Hello everyone,
Despite the fact that I love birds, I didn't want to own a pet bird because of the responsibilities. Furthermore, I can't take care of a bird pet because I live in a very poor country called Afghanistan where we can't find pellets for any kind of birds or a veterinarian. My 6 year old kept asking for an African Grey parrot and I visited the pet shop out of curiosity. I felt really bad for a young one because it was kept in a very small cage (probably 12 x 12 inches) and was ONLY fed sunflower seeds. I knew that sunflower seeds cause these birds liver fat. I didn't purchase it because of the responsibilities and went home. I kept thinking about it and went back the next day. So I purchased it, thinking of giving her a better life. The seller told me that it's a female and it's 3 months old. I can't trust the seller. It looks bigger than 3 months.
Today is her first day in my home and I feel extremely worried for her wellbeing. Please let me know if I'm doing something wrong or suggest me some tips by kindly noting the following points:
1. Cage: I bought two large cages and combined them. Now the total width of the cage is 36 inches and the height is 24 inches. Is this enough for her?
2. Veterinary: I visited the most famous so called veterinarian to check her out, but found out that he was just a salesman claiming to be a veterinarian. He came across as a gym trainer trying to sell steroids. He was trying to sell me 4 different types of vitamins which I declined. Did I make a mistake?
3. Feed: I searched 4 main markets for pellets for birds but could not find any as they only had food for budgies, fish, etc. Then I tried feeding the little bird different types of food such as cooked rice with cooked red beans, corn, watermelon seeds, and apple. She only ate a little bit of apple and ignored everything else. Furthermore, I saw her only once drinking a little water. I gave her mineral water and not tap water. Now I'm planning to give her fresh food twice a day with the following things:
Cooked food: Lentils (chickpeas, or red beans or mung beans) + Grains (Barley or Wheat or Brown rice)
Uncooked food: Vegetables (Spinach, corn, carrots, etc.) + Fruits ( Bananas, watermelon, strawberries, apple etc.)
Treats: Seeds (watermelon seeds, sunflower seeds) Nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachio, peanuts, cashews)
Total feed per day: 100g.
Feed allotment: 30% Lentils, 40% Grains, Fruits 10%, Vegetables 18%, Seeds 1%, Nuts 1%
Is this plan correct?
4. Playtime and behavior: I took her out of her cage and played with her for 30 minutes. Surprisingly, she was not afraid of me and climbed my shoulders and she didn't go back to her cage when I wanted to put her back in. I played with her and petted her a little bit more and then I thought she might want to sleep because she tucked her head in between my elbow and my ribs, and later under my knee. Now I'm worried and I wonder if that is a sign of illness because she preferred a dark area to hide her head?
I will post her picture tomorrow as she's sleeping now. Thank you very much for your advice in advance because it'll help an affectionate, defenseless, innocent, dependant, and speechless bird.
