African Grey Parrots

Lesson 4: The Fun Begins!

Words on Safety

The question may rise as to whether or not to keep your parrot confined to his cage or on his T stand. My answer to that is safety first. I don’t think it’s wise to let your parrot have free run of the house. There are many things in our human world that parrots do not understand and can harm or kill them. Things like electric cords, houseplants, small objects that might choke, not to mention Grandpa’s antique dresser and today’s newspaper which is more annoyance than actual harm, still, the bird will realize that you are angry and may react badly. When my bird is out of his cage, he is on one of the stands and encouraged to stay there. I provide a lot of activities and conversation and am secure in the knowledge that he is free from harm. When I leave the house he is safely inside his cage as are my other birds.

Most households have other pets. Dogs can present a real threat to your pet bird. I have known several people that have had their parrot killed by their dog. Another reason to keep the parrot confined or make sure the dog is not in the room when the parrot is free. Cats are the natural enemies of birds and pose more of a danger, in some ways, than dogs. Never situate your parrot’s cage where a cat can climb up to the same level. They can scare your bird so badly that it might thrash itself to death against the bars or the cat might be able to reach through the cage bars enough to get its claws into the parrot. Birds have very thin blood and even a small cut can cause them to bleed to death.

I make it a policy to never allow a bird to rest on my shoulder. I know you see this quite often but if you recall pictures of pirates; they have a big macaw on their shoulder and are wearing an eye patch? There has to be some correlation there! Realistically, when you put the bird at eye level or above you are allowing him dominance over you. He could react by taking a chunk out of your ear or your cheek. Especially keep an adult male grey below eye level. Greys are aggressive birds by nature and may well take advantage of the situation. I always carry mine on my arm.

Take care when using chemical sprays in and around your house. Oven cleaners have killed more birds than I care to count. Pesticides, insecticides, spray cleaners; all of these can have a toxic effect on your birds. If you have to use them, remove the birds for at least twelve hours and make sure you open the windows to let the fumes dissipate. Good common sense goes a long way to keeping a healthy environment for your parrot. Cigarette smoke is also very harmful. If you don’t smoke, good for you! If you have friends who smoke, tell them they will have to go outside. Cigarette smoke will not only clog a bird’s nostrils causing infection it will make their feathers dry out and they will become feather pickers. If you buy a parrot from a smoker’s home make sure it gets a gentle shower or spray bath, from a spray bottle, of tepid water. It will relieve the dryness.

Before you bring your bird home, put together a first aid kit. Included in the kit should be: a first aid powder to stop bleeding, sterile gauze, scissors to cut the gauze, a heating pad (sick or injured birds need to be kept warm), a clean towel for handling the bird and a carrier to transport it to the veterinarian.

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