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A pet bird can be a marvelous companion during years, but new bird owners should be conscientious that caring for a bird takes much more than simply providing a cage and feed.

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Cage división with chicken mesh CHICKENMALLA

Birds are much more delicate creatures than cats or dogs, so a mistake that is seemingly trivial can lead to the loss of life for a bird. To keep your little feathered friend safe and healthy, you will have to create a safe environment within its cage and within your home.

1. Provide a safe cage

Make sure that the cage is big enough for your bird.

The ideal size of the cage in width, depth and height should be at least two times the size of the adult bird with its wings spread. This permits that your bird can move freely. A larger cage is even better.

The mínimum height should be three times the length of the bird from its head to its tail.[U1] 

The bird should be able to flap its wings at least two times between perches.

Your bird should be able to turn around on its perch without brushing its feathers against the cage.

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Birds need a large space in which to grow in the best possible way.

Even small birds require big cages.

Size does matter.

Pick a cage with the bars correctly spaced to avoid escapes or injuries. The bird should not be able to put its head through the bars. An appropriate spacing between bars should be:

Less than ½ inch – For small birds like finches, canaries, parotlets and parakeets.

From ½ to ¾ inches – For medium sized birds like cockatiels, parrots and lories.

From ¾ to 1¼ inches – For large birds like African grays, Amazon parrots, macaws, and cockatoos.  

The Right Shape

Pick a square or rectangular cage. If there are more corners, there will be less space for flying for your pet bird and the cage will be smaller and less safe.

A long, low cage is better than a tall, narrow one because it allows the birds to better fly and climb.

Provide a lot of perches

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Chicken mesh is easy to install in contrast with other metal meshes.

Your bird will spend most of the time standing and it is for this reason that having enough perches is vital to your bird’s health and happiness. For most birds, you should provide a natural tree branch and an artificial perch, one near the food and water and the other near the toys. Additionally, there should be a concrete perch in another part of the cage. Make sure to avoid plastic perches which can cause problems if they are eaten and sand paper perches which can scratch your bird’s feet.

Concrete perches – These solid perches provide a good place for birds to mate. They should be far from food, water and toys.

Natural tree branch perch – These are better than wooden dowels because their uneven shape means the bird supports its weight on different parts of its feet each time it perches . Pick branches from fruit trees like apples, plums and pears, but not cherries. Cut the branch so that it fits in the cage. Wipe it off, wash it with dish soap and let it dry in the sun. Next, heat the branch in your oven for 45 minutes at 200° F to eliminate any insects. Let it cool off before putting it in your bird’s cage.

Artificial perch – An untreated cotton rope makes a fantastic perch. It is free of toxins and can be easily washed.

Safety

Make sure that your bird cannot open the door. It will spend innumerable hours trying to open the door of its cage, so the door and its lock must be escape-proof.  If you are worried that your bird could escape, you can use a padlock, a clip or a small screen to secure the door.

Keep you bird well fed and watered.

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It is important to make sure the cage is completely secure and protected.  

Check your bird’s seed and water supply daily, especially if you have put a child in charge of the bird’s care. If it is using a water bottle, verify that it isn’t obstructed and that it is working correctly. Three days without water is enough to kill most birds.

Give your bird baths

Many birds need to bathe regularly to keep their feathers and skin healthy. Always use water that is at room temperature because hot or warm water will wash off the natural oils that birds have on their feathers.  You can add a bird bath in your bird’s cage, but make sure you clean it and change the water daily. Another alternative is that you can wet your bird down with a spray bottle once or twice a week. Some birds like to wash in the sink or even in the shower.

Toys: safe and interchanged frequently

Your bird will chew on its toys so make sure that they aren’t made from wood treated with toxic chemical products or soft plastic that can be swallowed. Be sure to change the toys at least once a week to keep your bird stimulated since boredom can lead to health problems.

2. Keep the cage clean

Use newspapers to line the bottom of the cage. Saw dust is too dusty and can irritate your bird’s respiratory system. Instead it’s best to use newspaper and change it every day.

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Chickenmalla reduces hygiene problems on your farm. [U2] 

Clean the cage and its contents regularly.

To avoid the propagation of germs and illnesses, it is necessary to make sure your bird’s cage is clean and disinfect it regularly. This means that you must change the lining, clean the food dishes and rinse and refill the bird bath daily for every cage. A deep clean is necessary once a week for large birds or groups of small birds and once a month for smaller individual birds.

Cleaning the cage – Take the bird out and all the toys and perches. Clean all the seeds and excrement in the cage and wipe it down with warm soapy water and then spray it with disinfectant. Rinse it off and let it air dry completely before replacing the toys and perches.

Cleaning toys and perches – Remove the dropping with dish soap. Use sand paper if it is necessary to clean the wooden perches. Wash and rinse off the food dishes by hand or in the dishwasher. Then spray them with disinfectant. Rinse them well and air dry.

Clean the food and water dishes and keep them far from your bird’s excrement. Your bird’s food dishes should be cleaned every day with warm soapy water or in the dish washer. Don’t place them under perches where they will be contaminated with bird droppings. Make sure that the food dishes are completely dry before putting them back in the cage since wet food pellets can mold quickly.

3. Place the cage in a safe spot

Don’t put your bird’s cage in the kitchen or bathroom.

The temperature varies too much in the kitchen and cooking can produce smoke that is toxic for birds. Bathrooms can also have dangerous temperature changes, especially during showers. They also often contain toxic chemical products and personal hygiene products.

Maintain an appropriate amount of human interaction for your bird.

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The image shows a chicken in a cage made with Chickenmalla. [U3] 

For all birds, it is best to avoid areas with a lot of traffic and noise since this can make your bird become nervous. Additionally, you should pick an area that fits your bird’s personality. If your bird loves attention, then put it in an area with more activity. Less social birds will be happier in more peaceful areas of your house.

Social birds: Amazon parrots, love birds, conures, African grays, cockatiels, macaws

Moderately social birds: parakeets, budgies, budgerigars, Quaker parrots

Less social birds: finches, canaries and doves

Put your bird near the wall and far from windows.

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Inside the cage, you should make sure that your birds are completely safe as well as provide them a good environment in which to develop.

The ideal place to put your bird’s cage is in a corner since having at least one side against the wall will give your bird a sense of security. Don’t put the cage near a window because this will produce dangerous changes in temperature as well as exposure to other animals and external storms which may frighten your bird.

Put your bird’s cage at chest level.

Birds get nervous when they are placed too low. Putting them too high can lead to behavior problems since in the world of birds height is associated to superiority.

Avoid heat or air conditioning vents.

Birds are sensitive to sudden changes in temperature so maintain your home at a constant temperature and make sure that your bird’s cage isn’t in the draft from a heater or air conditioning vent.

Keep poisonous plants away from your bird’s cage.

Plants like oleanders, azaleas, philodendrons, ivy, African violets, tulips, daffodils, and hydrangeas are all naturally toxic to birds and should be kept away from your bird’s cage. Study a complete list of safe and toxic plants for your bird and avoid having any toxic ones near the cage.

4. Protect your bird from toxins

Be careful when you cook with nonstick pots and pans

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More security and better protection with mesh for poultry. [U4] 

Birds’ lungs are designed to be extremely efficient when absorbing oxygen which unfortunately means that they also absorb toxins quickly. Combined with their small size and quick metabolism, this means that just a small amount of a toxin can kill a bird. The coating on nonstick cooking utensils contains polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a compound that can be lethal to birds. At normal cooking temperatures (250 ° F a 450 ° F) with a stove hood turned on, utensils coated with PTFE are safe.

Toxins may be given off when:

• A frying pan coated with PTFE dries off or heats up while it’s empty. Never boil water in a pot coated with PTFE.
• It is used as a drip pan under a burner. PTFE gives off toxic chemical substances at 536 ° F, and drip pans can easily get up to 600 ° F or hotter.
• Scratched. Nonstick pans that are scratched or damaged in other ways can release toxic chemical products at lower temperatures.

So don’t think twice about ridding your kitchen of nonstick cookware.

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PTFE is a big help avoiding that your birds are exposed to toxins. [U5] 

Keep in mind these additional sources of PTFE

PTFE is not only used in cookware, but also in many products that are exposed to high temperatures. Consider the possibility of replacing any of the following or call the manufacturer and check the make and model to see if the product is safe for use around your bird:

• Stain repellents
• Heaters and thermal lamp shades
• Nonstick irons and ironing board covers
• Hair dryers
• Cooking appliances like griddles, waffle makers, electric frying pans, bread makers and pop corn machines
• Ceramic heaters

Be careful of other toxic gases

Products coated with PTFE are the most common source of toxins for birds, but it is not the only one. The following can be lethal to your bird as well:

Carbon Monoxide – Invisible, tasteless and scentless, carbon monoxide is produced by fires, car exhausts and central heating units. Even if you don’t have a bird, you should always have a carbon monoxide detector in your home to protect yourself and your family.

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Mesh for poultry, avoid animals getting in while having holes so that there is ventilation and light [U6] 

Natural gas – If you use natural gas for heating or cooking, a leak in the line or the pilot light being out can result in high levels of natural gas in your home and that can be fatal for birds (and lethal for people). Check your pilot lights regularly and keep your bird’s cage far from sources of natural gas like chimneys or heaters.

Overheated cooking surfaces. Don’t heat oil or butter on high since this can produce dangerous smoke. And remove your bird from the house if you use the “self clean” mode in your oven or dishwasher. 

Hair spray, perfume, and cooking sprays. Basically, anything that comes in an aerosol can spray chemical products that are dangerous for your bird into the air. Move your bird to a separate and well ventilated room before using these products.

Pesticides like bug bombs and bug sprays.

Organic dissolvents that are found in nail polish remover, gas, glue, paint or moth balls.

Avoid home cleaning products that contain ammonia.

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The birds should be in a pleasant environment so that they reproduce better. [U7] 

Ammonia is found in many domestic cleaning products, particularly in glass cleaners, and can cause difficulty breathing for birds. When it is combined with bleach in cleaning products, it produces chloramine gas which is extremely toxic.

Try using the following cleaning products instead:

• Dish soap and water
• White vinegar and water (1 cup of vinegar for 2 gallons of water)
• Steam from a hand held steam cleaner
• Laundry detergent for cloth (but don’t use fabric softener for clothes your bird touches)
• Grapefruit seed extract (about 35 drops for 32 oz. of water) makes an effective disinfectant.
• Baking soda (1/4 cup per gallon of water)

Be careful when using candles or air fresheners

Your bird should be removed to outdoors or to a well-ventilated room when you use plug in or spray air fresheners since they contain essential oils that are toxic to birds. Many scented candles are also dangerous because they often contain essential oils and use zinc alloy wicks. If you are going to light candles, make sure that they are 100% bees’ wax with cotton wicks.

Don’t smoke near your bird

It has been shown that second hand smoke can cause respiratory and circulatory problems in birds as well as irritate eyes and skin. If you are going to smoke, do it outside to protect your bird.

5. Protecting your bird when it is outside the cage

Don’t leave your bird near open water unattended

Birds can drown in a glass of water, an uncovered aquarium or an open toilet. If you aren’t going to watch your bird carefully all the time that it is out of its cage, you need to make sure that you eliminate all access to open water to avoid drowning.

Hide cables and antiques

Once again, birds like to chew on anything they can get their beaks on. Hide electrical wires and cables in general to avoid electrocution and put away antiques that may be covered in paints with heavy metals that can cause poisoning.

Keep an eye on doors, windows and cabinets

First, you must verify that all exterior doors and windows are shut so that your pet doesn’t fly far away. Secondly, you should always make sure that your bird isn’t in the hinge area or on the top of the door or closet when you are shutting it or you could accidentally crush your pet’s legs.

Keep curtain lift cords behind Persian blinds. Birds can tangle their heads in the cords and strangle themselves.

Your bird will spend most of its time standing which means having an appropriate number of perches is vital to its health and happiness…