Pet Bird Supplies Information
Table of Contents
Pet Bird Supplies Information
Whether you are a new or experienced owner of birds, you will always need good pet bird supplies. When you are starting out, you will need to buy everything you will need for your bird, including cages, perches, food and water bowls, and toys. As you and your avian companion become more settled, the need for supplies will continue. You will need food, cuttle bones, supplements, food, paper for your cage floor, and many other daily necessities. If you have a busy life, it might be hard knowing which supplies are best. You might not have the time to assemble a list of everything you need. We would like to take the guess work out of the process, and save you lots of time. Here is a list of pet bird supplies that are indispensable for every bird owner.
Cages For Pet Birds
If course, good bird cages are a top necessity when you consider pet bird supplies. Birds are intelligent animals. Hence, you should never limit yourself to a single bird cage. If you often leave your bird alone in its cage, for long days, you bird may get bored and resort to undesirable behaviors. Therefore, you should consider getting multiple cages for your pet bird. Also, if you live in a warm climate, provide an outdoor aviary so that your bird can benefit from a more natural habitat.
If you own parakeets, you can find helpful information and recommendations of cages here. If you have a larger bird, like a parrot, you can find more information here. For all birds, you should always buy the largest cage you can afford. Furthermore, you should always place food and water dishes above perches to avoid contamination. Be sure to fill the cage with many interesting toys to provide your bird with stimulation.
Also, do not forget that you will bring your bird to the vet from time to time. You may even travel with your pet. Therefore, we recommend a travel cage for pet birds.
This travel cage by Prevue Pet Products has received great reviews from Amazon customers. Customers report that it is lightweight, durable and easy to set up and collapse. This means that it is perfect for short trips. In addition, you can feed a seat belt through the seat belt collars to travel more easily by car. Its dimensions are 18 3/4 inches long 14 7/8 inches wide and 18 inches high. Also, it has 1/2 inch bar spacing, so it’s perfect for large and small birds. Use this for short trips to the vet, or other occasions where you need to take your avian companions along with you.
Cage Covers
It is very important that you bird receives regular rest, and that you place the cage in which they sleep in a quiet spot in your house. In addition, covering the cage is a good practice to ensure your bird gets 8 or more hours of quality sleep. Therefore, we recommend a cage cover as one of the indispensable pet bird supplies.
The cage cover your buy will depend on the size of your bird’s cage. Prevue Pet Products and other manufacturers make excellent ones. You can check them out on Amazon here.
Perches For Cages
Perches are also a necessity to ensure that your birds can stand and move around the cage comfortably. Place perches of different sizes and diameters in the cage to avoid birds getting sores on their feet. Also, place perches below food and water bowls to avoid contamination. If you have canaries, you should take care to place the perches going in the same direction, as canaries enjoy moving by jumping from perch to perch. If you have pet parrots, you should arrange perches and bird toys in a way that’s varied, fun and stimulating.
Perches for pet birds come in a variety of materials. These include wood, cloth and untreated cotton rope. You can even improvise a perch by taking cloth and rolling it up. Synthetic materials may also be appropriate. These include plastic, acrylic and PVC. If you do use any of these synthetic materials, make sure they don’t have perfectly smooth surfaces, as these are difficult for birds’ talons to hold on to. And of course, make sure they are bird safe. If you bird is prone to chewing on these synthetic materials, it is best to buy or make a perch out of natural materials.
Pet Bird Food
You will need to buy high-quality bird food for as long as you own your pet. In addition, it is important to note that your bird’s diet should not consist only of bird seed. Also, if you are already feeding your bird a diet of seeds, we recommend gradually switching over to pellets. If you must feed your birds seeds, make sure they are high quality. High quality seeds include ingredients such as millet, oats, corn and hemp. As you transition your bird’s diet from seeds to more high-quality foods, it is a good idea to add a supplement into the food mix. Powered vitamins are ideal so that you can mix them into your pet bird’s food.
If you would like to switch your bird’s diet to pellets, we recommend Lafeber’s Nutriberries. This is a very popular, high quality dry bird food.
Other brands we recommend include Harrison’s, Oven Fresh and Totally Organics. In addition to pellets, you must of course ensure that your bird has a varied diet of grains, vegetables, fruits, protein and calcium. Doing so will mean that your bird’s diet is balanced. What are some examples of fresh foods you should feed your pet bird? Here is a list of examples:
- Broccoli
- Corn
- Carrots
- Yams
- Peas
- Apples
- Grapes
- Bananas
You should always stay away from citrus fruits, such as oranges, clementines, grapefruit etc.