When people find out I have birds I often get asked questions about having birds so I thought I should blog about this as some of you may be wondering the same thing. Maybe you are thinking of getting a bird & wondered if it was a good fit for you.
I have had birds since approx 1986 & my 1st birds were Society Finches (4 or 6)& I was bitten by the bird bug. I had a Cockatiel within a year & my first Amazon Parrot about a year later. I joined a bird club that I was part of for about 11 years & my love for birds grew more. I had more Cockatiels (& bred them), I added 3 more Amazon Parrots, had Lovebirds, A Sunday Conure (accidental breeding by someone in my club) & the bird was handicapped so I rescued him. I had Parakeets & Canaries of my own & eventually when I became a foster mom for pets I fostered a lot of birds over the years. You can read more about my pet experience in my 1st blog post #1.
Now to the questions (if you have others that I don’t include here feel free to comment & ask or email me & ask).
- Are birds messy? I would say yes, they can be. From my experience the smaller birds tend to toss more seed on the floor, loose more feathers. Cockatiels create more dust. Parrots can make a mess from chewing & yes some will chew up your wood work if given a chance. When birds are out of there cages, most don’t go back to their cages to go potty, but some will & some can learn this. Birds are not for “neat freaks.”
- Which type of bird is the best first bird? I wrote more about this in blog #95. I would say a smaller bird because they are less intimidating & if the bite you won’t need stitches & will not risk loosing your finger tips. Yes, a large parrot could break your finger (they can crack whole nuts). Smaller birds are not going to live 20-50 years & if your not sure your up to that commitment a smaller bird may be a great place to start.
- How long do birds live? That of course varies on species & care. Smaller birds like Parakeets 4-7 years is normal, a Cockatiel 20-25 years, an Amazon 30-45 years (I lost one at 42 & have one who is 34 now). Do your research before adding a bird to your home. Please consider adopting a bird.
- Do Birds need daily care? A bird should be given fresh water daily & seed replenished every other day. Could you go away for a weekend & leave your bird, yes,but before you leave & as soon as home the bird needs to be taken care of. If longer than Fri-Sun then you need to find someone to come care for your birds or board your birds at a bird knowledgeable place.
- Does my bird need to come out of its cage? Finches & Canary size birds that are given larger cages to fly around & get the necessary exercise do not need to come out of their cages. For medium & larger birds it is good for them to be allowed out for exercise & to socialize with. Always make sure doors are securely shut & windows have screens so don’t risk escaping into the great outdoors.
6. Can I feed my birds a seed diet only? A bird can survive, yes, but they won’t thrive or be healthy long term. I have blogged a lot on this subject of nutrition, what to feed, ways to get more fresh foods into your birds diet, ways to help with their diet, & some other things related to food. This are some posts I’ve done, please check these out if you haven’t already: #4, #28, #59, #83, 104, 107, 111, 113, 115, 123.
7. Can a bird be tamed? (to sit on finger/shoulder/arm). The answer in many cases is yes, a bird that was hand-fed & is younger is far easier to tame, but it can be done to some degree with larger birds that were not hand-fed. It takes time & building trust with a bird has to come first. Force or punishment of any type does not work with a bird. My experience has shown me a healthy happy bird is far easier to hand tame if not hand tamed when you get it. I recommend you do research & watch videos of a number of people as the same method does not work with every bird. Patience is #1 when it comes to taming & working with a bird. I had a wild caught Amazon Parrot as my first parrot & it took years but eventually she would sit on my arm. (A wild caught bird was a bird caught in the wild & imported into the US, this is no longer legal as far as I know, maybe for zoos, but not for private sellers of birds). Thankfully these days there are educated bird breeders in the US where you can purchase a bird from or you can adopt from a bird rescue.
8. How do I keep my bird hand-tamed? By interacting & handling your bird daily, do not force your bird out of its cage but let it come out to you or step up onto your finger once it has learned what you are asking. Using a perch to have your bird step up onto can be more comfortable for some birds. Learning what your birds preferences are is important in building a bond & keeping that bond long term.
9. Where can I get a bird? There are a variety of places, pet stores, private breeders, bird shows, bird fairs, friends, bird stores, bird rescue (look at pet adoption sites).
10. How big does the cage need to be? The biggest cage you can find that has the proper bar spacing is best. I wrote a blog post about buying the right cage, it was #10.
11. Can I keep just one bird? In many cases yes, Finches are not good as solitary birds, but Lovebirds, Parakeets, Cockatiels ect can often be kept as single birds. Some birds like to have a bird nearby but don’t want to physically interact. My Cockatiel Jonah that I lost this past year hated living as an only & would scream if it was that way for long. Spree & Lazarus are my two Cockatiels now & both are fine living in cages alone. My Amazon Sassy (pictured in this post) hates to not bean only bird in his room. His whole life he has always had another bird nearby even if they never interacted. I got him at 12 weeks & he had 2 siblings & I had an Amazon already & have had others as well over the years. I currently have two, adopted Ringo (also a senior bird)so Sassy would have a roommate & they hang out together when out of their cages.
12. Does my bird need to see a Veterinarian yearly? I would say this is a very smart idea, except for small birds such as Finches & Canaries, as they are very small & being held for an exam may be far more stressful than the bird can handle. If you want to know the sex (& not visible differences) a Vet can help with DNA testing. I wrote about this in my blog #90. Find an Exotic Vet for your birds or a Vet with a good amount of experience with birds. A Vet without much bird experience can cause irreparable harm (sadly this happened to one of my birds when I had an emergency & they said they had experience, I had to rush him to another Vet & sadly had to say goodbye).
13. Are birds loud? If you work nights & sleep during the day, then a bird probably is not the pet for you. Some birds are louder at times & some louder than others. Sleeping in on a sunny spring or summer day in my house past 7 AM is unlikely as the birds are singing & greeting the day. My Amazons are probably the quietest of my birds, but there are times they can be loud. If you are thinking of getting a bird I recommend you spend some time around the types of birds you’re thinking you want. Google what they sound like & listen to a variety of different recordings, read all you can about the types that you are considering getting. My tiny little Canary (first photo in this post) is loud for his size. I like his song & that is why I adopted him 2 months ago.
14. Should I keep my birds wings clipped? My opinion is yes, a tame bird can still fly away, fly into a wall & injury itself. May birds that have full flight are not as reliant on their human caregivers & often not as tame. Clipping wings doesn’t hurt, its like cutting your hair. Many Vets can do this & trim your birds nails.
15. Does a bird need toys? yes, birds like & need things to chew on & play with. Some like things they pick up & some prefer hanging toys. I wrote a post about it, it’s #87.
I hope this post has answered any questions you might have about having birds as pets. If you have additional questions you can comment at the bottom & ask or you can email me directly & ask at echoinggreatpetcare@gmail.com
I write this blog to share my 20 years of fostering a variety of pets & a lifetime of living with a variety of pets. I want to see more pets thrive & not just survive. I am passionate about pets & believe it is a privilege to have these incredible animals to love & care for. In return they show their affections & devotion to us.
Please help me to get the word out there about my blog. You can help me in a few ways: Visiting my blog often, sharing the link on your social media sites or with family & friends, comment about something you learned or liked, Like my posts. All these things help get the word out there about my blog & helps more people to find it.
I have 137 other posts on this blog & you can find the list on my home page under the show tab in the upper left. If you click there you will see the table of content listed & you can see all the titles. Then you can go back to the main page & scroll till you come to the pages you want to read.
Thank you for visiting & hope you will be back soon, Debbie
Echoing Great Pet Care 