What Do You Wish You Knew?

So I am working on making a take home folder for my babies. It was suggested to me by a friend of mine who breeds, and hers has some bird basics in it, such as common household hazards, safe foods, safe woods, etc. I am just wondering if there is anything that you wish you had known from the start when you got your first bird that I could include in my take home folders. Although it would be ideal if all of my babies went to homes that have tons of bird experience and are already bird proof, etc, this is the real world, not the perfect one. So I really want to set these folders up with the idea that they are going to someone who has never owned a bird.

So I just want some ideas on what you wish you would have known in the beginning.

I wish I had known how devastating force weaning (reducing the amount of formula gradually rather than giving as much as the babies will take for as long as they will take it) and early wing clipping (clipping before they have had several weeks or months of flying experience to become expert fliers) are.

I wish o had known how cruel these two practices are, how deeply they impact the babies, etc, so I could choose not to support any breeder who practiced them.

I also wish someone had told me that you don't have to clip at all; that a well socialized baby doesn't need it, that it isn't inherently safer, etc.


I wish breeders too lazy to wean into pellets would have at least included info on how to transition off seed.

I wish they included a health guarantee, and a promise to take the bird back if I ever couldn't care for the bird.

I wish they had given me info on DNA testing, disease testing, and how important these tests are and how easy they are to get.


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I wish I had known the signs of puberty in my YNA and how to handle it.
I wish I had known how to better socialize my YNA so he did not end up a one person bird.
Wish I knew 20 + years ago that seed mix with sunflower seeds was not a healthy diet.

If you can manage it...

I wish I had had a 24-hour Phone Help Line direct to you.

Oh please! Parrots should come with a book, mandatory, on all the information needed to have a happy socialized, healthy parrot. First you get the book, then a test, and THEN you got the bird.

wrench13 said:

Oh please! Parrots should come with a book, mandatory, on all the information needed to have a happy socialized, healthy parrot. First you get the book, then a test, and THEN you got the bird.

Click to expand...

I've actually toyed with the idea of doing something like that; creating a collection of articles and then offering a discount to anyone who could score high, and using it also to judge who just really doesn't need a bird from me.


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I wish I'd known about puberty in birds. I wish that the moment Embers health problems started, I'd known that there are a lot of crackpot vets looking for a paycheck.
And it would have been nice to know that female eclectus are some of the MOST stubborn creatures on the planet. Or, perhaps, that's just this bird.

SilverSage said:

wrench13 said:

Oh please! Parrots should come with a book, mandatory, on all the information needed to have a happy socialized, healthy parrot. First you get the book, then a test, and THEN you got the bird.

Click to expand...

I've actually toyed with the idea of doing something like that; creating a collection of articles and then offering a discount to anyone who could score high, and using it also to judge who just really doesn't need a bird from me.


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Click to expand...

That's a GREAT idea.

When I first got a bird, I wish I had known that even the smallest amount of blood loss could kill a budgie, and I wish I had known what pin feathers were (as I thought it was some kind of growth).



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This is a great thread!

I wish I had known that a purely seed diet is not sufficient and not healthy for a parrot. I wish I had known what bite-pressure, target and recall training were before I got a parrot. I wish I had known that daily baths are important. I wish I had known about proper avian lighting.

I feel that as a starter it should be interesting and informative and not terrifying or too long. Too lengthy and people shut off and don't read the good information provided.

Great idea btw.

http://dansketamfugle.dk/uf/70000_79999/76395/3dc5ee071a7dad0d4de5d16b141dfc18.pdf

I know that this is in Danish, so not much help text wise, but this is the folder we hand out to bird owners. It has safe things and gives information on basic bird needs. I hope this helps you in creating your folder