They love to destroy, chew, investigate and hang off objects, therefore it is essential that toys and enrichment items are provided in their cages and environment.

For more information on the PRC Shop products please feel free to email zarita@parrotrescuecentre.com or to visit our online shop click here.

Some people tell me, with great pride, that their bird doesn’t have a cage but has the run of the house. I think this is an awful situation. A bird needs a place of its own, where it won’t be disturbed when it’s trying to sleep. In the wild most parrots go home to the same place every evening and roost there for the night. They consider it to be their place, and they know every sound and whether or not it means danger. In captivity they need this same kind of familiarity.

A cage needs to be long rather than tall, birds can’t fly up and down like helicopters. Even if the bird is clipped it will only use the top part of a tall cage and perhaps climb down to the floor occasionally, but the middle section is usually wasted. A round cage is not suitable; birds need corners to hide in. If your bird is in a round cage make sure it is situated in a corner until you are able to change it.

The bars need to be strong enough to hold the bird and the space between the bars needs to be small enough that the bird can’t get its head through.

Parrots are prey animals and worry about danger striking from above, so cover over the top and part of the back and sides at all times. Put yourself in the bird’s position and imagine if you would be comfortable with the situation. If there is something like a leafy branch in front of the top perch, which obscures the bird from sight, your pet will feel safer.

The cage needs to be put in its permanent spot and fully covered before dark every night. It is cruel to have a parrot sleeping in a different place every night, inside some nights, outside others or in the lounge room one night and in a bedroom or hallway another night. Choose a sleeping place and put the cage there every night before the bird is in darkness.

A birdcage should never, ever be put on the floor. This is extremely cruel, as is keeping one cage on top of another. A bird feels at its most vulnerable when it is on the ground or has another bird standing over it. They need height to feel safe and they hate being looked down on.

If your parrot lives in the house put the cage outside for a while on fine days. Make sure the bird is not going to be terrorised by cats, dogs or other creatures.

Perches need to be natural branches from native trees and one perch needs to be thick enough to let the bird sit with its feet almost flat. This should be as close to the top and as far back as possible, without the bird’s head or tail touching the bars. A thin perch is important as well, as it exercises different muscles, and if this is across the door it will be easier to get the bird to step up out of the cage without you invading its space. Perches should be changed when the bark has been stripped from them.

Food and water dishes need to be placed as far apart as possible to force the bird to move around and to stop it from making ‘soup.’ Position them so the bird’s droppings can’t get into them. Water dishes need to be cleaned and replenished once or twice a day without fail.

If your bird is a cockatoo or other parrot that is used to feeding and rummaging on the ground, the bottom should not be bars or wire but solid and covered with newspaper, butcher’s paper or cardboard from boxes and cartons, which they love.

The cage needs to have the droppings removed each day. It needs to be cleaned thoroughly and disinfected with a bird safe disinfectant like Avisafe once a week.

A pristine, tidy cage is the sign of an unhappy bird. Parrots need to wreck things, tear them apart and then they like to rummage through the rubble. Put fresh native branches with leaves, flowers and seedpods still on them, into the cage every single day so that the bird is kept occupied.

It is cruel to go crashing into the bird’s space, turning on lights and making a noise after it has settled for the night. Imagine if you did this to a baby or even an adult, they would soon be a nervous wreck.

If you regularly arrive home after dark and want to spend time with your bird before it settles for the night set a timer to put a light on before darkness sets in. Always approach your bird carefully by talking to it before you enter the room.

A bird needs to get up and go to bed as close as possible to the natural rhythm of the sun. If you are going to keep your pet up past sunset be aware that this is the same as keeping a small child up late. Compensate by keeping it dark and quiet longer in the morning.

The ultimate luxury for a pet parrot is to have an outside aviary and an inside T-stand or play gym. If your bird is going to live in an aviary the same rules apply, but an aviary does not need to be covered at night. However, if you are going to keep your pet up later than sunset a small cage inside the aviary is the answer. The bird can be put into the cage at night and covered. This way of ‘delaying sunrise’ works well for loud birds as well. Your neighbours will appreciate your efforts, mine do.

Parrots like to sleep a lot during the day so, with this in mind, don’t have your bird out of the cage all day.

Make sure that your bird lives in a haven, rather than a prison.

The Purpose of the Code is to assist in (Section 3)

a) The proper care and welfare of birds in Aviculture: and

b) The promotion of the understanding of the health and nutritional
requirements of all birds; and

c) The realisation of the need for the conservation of viable
populations of indigenous birds in the wild; and

d) Compliance with any legislative requirements of the state or
Commonwealth relating to Aviculture.

It is important for people to realise that there are some birds in Australia that require a licence to keep, such as all black cockatoo's, major Mitchell's, Eclectus parrots etc. A lot of the commonly kept Australian native parrots such as Sulphur crested cockatoo's, Galah's and Corella's do not require a licence, though it is essential that you keep records of where the birds where acquired, as it is illegal to keep birds from the wild.

The main purpose of this article is to make you as pet owners aware of the general requirements that you have to abide by according to the

The basic needs of all birds are: (Section 5)

a) Ready access to a balanced diet designed to the individual species
needs and requirements

b) A supply of clean water and

c) Freedom of movement and ability to exercise and

d) Accommodation which provides protection and safe captive environment
specific for the needs of each individual species

The Parrot rescue centre recommends that pet birds be housed in large cages or aviaries especially if you do not let your bird out of there cage to exercise. "There can never be a cage or aviary to big" (remember wild birds fly for miles a day with unlimited room available). Please read the article above by Verna Shannan to receive a more in-depth view on how your bird's home should be.

(Reference: Queensland Government, Environmental Protection Agency.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service- Nature Conservation Act 1992- CODE OF
PRACTICE- AVICULTURE)

Wheelie Great Toy

This is an exciting toy uniquely made by the Tropical Toybox. This toy provides endless fun because of the different colours, textures and shapes incorporated.

Size Compatibility: Any parrot from Ringnecks to Cockatoos will enjoy this toy.

Safety Rate: This toy is made as all other toys in the Tropical toybox range with non toxic and safe items. Some items within these toys, such as the plastic bits and nylon rope can be destroyed by large cockatoos and large exotics, therefore it is vital that you be aware of this when your parrot is playing with it.

Durability: Really durable for the un destructible types. Some of the PRC Alexandrines and Major Mitchell’s who can demolish most toys in less than a few days found it hard to totally crack this toy, some other parrots such as Ringnecks, Amazons, Eclectus and cockatoos, will keep and play with this item for months without destroying it.

Excitement Factor: The birds cannot get there little feet and eyes off this one, every aviary and cage that this toy was introduced into were loved by all. Everyone’s eyes watched me with great enthusiasm when bringing this colourful piece into there environments

Member Moments

Chio is a green Indian Ringneck Parrot, which is of course the smaller of the exotics, but for what he lacks in size he makes up in personality. He is turning 4 this year and it has been a mini-miracle to watch his neck-ring and crest come to life this past moult. He was certainly an unhappy boy while the new feathers were coming through but now he is the prettiest boy around. His green feathers are now almost fluorescent in certain types of light and his black and red ring is the envy of all the local Lorikeets.

Written By Gavin Trakman

May: “Chio” Glenn and Lorenna Miles have won best story for May

June: “Rocky” Gavin Trakman won best story for June

How to enter the monthly draw to win a PRC recommended parrot toy and have your birdies picture and story part of the PRC Newsletter.
· Fill out the Parrot Rescue Centre Membership Form
· Write a story about your feathered friends, weather emotional, funny or silly
· Send it to zarita@parrotrescuecentre.com
· Include a photo of your bird as an attachment on the email.

It’s that easy! We look forward to hearing your stories!

The World Parrot Trust aims are:
· The survival of parrot species in the wild
· and the welfare of captive birds everywhere.

To achieve these aims they:
·Restore and protectpopulations of wild parrots and their native habitats
·Promote awareness of thethreats to all parrots, captive and wild
·Oppose the trade inwild-caught parrots
·Educate the public onhigh standards for the care and breeding of parrots
·Encourage links betweenconservation and aviculture

In captivity, the bird accepts the human family as its flock. Therefore, pet birds will activate their preservation reflex and hide signs of sickness from their owners and their "human flock”. A typical case is the bird with a sore eye. It will never sit with the sore eye exposed to view. It constantly turns so that its good eye is always presented to its owners.

However, an observant owner can circumvent this instinctive behavior and learn to recognize the subtle signals that indicate a bird is not well. All pet birds should be handled daily and weighed regularly. This will allow the owner to become familiar with the “feel” of a well bird (strong, active, vigorous) as opposed to a sick bird (weak, limp, lethargic). It will allow the owner to pick up on any significant weight loss. A recent case comes to mind when a very conscientious cockatiel owner, who weighed her birds daily, was able to bring her bird to the surgery, when she noticed that its weight was decreasing over several days. Apart from the weight loss, the bird appeared well. However, routine faecal tests revealed that it was suffering from Avian Gastric Yeast infection.

Noticing when a bird stops vocalizing for any period of time is another sign that something is not right. Often when an owner presents a sick bird and I begin gathering history as to when the symptoms were first noticed, they will invariably say “yesterday”. However, when questioned about vocalizing, they will suddenly remember that their pet stopped vocalizing a week ago. That was the time when the bird began to feel unwell.

Checking droppings is another way to monitor the health of your pet. The substrate of the cage should be cleaned daily. For this reason, I recommend newspaper as a simple and effective way of keeping the floor of the cage clean. When changing the paper each day, make sure that the droppings are checked. All owners should become familiar with the appearance of normal droppings. Any continuous, abnormal droppings should be investigated by your avian veterinarian. Food intake should also be monitored daily. Any decrease in appetite should be a cause for concern.

A very informative book published by Australian Birdkeeper, “A Guide to Basic Health and Disease in Birds” has a detailed section on Signs of Illness in Pet Birds. I usually recommend this book as essential reading for pet bird owners.

Don’t wait until your bird is showing signs of serious illness. Circumvent their preservation reflex and learn to pick up on the subtle signs that indicate your pet is not feeling well. Diligent observation can save the life of your pet.

Written by Peter Wilson
BVSc MACVSc
Avian and Reptile Practitioner

To contact Peter Wilson Click Here

Leave your precious birds with understanding and knowledgeable parrot carers.

We provide quality care for your pet birds including clean housing, healthy diet, enrichment, interaction and training (extra fee).

Your bird will not have time to be bored or sad, so stress and frustration will be less likely.

All funds made from bird boarding are directly used by the Parrot Rescue Centre to help with caring and maintaining the sanctuary birds environment.

For more information please contact:

Zarita Garozzo

Parrot Rescue Centre Co-coordinator on:

Ph: 07 5569 2840

Email: zarita@parrotrescuecentre.com

Name: Missy

Age: 4 years

Sex: Female

About Missy: Missy came to the PRC because her owner had commitments overseas. Missy was heavily bonded to her previous owner and showed no interest in other birds. Missy sadly still plucks her feathers, but now lives in an aviary with other lorikeets and is bonded to a male lorikeet. It took her a long time (over a year) to accept other birds, but finally with patience and trial and error Missy is really happy hanging with her boyfriend and other friends.

It is vital that the PRC have a assessment process for people wanting to adopt a parrot, as many of the parrots that have been surrendered to the PRC have been given away because of behavioral issues.

The PRC does the best they can through the rehabilitation process to ensure that these behaviors are controlled although when re homing these birds we need to ensure the parrot owner has a good understanding of parrot needs and requirements.

These birds do not deserve to be moved from home to home anymore, so if you are adopting a bird from the PRC it is going to be a life long commitment.

Click here for more information and to apply

Lockie and Kramer now live happily together, tolerating each other at this point.

He now has been adopted by a very dedicated pet parrot owner who has him living in a large aviary with other parrots.