Bird Care in Shelters
Housing and Feeding Shelter Birds
HSUS
Birds of a
Feather
General Guidelines for six types of birds you
might see in your shelter
The following are basic housing and feeding guidelines for some of the birds you may encounter in your shelter. While the conditions described may not always be possible in a shelter setting, you should strive for them—and encourage potential adopters to do the same.
- All birds
require a constant supply of fresh water. You can provide
this in a heavy stainless steel bowl or a heavy-bottomed
crock; the weight will keep the bird from tipping the bowl
over. The bird will probably try to bathe in any bowl that's
big enough for him to squeeze into; most birds will bathe
every day, so they may turn their fresh drinking water into
icky bath time residue. To avoid this problem, provide extra
water in a sipper tube, or in a cup designed to be attached
to the wall of the cage. Then give your birdies separate bath
dishes so they can maintain their daily hygiene
routines.
- If you don't
have a designated area for birds and you don't normally take
in very many of them, consider making the occasional cockatoo
or parakeet your temporary office buddy. Birds need to be
housed in the quietest area possible, away from the noise of
other animals and the random finger-poking of roaming
visitors. Not only will such poking stress out your
guests—increasing their potential for illness—it
may also result in a visitor getting bitten. By keeping cages
in less active, less public areas, you can also prevent
visitors from making impulse adoption
choices.
- You should
try to put the bird somewhere cozy and safe while you clean
his poopy domicile, but if you can't, work slowly and quietly
while cleaning.
- All cages
should be cleaned daily; biological matter such as feces and
feathers should be removed, and then the cage should be
thoroughly cleaned with a bleach solution like the one you
use for other cages: one part bleach and 32 parts water.
Allow the cage to air dry before returning the bird to it;
fumes from cleaners can be toxic to birds.
- Temperatures
of 68 to 75 degrees are ideal. You can use space heaters and
heating lamps, but beware of falling feathers gathering
around space heaters (a potential fire hazard). Also make
sure that the bulbs in your heating lamps do not have a
Teflon-based coating, which can produce fumes that are toxic
to birds.
- Smaller
birds should have enough room in their cages to flutter about
comfortably and hop from perch to perch; larger birds must be
able to fully stretch out their wings without touching the
sides of the cage. Cages for birds with long tails should be
tall enough to accommodate the length of the
tail.
- It's a good
idea to provide birds with perches. Perches should be large
enough in diameter that a bird's foot should encircle 3/4 of
the perch's surface; perches of smaller and larger diameters
should also be provided so that the bird will get plenty of
foot exercise. The number of perches in a cage will depend on
the cage size—you shouldn't crowd a bird—but one
perch should allow him access to food. Make sure the perches
are secure, and try to place them so that any droppings the
bird produces while perching won't fall into food or water
supplies.
- Birds should
be provided with cage toys appropriate to species and size.
Because so many of the parrot species are intelligent and
gregarious, boredom can be a real problem for birds confined
to a cage. Introducing new and different toys to your birds
can help make them happier and more relaxed. Although
commercial toys for birds are available, you can also
improvise with everyday items: cardboard tubes from paper
towel rolls, leafy branches, corncobs, pieces of wood strung
together on a rope, and hard rubber dog toys are all
acceptable bird toys. Just use your imagination, and make
sure the objects are safe for the bird.
- There's a
general guideline that applies to both shelters and adoptive
homes: The larger the bird, the greater the expenditure in
terms of both time and money. The larger birds especially
need toys, entertainment, and social interaction with their
caregivers. Softbills such as toucans will also require a
greater time commitment, because adopters will have to cater
to their particular nutritional needs.
FINCHES AND CANARIES
Birdlike appetite:
A commercially formulated canary/finch feed, apple slices,
lettuce leaves, and dandelions
For a happy home:
A finch should ideally be housed with another finch; less
people-friendly than larger birds, finches like the company of
other finchy friends. Cages should be as large as possible. For a
single pair or small group of finches, a good cage size is about
2 feet tall, 3 feet wide, and a foot deep. Single canaries should
be housed in caging at least 1 foot tall, 2 feet wide, and 1 foot
deep.
SMALL PARROTS (parakeets, cockatiels, and lovebirds)
Birdlike appetite:
Commercial feeds, supplemented with fresh fruit and
vegetables
For a happy home:
Many of these little fellows can be housed in pairs, provided
they get along. Cockatiels vary in color according to their
genders; the undersides of a female's tail feathers are yellow
with dark barring. Cockatiel cages should be at least 11/2 feet
tall, wide, and deep. Parakeet cages should be at least a foot
tall, wide, and deep. Lovebirds should not be housed with other
species, as they are aggressive and may fight.
MEDIUM TO LARGE PARROTS (conures, Amazons, African grays, lories)
Birdlike appetite:
Commercial parrot feed, supplemented with fresh fruit and
vegetables
For a happy home:
Larger parrots should be caged in areas at least 3 feet wide, 3
feet tall, and 2 feet deep; they should always have enough room
to spread their wings fully. Larger parrots are more intelligent,
and with their greater intelligence comes a greater need for
social interaction with caregivers; lack of attention can lead to
destructive behaviors and constant vocalization.
Lories and lorikeets are a group of parrots with specialized feeding requirements. These birds primarily consume flower nectar, using their specially adapted brush-like tongues. Commercial nectar mixes are available for these birds, but in an emergency a homemade mixture of monkey-chow biscuits, apples, carrots, molasses, and water can be processed in a blender to achieve a semi-liquid consistency. Lories should also be offered soft fruits and vegetables. Because of the high moisture content of their diets, lories produce very loose and messy droppings, and their cages and perches must be cleaned at least daily.
COCKATOOS
Birdlike appetite:
Commercial parrot feed, plus supplements of fresh fruit and
vegetables
For a happy home:
Cockatoo caging should be 4 feet tall, 3 feet wide, and 2 feet
deep at a minimum. Cockatoos are natural chewers and can be given
pieces of untreated wood to satisfy their gnawing urges. The
caging for both cockatoos and macaws should be made of strong
mesh; these birds have powerful beaks and are inclined to test
them on their surroundings.
MACAWS
Birdlike appetite:
Commercial parrot feed, plus supplements of fresh fruit and
vegetables
For a happy home:
Small macaws (such as yellow-collared macaws and Severes) can be
housed in cages at least 3 feet tall, 2 feet deep, and 2 feet
wide. Larger macaws (such as blue and gold, Military, Greenwing,
and Hyacinth macaws) need bigger spaces—5 feet tall, 5 feet
wide, and at least 3 feet deep. Macaws require lots of attention
and can be quite affectionate; they can develop a large
vocabulary. As with cockatoos, macaws like to chew, so supply
them with pieces of wood to allow them to gnaw away to their
hearts' content.
TOUCANS AND MYNAHS
Birdlike appetite:
Toucans and mynahs are softbills, and as such, they require a
diet of softer foods instead of seeds or pellets. (Preparation of
these diets requires more time from a caregiver, so be sure
potential adopters are aware of this.)
Commercial diets for mynahs are available, and should be supplemented with fresh fruit. Toucans should be fed a variety of fruit—pears, apples, and grapes are good (keep citrus fruits to a minimum since the acids in them can cause tummy problems), and you can add a good quality dog chow moistened with water or fruit juice. Since fruits are low in protein, these birds need a little protein booster; a weekly snack of mealworms and crickets can be a tasty and protein-filled treat. Some of these fellas have a tendency to store too much iron, so it's important that whatever sources of protein you provide are low in iron.
For a happy home:
Toucans and mynahs should have wingspan room and enough space to
hop from perch to perch; this will mean a cage at least 3 feet
tall, 4 feet wide, and 3 feet deep.
Courtesy of
www.hsus.org
Animal Sheltering
Magazine
From the March-April 2001 Issue
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