Your bird is likely to be a bit scared with the change in its environment, so it’s best to put them in their cage and leave them alone for a while. Spend the first week speaking softly to them, offering fun treats (in moderation of course), moving slowly and gently around them, and gradually engaging with them more as they become comfortable with you.

The most important things to be cautious about, regardless of whether your bird’s flight feathers are trimmed or not, are: ceiling fans, open windows/doors, other pets, and cooking with non-stick cookware (they are coated with a substance that, when heated, will off-gas fumes that can kill your bird quickly)! Because parrots are curious and want to be involved in everything you do, it is best to keep your bird in another room when doing anything that could harm them, such as cooking with flames or the oven. Watch your bird CLOSELY when other pets are around, and be prepared to have to keep your cats/dogs completely separate from your bird if they show too much interested in the new small creature in their house.

Most avian vets agree a diet of mostly pellets and fresh veggies with little seed is the best diet for a parrot, HOWEVER this can vary between species so we recommend asking an avian specialist veterinarian what foods are best for your bird.

Generally, the bigger the better—HOWEVER, you must take into account bar spacing for your sized bird, so they can’t get their head stuck. For example, proper bar spacing for an Indian Ringneck is 1/2” to 5/8”. The more time your bird spends inside the cage (ie: smaller/flightier birds like Rosellas or Bourke’s), the larger the cage needs to be. All cages should be equipped with food/water bowls, plenty of toys, and perches of varying thicknesses to keep their feet healthy.

Birds require 10-12 hours of quiet, dark sleep for proper hormone regulation. It’s important to keep their cage in a room in which they won’t be disturbed at night, and cover their cage with blankets thick enough to keep the inside of their cage dark.

Birds will bathe themselves! However, it’s important to ensure your bird has plenty of opportunities to take a bath. For example, some birds don’t want to bathe in their water bowl, so you may have to offer them a plate with water, or even bring them into the shower.

Because birds are SO smart and SO social, they require lots of stimulation and interaction – either with you or another bird! Providing plenty of toys and foraging puzzles is important, but nothing is more important than out-of-cage socializing time. Let your bird hang out on your shoulder while you do things around the house when you are home. If you work away from home a lot and there’s no one around to be with your bird, you may want to consider having a second bird (getting two at the same time may cause them to bond with each other and not care about humans, so it’s best to bond with one new bird at a time). Meeting their social needs must be at the forefront of every bird owners mind if they want a happy bird!