Birds

All that your bird might need is available at Springfield Pet & Aquarium:

• Healthy balanced diets;
• Bird cages;
• Toys & ladders;
• Treat dispensers;
• Happy huts for snuggling at night!

Please note that SDVC does not stock pet birds for sale

Bird Care

Diet is an important part of bird health. Birds should have a varied diet, seed only is not a complete diet. The following information will help you keep your birds happy and healthy.

Daily Care

• Check your bird to ensure it is in good health
• Change food and water daily. Even if it looks like they have seed, always replace it with fresh food
• Offer fresh fruit and vegetables, see check list below

Weekly Care

• Clean cage with a bird cage cleaner spray
• Replace native tree branches with new ones
• Spray branches and cage with mite and lice spray
• Still do daily care also on this day

General Care

• Do not place your bird in direct sunlight
• Do not place bird were there is a draft
• If your bird is not going to be a companion bird, get 2 birds to keep each other company
• Do not over crowd the cage with toys - your bird should be able to stretch out without obstruction

Signs of good health

• Good appetite
• Active and interested in surroundings
• Feathers are smooth and soft
• Eyes are open and clear
• Beak is clear and smooth
• Legs and feet are smooth and clean
• Faeces is the right colour - dark brown to black (vibrant green can be a sign of ill health)

Birds can commonly get worms, mites and lice. These can be prevented by worming all of your birds every 3 months. Use a mite and lice spray to prevent infestation with these parasites. Cages should be sprayed weekly and the birds should be sprayed monthly. Springfield District Vets has all of the products that you will need to keep your birds healthy.

Nutrition

• Good quality seed and pellets are essential
• Fresh fruit and vegetables daily are also essential
• Shell grit should be offered to help digest food
• Lorikeets DO NOT EAT SEED - feed them Lori wet and Lori dry with fresh fruit and vegetables
• Calcium is also very important. Cuttlebones are a great source of calcium

The following fruit and vegetables may be offered to your bird:

• Corn on the cob
• Celery
• Silverbeet
• Apple
• Orange
• Pear
• Plums
• Peaches
• Lychees
• Carrot

 Please note that some foods may cause serious illness if fed to birds.

Do NOT feed your bird the following items:

• Avocado
• Lettuce
• Potato
• Rhubarb
• Salty foods
• Caffeine or chocolate