General Care for Pet Birds

Pet Bird General Care

Taking Care Of Your Pet Bird Is Important. Pet birds are different than cats and dogs, but they are not any more difficult to keep healthy. The right pet bird diet, a clean cage, fresh bird food and water, safe bird toys, exercise, and lots of attention are the basics. Pet bird cages should have plenty of space for activity and a grate to separate your pet bird from the substrate.

Pet Bird Diet and Treats

Birds may eat a wide variety of food items in the wild, foraging to meet their needs. As family friends, pet birds have the same needs and, which you can meet with the premium diets manufactured by Kaytee—Fiesta Max, Forti-Diet Pro Health, exact®, and many others. Find out more about Kaytee products.

Pet Bird interaction and socialization

Understanding bird behavior in the wild is very important to understanding their behavior as companions. For instance, parrots are social animals in the wild. They roost, fly, and forage in flocks. Your family is the flock for a pet bird, and it wants to be part of family activities. If your family is in one room and the bird is in its cage in another, the bird may scream to get the flock's attention. Similarly, many species of parrots mate for life. So, when a parrot bonds with one person and is showing offensive behavior toward others, it is simply protecting its “mate.”

Pet Bird Cages and Environment

In general, the larger the bird cage the better. Pet birds need room to exercise their wings and climb. A variety of bird toys that provide enrichment activities give these intelligent animals plenty of things to do. Finches and canaries enjoy flying throughout a cage, so a flight cage is always preferred, especially with multiple birds. A parrot requires toys for chewing, while a finch or canary enjoys a bell or swing.

Pet Bird Intelligence

Some pet birds (macaws, African Greys, amazons, and others) can mimic speech and sounds they hear. Some species are better at mimicking than others but remember that each individual bird is different. Some soft-billed birds, such as the mynah, are good at mimicry, too.