What is it that compels so many people to take on and care for parrots? I think it has a lot to do with their pleasant eye catching coloring as well as their developed character and intelligence. However the ordinary family home at first look is not the ideal place to house a parrot. There are quite a few changes that need to be thought of in order for a parrot to be happy and thrive in their new home.

One of the biggest contributing factors to ensuring that a parrot maintains its health when being kept as a pet is to make sure that it is fed a correctly prepared nutritionally balanced food. A usual parrot diet should comprise of some main food stuffs which include pellets and seed, fresh produce and clean fresh water.

In order to minimize the chance of illness and infection a parrots living area (birdcage) should be regularly cleaned. Due to their pretty delicate immune systems parrot owners should see to it that their parrot's food and water dishes be cleaned every day to reduce the infection risk. Even perches should be washed daily as parrots have an inclination to bite and gnaw at them. You shouldn't use cleaning products such as bleach or ammonia as they can bother and even in some cases burn a parrots' eyes, respiratory system and skin. It is no good washing all of the parrot's equipment if when doing so the owner has unclean hands themselves as this somewhat defeats the point. It is a little known fact that our mouths contains bacteria that is unhealthy to a parrots health so owners should avoid the temptation to allow their parrots to 'kiss', which they can be inclined to do. In terms of a recommended size of birdcage, the parrot should be capable of moving around freely whilst there is a perch and various toys in the cage as well as have the room to totally extend its wings comfortably.

Surprising to most people is the fact that parrots have a long life span. Smaller parrots can be expected to live around 10-15years whilst the larger varieties can often exceed 60 years. This lets them to build very strong connection with their owners. Parrots require attention and interaction with their surroundings so they can keep mentally stimulated. This means that the birdcage ought to ideally be located where the owner spends a lot of time when at home.

Owners should be mindful that a parrots nails will need to be cut on a regular basis. If a parrots nails are allowed to become too long it will cause the parrot a number of problems and could get rather serious, for example not being able to stay on its perch or even walk. You should keep an eye on a parrot's beak as it also is growing constantly, however parrots tend to look after their beaks by grinding them, usually with sand if available or food foraging as well as gnawing on wood etc. A lot of parrot owners prefer to clip their parrot's wings on a regular basis. Contrary to popular belief the parrot can still fly but they are limited and it is often done for the safety of the parrot.

It is also vital that parrot owners clean their birds every day. They can do this with fresh water and either a water bottle or a water sprayer.

Once the right home environment has been created and the parrot is in a comfortable routine this will see to it that a long and healthy life for the bird and a　lovable member of the family for the owner.