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Lafeber's Parrot Health & Grooming
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- Health & Wellbeing
New to parakeets? Essential care tips for first-time owners.
Parakeets, also called Budgerigars, are small members of the parrot family and they can become good mimics. The average adult size is 7 inches long, head to end of tail. The average life span is between 10 to 20 years with proper care. A well-balanced Parakeet diet consists of: Specialized pellets should make up 60-70% of diet, fresh vegetables and fruits and small amounts of fortified seeds Clean, fresh, filtered, chlorine-free water, changed daily. Do not feed birds: avocado, fruit seeds, chocolate, caffeine or alcohol; it can cause serious medical conditions. Avoid sugar and high fat treats. Things to remember when feeding your Parakeet: Fresh food and water should always be available. Vegetables and fruits not eaten within a few hours should be discarded. Remember, treats should not exceed 10% of total food intake. Housing Parakeets acclimate well to average household temperatures, not to exceed 80°F; be cautious of extreme temperature changes. The habitat should area that is w
Updated on September 24th, 2025
- Food & Nutrition
New to birds? How to care for a medium parrot like an Amazon.
Thanks for your questions about birds. You can shower with birds, but it is recommended that they sit on a perch or on the shower rod during the shower, not that they are directly hit by the spray. A safer way to give them a shower is by using a gentle mist directed over the top of them with a spray bottle. When provided with appropriate and balanced nutrition, a cuttle bone is not necessary for parrots. The food that you posted is a reliable pelleted diet, but you would need to ensure that you got an appropriate size for the species - for example, the mini pellets would be good for a conure but not for an Amazon. If you have never had a bird before, it may be a big commitment to get a medium to large sized parrot. When cared for appropriately, these large parrots can live many decades - ideally 50 years or more. You may potentially consider starting with a smaller parrot, such as a cockatiel (life span of up to 25 years) or a budgerigar (life span around 8 years). I hope that gives
Updated on September 24th, 2025
- Food & Nutrition
What healthy food and engaging toys are best for my senior lovebird?
Harrison's Bird Diet is the best food out there. It is pelleted so there can be some resistance from your bird transitioning to the new diet if he has been on a seed diet, but it is nutritionally complete and very high quality. Toys I find that lovebirds like have been cotton rope toys that they can preen and groom like the feathers of another bird.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
- Health & Wellbeing
My bird has dry feet, wobbly nails, and a sharp beak. What's wrong?
Follow directions for application on the container. Some sprays can be used directly on the bird (avoiding the eyes, nose and mouth), others cannot. Clean and sanitize her cage, bowls, perches and toys. Discard anything that cannot be sanitized. Change the cage paper or substrate daily. Provide a mineral block, pumice stone or cuttlebone to maintain beak length. Your avian veterinarian can trim the beak if necessary. Concrete or textured perches can also be used as they promote healthy feet as well as provide natural beak trimming opportunity.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
- Health & Wellbeing
What's the best diet, cage cleaning, and vet schedule for my bird?
Julie looks like she may be a Quaker parrot by looking at the side view of her in the picture. You can post additional views in this forum for confirmation. Small parrots should be fed a varied diet with a commercial pelleted diet being the base. A fortified seed diet can be offered in limited quantities to prevent obesity and finicky eating. Most fresh fruits and vegetables can be offered daily as well. Favorites are grapes, apple, cooked egg and pasta. Limit fruit to prevent loose droppings. The cage should be cleaned weekly, if not more frequently depending on how messy she is. Provide different sized perches to exercise her feet. Parrots are chewers so care must be taken that they don't chew wires or toxic plants. Provide plenty of bird safe chew toys and other toys to keep her engaged. Rotate them out to prevent boredom. Ideally, she should be examined by an experienced avian veterinarian yearly. Please peruse the Boop by Petco Library for articles regarding bird care.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
