Parrots As Pets

Parrot diseases should be an issue of concern for you. Just like people, parrots can become ill. However, unlike humans, they tend to hide their illness making it your responsibility to identify when your parrot needs medical care. Parrots suffer from illnesses from colds to cancer, but the signs and symptoms of parrot diseases will help you identify when you need to seek veterinary care. Failing to seek medical care can cost your parrot its life, so never delay if you believe your parrot is ill.

Of great concern to everyone these days is Avian Influenza. However, this is not something you should worry about a great deal unless you work in the poultry industry, have outdoor aviaries where migratory avians could drop feces into the aviary, or you live in an area directly impacted by the virus.

In the wild, parrots live in flocks. Any sick parrot is a liability to the survival of the flock and will be outcast. Therefore, the sick parrot will do everything in its power to hide signs of illness. Only when the parrot disease has progressed to a point that the parrot is too weakened to hide the symptoms any longer will the bird allow flock members to learn of its distress. This means we have to keep a close eye on our feathered friends to catch any signs of illness early on while treatments can be effective.

A bird that is healthy sleeps on one foot. This is true of a small budgie, a medium sized conure, or a large cockatoo or macaw. In fact, even flamingos sleep on one foot – a rather funny sight to say the least! This does not mean that you parrot may not take a short nap dozing on both feet, but once it goes into sound sleep for the night, it will sleep on only one foot, hiding the other foot in its feathers. Any parrot that sleeps soundly with both feet on the perch, usually crouched low to the perch is not well.

In order to identify potential parrot disease in your bird, learn what your parrots dropping look like when it is healthy. Consistently runny droppings are a sure sign of disease. Any parrot may eat something that is watery and have droppings that are runny for a short time after eating this food, such as a juicy fruit, but the runny droppings will not continue even throughout an entire day.

A healthy parrot is a well-groomed parrot. Every day a parrot spends a great deal of time preening its feathers, distributing oil from the gland at the base of the tail onto the feathers, and keeping each feather in its proper place. Any parrot that allows its feathers to become disarrayed and seems as if it doesn't care to groom is a sick parrot.

A runny nose, prolonged sneezing, coughing, watery eyes or discharge from the beak are certain signs of parrot disease. If these symptoms appear, seek medical help immediately to save your parrot! Any parrot will sneeze occasionally, just as people do, but if your parrot sneezes frequently, especially if you see nasal discharge, the bird is ill.

A parrot that is healthy plays and relishes its food. Eating and playing are big parts of a parrot's day. If your parrot suddenly refuses to eat foods that it has eaten in the past, offer it some of its favorite foods. If it will not eat even its favorite treats, you have a sick parrot and need to get to a veterinarian quickly. If you parrot becomes inactive, sitting on the perch with feathers ruffled, you need to have it checked by a vet right away.

If you parrot shows any sign of parrot diseases, take it to an avian veterinarian quickly. Parrots have high metabolisms and if they are not eating well, drinking water, and acting normally, you can lose your beloved feathered pal quickly if you do not act. Don't delay; most parrot diseases can be treated if caught early enough.

If you are adding a parrot to your household, you'll need to think of parrot names to consider for your new feathered pal. Some people name their birds based on their colors or species. Others choose named based on where the species comes from. Still others simply select a name they have always liked and use that. A parrot will learn its name with surprising quickness. It won't be long before you new parrot knows that when you say that word, you are talking about him or her!

If you can't think of a good name for your parrot, you'll find lists of parrot names on the Internet that can help you. You can also choose to wait a few days and you will probably find yourself addressing the parrot with some loving word which can easily become a great name for it. Many parrots are named Angel, Precious, Baby, Prince, Big Bird, and similar names and these names were often chosen exactly this way.

Frequently, parrots that are brightly colored, such as lovebirds, sun conures, blue and gold macaws, and others get their names from their colorful plumage. Many sun conures are named Sunshine, Sundance, Sunny, Mango, Pepper, or Goldie. Many lovebirds are named Peaches or Lemon for their feather colors. It is not uncommon to find blue and gold macaws that are named Goldie or Bluebell. Angel, Powderpuff, Cotton, and China are common names for white birds such as albino parakeets, white cockatoos, and cockatiels. Smokey or Cocoa are common names for African Grey parrots.

The Australian parrots, including cockatoos, budgies (parakeets), and cockatiels are often named for cities in Australia. Sydney, Queenie (for Queensland), Alice (for Alice Springs), and other names that have to do with the location of the bird's ancestors are quite common. Congo African Greys are often named Congo for the region from which this species hails.

If you want your parrot to learn to speak its name, it is best to choose a simple name. A long, complex name could be difficult for the parrot to learn and pronounce. One lady named her budgie Perihelion because she was studying astronomy at the time. Of course, the budgie never learned to say this long, complex word. However, once it earned the nickname of Cosmo and was called "Coz" for short, it learned to speak the word quickly. Select a name that does not have many syllables. Of course, some talented talkers can learn to say extremely complex phrases, but you probably will not know the level of talent your parrot has at the point at which you want to select the parrot's name.

One of the parrot names used frequently is Pete or Petey; Repeat is another common name. Honestly, your parrot will not care what name you select for it as long as you speak that name in a loving, calm, soothing tone of voice. Parrots want to have your attention and interact with you every day, as much of the day as possible. Choose the name based on your personal preference because you'll find yourself saying the name for many years to come if you provide a safe, healthy home for your feathered friend.

There are as many different parrot prices as there are parrot species, or perhaps even more. Parrots range from the inexpensive parakeet which can be found in many places for as little as $10 to the rare and endangered $25,000 Hyacinth Macaw. Fortunately, with this broad range of prices, everyone that really wants a parrot to love can own one of one species or another. It is also true that price has nothing to do with personality because the $10 parakeet is a bundle of personality, intelligence and creativity, just as are the much larger species. Parakeets are also some of the most likely to learn to speak of all parrots.

There's more to owning a parrot than simply the purchase price. There is housing to be considered because every parrot deserves its own cage to call its home. It also requires medical care, food, toys, supplies and other associated expenses. So, just because you can find an extra $300 or so, don't run out and purchase a parrot without a great deal of consideration to the long-term impact to the parrot. Large parrots can live, in many cases where proper care if provided, 100 years or more. You are making a commitment much greater than spending a few dollars for the initial setup required. You are committing to the equivalent of having a child in your home that will never grow up beyond about three or four years of age emotionally. Parrots can be quite demanding and if you can't give yourself and your time, it is wiser to not spend the money on a parrot, but get another type of pet.

Parrot prices differ greatly from region to region. In the United States, Florida is a popular place for parrot breeders because of the mild winters, and prices may be a great deal lower there than, let's say, for a state in the U.S. where summers are short and parrot breeding facilities require heat most of the year.

First, you should determine the species of parrot that is best for your unique situation. Apartment dwellers are frequently happier with a small, quieter parrot such as a budgie or cockatiel than a large, loud cockatoo. The amount of time you have to spend with the parrot must also be considered because some species, especially cockatoos, are emotionally demanding. After you do your homework and choose a species, then you can begin shopping for the best price.

Pet stores are one place to purchase parrots, but because these shops have a lot of overhead their prices may be higher than if you go to a parrot breeder. There are many hobby breeders that have little or no overhead beyond basic parrot care that sell healthy, beautiful young parrots at great prices.

You want to find good price for a young parrot if you can make your purchase any way you wish. However, it is worthy of mention that there are many parrots that have to be re-homed each year because people too quickly purchase them and find they aren't real parrot people, abandoning them to shelters. Consider adopting a parrot that needs someone to love it before paying retail prices. Sometimes, however, a parrot will simply cause you to fall in love with it at a pet store, and in those cases, you will probably not be able to defend yourself against the love the feathered buddy that grabbed your heart.

Parrot treats are an important part of your bird's life. Just as we like to treat ourselves sometimes, your parrot deserves treats too!

If you are training your parrot to respond to commands, you will probably begin by using parrot treats, such as your bird's favorite food or seed, as a reward for responding properly. In this situation, the treat reward should only be given during training and never placed in the parrot's regular food or given at other times. Reserve that parrot treat for training. Of course, as your parrot becomes trained, you can stop using the food reward and provide love and praise as a reward in many cases.

A varied diet is important for parrot health. A regular diet based on a good quality seed mix or pellets designed for your species of parrot is a great start, but your parrot needs fruits and vegetables and other human foods as well. Just about anything humans consume except avocado, chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, raw meat, raw eggs, or any potentially spoiled foods are great for your parrot. However, you must limit foods that are high in salt, sugar or fat to a very, very small quantity. Some parrots love a bite of non-chocolate cookie as a treat. There's nothing wrong with giving them a crumb of cookie from time to time. Just don't provide these parrot treats too often or your bird could become obese!

Many purchased parrot treats are healthy and well-loved by parrots. Yogurt covered fruit and nuts are popular. Millet sprays are a treat that some parrots love. There are even parrot cookie treats available. Find those that your bird really enjoys and let your bird have these treats from time to time. However, make certain your parrot is not eating too many treats and too little healthy fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, cheese, pasta, rice, and seeds or pellets. Many birds will try to get away with only eating parrot treats and nothing else.

If you really want to give your parrot treats, grow a small bird garden in your yard. Wheat is loved by parrots when it is fresh and green, served on the stalk. Fresh, green millet is another great treat you can grow. Plant a good quality parrot seed mix and anything that grows to create a seed head can be served after rinsing with water. Your parrot will love these treats!

Every parrot deserves treats. The key factor is to not overdo the treats and get your parrot to eat a healthy mix of foods. Find those parrot treats that your particular bird really enjoys and serve them the same way you serve yourself treats – a bit here and there, but not a daily diet of them. After all, you may love cheesecake but you can not live a healthy life on cheesecake alone. Your parrot will love parrot treats, but it can not live a healthy life on treats alone. Balance healthy foods with healthy parrot treats and your parrot will live longer, be happier and thank you for it.

Parrot wing clipping is a controversial subject among bird owners. One school of thought is that the wings should never be clipped, restricting the parrot to remaining indoors or using a flight suit if taking the parrot outside. Another school of thought says that the wings should be clipped because in the wild parrots don't fly except to locate food which isn't a needed exertion when living with humans.

The balance falls to the side in favor of wing clipping because of the freedom it provides a bird living in a companion parrot situation. No parrot wants to be left in its cage all the time, yet a flighted parrot can get into much more trouble in the household than one that can't fly. It can reach things that a parrot with clipped wings could never think of reaching. There's just no place safe from a flight parrot in the home.

That isn't to say that a parrot with clipped wings can't get into trouble; they certainly can find things to create havoc with if left unsupervised. But their wings will not knock your fine china off the china shelf, break glass knickknacks, cause them to fly into ceiling fans, fall behind furniture, and other things that happen to flighted parrots all to frequently.

A parrot with clipped wings has the pleasure to going outdoors with its humans during good weather. It can go for rides in the car with its people. It can enjoy real sunshine and grass, watch the rain fall without a window in between. It doesn't have to be placed in a confining flight suit or cage to enjoy these pleasures.

If you have owned a parrot that loved people, you'll soon realize how difficult it could become to get into and out of your house without taking a chance of a parrot slipping out with you. No matter how careful you are, there will be a time that your partner, your child or perhaps even you, don't have the parrot in its cage when that door opens. Out the door the bird goes, with no idea what lies out there, and you may never see the parrot again.

Parrot wing clipping is not an expensive procedure and it is not painful for the parrot. You can easily learn, from a veterinary or professional at a pet shop, how to do the procedure yourself. You must always watch for any blood feathers growing in because feathers that have not shed their keratin sheath do contain a blood supply, unlike mature feathers. Cutting one of these can result in lots of bleeding and the cut feather must be removed with tweezer or hemostats to stop the bleeding.

With all the pluses and minuses in mind, the decision to clip your parrot's wings or allow your parrot to be flighted is yours. But you must realize how heartbreaking it can be to see your beloved parrot fly away out of your sight when it accidentally escapes.

Talking parrots are wonderful pets and your friends will find themselves amazed when your parrot speaks, unless they are parrot owners also. So few people realize how well a parrot can learn to imitate human speak and are even more amazed when a parrot uses words or phrases in correct content.

Talking parrots have been around since ancient times. In fact, the wall of a villa, thought to have been built about the year 2 A.D., contains a mosaic showing a long-tailed bird perching on a wine goblet along with the statement, “The parakeet becomes even more insolent when it drinks wine.” Now, never let your parakeet drink wine! It isn't good for them, but you get the idea. Clearly, they had some plucky little parrots even back then!

Talking parrots range from the small parakeet to the huge Hyacinth Macaw and just about every species in between is capable of talking. The males of each species are more likely to learn to talk than the females but never let anyone try to convince you that females of any species are incapable of speech. It simply isn't true! Many times, you'll read the female cockatiels simply can't talk, but once you own a talking female cockatiel that talks to her babies inside the nest box, you'll know the real truth!

A parrot must learn to talk because it is not its native language. It is a bit like a person who spoke English as a child deciding to learn another language, for example Spanish. It takes some time and effort to learn. Parrots have their own language, even though it is not "spoken". Their native language is comprised of body language and vocalizations. It is the range of vocalizations that parrots have which allows them to learn human speech.

To teach a parrot to speak requires some dedication. It is best to begin with a young parrot, but any parrot can learn to talk, no matter the age. However, an untamed parrot will not have a strong desire to speak. This is because a talking parrot is talking because it wants to sound like its "flock", which in the case of a tame companion parrot happens to be humans that talk all the time.

To train your parrot to talk, choose a time each day that you can consistently spend about 10 minutes with the parrot twice per day, preferably away from its cage. Ideally, have one training session in the morning and one in the evening. Choose a simply, easy to say word such as "hello" or "pretty bird" for the first efforts. Repeat this word slowly and clearly. If you are working with a budgie, speak especially slowly because these hyper little birds tend to speed up their words. Speak in the same tone of voice, pausing for a second or two between each repetition. Do this consistently, two times each day, and soon you may be pleasantly surprised when your parrot repeats the words. After learning the first word, just as with humans learning to talk, it seems that new words come more easily.