Take me home

You should be aware that the first few days your bird is in its new home might be very stressful for it. Be sure to give it time to acclimate to its new environment.  Have the new cage, toys, and dishes all set up before you bring the bird home.  

Set the cage where it will be permanently located, preferably in a well-used area of your home like a living room or family room.  Give the bird about 15 minutes to explore the new cage and all the dishes before you take it out to play.   Give the bird a lot of love and reassurance to help it adjust to the major changes in it's life.

It is very important to be sure to return the bird to its cage every hour or so to allow it to eat and drink if it wishes.  If you hover over the bird to see if it is hungry, it will be distracted by your presence and will not approach the food.  Give it ten to twenty minutes before you go back to get it.  

Offer your new bird treats from your hand to get it used to you, and let it explore your lap. Try not to allow it to climb on your shoulders or head remember, this baby is not potty-trained!  Do not let the bird explore your mouth.  The bird's immune system cannot handle your germs and bacteria, and you could make it sick.

Customer awareness

The stress of going to a new home can affect your baby bird's eating habits.  You must remember that to the bird, this might be the most frightening thing it has ever experienced.   It has never been away from its siblings before, never been away from its "home", and never been handled by strangers without "Mom" being there to comfort it afterwards.  

Occasionally, the stress of all these changes will sometimes cause hand-fed baby birds to revert to wanting to eat from a syringe instead of eating on their own.

Recognizing irregularities

If your bird does stop eating or drinking on its own, it could dehydrate or starve to death in 24 to 48 hours!  You must be sure to watch your bird closely for the first two to three weeks to be sure it is eating well.  

Monitor the level of the food in the dish, and be sure the bird is not just playing with the food and dropping it to the cage floor.  There should be cracked seed hulls along the top surface of their seed supply.  Watch to be sure that the bird is defecating.  If it is not, that could mean it has stopped eating. 

If you have a gram scale, begin weighing your baby daily as soon as you bring it home.   A weight loss two days in a row may indicate an eating problem. If you have any questions please contact us.

Household Precautions

·         Houseplants can be poisonous-do not allow your bird access to any plant.

·   Open windows are an invitation for your bird to escape.

·         Avoid using non-stick cookware such as Teflon or Silverstone.  When heated to 530 degrees, which can occur when someone forgets a pan on the stove a bit too long, it releases toxic fumes which will kill all the birds in the house in 10 minutes or less.

·         Beware the common household cleaner! Anything that comes in a spray can is potentially toxic to birds.

Here is a link to some dangerous household plants

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