Picture your house: living room, dining room, kitchen, family room or office space, bathrooms, bedrooms, garage.... If you've got one or more parrots, do you have a bird room? Have you ever considered that your bird needs a balance between time with you and time alone? Probably just as much as you need the occasional break, right?!?
So what constitutes a bird room? It can be any room in your house with one or more bird cages. It can be a room separate from where the bird’s primary cage is located. In this situation, you would set up a secondary cage used only as a nighttime sleeping space or that break just referred to restore your sanity when talking with a family member or a guest or for the parrot who needs a short change of scenery and away-time from overly excited children.
Let's construct an ideal bird room, one you might be able to achieve or come close to in your home. This bird room will function as the primary place for one or more parrots. Most often, it is an extra bedroom or a room addition dedicated to your parrot(s). In the best of circumstances, your parrot is a member of the family and the household! You have two options for this special bird room: 1) your parrot is always confined in a cage when no person is present or 2) the room itself is the enclosure, even when no human interacts with the bird.
Option 1 – A Room with a Cage...and a view...and light...and a floor – All the Comforts of Home
First requirement is to plan for supervised times when your parrot participates in out-of-cage activities. These times may occur in the bird's room as well as in other rooms of your house. Just remember that the bird room is your parrot's home base – a place of safety and security but also fun, discovery, and learning.
This room should have plenty of natural light and an entertaining view. However, if your parrot can fly or likes to take leaps and big hops, make plans to prevent crashes into the windows. Birds do not understand clear/transparent barriers. Here's what you can do proactively:
1.Research safety glass and the amount of UV light transmitted.
2.Hold your parrot up to the glass so the bird can use its beak to touch the windows.
3. Place colorful stickers on all windows.
4.Hang sheer curtains you can close when the bird is out of the cage.
5.Screen your windows securely; a parrot can knock a flimsy screen loose and escape!
Windows let in heat as well as light.
1.A plus – You can bathe your parrot or let it splash when the window screen is in use.
2.A negative – Move your parrot to shade when the sun's heat affects the room's temperature.
If natural light is poor and indoor lighting is substituted, study up on the best for a parrot, considering fixtures, bulbs, timing, and placement.
Flooring material requirements:
1.Carpeting is asking for a visit to the veterinarian. Easy to pick at and ingest, and who knows what it is made of or sprayed with.
2.Flooring should be easy to clean often and not easily damaged (think movable cages, playpens, etc.) 3.Flooring should be certified as VOC-free (volatile organic compounds).
And for your comfort:
1. a chair, a foldable yoga mat, a table to build bird toys, a play space where you can enjoy watching your parrot shred those toys!
Option 2 – A room that is really an indoor aviary.
This room may have a cage for sleeping and perhaps eating, but your parrot will have free run and free range of the room, even when you are not present. As an indoor aviary, the room is fitted with perches and play areas arranged around the room, connected for birds with clipped wings or spaced for flying by an unclipped parrot.
Watch for and eliminate dangers. You're toddler-proofing this space for your very smart parrot. Always begin by observing your parrot explore every open space and every nook and cranny. If you've forgotten something, your parrot is bound to find it! Beware of:
1) Electric outlets: Budgies may not be able to remove a standard outlet cover, but larger birds will do it the blink of an eye. Use outlet covers that fasten with screws. Still concerned? Block the outlets with an object too heavy for your parrot to move.
2) Electric cords and wires: Eliminate wherever possible. If you must have an electric cord, run it through something like PVC piping with no access at either end.
3) Light fixtures: Lights in the ceiling are easier to make safe than a lamp. Your parrot will look at a floor lamp as a climbing challenge, resulting in a catastrophic crash. Light bulbs should be out of reach; they are hazards if broken or hot.
4) Ceiling fans: Even if you intend never to use the fan except when your bird is caged, it is too easy to accidentally turn on this deadly device. Remove the fan if you can. If you must leave it, remove the cord or disable the unit in some way so it is impossible to activate the fan.
5) Paint: Old paint may contain lead or other harmful substances. Test kits or sending samples to a lab will tell you if you need to remove paint. If applying new paint, it must be a product with low VOCs (volatile organic compounds). While painting, your parrot must be in another safe room. Only allow the bird back in a newly painted room when the paint is completely dry, gives off no odor, and more than the recommended time has passed.
6) Woodwork and corners: Whether these areas and surfaces are unfinished or painted, your parrot should not chew on them. That includes window sills, molding, and door frames - all chewable unless you take extensive preventative measures. You may have to remove woodwork or protect it with metal or heavy plastic.
7) Baby-proof fasteners for cupboards, cabinets, shelves, and doors may or may not be adequate, depending on your bird and where it is in a hormonal cycle. Removing doors can help, especially to fool a parrot from thinking a dark space could be a nest... because then you may have to deal with egg-laying and aggression. Open empty space that you can add appropriate parrot-positive activities and equipment to is best.
Hold on! There is an Option 3 – A variation to an indoor aviary room
You can install an aviary that is slightly smaller than the room, leaving enough space between the aviary and the walls of the room. That gives you a perimeter to walk around the aviary, reach any windows or fixtures, and clean. Choose this approach and - voila! - the need for the most difficult bird proofing disappears.
PROS AND CONS
If you still aren't sure which option is right for you, here are a few considerations that may help you make a decision.
Benefits of a separate bird room as the parrot’s primary home:
1.Your bird can have 10 to 12 hours a night of quiet darkness to get adequate sleep.
2.The worst of the mess can be hidden by closing a door when an unexpected guest shows up.
3.If you have an air filter or a heater purely for your parrot, the appliance only needs to serve one room.
4.If your bird is upset by the presence of every stranger – even your friend – the bird room provides a safe space.
5.The bird room may be more protected from kitchen fumes better than other living areas (think of the popular open concept floor plans in so many houses these days).
Pitfalls of a separate bird room as primary parrot residence:
1.Parrots want to be part of the flock. A bird who feels isolated may scream more than if it can see its human flock mates.
2. You may overestimate the amount of time you (and your family) will spend with your bird in the dedicated room, resulting in a lonely, bored, feather plucker.
3. You may underestimate the amount of time you will spend going to the room to check on the bird, resulting in a frazzled bird owner unable to enjoy the rest of the house.
Other factors:
1.Your parrot's personality
2.The layout of your house and how you use the various rooms and spaces
3. How much time you and your family commit to being with the bird wherever it is located in the house.
A solution:
1.Have at least one play area for your parrot in the part of the house where humans spend the most time.
2. You'll lessen the pitfalls and be able to enjoy many of the benefits.
3.Just keep in mind a separate room is not a magic solution to behavioral issues or the noise and mess of living with a parrot. But it can be a place for you and your bird to feel safe and have fun.
Comments