Merlin

Some birds that come up for adoption do require you to hold a valid Recreational Wildlife License. These include birds like the Eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus macgillivrayi). You will notice on the bird’s adoption profile if this is required as part of the adoption process.

For a full list of birds and licensing requirements, visit the Queensland Government website

Birds are highly intelligent animals who live long lives and require a lot of mental stimulation and physical exercise to keep them happy and healthy! At a minimum, their enclosure needs to be big enough for the bird to stretch its wings, engage in short flight and forage for food etc.

The size of the cage you need for your pet bird will depend on the size of the bird. For smaller birds such as finches or canaries, a cage with a minimum of 50cm in length, width, and height is recommended. For larger birds such as parrots or macaws, a cage with a minimum of 90cm in length, width, and height is recommended.

Read more tips about bird enclosures

Providing birds with obstacle courses and toys such as ladders, bungee ropes and swings will not only provide your bird with exercise, but also life lessons. You can find a range of pet bird toys at RSPCA World for Pets to spice up their aviary!

In the wild, birds spend the majority of their days foraging for food. They also have to crack into nuts and peel fruits. Life as a domesticated bird can eliminate these behaviours. Feeding your pet bird in a variety of ways can help them to build and maintain crucial foraging skills.

You can purchase or build your own foraging devices to develop your bird’s intuitive skills. Using regular household items such as egg cartons, cardboard tubes, covered dishes, and even newspaper, you can make foraging engaging!

More bird enrichment tips

Birds naturally want to come together into a flock for a variety of reasons. But once your new bird is home, they will need to spend some time apart in separate rooms. This will allow them to hear each other but not interact straight away.

Usually after month of being in separate areas of your home, the next step is to move the new bird’s cage into the existing bird’s room, close enough to be visible to the resident bird but not so close as to be able to physically touch the new bird. If the existing bird seems fine with this set up, you can try moving the new pet’s cage closer to the original pet’s and see how they both react.

If you have different species and sizes of birds, it might be best to keep them in separate enclosures. Some birds can coexist happily in the same room, a distance apart, but do not like to have other birds in their immediate living spaces. Some birds may like to coexist in larger areas like an aviary or spend time outside their enclosure together in your home. But they must always be supervised because of potential for injury.

Socialised birds will want to sit with each other and groom each other. There may be an occasional argument, but rarely serious. Other signs of contentment include beak clicking, beak grinding, facial feather fluffing, other feather fluffing followed by preening.

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Birds should not be fed a diet that only consists of seed. Seed can make up a small part of a balanced diet.

Most avian veterinarians recommend you should feed your bird a diet that is approximately 60% formulated diet and 40% vegetables, with seed and fruit used a treat only. There are some exceptions but, broadly speaking, your bird will live longer and be healthier on this sort of diet.

Although pellets are made from seed, the way the pellets are prepared makes the pellets much healthier than just feeding seed. The seed and grain that is used to make formulated diets has been modified by removing much of the fat content and then adding protein, minerals, and vitamins to reach a healthier diet. These levels have been obtained from research into the diet of wild birds.

There are three main vegetable types that can be fed to birds, easily grouped by colour: Yellow vegetables – corn, carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin. Green vegetables – beans, peas, silver beet, broccoli, milk thistle, dandelion. Red vegetables – beetroot, capsicum, chillies.

Ideally, low GI (glycaemic index) fruits should be fed to your bird. High GI fruits (such as watermelon) are rapidly digested and absorbed and result in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low-GI fruits (apples, apricots, bananas, grapes, kiwi fruit, peaches, pears, plums) are more slowly digested and absorbed, producing more gradual rises in blood sugar. All fruit is high in sugar and should be regarded as a treat only for your bird.

Read more on what to feed your bird

Playing with your companion bird can teach them the necessary skills to live in harmony with people. Structured training or play sessions can allow interactions in an entertaining but structured manner.

There are a range of exercises that you can use to train your bird from Step Up, Stay, and Step Down. These will help you form a strong bond with your new companion.

Read more about bird bonding tips and training