Bird Supplies and Information

Child and Cockatoo

Birds make wonderful pets.  It seems that everybody has a dog or a cat.  Maybe even several.  But not everyone has a bird.

Birds can be purchased from the local pet shop, from newspaper ads and a zillion other places.

If you don’t have experience with birds already try to find someone who is experienced to help you in this big decision.  You want to make sure that you end up with the right bird for you.

Many little birds only live a few years and many of the medium sized parrots live over 50 years.  I personally have a parrot that we have had for nearly 30 years and he looks the same as the day we bought him.  Some are also much harder to handle.  Some are talkers and some are not.  Some make a HUUUUGE mess while others not as much.  Some require VERY special care and others seem to be tough as nails.  This is why you need an experienced friend to talk to about your purchase and I always recommend reading about the type of bird you want BEFORE you buy.

For example for many people a budgie (parakeet) or a cockatiel make a very good first bird.  They are small, generally easy to care for and won’t lop a finger off!  Many people go to the pet shop, see a Macaw bird which is one of the most beautiful large birds and fall in love.  They are full of personality.  And they can just bite your finger off and leave it on the floor!!  They have jaws that can crack open a Brazil nut.  Just try to open one yourself.  I have personally witnessed a 1″ dowel rod bitten into by a Muluccan Cockatoo like in the picture above.

Don’t get me wrong.  These are both wonderful birds.  It is just that they require a knowledgeable owner and a smart purchase.  What is a smart purchase?  Well for larger birds especially I recommend “hand raised babies”.  That means they were born in captivity and raised by hand around people.  They grew up with humans and think of them as mama or daddy quite often.  They are pretty much big babies at this point.

Cockatiels make good birds for the beginner

Getting a wild caught parrot is less expensive than a hand raised baby but you get what you pay for.  A wild caught parrot is just that…wild.  And needs a very patient person to train them and be their friend.  Not just anyone can do this.  Too many people come home with a medium sized parrot, get bit once or twice and become scared of the bird.  Again this is much less likely to happen with hand raised babies.

Another reason that you need some expert advice is because of the equipment that you need to take care of your new bird.  You need as large of a cage as practical for you, both in size and cost.  It needs to be sturdy enough to withstand the type of bird you are going to put in it.  Again, a macaw can probably disassemble anything but a VERY sturdy cage.  We even had a Cockatoo that would swing by its beak from the top and kick the front door open.  We had to put a double latch on it.  We hung a bell in his cage and the striker wouldn’t stay in the bell an hour.  He would disassemble the bell like it was nothing.

You will need to learn about proper nutrition and find an avian vet.  Not just any vet is trained in birds.  You need to find one that works with birds all the time.

You can probably even find a bird club in your area where you can pick up all kinds of free advice, birds for sale and maybe used cages.

So look around this site and look over our bird cages, bird supplies and information.

Good luck on your new pet.

Rex