Amazon Parrot – Info for the New Owner – Part 2

In the first part of this info for the new owner of an Amazon Parrot, we described the parrot and discussed its cage, food, and bathing. We turn our attention now to other needs of the Amazon Parrot.

Amazon Parrot Grooming

Besides its weekly shower, your Amazon Parrot will need to have its wings, beak, and nails groomed.

* Wings: Your Amazon Parrot will need to have its wings clipped on a regular basis by a qualified veterinarian. This will keep it from perfecting its flying ability, and possibly leaving through an open window or door.

* Beak: If you notice that your Amazon Parrot’s beak is becoming deformed, or growing too large, you will need to have it trimmed. This problem can be handled by your parrot itself if you supply a lave block, mineral block, or one of the other beak-grooming items available at your pet store.

* Nails: An Amazon Parrot can keep its own nails trimmed in most cases, as it would in the wild. Ask at your pet store for concrete type perches that are specially designed to keep the nails trim. If they become overgrown in spite of the perches, ask your veterinarian for advice.

Amazon Parrot Playtime

An Amazon Parrot is intelligent, and must have entertainment to keep it from becoming bored and depressed. A new owner will be careful to supply it with the following.

* Toys: Appropriate toys for an Amazon Parrot must be sturdy and large, able to stand up to your bird’s strong beak. Look for natural, un-dyed wood parts and natural rope. Some toys will have stainless steel parts, which are fine as long as sharp edges do not threaten your parrot. Your Amazon Parrot will like a challenge for its big beak, so give it a tug made of cotton braid. If it likes to chew, give it a large wood or leather chew toy. Have a supply of toys, and rotate them on a regular basis to keep your parrot interested.

* Gym: As described in Part 1 of this article series, your Amazon Parrot will need a large cage. That is fine when you are not in the room, but the bird will need out-of-cage exercise when you are around to monitor it. A parrot gym is a necessity, not a luxury. Some parrot cages feature a gym on the cage roof. You might also construct a table top gym for your Amazon Parrot.

* Tabletop Gym: Make a 4-level gym, large enough, and interesting enough, to keep your parrot active and entertained. Equip your gym with at least 1 swing, 2 feed cups, 2 ladders, a set of spiral stairs, a chew pole, a few perches, and some platforms. Use bird-safe hardwoods, and give it an easy-to-clean laminated base. A good size for the base is about 20″ x 30″. Make the second level smaller – about 12″ x 30″, the third smaller yet, and the fourth level only about 10″ x 12″. Hang colorful parrot toys on your gym. For ideas, look in your pet store, or search the Internet, for parrot gyms.

* Companionship: Part of your Amazon Parrot considers you a companion – a member of its flock. It craves lots of interaction with you. At playtime, cuddle your young Amazon Parrot and get it accustomed to snuggling against you. (This may not work with older birds.) Talk to it, praise it, laugh at it, and generally be its biggest fan.

The next article in this series will provide social behavior info for the new owner of an Amazon Parrot.