How to Care for Your Pet Parrot In Winter -

How to Care for Your Pet Parrot In Winter

Whenever we think of returning to our comfortable home during the holiday season, we never fail to get that warm, cozy feeling, which holds especially true for those who have birds as pets and wish to give them that similar comfortable feeling. This is the ideal time to prepare a cage that will make them feel more comfortable during the winter, as well as bring more presents to go along with their brand new home.

How to build a comfortable cage

Since psittacines (parrots) are naturally tropical, your living area is not required to keep a 90 degrees Fahrenheit as most birds can adapt to cooler surroundings. However, they can’t adjust to a sudden change of temperature. As you reduce your home temperature, it is essential to keep any cold drafts away their cage.

It is also not necessary to wrap your parrot cage with blankets, especially if you use dark covers. A cage covered with dark sheets will immediately make your pet bird feel that it is inside a box. If a draft needs to be reduced, a translucent plastic sheeting is suitable for a cover, but make sure that the bird won’t be able to chew it. Never use any plastic covering that brings chemical smell because birds are said to be very sensitive to different airborne toxins.

How to Care for Your Pet Parrot in Winter — Amazon Parrot

About Using candles

Scented candles always give us that pleasant smell, but the respiratory tract of birds is not capable of dealing with the scent. Parrots are very sensitive to toxins. Scented candles give a unique touch to candlelight, bringing the spirit of the Holidays into your home. But the use of unscented candles is advisable for the welfare of your pet bird.

A whole night with lighted candles may be an ideal scenario for you. But the recommended lighting for birds is 12 hours in daylight and another 12 hours at night. Having lights on for more extended periods is not good for their health. Try getting a smaller size of sleep cage placed in a dark and quiet area for them if you wish to have your lights on longer.

Consider their food

Whenever we talk about the holiday season, food always goes along with it. Although it is our priority to provide our pet birds with the best type of foods, we also need to remember to consider their health, as it is essential especially when the weather is cold and they are more vulnerable to illness. Their immune system must be kept healthy by giving them food with nutritional value. Nuts are the best examples of this. If you have a small parrot, you may crack the nut into smaller pieces for ease. Walnuts and Brazil nuts are rich in omega 3 fatty acids that are known to be essential in building a healthy immune system as well as the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health. As for peanuts, if not stored properly, these will be contaminated with a fungus which will eventually allow them to give off aflatoxins that will cause liver failure.

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Pomegranates, on the other hand, are known to be rich in bioflavonoids and antioxidants, including sweet potatoes, yams and also pumpkin pies that are full of beta-carotene. The mango from South America is also recommended for your pet parrot, and this has been observed as the primary food source for parrots in Brazil. Based on this observation, the birds appear to eat mangos both when the fruit is unripe and when it is also ripe. There has been no explanation for this, although the same happens with wild parrots. Meanwhile, avoid other foods that are also rich in simple sugars such as peas, corn, bananas, and grapes.

The ideal presents for your pet parrot

The holiday season is all about giving presents, and part of this gift giving is for our pets. It is essential for every buyer to pay attention to safety when buying toys for your parrots. We certainly don’t want our pets to play with any unsafe toys that might put its life in danger. Part of the precautionary measure is to determine the perfect size of toy for your bird and something that they could safely interact with. Some toys can sometimes be scary when first introduced to your pet. To avoid this, try hanging a new toy just outside the cage, then later play with it like you are really into playing with it. This may help deal with the issue and will eventually spark some interest in your pet parrot.

Be aware of any metal that may come from bells, as well as wire parts on some toys. Most of these are created with zinc or lead base, except if they are constructed from stainless steel. Because of your pet’s interest, it can break off and ingest the solder where a couple of pieces of the metal come together, and this could be fatal. Therefore, make sure that the toys you buy do not have metal except if it is stainless steel. This is also an ideal time to check the cage for exposed and worn solder joints where the metal comes together. Take a good look inside a cage from the bird’s perspective – place your head inside and then give it a well-combed look!

Now that you have been made aware of finding safe toys for your bird and have inspected the cage, take out those healthy foods and place them in with the new toys. The holidays can be safe, healthy and fun, especially if spent with our pets, while the sun sets in the sky and the unscented candles have been lit.

SOURCE: CuteParrots.com

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