Providing the Best Environment for your Bird

Birds need stuff and lots of it!   Birds in nature are surrounded by a very diverse environment filled with challenge, opportunity, risk and reward.  They have endless choices when it comes to defining their territory, what they eat, choosing their mate and where they perch and sleep.  

We can't even come close to creating that kind of environment in our homes but we can strive to do our best to offer a wide variety of safe enrichments to our birds some of the key areas that need to be addressed are listed below: 

Cages

The single most important item you will ever purchase for your parrot companion is its cage. Compared to the freedom they experience in the wild, our parrots are severely restricted in captivity. A cage is your bird's primary environment and it is of the utmost importance that they be able to move freely, flap their wings, climb, play, do acrobatics, forage and perch at multiple levels within that environment.

The first rule when choosing a cage is to buy the largest possible cage that you can afford from both a space and financial perspective.

Besides cage size, there are many factors that must be considered in making a safe and appropriate choice for your bird including:

• Style (dome vs. playtop)
• Construction (metal, acrylic, powder coated, stainless steel)
• Bar Spacing - Your parrot should not be able to put its head through and get wedged in the space between the bars.
• Bar Strength - The diameter and strength of each bar should be large enough to ensure that the bars can not be bent or broken by your bird.
• Bar Orientation (a mixture of horizontal and vertical)
• Ease of maintenance

These requirements can vary by bird species so it is best to take the time to research what would be the safest for your particular bird. 

Perches

Your bird is on their feet 24/7. In the wild, they have a multitude of choices of where to perch and can fly from branch to branch giving their feet and legs exercise. In nature, parrots are also exposed to branches of various sizes, widths, and orientations. The perches in your bird’s cage should mimic these natural conditions as much as possible.

By providing the proper variety of perches in your bird's cage you can help to prevent foot problems such as arthritis, tendonitis, atrophy or pressure sores from developing.

Perches are available in a wide variety of natural and synthetic materials. A minimum of three different types of perches should be in your bird's cage. Since birds often like to sleep in the highest place that they can perch in their cage, it is recommended that the most comfortable perch be placed in this position.

Play Areas

Setting up outside of the cage play areas is a great way to offer your bird the opportunity to be in different areas of your home and to interact in a wider variety of manners with their human flock. There are many types of play areas including floor, table top and hanging varieties.  No matter what the form, if properly designed and equipped, they offer the benefits of:

• Increased opportunity for exercise.
• Increased mental stimulation through added interaction and visual stimulation.
• Enhanced learning opportunities through exposure to new experiences.
• Better socialization and a stronger sense of belonging to the flock (emotional security).
• A safe and secure place for your bird to play.

Well-designed play areas have:

• multiple play levels to promote movement through climbing
• an easy to clean base that catches droppings
• removable food cups
• multiple hooks to allow for the addition of stimulating toys
• varied perch diameters to promote foot health 

Toys

Toys are not just playthings to birds and they are not optional accessories. There are several different categories of toys and they can serve many different purposes. Toys are key to addressing our bird’s physical , instinctual and emotional needs. So what do toys mean to our birds? Toys can be:

• a boredom buster that helps to prevent behavioral problems
• an opportunity for exercise (swings, ladders, bungees)
• an outlet for birds to expend excess energy
• an outlet for aggression and stress relief
• a source of comfort (soft texture toys, preening toys, shelter toys)
• a mental challenge that rewards efforts with a treat (foraging toys)
• an outlet for a bird’s chewing instinct (destructible toys)

Birds need to have a variety of toys across the various toy categories (destructible, foraging, preening, exercise) as well as variety within the categories.  A minimum of 3-4 toys should be in your bird's cage and the toys should be rotated periodically as variety will help to alleviate boredom and keep your bird more curious and active. 

Our pet birds are not as active in our home as their wild cousins are in their native environments. Wild parrots have to fly many miles a day in the search for food.

Just like for people, too little exercise can lead to:

• heart disease
• obesity
• depression
• stiff joints
• high stress levels, and
• behavioral problems like screaming and feather plucking

To keep our birds healthy they need to have lots of opportunities to move, climb, flap and fly. Adequate exercise, in combination with a balanced diet, will help our birds to maintain their weight and keep their hearts healthy.  Exercise will also help to keep their joints limber and their muscles toned.

Here's some of the ways we can help our birds get exercise:

• Provide as large a cage as possible that allows them to fully flap their wings.
• Give them toys that encourage movement like swings, ladders and bungees.
• Hide food at various levels in your bird's cage to encourage movement and exploration.
• Provide outside of the cage play areas like playgyms and cargo nets.
• Purchase or build them an indoor or outdoor flight aviary.
• With your bird securely perched on your hand, get a firm grip on your birds toes and encourage flapping by gently moving your arm up and down or swinging it in an arc while your bird hangs upside down. Your bird will flap its wings to maintain balance.
• Get a flight harness for your bird and take him outside.
• Teach your bird tricks.
• Play games with your bird like fetch and chase me.
• Dance with your bird....it will be good for you too!

Just like we need to eat a balanced diet to ensure we are healthy and our bodies function right, the same is true for our birds. Feeding your pet bird a good, healthy diet is essential to its long-term health.

Parrots in the wild eat raw foods such as fruits and vegetable matter, nuts, grains, seeds, sprouts, berries, flowers, pollen, insects and larvae. Many species also supplement their diets by eating clay and salt licks.

There are lots of commercial bird foods to choose from including bird seed mixes, pelleted diets and ready to cook diets. Although commercial diets have significantly improved, no one commercial diet comes close to simulating how our birds eat in nature and none of the commercial diets provide for 100% of the nutritional needs of our birds.

Because of all of the options it is sometimes confusing about what is the best type of food to feed your bird. 

Variety is important!

Since commercial diets can't reliably replicate a bird's natural diet, it appears that offering a broad range of nutrition and a wide variety of healthy food choices is the key to maintaining a healthy bird. These options include:

• Pellets - Specially formulated bird foods that include a balanced selection of grains, seeds, vegetables, fruits, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Pellets should always be available in your birds cage and should be about 60 - 80% of a bird's diet.

• Fresh Greens and Veggies - Vegetables contain nutrients that are important for vision, hearing, skin, bones, mucus membranes, as well as assisting in the growth and repair of tissues. Vegetables are best when fresh but thawed frozen vegetables are acceptable when fresh options are not available. Greens and veggies should be roughly 15- 20 % of a birds diet. A few of the vegetables with the most nutrients include:

  • Collard, mustard and turnip greens

  • Sweet potato

  • Carrots & Peas

  • Spinach

• Fruits - Fruits contain carbohydrates, Vitamin A & C, folic acid and minerals. Fruits also are high in sugar and therefore should only be around 5% of a parrot's diet. Some favorite parrot fruits include: apple, banana, berries, grapes, papaya and melon.

• Protein - Proteins are made up of amino acids which are commonly referred to as the building blocks of life. Proteins are important to muscle growth as well as critical to the health of feathers, beaks and internal organs. Beans are a great source of low fat proteins and carbohydrates. Fully cooked eggs are another good source of protein.

• Seeds - Seeds should only constitute about 10% of your birds diet. Feeding seed alone is NOT a healthy option for birds.

• Treats - Healthy treats like unsalted nuts should be no more than 5% of your birds diet.  Small birds will enjoy finely chopped nuts and larger ones will like cracking throught the shells themselves to retrieve their treat.

Giving your bird a varied selection of foods will not only keep them healthy and beautiful but, it will also make their lives much more interesting.  Imagine how dull our existence would be if we had to eat the same meal over and over again for the rest of our days! Your birds will relish the opportunity to make choices and try new foods and they will delight in exploring different tastes and textures.

Cooking for your bird can be fun and a good way to introduce lots of healthy foods into his diet.  Check out some of our healthy treat recipes on our website.

NOTE: Not all bird species have the same nutritional requirements so be sure to research what would be best for your bird. For example, lorikeets and lories are nectarivore and their primary diet in the wild is nectar and pollen.

Click the graphic below to learn about foods that you should never feed to your bird: 

Taking care of a pet bird involves much more than just keeping it in a cage and feeding it every day. For a bird to be healthy and happy there are many physical, instinctual and emotional needs that need to be addressed. We should all strive to do everything in life to the best of our abilities and that includes being a responsible guardian of our pets. Birds have many unique needs, instincts and behaviors. If you have a bird, or are contemplating bring one into your life, we strongly encourage you to do your homework, make responsible decisions and do your absolute best to address their unique requirements. If done properly, your reward will be a long, happy life with a happy, healthy and beautiful companion. We encourage you to follow our links and start your learning path towards being a successful bird owner.

Feed a Healthy Diet	Provide Opportunities for Exercise	Foraging Fun!
Play Time!	Health Matters!	Proper Hygiene
Safety	Security	Social Time
Mental Stimulation	Maintain a Healthy Environment