7 Ways To Give Caged Birds A Better Quallity of Life

You may be a very kind and loving bird owner or you may not have birds at all.  But please help spread this message so that we can create a kinder world for these beautiful creatures. 

Pet birds are often confined to cages that are far too small for them to enjoy any reasonable quality of life. Canaries and budgies are sometimes kept in cages as small as a teapot.  Large birds like cockatoos and african greys are lucky to be kept in cages as big as the one in the picture on the left.  There is no room for the bird to even stretch their wings or get any exercise. The metal floor often a wire mesh is too harsh on their claws. The perches are also inappropriate as they are not suited to the size of their claws and the birds cannot flex their muscles.  Sitting in a cramped position for a life time of imprisonment, the birds get cranky and bite.  Then they are tagged as trouble makers and treated even worse. Large birds live for 60 -70 years in this form of confinement.  The wire mesh on the sides of the cage often damage their wings and beaks.

Yet there are some easy ways of improving their quality of life in significant ways.

1.   Get an aviary that is big enough for the bird to fully stretch its wings and fly around.  This will allow them to exercise their muscles.   Have an aviary big enough so that you can have a few birds.  Birds are social creatures and miss the companionship of their kind.  If you have the space to let them out and enjoy a natural life so much the better. Click here for picture of good aviaries.

2.   Provide a variety of perches of different sizes at different heights.  This will allow the bird to walk and hop, flexing their claws, preventing them from getting arthritis.

3.   Give them a variety of fruits, vegetables, grasses and herbs and seeds.  In the wild, birds eat with the seasons and  enjoy a huge range of natural foods.  Pet birds seed packs are over packed with one or two varieties of seeds, which do not give them all the nutrition they need.

4.   Give them some soft earth to walk on.  Wire mesh on the ground is for the human's benefit, nit the birds.  The wire cuts into their feet, making it sore and permanently injured.

5.   Give them tree branches and twigs to peck and play with, so they can keep their beaks in shape and exercise their jaws.

6.   Talk to them kindly.  You are all they have now, which makes everything you do even more important.  Give them things to interest them and engage them. They are intelligent loving creatures and deserve to be so treated.

7.   Find them friends and provide  a legacy for them.  Many birds outlive their humans, and get shoved from one home to another as no one wants them or knows how to care for them. This is very traumatic for the birds, causing them to become very ill-tempered and nervous.

Please share this message whenever possible.  Many bird owners simply do not realise how much their birds suffer. They receive incorrect information from pet shops and don't know that they can do more for their much loved pet birds.

To view more pictures and a story on cockatoo rehabilitation click here.

To download an audio interview about cockatoos right click here and 'save as'

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Until tomorrow,

Cheers

Gitie