Parrots are a lot different from dogs and cats as pets. Unlike dogs and cats, parrots do not need blowdrys or spa treatments. Grooming a parrot should maintain clipped nails and wings and a beak in perfect shape. But this is not something easy to do. A pet parrot owner should be trained by a professional avian veterinarian to make sure that they know what they are doing. If not, never attempt on grooming your parrot because it might cause serious injuries.
BEAK
Be cautious certain types of conditions like an upper or lower beak growing off to the side is one. This can be defect acquired during birth or an injury from an accident. Cleaning and caring the beak might prove to be difficult in such a condition. Some illnesses might also cause problems in growing your parrot's beak such as mite or fungal infections.
NAILS
The first thing to know in cutting your parrot's toenails is to identify the desired length that the nails should be cut. For this procedure, you will need an effective bird holder or a method of safe restraint, a cutting device and a styptic powder. Never attempt to cut the nails if you are unsure and not properly trained to do it. In case you are, you will only get used to the right length as time progresses. The cutting device should be appropriate to the size of your parrot. For smaller ones, human nail trimmers will do but for larger ones, a pet nail trimmers or the guillotine-style nail trimmer is most appropriate. If in any case you cause your parrot's toenail to bleed, be ready with the styptic powder but be cautious because this is very painful when applied to an open wound so you have to restrict your parrot from moving wildly effectively.
Nails are important to be cut because this can cause injury to your parrot. Long toenails might get caught in rugs, carpets, toys and cages and can be the cause of a broken toe.
WINGS
A properly clipped parrot's wings can prevent a serious injury to your pet parrot. In an attempt to fly during play sessions, parrots can avoid falling to the ground hard with correct clipped wings. Not only that they will also not be prone to serious wing, leg and head injury because of crashing into doors, mirrors, windows and ceiling fans.
True, full-winged parrots are very nice to look at and add to the beauty of the parrot but keep in mind that your parrot is a pet and not left out in the wild where they can boast off their wings while looking for food, flying to safety, protecting their young and shelter or finding companionship. You would not want your parrot to wander and fly off just like that would you! So be sure to trim the wings of your parrot and trim it correctly. Never attempt to trim the wings for the purpose of style and wild appearance because this might cause your parrot to fall hard on the ground and go circles in the air. Aim for wings that will help your bird flutter harmlessly to the ground.
Feeding your parrot
Like in grooming, perhaps the one important thing you have to keep in mind is that your parrot is a pet and you do not compare or imitate the lifestyle of the parrot in the wild because the environment is totally different.
In feeding the parrot, you have to make a total conversion of the parrot's diet. Do not be carried away by books or petshop owners who are saying that seeds are the best diet your parrot could ever have.
Parrots like humans need to have a well-balanced diet. Seeds are great for wild parrots because they are high in fat and protein. But wild parrots activities are not similar to pet parrots. Wild parrots get much exercise out there, flying here and there to look for food and find a shelter. They need all the weight, energy and fats they can get to do these activities. Pet parrots just stay home and only get exercise during very limited time of play sessions.
The acceptable diet to home-bound parrot pets is 70-80 percent "pelleted" diet and with the remaining 20-30 percent composition of fruits and veggies diet. It will also help if you go and ask your avian vet to make you a list of foods to avoid by your parrot. Some examples are raw onions, guacamole, chocolate or any milk products, avocado and rhubarb.
Cages and accessories
Parrots need a big cage so that they can have enough space to swing their wings fully and cling and hang as much as they want to. The best cages are those that are made of stainless steel, no paint chip off or rust that your bird might feed on. Plus they are great for cleaning considerations. They can be easily cleaned by a bleach solution and rinsed.
Feeding bowls that are stainless steel are ideal too. The perch should be thicker in size so that your bird can avoid toenail injuries and do not feed on it.
Parrot safety
Having a parrot at home means you have to make your home much safer for your bird companion. Toxic fumes released by appliances with non-stick surfaces are deadly for your pet parrot. So use them with caution or do not use them at all. Other dangerous household items that can cause serious damage to your parrots are scented candles, incense, cigarette smoke, cooking smoke, sprays, aerosol fumes and carpet powders, metals made of lead and zinc, toxic plants, electrical cords, hot and boiling foods and other pets.
Make sure that you have all the necessary information from your avian veterinarian before having a pet parrot. Ask him for a list of things you need to remember and avoid while having a bird companion. It may not be easy but you will get the hang of it later on.
Most people at some time in their lives have owned, do or will own a pet. There are many different reasons for one having a pet. For most, it is the enjoyment and companionship that one gets from pets. For others it is a means of security, by having watchdogs. Then too for many, it is purely for commercial gain, by breeding and selling thoroughbred animals. Whatever the motivation though, with the ownership of pets comes the responsibility to properly care for them. Too many people do not consider this responsibility before obtaining a pet. This attitude unfortunately is responsible for so many cases of pet abuse, which occur daily in every country, city, town village and farm throughout the world. If you, the reader, are at this time considering getting a pet for yourself or your child, I urge you to take note of some of the responsibilities in relation to caring for your pet.
General responsibility in caring for and maintaining your animals entails seeing to their adequate nourishment, shelter, control of external and internal parasites such as ticks and fleas, ensuring that they are regularly vaccinated and using veterinary services when necessary. Pet care also involves training and controlling your animals so that they do not become a problem to neighbours, delivery personnel and visitors to your home. In some cases, this could mean costly additions to your property, such as fences or walls. Caring for your pet also means obtaining some general knowledge in relation to the various sicknesses and ailments that can affect animals. Yet another area of responsibility is to ensure that at times when you and your entire household go away for vacations, you can provide either pet sitters, or arrange for your pets to go to boarding facilities.
Let us look now at some specific areas of pet care and here we will concentrate mainly on dogs, as they are the most popular of pets.
Feeding. Too often, pet owners think that all a dog or cat needs is the leftover food from their own meals. However, for animals to remain healthy they need to have the correct type of nutrients that can be found in good quality animal foods. For growing dogs, the amount of dry food intake per day should be about 5% of the dog's body mass. For the maintenance of grown dogs, it is about 2% and for lactating or hardworking dogs, it is 7.5%. It is good to provide bones for chewing, as this assists in keeping teeth clean. Raw meat is a healthy component of a good diet. Milk too is good in moderation, as an excess of it can cause diarrhoea. Clean drinking water is vital. It should be replaced at least once a day. The physical appearance of a dog, such as a glossy coat is a good indication of the adequacy of the diet. Check too the gums and the tongue, which should have a healthy, pink color.
Bathing. The 2 main reasons for bathing pets is for general hygiene, especially where you have a lot of physical contact with them and also as a controlling factor for external parasites. Most large breed dogs which do not have access to inside your home do not necessarily have to be bathed, except in the case where they have rolled in something smelly, as they tend to do at times. When bathing your pets, be sure to use suitable soaps or shampoos, as some may tend to irritate the skin, or dry out the natural oils that an animal needs. This can also happen with excessive bathing. When bathing for the control of ticks or fleas, be sure to use the appropriate insecticide shampoos and to follow the instructions carefully.
Grooming. Longer haired dogs especially, need regular grooming, both for appearance and for the comfort and health of the animal. An ungroomed dog will be more of an ideal breeding ground for fleas and ticks. Dogs, which live inside, if not groomed regularly and thoroughly, will be depositing shed hair all over your home. Take care in choosing the right grooming brushes. One with nylon bristles tends to create static electricity in the animals coat and could damage the hair over a period of time. The metal variety is probably the most durable.
Exercising. Regular exercising is an important part of caring for your pet, especially if your home has a small yard. If that is the case, then you will need to take them for walks. This means that they would have been, or must be trained to walk on a leash, as it is not wise to let your dog run free in the streets.
Lastly, you need to know that dogs are very sociable animals and thrive on companionship. Therefore part of caring for your pet is to play with them. This can be done in conjunction with exercising.
Take joy in caring for your pet and you will have many rewards. A well cared for pet will give you years of pleasure, satisfaction and companionship.
Both Lee Dobbins & Michael Russell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.