Housing

Your bird's cage will be the single most important purchase that you make, as well as the one that has the most impact on your feathered friend's quality of life. Because many birds will spend a lot of time in their cages, you should simply purchase the biggest cage that you can afford. A cage that affords plenty of room for wing-flapping and hanging a wide array of toys and perches is best. When considering dimensions, long cages are better than tall. Also, pay careful attention to bar spacing - make sure that the bird cannot possibly get it's head through the bars - this could be lethal to your bird!

Perches

Most cages come with either plastic perches or wooden dowels. These are fine as a basic perch - but birds need a variety of sizes and textures to keep their feet from developing cramps and other problems. In nature, birds perch on branches that have a variety of textures and shapes - and you can purchase natural branches at most pet stores and online bird supply websites. Another product that I recommend is a rope perch - birds seem to favor these above all other perches, as they are soft on their feet and provide wonderful texture. Finally, consider getting a concrete perch for nail/beak grooming. This will reduce the amount of nail trimming that you must do yourself, and birds appreciate a place to groom their beaks as well. Other excellent commercial products include sand and cuttlebone perches. Birds can both perch on the cuttlebone perch to groom nails, and also chew on it as a mineral supplement.

Swings

Most birds like to swing, and while not a necessity, I would recommend offering a swing to your bird. Basic swings are very inexpensive (usually less that $3), but there are also swings on the market that have toys hanging from the tops and a variety of perching surfaces. Some are made of sandy material, some are rope, etc - and these also add variety to your bird's perching options.

Toys

Toys are an absolute necessity to your bird's happiness and mental health. Offer a variety of types of toys, and switch them out every few weeks in order to prevent boredom. You will quickly learn what kinds of toys your bird(s) prefer. As a basic rule, you should choose something that is destructible (can be shredded, chewed, etc), something that is indestructible (acrylic works wells for this), something that can be preened (such as rope, coconut fiber, etc), and a foraging toy. Foraging means that the bird must solve a puzzle or work at a toy in order to get food/a treat/ etc from it. Birds in the wild greatly enjoy foraging, and in captivity they relish the opportunity to do the same. Even though a bird has a full dish of food inches away, many will prefer to dig a morsel out of a puzzle toy simply because they appreciate the mental stimulation. Birds do eventually become bored with the same old toys, so keep extras on hand so that they can be changed out.

Diet

Proper diet is absolutely crucial to your bird's health. Aside from household accident, improper diet is the leading cause of death in domestic birds. An exclusively seed diet is not nutritionally complete, no matter what it says on the bird food bag. Most birds pick out their favorite seed or refuse to eat the key ingredients in seed mixes that provide adequate nutrition. Also, much of the vitamin and mineral fortification is coated on the hull of the seeds - and pet birds hull their seeds, thus discarding the beneficial ingredients.

For these reasons, I choose to feed my birds a high quality pelleted diet as well as seed mix. Additionally, fruits, vegetables, and other foods should be offered. This will greatly add to the health and longevity of your bird. Almost any fruit or vegetable is fine, except avodcado (toxic to birds), lettuce, or large amounts of cabbage. Also avoid chocolate, caffeine, tobacco, or extremely salty/fatty foods. Here is a list of foods that I commonly feed mine:  collard greens, turnip greens, watercress, apples, berries (strawberries especially!), yellow squash, zuchinni, sweet potato, carrots, jalapeno pepper (birds LOVE hot peppers), bell pepper, frozen mixed vegetables (thawed of course!), green beans, fresh corn on the cob (frozen is also fine) pomegranate (expensive - but very healthy and my birds go WILD for it), grapes, banana, oranges, cereals (avoid the sugary ones - go for whole grains such as puffed wheat), bread, rice, pasta, any kind of beans, hardboiled eggs with shell still on (occasionally - also good for breeding pairs), and even the occasional bit of cooked chicken. This is just a small list, but it gives you some ideas where to start!

Commercial cooking mixes are also available, as well as dehydrated veggies (these are marvelous and can be added to the regular food mix on a daily basis). If you would like a recommendation for brands or places to purchase seed, pellets, dehydrated veggies, treats, etc, I'm more than happy to share my opinions - email me at andreascritters@gmail.com.

Supplements

If your bird is fed an excellent diet, there is very little need for vitamin supplementations, but it can be beneficial if given occasionally. This is my method - my birds eat a mixture of seeds, pellets, fresh foods, and fruit/veggies and I use a supplement every other week or so. If your bird is fed a seed diet - you absolutely must supplement with a commercial product. However, if your bird eats a steady diet of pellets, you should not use a vitamin supplement, as pellets are already heavily fortified.

Calcium and mineral supplementation should be offered to every bird regardless of diet. A cuttlebone and a mineral block should be available in the cage at all times.

Grooming

All birds appreciate the opportunity to bathe - it helps their feather quality and keeps dust down (especially for very dander-heavy species such as cockatiels). You can either teach your bird to accompany you in the shower, or you can provide an opportunity to bathe in the bird's cage. Commercial bird baths are plentiful, or you can simply place a dish of water in the bottom of the cage. I would give your bird the opportunity to bathe at least once a week, but they'd probably enjoy it more frequently.

Occasionally nails will need to be trimmed, but you can cut down on this necessity by offering appropriate grooming perches. Please be aware that cutting nails too close to the quick will cause them to bleed, so any time you trim nails be sure to have Quik-stop or another blood coagulant handy (corn starch works in a pinch).

If a healthy diet is offered and your bird has appropriate toys to chew on, its beak should not need trimming. Many birds, when fed a seed diet, develop beak overgrowths and other problems that will eventually lead to extreme discomfort and the inability to eat, and finally death. If your bird's beak seems to be growing excessively or does not look "normal" anymore, please see a qualified avian veterinarian to have it trimmed and diagnose the reason for this overgrowth.

Wing clipping can be performed to help your companion bird remain tame, and also to keep him/her safe from harm. Ceiling fans and windows can pose a hazard to an unclipped bird, and many birds meet their fate in this way. Oftentimes a bird will try to fly out a window or into a mirror, and the result is a broken back. I recommend a light wing clip when the baby bird first goes home, both as an aid in bonding with its new owner and also as a way to keep it out of harm's way. Wing feathers grow back in 4-8 months (depending on species), and wing clipping will need to be maintained throughout the bird's life if desired. Please make sure that you are knowledgable about the anatomy of a bird's wing before attempting to clip flight feathers - you can easily cut through blood feathers and kill your bird. I am happy to clip wings for anyone who purchases a bird from me (or even if you have not!!!)

Common Household Dangers

Many things in your home can pose a threat to your feathered friends, and of course many of these things are common sense. Dogs, cats, children, and larger birds are some of the most obvious dangers. Other dangers include inhaled fumes - cleaning supplies, cigarette smoke, etc is harmful to your bird. Birds have very sensitive respiratory systems, and things that seem inconsequential to you can kill your bird. Teflon and nonstick cookware also kills birds - at high temperatures these products release fumes that are toxic to your bird. Also be aware of ceiling fans, open windows, etc. Birds with clipped wings can land on the floor and be stepped on and crushed.

I'll add more to this section soon. This is just a basic list of information to get you started - feel free to email me with more specific questions!!! andreascritters@gmail.com