subject: Parrot Care When Bringing A Young Parrot Home [print this page] Prior planning is the key to success when bringing on a new pet parrot. It is a very exciting time but without due care and understanding it may not go as smoothly as hoped. Planning his new home should be given some consideration and there should be some knowledge of how to care for him.
Adjusting to the first few days.
Whether an older parrot or a young parrot he does not know any of his new family so it is understandable that he will be scared. A critical time for introducing a parrot is in the first few days as they become familiar with their new surroundings. There will be new noises which will scare him, new colors to adjust to and different activities going on that he is not used to.
The whole family, especially if there are young children, need to be aware that the parrot is likely to be very temperamental at this time. He will want to be left in his cage with a minimum of attention with just the usual feeding and watering. Before opening his cage, make sure that all the windows and doors are closed and also when he is first let out of his cage for a walk.
Avoiding problems.
If there are other parrot pets then the new bird needs to be introduced to them slowly and kept on his own most of the time initially. Even then, the introduction needs to be done under supervision so that the new parrot does not get attacked.
Bring a new parrot home in the morning so that he has time to see his new surroundings for a few hours and get used to some of the new noises.
To ensure the bird eats, find out from the shop or breeder what the parrot's favorite foods are and make sure they are available.
Clipping his wings.
Make sure that his first 3 flying feathers are clipped slightly so that he cannot take flight out the door or into the kitchen where he might have an accident.
His sleeping conditions.
Put a cover over the cage at nightfall and keep it covered until sun up. In the natural environment parrots sleep at night so covering the cage gives him a sleeping schedule.
Parrots get lonely.
When introducing a parrot into the family, make sure there are some toys in his new cage so that as he starts to relax he can play with those and keep himself occupied. Any toys being given to the parrot need to be checked for safety to ensure that his beak or claw cannot get stuck or that pieces will not break off.
Parrots are flock birds and like company, but initially only talk to him through the cage and avoid handling him until he gets used to the family. A frequently handled parrot can become a very dependent parrot and that is not good if he is going to be left on his own at all because he will squawk and carry on to attract attention.
Parrot care by an owner does rely on the parrot also being happy when the owner is not there. Encourage the parrot to entertain himself during the day with toys when no-one else is around.
