Home / Gaia Toast / Bringing A Pet Bird Home? Don't Miss These Tips
Best be prepared instead of just winging it.
1) Cage Space & Location
Buy a suitable-sized cage for your bird. Generally, the cage’s length and width should be at least 2 times of your bird’s wingspan. We recommend that you provide even more space so your bird can stretch and move about freely.
It is also important which part of your house to place this cage. Birds are quite sociable so ideal spaces can be:
Your living room
Your balcony (make sure it's shady)
A space where you and your family hang out often.
We don’t recommend bathrooms or kitchens because:
Bathrooms tend to be small spaces with poor ventilation and can get quite humid and hot. Toxic fumes from toilet cleaning agents can also linger and cause harm. High humidity on a hot day means it's hard for birds to cool down.
Birds don't sweat. They regulate their body temperature by panting. This increases the amount of airflow over the air sacs, which removes heat through evaporative cooling.
Kitchens are dangerous especially if you use non-stick cooking pans or appliances. Overheating such cookware coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) releases poisonous fumes, toxic to birds.
In short, avoid areas where there are rapid fluctuations in humidity or temperature.
Let your bird get used to his living environment and primary caretaker (you) first. Then over a few days, you may slowly introduce him to the rest of the family or pets.
Loud noises can be quite stressful for birds. If you have pets, kids or live with large family, try to avoid loud and sudden noises near your bird. Best if you can avoid using the vacuum cleaner or host a kids’ party at home in the first couple of weeks.
Don’t handle your bird immediately when you bring him home. Let him stay in the cage and get used to you for the first few days while you feed him and clean the litter under his cage.
Never leave your pet dog or cat alone with your bird. Take a couple of weeks or even months to observe their interactions. It's perfectly okay if they don’t end up becoming best friends (like in all those cute videos on the internet). It's good enough if they can tolerate being in the vicinity of one another without stressing out.
3) Schedule
Knowing what to expect provides a sense of security for your bird. Regular schedules also ensure your bird gets enough rest and food.
You will need a cover big enough to conceal his cage (but still airy) so he can rest. This shuts out ambient lighting (especially in a bright city like Singapore) from the streets or in your home at night. This helps to regulate their circadian clocks and is beneficial for bird health. How much sleep do birds need? Around 10 - 12 hours a day.
4) Variety of Food
For the first couple weeks, make sure you feed your bird the same kind of food as the pet shop or fosterer. It helps him to be less stressed out if he has something familiar to munch on. If you wish to introduce new food, do it gradually and in small amounts mixed with his current feed.
We recommend that you feed your bird a variety of food to ensure a balanced and nutritious diet. For example, love birds need a diet consisting of 75-80% pellets and 20-25% fruits & veggies. Seeds are occasional treats. How frequent can you feed seeds? It should be as occasional as feeding candy and chocolates to kids.
On the hand, sprouted seeds are an excellent source of nutrition for your birds. And if you do it yourself, you will have access to a crop of fresh, good and cheap sprouts! Check out this handy how-to guide on seed sprouting.
5) Lots of Fluids
Put water bowls in multiple spots (depending on the size of the cage). You can place a water bowl on a perch and another on the floor of the cage. But, do observe to make sure the water bowl's location is not where your pet bird tends to poop on. Shift it away from poop spots to ensure the water stays clean.
6) Fun & Play
Buy fun toys like climbing gyms, chewable posts and mirrors for your bird. Colourful toys are great for visual stimulation (yes, your bird can see in colours!) Play is super important for his mental stimulation and well-being. Digging, scratching and exploring gives your bird a chance to exercise and keeps his bones in shape. This also allows them to file their beaks down.
Inspect toys more often if you opt to leave them in the cage as they can get worn out or torn up if your pet bird likes them a lot. Understand that perches and toys can all wear out and make sure you change them out regularly. Frayed materials, broken bits, cracked plastic etc. can be hazardous if your bird accidentally swallows them.
Hence, we don't recommend toys or perches made with ropes, tassels or woven materials which can fray. On the same note, if your notice your pet bird picking at the cage cover, change to a new one. Do not use towels or cloths with loose threads as covers.
Good alternatives include tree barks or natural wood perches with bells. Wood is ideal because birds naturally enjoy gnawing on tree bark and branches.
All the prep will be worth it because…
Birds are generally sociable and can be quite affectionate. Making the effort to ease your new pet bird into your home will pay off in time!
