Love.
The number one most important thing for a healthy parrot is love. Believe it or not, parrots are adept at sensing emotions, and although I have seen parrots that were in very loving environments but still had physical or emotional problems, I have never once seen a parrot that was healthy despite being in an unhealthy environment. You should also love each other, because parrots can sense that as well and many emotional problems in parrots stem from the stress of having their loved ones fight.
Time
Like little children, parrots need a lot of your time to be healthy and happy. Parrots are very social creatures and to them it is only natural to spend as much time as possible with the rest of their flock (you!). They need quality time and attention every single day, even if just for a short period of time.
Money
Although to some this might seem like a strange requirement, parrots are very expensive pets. They need food that at times can be expensive, large living areas, and tons of toy with are often destroyed within a matter of minutes, but the most expensive thing about parrots is vet care. And yes it is neccessary! In the wild, parrots are prey, meaning they must hide all symptoms of illness or injury to avoid becoming someones meal, so by the time your parrot begins to "seem sick", it's often already too late. Parrots need regular vet check-ups with full blood work even if it seems like nothing is wrong, and they need to be taken to a vet immediately if they begin showing symptoms of illness. This is why most experienced bird owners cringe when they hear someone begging for a free bird. Parrot upkeep is much more expensive then the parrot themself, so if you can't afford the pet, you can't afford to care for it! I feel I must emphasize this point again for all of the "little guys" out there, the budgies, parakeets, cockatiels, and lovebirds: even if you only paid a small amount for this bird, please still pay to care for it! A bird is a life, not just a possession! If you are not willing to care for it, don't get it, or give it to someone who will (an avian rescue or foster home)
Exercise and Entertainment
Parrots are designed to fly several miles a day, forage for all of their meals, and still spend their free time playing, splashing, and roughhousing, but parrots in captivity have given up all of those things for our enjoyment. It also seems that the more intelligent the creature, the more it takes to keep them from getting bored, and parrots are quite intelligent! With this in mind, it's just cruel (and unhealthy!) to force a bird to spend all of his or her time in a cage with no entertainment! Parrots need "out time" to stretch their wings and move around, whether flighted or not, plenty of toys of different types, and things to destroy. If this isn't provided, not only will your bird have problems, you'll probably have problems with your bird! Boredom leads to excessive screaming and the destruction of your stuff!
Good Food
No, you can not place cheap seed and water in front of a parrot and expect it to be healthy! I don't care if you have done it for years and your bird "seems fine". Even though he or she seems fine doesn't mean they are! Parrots need vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and yes a little seed to be healthy. It's a bit more complicated then that and some avian caretakers have differing opinions, but that is most of it. Your bird needs good food!
Your Care
You need to keep an eye on your parrot, to watch for anything that might go wrong. Like I mentioned earlier, birds naturally hide symptoms of illness, so you must pay attention to your parrots everyday activities and things such as how much he or she eats and even, gasp, what his or her droppings look like. Your care also includes providing fresh food, keeping their environment clean, and keeping your bird clean. Yes, birds need baths!
A Healthy Environment
A healthy environment for a parrot includes lots of room, lots of toys, fresh air, sunlight during the day, and a comfortable temperature. It must also be clean! A lot can be said about a proper environment for a parrot, I suggest you do research on the needs of your parrot's species.
Understanding and Knowledge
Last but certainly not least, you need to know about and understand parrots to have a healthy parrot. This isn't as daunting as it may seem, just know what your bird requires to be healthy and happy, do your research, talk to others, learn how to read a bird's body language, realize that they deserve privacy at times and have rights just like you do, and understand that sometimes, birds will be birds. Noise will happen. If your parrot is always quiet, he or she is either sick or dead... You shouldn't punish your bird for being loud, it's what they do. In fact, you really shouldn't punish your parrot at all: they don't respond to it very well. The best punishment for a parrot would be to ignore said parrot for a very brief period of time. Emphasis on the brief.
Of course there is more to a parrot's care then this, this is just an overview.
If you are willing to provide all of this, a parrot can make a wonderful companion for you! This sensitive, playful, talkative, intelligent, beautiful creatures do need a lot of care, but they give back so much.
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