Taking Care of Your New Baby
By: Sandee L. Molenda, C.A.S.
To make the adjustment easier for your little guy
(and you), please try and use these simple tips for the next two weeks or so
until he is fully adapted to his new surroundings. Remember that your bird is a baby
and must learn many new things.
Food
- Your parrotlet's normal diet should consist of chopped fruits, vegetables and greens, seeds (Volkman’s
Parrotlet Super or small hook bill or cockatiel mix) or pellets (for cockatiels),
rice, pasta, cooked legumes, root vegetables and grains, wholegrain bread,
sprouted seed and millet spray. If
you change the diet, do it gradually!! The
parrotlet may have not learned to associate different foods so be careful. Young
parrotlets have been known to starve to death because their diet was switched
too quickly and they did not eat the new food.
For the first week or so, place your bird's food on
the bottom of the cage in a paper plate or on a paper towel.
Provide seed and/or pellets in small, flat dishes on the bottom. Also, be
sure to give them as much millet as they want especially the first week. Then,
you can gradually reduce the amount to a spray a couple of times a week.
After he is seen eating out of the dishes regularly, you can move the
rest of his food to small, flat dishes and then to the regular dishes provided
with the cage. Avoid dishes with hoods on them; many parrotlets will not stick
their heads inside and can starve to death.
It
is not unusual for baby parrotlets to consume large amounts of millet when they
first go to a new home regardless of what they were fed at the breeder's aviary
or pet shop. Going to a new environment is both stressful and overwhelming for a
new baby although not always in a bad way. They have a new cage, new people, new
environment, new toys, new climate, new everything. They may be very curious and
inquisitive, and like a child in a candy store, may not eat a wide variety of
foods especially fresh foods or event their normal seed/pellet mix. It is very
normal and new parrotlet owners should always have lots of millet available when
the baby comes home. Millet is a complex carbohydrate that also has protein and
no fat. It is easily digested and provides quick energy for baby birds that need
it to deal with the stress of the new situation. They should be allowed to eat
as much as they want. Usually, after a week or so, they will start eating a
greater variety although it make take several weeks or longer before they start
eating fresh foods.
To encourage them to eat fresh foods, you should
provide your parrotlet with thawed frozen peas and corn in a small dish with
some seeds sprinkled on the top. Once the parrotlet starts playing and eating
these foods, then you can start adding other fresh, more wholesome foods to the mix.
Parrotlets
do not need grit. They hull (shell) their seed and grind their food with their
beaks as do all parrots so there is not need for grit. Grit also has been known
to cause impaction of the intestines so it should be avoided.
They should be provided with a cuttlebone, for calcium, and a mineral block for
needed trace minerals. The parrotlet will eat them as his nutritional needs
dictate.
Handling – Your parrotlet should have been hand-fed since
10 to 14 days of age and socialized to a variety of household situations.
However, unlike domesticated animals such as dogs and cat, parrotlets are aware
prey animals that you are a stranger and they must learn that you are not going
to hurt them. They also are in a completely foreign environment with a new home,
new cage, new toys, new people, new food, etc., so they are very cautious and
can be very nervous for the first few weeks. Your parrotlet should be taken out
daily and held over a couch or bed and allowed to jump off. This is how you
should work with your parrotlet on teaching “Step Ups” and ‘ladders’.
Let him jump off, pick him up, place him back on your finger and start over
again. Praise and talk softly to the parrotlet while perched on your finger. Do
this whenever you first take the bird out. After a few minutes, the parrotlet
will stop jumping off. After a few days or so, they should be completely
comfortable with you and should no longer jump off or try and get away.
Stress
- Remember your bird is a baby and he needs rest. When you first bring him home,
put him in his cage and let him get used to the new environment. If the bird was
shipped or had to travel a distance from the breeder, leave him in the cage the
first day. On the second day, you can open the door and take him out for
playtime. After about an hour, return him to his cage. He can then come out a
few more times during the day. Do
not continually play with him for hour after hour while he is very young.
As he gets older, gradually his out of cage time can increase.
Your baby is used to cuddling up against his siblings
at night. Make sure his cage is
placed in a warm area and cover him at night. Do not expose him to drafts. If
your baby appears lethargic, quiet, weak, cold or is unable to perch,
immediately place the bird's cage on a heating pad or under a light covered with
a towel. Try and warm him up to 85°-
88° and get him to an avian veterinarian.
Many times heat will work wonders and in a few hours they are up and
running around. Sometimes, the
stress of the new home, et cetera, can be a little much.
Toys and
Playpens -
Parrotlets love to play and should be given a lot of toys. Things that move such
as swings and hanging toys are favorites. They also like things made from
natural materials such as wood, leather and raw hide. Small items such as beads
and bells are especially relished and played with for hours on end.
Parrotlets can be taught to stay on playpens and baskets. This will allow
your pet more freedom as well as more time with you as he is more mobile and
easy to move around.
Water
- Provide both a glass tube or ball waterer (for rodents) AND
a small dish on the bottom of the cage.
After you see him drinking from the tube regularly, you can remove the
small dish.
