Am i doing things right

[Kyrnar04]

Hi, new member here.
I got worried when a friend's parot sudenly died.
I have an alexanderine parrot that i named Alex because why not.
I feed him vegetables like carots and cucumbers (pic atached bellow) .I change the bowl every day. I also change the water once a day, the water temperature is always a little above room temerature and seeds that i change every 3 days. He is not like my irn that eats inside the bowl, but rather he picks the seed and eats it on top of the branch.
Am worried that his curent cage is a little bit small. The dimensions are 0.70m length 0.70m width and 1.00m height (pic atached bellow).
Now am thinking of making a new cage for him with 1.40m length, 1.30 width and 1 m height and then put my irn inside the old cage. What material should i use? I read that some cage materials are toxic. Also what shoud the bar spacing be? Is the one i have ok or should i get the one that has 5cm×5cm so he can move around with more ease?
Moreover i need help with breeding. I dont have the slightest idea. Will the above dimentions be enough for two alexanderines? Somone told me that in order for parots to breed they need to be wild. Can my alex breed? He eats from my hand but does not get on top of it.
Last but not least, i need ideas for a way to remove all the feces and the remains of the food from the cage because i think that my current idea is not a very good one.

 

[hiriki]

I will let someone else comment on the size of the cage. I'm not personally familiar with cage size needs for Alexandrine parrots. In general, a bird needs to be able to spread their wings to full wingspan, as well as hop easily from perch to perch.

That said, I don't see many destructible toys in the cage pictured. Birds need a lot of toys and enrichment in order to be happy. I would recommend adding toys. I'd also recommend transitioning to a pellet diet instead of seed, if you can.

I wouldn't recommend building your own cage, due to as you mentioned many materials being toxic, and others being too easily destructible. Stainless steel is safe, I believe aluminum is also safe but it's too easy for the bird to bend. If cage bars bend or snap they can be dangerous to the bird. Not sure where you live, but if at all possible I would recommend buying a cage.

Finally, I would absolutely NOT recommend breeding. There are far too many things that can go wrong, from the time eggs are laid to the time they hatch in the nest, even during their development. You would need to have the appropriate nesting materials to prevent nest deformities, you'd need to be ready to hand-rear any chicks rejected by their parents, and you would absolutely need the oversight of a certified avian veterinarian. For example, females who lay eggs are at risk of egg-binding, which can kill overnight if not seen by a veterinarian. Females are at higher risk of egg binding if they're vitamin deficient, which is more likely to happen if they're on a mainly seed-based diet. I'm not sure why you're looking to breed but it isn't something someone should do just as a hobby. Besides, even if you purchase a female there's no way to guarantee the two birds would even like each other, let alone breed.

 

[foxgloveparrot]

hiriki is very correct. I don't recommend breeding or making your own cage either.

For the one question hiriki did NOT answer in their post, regarding cage size: it's fine. Maybe not for two alexandrines. If you insist on getting another, they have to be out of the cage for a pretty good amount of time each day.
Where do you live? Are you able to find a normal cage?

 

[Birdgirl24]

that cage doesn't look giant but then again I have no idea on those kinds of birds however all food after sitting out for 24 hours develops bad bacteria so I don't recommend leaving out the seeds that long. And once the veggies dry out over a 2–3-hour span I would dispose of them because they have lost all the nutrient value after sitting that long and by that time span, they are starting to grow bacteria.

 

[Laurasea]

hello,
Fantastic that you are reaching out, and trying to improve and provid a great quality life. I'm always trying to improve myself even after decades if parrots.

Use news paper on bottom of cage and change daily. Use dilute white vinegar in cold water ( never hot as off gass is toxic) it really helps break down poop. Then wipe with plain water as vinegar can be a little irritating. Or take tray out abd wash with soaphy water. A dry scrub brush on cage bars to remove fluff feathers.

Sunflower seeds only is not good. Way to fatty , and not enough diversity. Try a mix with pumpkin, squash, safflower, millet ect mix. That said seeds lack so many nutrients and lead to nutritional health issues . So they must also eat a wide variety of lettuces like romaine, Swiss chard , as well as many different veggies, bell pepper, red chili pepper, peas, fresh green beans, cooked squash ( just because they eat it better , all mine love cooked butternut and cooked acorn squash ect) there are lists of parrot safe veggies try and rote everything in. Some boiled egg with a little shell once or twice a week, soaked and cooked legumes, sprouts. Fruits only 10% of diet like twice a week, pomegranate, black berries, raspberry, strawberries, cranberry, blueberries other safe deep colored fruits are best. Rare on apple or grapes.

There are lots if things you can make into your own toys , I think we have a thread if DIY. Some favorite things to destroy are yucca chips, coconut, willow twigs, seagrass, bamboo ect.

 

[Kyrnar04]

I will let someone else comment on the size of the cage. I'm not personally familiar with cage size needs for Alexandrine parrots. In general, a bird needs to be able to spread their wings to full wingspan, as well as hop easily from perch to perch.

That said, I don't see many destructible toys in the cage pictured. Birds need a lot of toys and enrichment in order to be happy. I would recommend adding toys. I'd also recommend transitioning to a pellet diet instead of seed, if you can.

I wouldn't recommend building your own cage, due to as you mentioned many materials being toxic, and others being too easily destructible. Stainless steel is safe, I believe aluminum is also safe but it's too easy for the bird to bend. If cage bars bend or snap they can be dangerous to the bird. Not sure where you live, but if at all possible I would recommend buying a cage.

Finally, I would absolutely NOT recommend breeding. There are far too many things that can go wrong, from the time eggs are laid to the time they hatch in the nest, even during their development. You would need to have the appropriate nesting materials to prevent nest deformities, you'd need to be ready to hand-rear any chicks rejected by their parents, and you would absolutely need the oversight of a certified avian veterinarian. For example, females who lay eggs are at risk of egg-binding, which can kill overnight if not seen by a veterinarian. Females are at higher risk of egg binding if they're vitamin deficient, which is more likely to happen if they're on a mainly seed-based diet. I'm not sure why you're looking to breed but it isn't something someone should do just as a hobby. Besides, even if you purchase a female there's no way to guarantee the two birds would even like each other, let alone breed.

Hi, thanks for replying
First of all i dont know what kind of toys to add in general he is really afraid of anything new, am not even sure if he should be chewing on toys or not. I will try to change his seed diet and give him a variety of treats.
In my country everything is imported from other countries like the us and the uk so buying cages from pet shops can be really expensive. I built the pictured cage my self with the help of the one that gave alex to me.
Lastly, breeding was a future thought after gaining more experience with birds

I will let someone else comment on the size of the cage. I'm not personally familiar with cage size needs for Alexandrine parrots. In general, a bird needs to be able to spread their wings to full wingspan, as well as hop easily from perch to perch.

That said, I don't see many destructible toys in the cage pictured. Birds need a lot of toys and enrichment in order to be happy. I would recommend adding toys. I'd also recommend transitioning to a pellet diet instead of seed, if you can.

I wouldn't recommend building your own cage, due to as you mentioned many materials being toxic, and others being too easily destructible. Stainless steel is safe, I believe aluminum is also safe but it's too easy for the bird to bend. If cage bars bend or snap they can be dangerous to the bird. Not sure where you live, but if at all possible I would recommend buying a cage.

Finally, I would absolutely NOT recommend breeding. There are far too many things that can go wrong, from the time eggs are laid to the time they hatch in the nest, even during their development. You would need to have the appropriate nesting materials to prevent nest deformities, you'd need to be ready to hand-rear any chicks rejected by their parents, and you would absolutely need the oversight of a certified avian veterinarian. For example, females who lay eggs are at risk of egg-binding, which can kill overnight if not seen by a veterinarian. Females are at higher risk of egg binding if they're vitamin deficient, which is more likely to happen if they're on a mainly seed-based diet. I'm not sure why you're looking to breed but it isn't something someone should do just as a hobby. Besides, even if you purchase a female there's no way to guarantee the two birds would even like each other, let alone breed.

 

[Kyrnar04]

hiriki is very correct. I don't recommend breeding or making your own cage either.

For the one question hiriki did NOT answer in their post, regarding cage size: it's fine. Maybe not for two alexandrines. If you insist on getting another, they have to be out of the cage for a pretty good amount of time each day.
Where do you live? Are you able to find a normal cage?

the reason i wand to build a bigger cage is so that he can fly inside the cage. Am afraid of letting him out of the cage because he might fly away.

 

[Kyrnar04]

that cage doesn't look giant but then again I have no idea on those kinds of birds however all food after sitting out for 24 hours develops bad bacteria so I don't recommend leaving out the seeds that long. And once the veggies dry out over a 2–3-hour span I would dispose of them because they have lost all the nutrient value after sitting that long and by that time span, they are starting to grow bacteria.

about that he eats all of his vegies in about an hour so i don't have to warry. Do bacteria still develop if he picks a seed and eats it outside of the bowl?

 

[Kyrnar04]

hello,
Fantastic that you are reaching out, and trying to improve and provid a great quality life. I'm always trying to improve myself even after decades if parrots.

Use news paper on bottom of cage and change daily. Use dilute white vinegar in cold water ( never hot as off gass is toxic) it really helps break down poop. Then wipe with plain water as vinegar can be a little irritating. Or take tray out abd wash with soaphy water. A dry scrub brush on cage bars to remove fluff feathers.

Sunflower seeds only is not good. Way to fatty , and not enough diversity. Try a mix with pumpkin, squash, safflower, millet ect mix. That said seeds lack so many nutrients and lead to nutritional health issues . So they must also eat a wide variety of lettuces like romaine, Swiss chard , as well as many different veggies, bell pepper, red chili pepper, peas, fresh green beans, cooked squash ( just because they eat it better , all mine love cooked butternut and cooked acorn squash ect) there are lists of parrot safe veggies try and rote everything in. Some boiled egg with a little shell once or twice a week, soaked and cooked legumes, sprouts. Fruits only 10% of diet like twice a week, pomegranate, black berries, raspberry, strawberries, cranberry, blueberries other safe deep colored fruits are best. Rare on apple or grapes.

There are lots if things you can make into your own toys , I think we have a thread if DIY. Some favorite things to destroy are yucca chips, coconut, willow twigs, seagrass, bamboo ect.

I used to use news paper but after being used they cant be recycled any more. So now i use a sheet of metal to collect everything and the dispose it in the compost. the using water from the hose i clean whatever was not disposed in the compost and let the sheet of metal dry. As of why i use above room temperature water, the reason is because the bird is located in a room outside the house and sometimes especially during winter time it can get kind of cold and since he is a tropical bird i figured that above room temperature water would help him.
When i asked at the pet shop the employee there told me that sunflower seeds were the best for alexandrine parrots. I will try to give him a variety of seeds in the future.
The cucumber and carrot and the lettuce are he standard vegies that i give him every day along with a new veggie every day am experimenting and trying to see from the bird safe vegies which of them does he like more i tried corn that i ended up cutting in little pices because he couldnt grab it all and ended up droping it, i give him carob 2-3 times a week, boiled eggs 2 times a week, 3 penuts daily and apple once a week i also use myrtle during training because he really enjoys it. Also i always belived that like avocados parrots cant eat strawberry.