right on your finger and stay there for longer and longer periods of time.

Parakeet Exercise

To stay healthy, a parakeet needs exercise – and this means flight. You should let your parakeet out of his cage to fly every day. Start out slowly, because a bird that’s been caged for a long time will be very weak in the beginning and have problems flying. Take his cage into a small room, such as a bathroom, and open the door to his cage. He’ll eventually get out and try to fly. There will be some crashes and frustration, but in a small room such as a bathroom, you won’t have to worry about him getting stuck behind a bookcase. After a week or so, he should be in flight–shape and then you can begin letting him out to fly in larger rooms.

Parakeet Health Care

Parakeets are susceptible to a variety of diseases, but the most common and potentially fatal is diarrhea. Keep an eye on her stools – they should be round and solid. If they are consistently runny, then she could have diarrhea. Think about any changes you might have made to your parakeet. Have you given her table food? Many table foods can be harmful to a parakeet and give them diarrhea, even seemingly harmless foods such as iceberg lettuce. Stick to seed and treats designed for parakeets and go to the pet store or call your veterinarian for an anti–diarrhea medicine designed for parakeets.

Good parakeet care doesn’t have to be complicated. Just take the time to give him attention and care on a daily basis. And it’s a good idea to invest in a good parakeet or budgie care handbook.

 

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pet parrot

November 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Diets:
It is very important to feed your parrot the best diet you can    and also to vary his diet to make it as interesting as possible.    We advise for African Greys Witte Molens Parrot Premium as this    is low in sunflower seeds and has over 35 ingredients. African    Greys can get addicted to sunflower seeds and by themselves are    not a good diet. For Amazons, Cockatoos and Macaws we advise    Witte Molens Seedmix for parrots with some Parrot Premium added    to this for a good seed mixture.

 

You will need to add vitamins and minerals to their diet even    if you are not breeding your pets. It is wrong to presume    only breeding parrots need vitamins -all parrots do. We recommend    Avi-plus Twin pack which consists of one tub of vitamins and one    tub of minerals and each day you take a pinch out of each tub    and mix with your seed mixture to make sure there is nothing    missing from their diet. African Greys will need some extra calcium    and we recommend the Avi-Cal from Avi-plus which is added to    the seed once a week.

 

It is recommended that you also feed pulses such as Parrot    Dinner from Witte Molen. This mixture of pulses is designed to    be simmered for 25 minutes, washed and added to the seed mixture.    As well as the above you will need to give your pet parrot any    fruit and vegetables they will eat such as apples, pears, bananas,    grapes, sweetcorn, beetroot, carrot etc but keep away from avocado    pear as this is poisonous to parrots.

 

This gives you an idea of the sort of general diet you will    need for your pet parrots but please contact us for more details    regarding your species of parrot, as sometimes how you keep your    parrot can effect the diet they require.

 

Cages:
Often you will hear the comment “the larger the cage the    better” which is true but it also depends on how you look    after your parrot. If you are at home all day and have your parrot    out of the cage all day, it is not essential to have a massive    cage as your parrot will mainly use it to sleep in . If you have    to go out for long periods then it becomes more important to    have a good sized cage. If you can afford to buy one where the    top opens up into a play area, these are very useful to keep    your parrot amused. We will be happy to advise a size cage for    your parrot.

 

Toys and Hemp Rope:
Just having a cage is not enough, it is our responsibility as    parrot owners to make sure their life is as interesting as possible    and making sure there is plenty to play with is the best way    of doing this. A good range of toys are now available which can    be placed in the cage and will give your parrot hours of fun.    We also sell hemp rope in large quantities to zoos for gorillas    but it is also wonderful for parrots as well. It comes in two    sizes 24mm & 36mm and can be hung from the cage or even around    your room to make a playground for your parrot. It can easily    be attached by putting a jubilee clip on one end like the ones    you use on a hose pipe to attach it to a tap. Then you simple    screw a hook into the end and hang it from the cage or aviary.    You can add this to both ends and then you have a large swing    for your parrot.

 

Parrots do make wonderful pets but do need time and your attention    as they are such intelligent creatures. If you are thinking of    buying a parrot for the first time please make sure the parrot    is hand reared and completely tame and easy to handle. If possible,    buy from a breeder where you can see the conditions in which    it was hand reared as this will give you more confidence that    it is disease free. Also before buying a parrot please make sure    you know where you local avian vet is just incase you get any    problems in the future .

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stop your parrot from biting

October 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

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keeping pet parrots

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Keeping Parrots As Pets

Parrots: Parrots are friendly, intelligent birds that love human contact.
They originate from Africa and some species can live up to 70 years – so a
Parrot can become a lifetime companion. Parrots do not necessarily need the
company of their own species so can be kept alone. However, they do like lots of
attention so be sure you are able to give them plenty of your time – they don’t
like being left on their own for too long. If kept indoors they will need
regular daily exercise outside their cage and are at their most active during
the daytime, sleeping once it gets dark.

Housing

Parrots can be housed indoors in a large wire cage with a plastic base or
outdoors in a purpose-built aviary. Once trained, they can use an open perched
stand during the day and only be put in their cage at night. The cage should be
positioned away from draughts and direct sunlight and your Parrot should be able
to stretch out and flap his wings for exercise, without them touching the sides
of the cage. If kept outdoors, your Parrot should have enough room to fly around
properly. Parrots kept indoors will need to be let out of their cage daily to
exercise under supervision – make sure you keep all doors and windows closed
when you do this. Covering the cage with a cloth at night will encourage your
Parrot to settle down for sleep.

Parrots need to bathe – it’s an essential part of their preening ritual. Some
Parrots will prefer a shallow dish of water or bird bath, others prefer to have
water sprinkled on them gently while some may even prefer the kitchen sink or
shower ! Experiment to see which method your Parrot likes best.

Types of Parrot

The African Grey Parrot is the best known species, famous for its talking
abilities. There are around 30 different species of Amazon Parrots which come in
a variety of colours and markings. Some of these will also learn to talk if
trained.

Feeding

Parrots in the wild eat a wide range of seeds, grains, and vegetation. A
quality Parrot food mix makes a good basic diet although supplements may also be
required. Small pieces of fresh fruit and vegetables can be given as treats and
fresh drinking water should always be available. Apples, grapes, and carrots are
the usual favourites. Certain foods can be harmful to your Parrot – avoid giving
your pet lettuce, avocado, chocolate, or any sweets or drinks designed for human
consumption. Parrots will also need a suitable grit/mineral supplement to help
digest their food, and cuttlefish bone makes an excellent source of calcium.

Looking after your Parrots

Exercise & Entertainment:
Parrots are curious,
highly active birds that enjoy climbing. Attaching some horizontal climbing bars
to the outside of their cage makes a good exercise area. Toys are essential to
stimulate your Parrot mentally and physically and they also enjoy playing with
coconut shells, sea shells, or raw vegetables – anything they can chew on.
Parrots can be incredibly loud, emitting a truly ear-piercing scream when they
want your attention!

Handling:
Successfully taming your Parrot
requires time and patience and works best if done from an early age and by one
person only. First let the Parrot settle in their new environment, talk to them
gently, and gradually get them used to accepting small treats through the cage
bars before moving on to stick training methods. Start by placing the cage on
the floor, opening the door, and seeing if your Parrot will venture out. Placing
a training stick just in front of the bird’s feet should encourage it to jump
on. Some Parrots will do this straight away, where others require more patience.
As your Parrot gains confidence, advance to hand taming methods, using sunflower
seeds or peanuts as rewards. Repetition of basic behaviour is the best way to
tame your Parrot.
Most Parrots are too heavy to perch on your finger.
Instead, hold your fingers together and offer your whole hand placed horizontal
to the bird’s feet. Remember Parrots are not domestic animals and never lose
their wild characteristics. Taming them is therefore a gradual process and may
take several months of patient work.

Breeding:
As with all pets, breeding Parrots
requires much commitment of time and effort. It is recommended that you
therefore seek expert advice and do appropriate research before considering
keeping a breeding pair.

Tips for a happy healthy Parrot

Community:
Parrots are not solitary birds by
nature, but are happy kept on their own provided they receive plenty of
attention. If you plan to keep several Parrots, they are best kept in pairs
(hens with cocks). For larger aviaries it’s usually best to keep more hens than
cocks – otherwise the cock birds may fight over the hens.

Health:
Weigh your Parrot regularly as weight loss
is usually the first sign of illness – Parrots are masters at hiding symptoms,
often until it’s too late. As with all birds, if you are worried about any
aspect of your Parrot’s health, seek advice from an Avian veterinarian. For a
healthy life, your Parrot needs the following:

  • Plenty of attention
  • A good balanced diet
  • Plenty of toys to keep them amused
  • Water bottle and feed bowls cleaned daily
  • A regular bath – essential for their preening activities
  • Daily exercise outside their cage
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