Common food mistakes

Common food mistakes when feeding your birds THE NUMBER ONE MOST COMMON MISTAKE WE SEE!!!

"The bowl looks full but it's not!" Learn how to recognize eaten seed vs. edible seed. Birds who eat seed leave behind hulls that can be mistaken for whole seeds. I've heard of owners leaving the food bowl in without changing it for days, resulting in a bird that starves to death "with a full foodbowl." Get in a habit, no matter what the food bowl looks like, of throwing the contents away and refilling the dish with new seed at least every other day!

"If it's on the ground, it's not food." Many birds, if allowed to get to the bottom of their cage, will eat anything and everything on the bottom. This is very unhealthy as birds will pick through leftovers of other birds coming into contact with things they shouldn't. Seed on the bottom should be removed often or a barrier should be installed to prevent from bottom feeding.

"Not watching the bird eat/drink/play/sleep is OK; it'll be fine." Wrong!!! First time owners ESPECIALLY need to learn to observe a bird. Learn its body language. Find out how to tell if it's healthy, sick, lonely. Anticipate its needs; always provide fresh food and water, and make sure it eats and drinks. Do your research; read the bird magazines, buy the birdie books, and make sure you know where the closest avian vet is located. Ask your avian vet all your questions. Don't be afraid to call up your vet at the first sign of trouble! Birds can get very sick very fast. If a bird isn't acting like it does a majority of the time, act fast! If you take the "I'll wait and see if it gets better" approach, you will not be happy with the results. Birds almost never just "get better" on their own.