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Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I do not recommend feeding such plants to finches or budgies as they may be toxic. Finches and budgies can eat a commercially available seed or pelleted diet (found in most pet stores or on the internet). They can have occasional treats of fruits and vegetables, but I would avoid any medicine plants or herbs. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Feather plucking is often associated with boredom, or other issues within their environment, but the cause of this problem is not always known and highly debated amongst avian experts. Making sure she is not bored is a good first step. One good way to keep your bird busy is by making them work for their food. Birds in the wild spend most of their time foraging for food. Instead of just putting food in their bowl, you can hide it, or put it in puzzle toys that require them to do some work to get the food out. I fed my parrot almost exclusively this way. Other enrichment options include putting a mirror in the cage and putting her in other environments. It's best to give your canary as much possible space that you can to let her fly and roam around. You may consider getting perches or other cages for different rooms, or outside. If you can afford to have a flight cage built, this would be even better. Below is a link to some more information about enrichment ideas: http://www.parrotenrichment.com/ It's also good to make sure she is getting enough sleep. This is best achieved by keeping the bird in a dark room during sleep time. Birds should have 12 hours of sleep a night, so don't feel bad about putting her in a dark room for that amount of time. Diet is also very important. She should eat mostly a formulated pellet diet like zupreem. Make sure she is not eating a seed, or nut based diet as these are too fatty and can cause issues leading to feather loss. For more information about diet, read the article at the link below. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/canaries-feeding Lastly, make sure she is bathing regularly. Dry feathers can itch, break and cause them to pluck. It's good to put a bird bath in the cage as much as possible (once a day would be best). I hope that helps and Tweedy gets better soon.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Preening toys are toys used to satisfy a bird's need to preen. They can be used to distract from excessive feather picking or simply to occupy a bird. They are made using rope strands, cotton strands, fabrics or paper. The link below leads to an example of a preening toy.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Thanks for reaching out about your birds. There is the possibility that the first bird brought back something contagious. A veterinary visit is recommended as soon as possible. Good job isolating the birds, might slow spread of disease. Good luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Thanks for reaching out about Aqua. You can search for free cages on sites such as Craigs List or local bird rescue groups. A minimal size is probably 2' x 2' x 3', but depends on how much time is spent in the cage. Flight is good exercise but needs to monitored so the birds don't get themselves into trouble flying around. No bird should be left outside of its cage unattended. If birds are active and out of the cage for a fair amount, the night cage can be smaller, as is for mostly sleeping. Good luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025