Choosing a Cockatoo Parrot for Your Home

If you want to purchase a pet bird for your home, an excellent choice is the Cockatoo parrot. They make wonderful companions for your entire family. Their colourful feathers and wonderful spirits will continually brighten up your home.

Important Parrot Cage Basics

The bottom of the cage needs to be lined either with shredder paper do not use newsprint as the chemicals will be harmful to your parrots health or you can use sawdust, straw or sand. The sand will serve as a double purpose since the parrot can gain some minerals from it, and can also use it to shape his beak better.

Make sure that you give the parrot fresh parrot food at least twice a day and keep it clean and bacteria free. Seeds and nuts should be fed to the parrot sparingly since these foods are fatty and contain few nutrients. Foods to avoid are caffeine, beans, avocado, heavily salted foods, alcohol and cocoa.

How To Groom Your Parrot

Make sure you observe the vet or groom the first few times and have him teach you the proper techniques before you attempt this, since improper cutting could hurt the parrot.

Teaching Your Parrot To Talk

It’s easier to teach your parrot how to talk when he is still young since he will learn how to speak much faster.

Keep trying the same phrase on the parrot at the same time of each day, such as “hello!” every time you walk in the door. Make sure the bird is looking at you and paying attention.

Even playing records can help your parrot learn words, but do not play the same word all day or the parrot will be very bored.

Parrot Health And Safety Tips

In addition to fruits and veggies, Zupreem is a great pellet that every bird I know gobbles up with gusto. Also remember to change diets gradually. Birds have to get used to new things.

Vinegar is harmless to your birds, and acts as a natural disinfectant and insect repellent. It’s safe to use on all your birds perches, toys, etc. Just remember to always remove the bird first!

Remember

Give your parrot fresh water every day.

More on Caring for your Parrot

Many Faces of the Mollucan Cockatoo

Until I worked at a pet store as a large bird-care specialist, I had NO idea there were so many varieties of Cockatoos. 

I could say I was trained about bird training by the first Amazon Parrot I worked with – and I found the patent ways of bird-care that he taught me were very handy when I was working with a beautiful sulphur crested cockatoo. 

This cockatoo had been with the pet store for about a year, but she was still difficult to handle because she didn’t trust.  So I took her home and spent about 5 days sitting calmly with her.  After another week at home with me, she was walking on my shoulder, eating treats from the corner of my lip and turning her head upside-down so you could scratch her neck… 

I took her back to the pet store and within a few days, she found a new loving home with a 45 year-old single woman who also had a large avery and two other exotic birds.  It was great to know that she went to a loving home, but birds are like kids – once you fall in love with them, you can never stop loving them, and I think of that Cockatoo every-so-often, even some 17 years later.