Pet Bird Care---5 Accessories to Consider When Caring For Your Pet Bird

Adopting a pet bird will bring many hours of companionship and pleasure to you and your family. It's a huge and sometimes lifetime commitment as some parrots can live 50 years or more with proper care. Here are 5 accessories for you bird room that will help your bird live a long, healthy, and happy life.

Safe Cage---Regardless of whether your bird is big or small or somewhere in between in size, every bird needs a cage that allows it to extend its wings completely without fear of hitting the sides of its cage. So the bigger the cage is the better able your pet is to get exercise even when it is confined to the cage.

The cage should be clear of paints that contain lead, and zinc, lead and brass metals that can also be fatal if ingested. A stainless steel cage is expensive initially, but it will last for the lifetime of your bird.

A Variety of Toys---Swings are great fun for your bird, and can make fabulous entertainment for you and your family to watch. Edible toys will provide motivation and stimulation for activity.

Pine cones with stuffed with seeds, nuts, fruits and other favorite foods can make playing outside the cage a real treat! Cuttlebone will also provide the necessary minerals to round out their diet.

Shower Perch---This is a fun way to spend time with your bird and allow it to take a little bath. These are relatively inexpensive, can be purchased at most pet shops and are painless to install.

Allowing your bird regular access to water for bathing keeps dander down and their skin in good condition. Check with your vet about the frequency that is best for your type of bird.

Play Area outside the Cage---Even though your cage may be wonderfully spacious, your bird will stay healthy emotionally if it is allowed to play outside the cage for several hours each day. The best way to make this safe play is to designate an area of the bird room for perches and toys that are safe and peak your bird curiosity.

This area can be a series of perches, and brightly colored toys that get rotated frequently. Toys that make sounds, mirrors and foraging toys will all make this area a big hit with your feathered friend.

HEPA Air Purifier---Unless you take proactive measures, your bird room air will become thick with tiny bits of feather, dander, and dust. These are all in addition to the usual airborne pollutants found in even the cleanest of homes-dust, dust mites, mold and mildew spores, bacteria and viruses.

With so many additional pollutants in the air, your bird's air passages can become clogged which often leads to disease and infection. And family members may become increasingly sensitive because there is so much of it in the air.

The only way to get rid of these airborne irritants is to continually filter the air with an air purifier designed to remove particulates from the air. The type of technology that has been found to be most effective at doing this is HEPA (or high efficiency particles arresting) filtration.

Many professional aviaries use this type of filtration to keep their birds healthy giving them greater longevity and quality of life.

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