{"id":674,"date":"2012-06-27T07:55:32","date_gmt":"2012-06-27T15:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=674"},"modified":"2014-01-13T20:50:45","modified_gmt":"2014-01-13T20:50:45","slug":"first-time-bird-owners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/first-time-bird-owners","title":{"rendered":"First Time Bird Owners"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Are you a first time bird owner?<\/h2>\n<h3>If you are new to bird ownership check out these helpful tips to ensure your new pet bird enjoys a happy and healthy new home.<\/h3>\n<p>Remember Clear the Air works wonders in your bird cage to eliminate any and all odors.\u00a0 It is completely non-toxic and safe around childres and pets.\u00a0 You can hang on of our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/english\/products\/10\/odor_eliminator_bag\/13.html\" target=\"_blank\">Odor Eliminator Bags<\/a> within the bird cage and sprinkle the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/english\/products\/10\/pet_odor_eliminator_14oz\/12.html\" target=\"_blank\">Pet Odor Eliminator<\/a> granules at the bottom of the cage.<\/p>\n<p>Check out our tips:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Feeding Your<\/strong> <em><strong>Bird<\/strong> <\/em>&#8211; All  seed diets are usually not recommended. Pet parrots crack seeds and eat  the inside portion. The hulls often remain in the feeding dish giving  the appearance that the bird has plenty of food when in reality there  are no seeds left. Replace your bird\u2019s food daily.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Your Bird\u2019s Diet<\/strong> \u2013 Seeds lack calcium, protein and  many other vitamins and minerals which birds require. Seeds and nuts are  also high in fat, which can lead to liver disease. While birds do eat  seeds in the wild, they supplement their diet with many other food  sources \u2013 nuts, berries, fruit, bugs, etc. Like humans, birds require a  balanced diet to remain healthy. Birds enjoy veggies, fruits, pasta,  sprouts, grains and even cooked meat such as chicken. Pellets are also a  good source of nutrients. Many experts recommend pellets should be no  more than 50% of the diet, while others feed a higher percentage. Seeds  and nuts can be given as treats.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Toxic Foods<\/strong> \u2013 Some foods, safe for humans, are lethal to <em><strong>birds<\/strong><\/em>.  These include such items as avocados, chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, raw  kidney and lima beans, cigarette smoke and pesticides in fruits and  vegetables.\u00a0<strong> <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t use Grit<\/strong> \u2013 Most <em><strong>birds<\/strong> <\/em>don\u2019t  need grit and can even get an impacted crop from it. Grit is only  recommended for birds who eat whole seeds \u2013 shell and all. Most birds  crack their seeds, leaving the hulls and so have no need for the grit.<strong> <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Your Birds Home <\/strong>&#8211; Get a cage which gives your <em><strong>bird<\/strong> <\/em>plenty  of room to spread his wings, climb around, jump, swing and play. Be  sure bars are not spaced so that a bird can wedge his head between them  and get caught. Since birds tend to favor the higher parts of the cage,  get one with the largest width and depth you can. Remember, your bird  spends many hours in his cage, so the larger the better. Be sure to  place cages away from drafty areas or doors to the outside. Temperature  should not vary quickly or go below 55 degrees.\u00a0<strong><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Get Your Bird A Perch<\/strong> \u2013 Birds spend a lot of time  on their perches. They need perches of varying diameters to prevent foot  problems such as arthritis and atrophy. Avoid perches made from dowels,  which are uniform and don\u2019t exercise feet. Never use sandpaper perches  which harm the skin on a bird\u2019s foot. Tree branches are very good for  the feet and also help satisfy the chewing urge. A cement perch can help  keep nails trimmed. Put a wooden perch high in the cage, which <em><strong>birds<\/strong> <\/em>prefer.  Make sure perches aren\u2019t over bowls or other perches so droppings don\u2019t  hit them. Use multiple perches, but leave room for birds to move about  in the cage.\u00a0<strong><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Bird Feathers<\/strong>&#8211; Feathers grow back. If your bird  accidentally loses some feathers, don\u2019t panic. They\u2019ll grow back. Bird  also molt. It is their way of replacing worn feathers. Different species  molt at different times and lose different amounts of feathers.  Feathers grow back usually in 2-3 weeks. However, if you see bare  patches of skin, this may denote a disease or feather plucking. In this  case see your vet.<strong><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Bird Veterinarian<\/strong> \u2013 Birds are very different than cats and dogs. Find an avian vet, one who knows about birds. Take your <em><strong>bird<\/strong> <\/em>for  a new bird exam to ensure it is healthy and to establish a baseline in  case of illness. And develop a relationship with your vet. Find a vet or  hospital that you can contact at night or weekends in an emergency.  Birds should also have an annual exam to ensure they are healthy. Be  sure to keep your vet\u2019s phone number handy in case of emergency.<strong><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Your Bird Needs Attention<\/strong> \u2013 Birds are very  intelligent and social animals who require love and attention. Although  the amount of attention varies by species, a bird who is ignored or  bored can go insane, pluck his feathers or even mutilate himself. Keep  your bird in an area where there is family activity, but be sure he has a  quiet area to sleep in at night. Talk to your bird during the day. If  you work, leave a radio, CD or TV on when you are gone. Take him out for  play and cuddling every day. Be sure he has lots of toys and things to  play with while in his cage. Give your <em><strong>bird<\/strong> <\/em>lots of love and it will be returned tenfold.<strong><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Communication<\/strong> \u2013 One of the most important aspects in creating and maintaining a successful relationship with your <em><strong>bird<\/strong> <\/em>is  the ability to understand his vocalizations and body language. Birds  learn to communicate with us through sounds, behavior and actions. Using  their body language and vocalizations they can \u201ctell\u201d us when they are  happy, content, frightened, sick, hungry, tired, angry, or ready to be  held and cuddled. It is of utmost importance that bird owners learn to  interpret the meanings of their birds sounds and behaviors in order to  successfully tame, train, and provide them with the very best of care.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you a first time bird owner? If you are new to bird ownership check out these helpful tips to ensure your new pet bird enjoys a happy and healthy new home. Remember Clear the Air works wonders in your bird cage to eliminate any and all odors.\u00a0 It is completely non-toxic and safe around [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,5,4,16],"tags":[64,299,296,63,19,21,297,24,25,38,298,20,59,65],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":676,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674\/revisions\/676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleartheair.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}