When you adopt a bird from us, it is not simply a transaction but a relationship in the making. Taking care of parrots will not be the easiest thing you will ever do, so we are here to walk the walk with you, because you can’t do this alone. Parrots are our peers, not our pets. You will need a guide that you can trust to help you learn that language and develop the best possible connection with your new family member. Just as with child-raising, information on best practices for parrot care changes and adapts with knowledge. As you care for a companion with a lifespan that may equal or exceed your own, it is crucial that you stay aware of updates in parrot care needs, nutrition, enrichment, and training. You can do that by checking back with us frequently for updates!
Keeping parrots happy and healthy hasn’t always been on the front lines of the work of veterinarians and researchers. Instead, they focused on animal husbandry in the same way they would for dogs and cats. Unfortunately, years of insufficient attention to the social and developmental needs of parrots has led to a flood of homeless parrots that need new strategies, updated answers, and progressive thinking to manage their care, since they can’t be released. PRH continually follows the latest information out there to look for the best options for you.
Be careful of the quote you will hear from many: “I did it for my bird and nothing bad ever happened.” As with people, many of the poorer choices we make for our bird’s food, health, toys, etc. erode their quality of life and ultimately affect their quantity of life as well.
Health
Nutrition
If you go on the internet to do research, make sure of the source. Veterinarians aren’t adequately trained in nutrition so other supported sources should be consulted as well. Remember that pellets should not be the largest part of your bird’s diet. It should be fresh, live food. Live food means that it still has a life force within to give to the bird. That would include sprouts. Soak nuts in and out of the shell to “wake” them up. Think of the rainbow when selecting in-season foods to give your bird. Soak the food to cleanse it, wake it up, and prepare it to be eaten by your birds. Use a slight amount of dawn dish soap or grapefruit seed extract with cool water to soak and wash them in. Washing is not enough for the more durable chemicals used. EVEN ORGANICS need soaking and a thorough wash. Water is life. So are the veggies and fruit you have selected for your bird.
Learn about soaking nut hazards that affect birds: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814620303915?via%3Dihub
Learn the latest research on soaking nuts for bioavailability: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32199146/
Safety
Parrots need a safe environment to thrive and grow. The home environment can be very dangerous for them. Air quality, water quality, and food quality are at the top of our list.
Behavior
It has been easily said that parrots are surrendered for 3 reasons; screaming, biting, and being destructive. Of course, there are times they are surrendered due to the owners’/parents’ changes in lifestyle. After being open for a number of years, PRH has figured out 2 things right off. Birds need a handbook and people need to “read” the handbook. This handbook is not like all the others that have been written thus far. It is a handbook of actionable communication of the birds and to the birds. It is our humble belief that all people seeking to have parrots of any species need to learn how to communicate with them, respond to them, and enrich them. This requires a professional teacher, your patience and dedication, and your ability to learn new strategies.
Our professional assistance/teacher is Lara Joseph of Animal Behavior Center. She works with us to understand the science of behavior through positive reinforcement and Applied Behavior Analysis so that we may understand our birds better so we can place them more appropriately.
https://www.theanimalbehaviorcenter.com/
PRH