Caring For Your Bird

Once you have brought your bird home you must decide where to put the cage. The most important things to remember are :

* Drafts

Keep your bird out of drafts. One cold draft is sufficient to give your bird pneumonia which is usually fatal.

* Sunlight

Birds like sunlight, but both the direct rays of the sun and its glare are harmful. If your bird is exposed to the sun for an extended period of time, it will probably die.

* Temperature

Must birds bought from a pet shop are bred to be kept indoors. They cannot tolerate extremes of heat and cold.

* Hazards

Beware of your pet flying into fans,fires,fireplaces, and other devices for cooling or heating a room.

* Other Pets

You can either place your cage on table or suspend it from a ceiling, but be careful that it is out of the reach of other pets in the family.

* Cleaning Cage

Keeping the cage clean is of utmost importance. A dirty cage will soon develop a putrid smell. The cage can be cleaned within a few minutes if it is tended to daily. The floor should be cleaned at least three time a week. The cage should be thoroughly washed once a month by scalding it with boiling water and spraying it with a good bird disinfectant solution. Once the cage is thoroughly dry, it should be dusted with a mite killing powder.Be sure gto put powder into the crevices of the cage and under the removable tray. Mite powder should also be dusted into and under the feathers of your bird approximately every six weeks.Mites are a problem is that they usually enter the house with birdseed and multiply rapidly if care is not taken.

* Perches

Never clean the perches of your cage with water. Wooden perches will absorb the water,dry, and eventually splinter. Furthermore, perches that swell with water may give your bird rheumatism. The best method of cleaning perches is to scrape them with the edge of a sharp knife or with a special perch brush.

* Trimming Your Bird's Nails

The nails or claws of your bird should be clipped two to three times a year.All you need is a pair of regular nail clippers, but be careful not to cut your pet. A bird has a vein in each claw. You must clip the claw above this vein . If you cut the vein,you will hurt your bird and its foot will bleed; this can be a vert serious injury. The vein is easily visible,however, so you should not have any trouble.If you don't feel at ease about clipping your bird's claws, take your pet to a veterinarian or to your pet dealer.