First time bird owner to be: recommended brands? Advice? Tips? Check list?

[Victoria95]

I work at a petstore and we have a Canary winged bee bee parakeet who has been with us for nearly a year. When I started working here the one animal I did not want was a bird. But the other day I went to do a water and food change on him for the first time and it was my impression that he was still with us because he was loud and aggressive. He's not though. He's loud, screams all the time, but he's terrified of people and it breaks my heart. I've since started my research and did the budgeting. And now I can't wait to get him, but I want to make sure I have everything ready. I found a cage that he has plenty of room in and a built in nice sized bird house in the top corner (I thought since he's so scared right now that'd be a nice touch) I think I have a pretty good understanding of what all i need to get (but I'll continue to research, it'll be about a month before I get him) but I don't know what the best brands would be, specifically for food, and treats.
Things I know I need to get but not best brands:
Cuddle bone
Millet
Food and water dish
Water bath
Toys
Food
Treats
Toys
Perches
Bedding (substrate? Bird equivilant? Like pellets or newspaper for the bottom of the cage)
Travel cage (What sort of specifics should I look for?)
Additional advice or tips?
What about special needs during molting?
Thank you
I do plan on looking up all questions asked but I do like multiple opinions especially those from real owners rather than just sites.
Thanks again

[Dragonlady2]

Welcome to the forum! Thank you for getting this poor bird out of the pet store. I would love to see pictures of it. It's a bird that has always interested me.
As to some of your questions, in no particular order....lol.
A lot of people use newspapers at the bottom of the cage. I wouldn't use pellets as the bird may eat them.
Think about giving it fresh chopped vegetables and fruit every day.
A variety of perches such as rope, different woods, sandy or cement.
Find an Avian vet in your area as your bird may need a check up or vetting and an Avian vet specializes in parrots/bird's.

As for the cage, what are the dimensions. It sounds like it may be a breeding cage.

Others will be along to answer more of your questions. Don't be afraid to keep asking questions.

[Victoria95]

I'll post pictures as soon as I can figure out how, I'm on here via phone. As for the dimentions.
Overall: 21"L x 31"W x 64"H
Top corner/nesting area: 18"L x 14"W x 22"H
Top corner across nesting area: 18"L x 12"W x 22"H
Lower cage: 32"H x 23" W
There's another cage I'm considering, I'm just leaning towards the first one because of the nesting area might hopefully help with stress a little? the others dimensions are: 33.9"L x 69"H x 25.6
Are these to small? I definitely plan to upgrade once Im able to make more room and Save up more, I just want to be able to get him out and into a much better environment as soon as I can, he's been stress molting for a bit. I think at the petstore his current dimensions are probably around 18"L x 18"W x 24-30"H.

[Quakerella]

Hi Victoria and welcome to PP

Excellent tips from Helena and I also would love to see a picture.

I like to use natural branches of different sizes and lengths and put them on angles in the cage. It is natural and great exercise for your bird. Be aware there are many woods poisonous to birds, just check before you use and clean thoroughly.

Cuttlebone is an excellent source of calcium for your bird. It will also help keep their beak trim. Not sure about your area, but here we can buy them loose and they are about $.75 - $1.00

There are many safety issues regarding toys such as the length of any rope, materials used, size of parts. Do a thorough research before purchasing. There are many threads on this forum you could read through.

As Helena advised fresh fruit and veggies are important for nutrients. I keep pellets in the cages all the time, but fresh food is given regularly. No avocado (poisonous), chocolate, caffeine etc. As for the brands of food, everyone seems to have a preference. Personally, I use Hagen hand feeding formula and pellets. I have never had any issues and am quite happy with it.

I use newspaper in my breeder cages, but not the shiny flyers. They have a coating on them and at this point I am still not 100% sure what it is.

Hope this helps and good luck. Keep us posted, we love to hear updates.:pinkgrin:

[Dragonlady2]

Just my opinion, but I would go for the second cage. The nesting area takes up a lot of space in the first one. The more space available for the bird to move around and forage and play the better. You can create a cozy corner area in the second cage that doesn't take up as much space.

[Lady]

Hi Victoria,

:pp_welcome: I'm curious on why the one animal you didn't want was a bird?

Look at you now, making all this preparation, and expense. I think this little bee bee stole your heart. You must of been keeping one eye on this little one to have noticed that he is terrified of people. How sad that he has been enduring this feeling for so long. I'm so very happy that you found enough love for him to take him away from his fear and provide a wonderful home.

Have you talked with the manager and maybe found out how long this little one has been in the store before you arrived? Was this little one ever in a home? I don't remember asking enough questions about our little girl at the time but it might be interesting to find out if they do have any information. Maybe they would know who the breeder was and what state he came from.

Oh well, as far as your list of things, all I see that might be a consideration is lighting. It is very important to think of the seasons and what area of the house you might be placing the cage in for the light. There are full spectrum lights you can always purchase if needed.
Now I'm wondering if you may of thought of a name for h/her?

[Victoria95]

Thanks guys, I have decided on the second cage for now but I've still got a few local places to check out and see if there's any bigger for reasonable prices. As for why I didn't want any birds before, I'd pet sat parakeets when I was 7 for school and out of all the pets I just never seemed to like them. Plus I do have a cat and 2 dogs so I knew if I ever did get a bird I'd need to move things around in the house so none of them could get to it until theyre all aquainted and propperly trained. I think I'm nearly done with that step. This little guy (assuming gender) has stolen my heart. I also found out today that when I was around 2 or 3 my late father apperently had a bird that looked exactly like this one my mom wanted to wait to tell me until I had fully decided and was dedicated. So maybe destiny haha. I know the store got him/her in on July 20th 2016 I'm looking into seeing if we still have the original paper work, I know we do it's just the question of where after a year. It's to my understanding that the gender is unknown but I'm calling the nearest avian vet (1.5 hours) soon to get pricing on a check up, I might wait about a month before we make the trip so he's at least a little more used to me before his first impression is long drive and travel. Unless it turns out to be a Female I think I'm going to be naming it Kyle, I have an odd thing for common human names for my animals. I'm still trying to get my phone let me upload pictures.

[Dragonlady2]

Thanks for updating us. I will express a concern regarding keeping your bird in the same area as your other animals. I know that many people practice this, however, birds are prey animals and cats/dogs are predators. As much as we would like to think that cats and dogs can be trained to not go after our birds, my feeling is that it is just an accident waiting to happen. Will you be able to move your bird to another room when your other animals are in the area? I would hate to see something happen to Kyle.
I am looking forward to hearing more about him once you get him home.:th_smile:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Hello and welcome from Casper and us in the UK.
As well as buying cuttlefish bones from our regular food supplier we also ask friends to pick them up off the beach when they go to the coast. We then boil them for a short while to kill off any nasties.
Harrisons do a range of bird food products that are excellent (well, Casper recommends them) and he loves fruit but we have a hard time getting him to eat his veggies unless they are cooked.
We buy all our parrot supplies over the internet because the pet shops around us do not cater much for parrots and the range is very limited.
Newspaper for the bottom of the cage, it may get shredded but that is FUN.
As mentioned above, sort yourself out a specialist avian vet and get your bird on their register with a general condition check up. The vet should be able to give you good advice about any worries that you have.
We had absolutely no plans for having a bird when Casper chose to live with us but boy has it made our lives fun.

[Lady]

I have to agree with Helena about cautioning you about having your other animals out and about while your little Kyle is in the same room, even more so when your not in the same room to keep a watchful eye. Dogs and cats, even beside the predator instinct out weigh little Kyle by quite a bit and could harm him even if not intentional.
Any animal bite should be considered extremely serious and possibly life-threatening. The bacteria found in the saliva and the mouth of a mammal can cause fatal septicemia (infection in the bloodstream) of a bird in very short time. Cat bites should be considered the most dangerous, as the Pasteurella bacteria commonly found in their mouth, is extremely hazardous to birds. Even a puncture by a tooth can result in a fatal infection. Scratches from claws are also extremely dangerous. I have even learned that if a cat grooms your hair and then your bird fly's onto your shoulder and comes in contact with the same strands of hair they could possibly get sick. I am sharing this information with you so you will know without a doubt that the risk of infection is very real.

[Victoria95]

I got Kyle today, he's all set up (And as per suggested in a place where the other animals can not get to him). He's still petrified and hasn't moved from the bottom corner of the cage (facing the wall just barley looking over his shoulder). I guess in my mind I assumed he would instinctively move up so most of his toys and stuff are towards the top, food and water around mid-level). I got a place for him to hide, it's an All Living Things cloth (?) House, it does say specifically for birds and the knowledgeable bird person at the petstore okay'd it. Hopefully he'll move up soon as I'm sure he'll feel safer. I'll post pictures as soon as I can do it from a computer. Thank you guys so very very much. The bird community has already proven to be the nicest animal community I've been lucky enough to become a part of.

[Dragonlady2]

How exciting for you. It will probably take a little while for Kyle to get used to his new diggs. Just keep an eye on him and make sure that he eats and drinks. Move his food down there temporarily if necessary.
Try covering part of the cage to see if he will move away from the corner. It may be that he is afraid of the exposure and room for now.

[Quakerella]

Congratulations, you must be thrilled.

Give him some time and I am sure he will come around nicely.

[Lady]

:th_welcome2:home Kyle!!!

I agree that he will need some time to adjust to the new sights, sounds, and smells. I liked to sit on the floor in the same room as Lady and just watch her or even read to her in a soft voice. The children are all grown and on their own so it was fairly easy for Lady to take her time and look around when she was ready. Some birds like music too, maybe you could play some soft music very low just to help with normal noises that may cause him some alarm. Lady still stops and stays still if a large truck comes down the street making a lot of noise and she is in the back of the house.
Looking forward to seeing some pic when he gets comfortable.