Parrot care
MORNING ROUTINE
We start the morning uncovering all the bird cages (7 cages for 13 birds). They have their own room that I've arranged to make parrot friendly. There is good light with windows, an easy to clean floor to resist the mess they make. They make a lot of noise during the day, so their room is situated to allow the rest of us rest from it. They even have their own TV that I play birdy theme video's on, like ‘Parrots of Telegraph Hill’, some PBS parrot shows. But they also like Ellen, and "Finding Nemo" is a fun favorite!
One whole wall of the room is windows that face the east, so lots of nice sunshine in the morning, of course on the weekends I sometimes pray for cloudy weather first thing in the morning so they will sleep in a little longer!!!
After the blinds are open all the birds are let out of their cages. They are asked to 'step up' on to my hand as I lift them out of their cage, and a kiss is expected from each of them. Each bird has a chosen spot in the room they always go to. It is a routine of who can be where, or with whom, and among them they have respect for each others space. This is just the way things have developed over the years, as they learn what is or isn't allowed.
Next my husband, or me, or both of us go to the kitchen to make their breakfast. This consists of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and some cooked bird food (Crazy Corn Brand, various flavors available) as a base.
MIX OF FOOD
After breakfast is made everyone is back to their cages to eat. Water bowls are cleaned and the cages are checked to be sure fresh newspaper line the cage bottom, and that any mess is cleaned up. They are all placed back into their cages before I leave home for the day.
Sometimes, before I leave for work, they might get a pine cone, wine cork, tree branch clipping or empty toilet roll put in their cage for something new to chew on for the day. They always have a variety of toys in their cages to keep busy with at all times. As you get to know your bird you figure out what they will or won't play with, and what types of toys are safe for that particular kind of parrot to play with. Beak size, personality, destructiveness tenancies all factor in as to what we give each of them. We have beaks from just a quarter of an inch, up to 5 inches long…and that is just the birds.
It takes an hour, in a typical day, to do the morning chores related to my birds. Remember, this isn’t just Marnie, but the entire flock! Certainly other things are happening in the tween time, caring for our other pets, (2 dogs and 3 cats), and our own breakfast.
On the weekends or evenings when I have more time, there is always cage cleaning to do, refilling food bins, mopping floors, parrots getting baths, cooking and freezing extra parrot foods, such as brown rice, cooked pasta and frozen mixed vegies.
EVENING ROUTINE
The minute we return home, the birds start chirping loudly for attention. Typically it is because it is time for the evening feeding routine.
Everyone is let out of their cages when we get home. The fresh food bowls are removed and cleaned. My macaws and cockatoos are brought out to the living room where we have a 7 ft. tall manzanita wood bird tree with a bunch of different bird toys hanging on it.
Back in the bird room…I guess you could call it an aviary…water bowls are refreshed, and the birds each get their 'special' mix of dry foods consisting of pellets, nutri-berries, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pistachios and seed mix. After awhile it is time for them all to go back to their cages and have their dinner.
Each morning and evening time we choose different birds come out to the kitchen counter or window sill. we try our best to keep inter-active with all the 'kids'.
SLEEP TIME
We give our birds a sleep time of 12 hours, so their cages are covered during this time, shades pulled down and door shut. It’s quiet time in the bird room. Marnie and some of the other birds will say bye-bye. I have always said “Good night” to them, but so far no one wants to say that back! At least in the morning my blue and gold macaw, Yago, always says “Good morning!”.
BIRDS GETTING ALONG
It's been interesting with Marnie…I have 4 cockatiels but he only likes Mr. Pretty Bird...one would think there wouldn't be a difference between them but they know who they like!
My Sun conures hate him, as does my other ring-neck, Elliott. If my ring-necks get close to each other, they are vicious! But all the birds have figured out over time who to be with and who to stay away from, so there really is harmony in their room most all the time.
CAGES
For cage size, your parrot at the very least needs to be able to fully extend their wings while inside, have different levels of perches, and different perch widths for good feet health. They will need at least 3 feeding bowls: one each for water, dry food and fresh food. Cages with horizontal bars are nice since they can climb around the walls easier on those. These birds live a very long time so I've invested in well made cages that will not need replacing. All my cages are on wheels to easy to move them around. I personally like cages that have play tops instead of dome style so when I take them out of their cage, they can sit on top with their toys and food bowls.
We start the morning uncovering all the bird cages (7 cages for 13 birds). They have their own room that I've arranged to make parrot friendly. There is good light with windows, an easy to clean floor to resist the mess they make. They make a lot of noise during the day, so their room is situated to allow the rest of us rest from it. They even have their own TV that I play birdy theme video's on, like ‘Parrots of Telegraph Hill’, some PBS parrot shows. But they also like Ellen, and "Finding Nemo" is a fun favorite!
One whole wall of the room is windows that face the east, so lots of nice sunshine in the morning, of course on the weekends I sometimes pray for cloudy weather first thing in the morning so they will sleep in a little longer!!!
After the blinds are open all the birds are let out of their cages. They are asked to 'step up' on to my hand as I lift them out of their cage, and a kiss is expected from each of them. Each bird has a chosen spot in the room they always go to. It is a routine of who can be where, or with whom, and among them they have respect for each others space. This is just the way things have developed over the years, as they learn what is or isn't allowed.
Next my husband, or me, or both of us go to the kitchen to make their breakfast. This consists of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and some cooked bird food (Crazy Corn Brand, various flavors available) as a base.
MIX OF FOOD
- sweet potato, carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, cucumbers, apples, manderine oranges, bananas,
- cooked pasta, grapes, raspberries, strawberries, peas, corn, chopped boiled egg, torn up pieces of Oro-Wheat 'Winter Wheat' bread.
- Just no chocolate or avocados!
After breakfast is made everyone is back to their cages to eat. Water bowls are cleaned and the cages are checked to be sure fresh newspaper line the cage bottom, and that any mess is cleaned up. They are all placed back into their cages before I leave home for the day.
Sometimes, before I leave for work, they might get a pine cone, wine cork, tree branch clipping or empty toilet roll put in their cage for something new to chew on for the day. They always have a variety of toys in their cages to keep busy with at all times. As you get to know your bird you figure out what they will or won't play with, and what types of toys are safe for that particular kind of parrot to play with. Beak size, personality, destructiveness tenancies all factor in as to what we give each of them. We have beaks from just a quarter of an inch, up to 5 inches long…and that is just the birds.
It takes an hour, in a typical day, to do the morning chores related to my birds. Remember, this isn’t just Marnie, but the entire flock! Certainly other things are happening in the tween time, caring for our other pets, (2 dogs and 3 cats), and our own breakfast.
On the weekends or evenings when I have more time, there is always cage cleaning to do, refilling food bins, mopping floors, parrots getting baths, cooking and freezing extra parrot foods, such as brown rice, cooked pasta and frozen mixed vegies.
EVENING ROUTINE
The minute we return home, the birds start chirping loudly for attention. Typically it is because it is time for the evening feeding routine.
Everyone is let out of their cages when we get home. The fresh food bowls are removed and cleaned. My macaws and cockatoos are brought out to the living room where we have a 7 ft. tall manzanita wood bird tree with a bunch of different bird toys hanging on it.
Back in the bird room…I guess you could call it an aviary…water bowls are refreshed, and the birds each get their 'special' mix of dry foods consisting of pellets, nutri-berries, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pistachios and seed mix. After awhile it is time for them all to go back to their cages and have their dinner.
Each morning and evening time we choose different birds come out to the kitchen counter or window sill. we try our best to keep inter-active with all the 'kids'.
SLEEP TIME
We give our birds a sleep time of 12 hours, so their cages are covered during this time, shades pulled down and door shut. It’s quiet time in the bird room. Marnie and some of the other birds will say bye-bye. I have always said “Good night” to them, but so far no one wants to say that back! At least in the morning my blue and gold macaw, Yago, always says “Good morning!”.
BIRDS GETTING ALONG
It's been interesting with Marnie…I have 4 cockatiels but he only likes Mr. Pretty Bird...one would think there wouldn't be a difference between them but they know who they like!
My Sun conures hate him, as does my other ring-neck, Elliott. If my ring-necks get close to each other, they are vicious! But all the birds have figured out over time who to be with and who to stay away from, so there really is harmony in their room most all the time.
CAGES
For cage size, your parrot at the very least needs to be able to fully extend their wings while inside, have different levels of perches, and different perch widths for good feet health. They will need at least 3 feeding bowls: one each for water, dry food and fresh food. Cages with horizontal bars are nice since they can climb around the walls easier on those. These birds live a very long time so I've invested in well made cages that will not need replacing. All my cages are on wheels to easy to move them around. I personally like cages that have play tops instead of dome style so when I take them out of their cage, they can sit on top with their toys and food bowls.