Birds are social animals which require a rich environment to thrive. Birds learn to relate to people as members of their flock. When living in a cage situation and not in an aviary with other birds, your bird relies on you for socialization. Talk to your bird, whistle or sing. When you are away from home during the day leave a radio or TV on at low volumes. A lot of birds find TV fascinating, but be careful with the station you choose. Public TV is a perfect station for birds learning to talk. Most of the programs during the day are aimed at children and have bright colors and easy-going speech. When choosing other channels on TV or radio, consider that your bird may pick up language you might not approve of or end up singing commercial jingles all day!

The links above will take you to information about providing the best possible care for a companion parrot. The Alaska Bird Club encourages you to stay current with avian care as the information changes rapidly over time.

A lot of the information here comes from the booklet "The Recommended Care of Pet Birds" compiled and written by bird club member Candy Carlson (in loving memory of Harry) and edited by bird club members Lin Westgard and Leanna Rein. As always, we urge you to do your own research and expand your knowledge on the type of parrot(s) you have.

The booklet and the information on these pages are not an exhaustive guide to bird care and should be used as a reference only. Have fun with your bird(s) and enjoy them; they are lifetime commitments!

In addition, we have "The Parrot Enrichment Activity Book" which was created by Kris Porter here in Alaska. This is a free book for all parrot owners. The book touches on toy making, types of toys, different toy materials, individual parrot preferences, shredders, refillable, foraging toys, food kabobs, even how to make fun and easy play gyms from PVC. It is an excellent resource, full of good suggestions and ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Print out a copy and share it with your friends, or keep it in your personal library, it will come in very handy!

The Alaska Bird Club • P.O. Box 101825 • Anchorage AK 99510
akbirdclub@yahoo.com