Pet Care Articles from PETCO

Bird - Behavior

Bird Behavior and Misbehavior
If you think men are from Mars and women are from Venus, imagine where birds are from. Not only is a bird owner required to feed and care for his pet, he must also read the bird's mind and try to understand why she behaves or misbehaves. However, there ...

How Can I Tell if My Bird Is Bored?
Your bird needs to socialize every day. It is easy for her to get bored if she's not getting enough stimulation. Parrots get bored easily because they are very intelligent and social creatures. If your parrot is being ignored, she'll go out of her way to ...

Why Is My Bird Plucking Feathers?
Excessive feather plucking can be a sign of a medical or psychological disorder. Underlying reasons include: Hormonal changes Malnutrition External and internal parasites Bacterial or fungal infections of the skin or feather follicles Allergies ...

Handfeeding
There is nothing wrong with a bird that has been parent-fed. In fact, those birds are often bigger and healthier than hand-fed birds. Either a parent-fed or a hand-fed bird can make a good pet. If you want your pet bird to be accustomed to being handled ...

Introducing Birds
Introduce two birds slowly. Although they may take to each other immediately, it is not worth the risk of putting them in the same cage right away. Also, before you get a friend for your friend, make sure she is of a breed that likes the companionship of ...

Night Frights
Birds, especially cockatiels, cockatoos and macaws, will often panic if awakened suddenly from a sound sleep. A loud noise, vibration, sudden movement or other cause most likely put the bird into "escape from danger" mode. This natural reaction is not ...

In the Bird's Mind
Birds are emotional beings and can be highly sensitive. Your attentiveness to her needs and responses to stimuli, your understanding of her intellectual and emotional signals and your constant presence all contribute to the health and well-being of your ...

Socializing Your Bird
Most of us find it fairly easy to meet new people. For a bird, however, new faces, new voices and new surroundings are terrifying. A bird isn't naturally people-friendly; she doesn't gravitate naturally toward humankind, and people can appear frightening ...

Feather Preening
One of your bird's most frequent habits, and most enjoyable to watch, is preening. Your bird will normally spend a great deal of time every day industriously working with her feathers, one at a time, keeping them neat, clean and in top condition. Only ...

Encouraging a Finicky Bird to Eat
If your bird has not been offered a variety of foods from the very start, or if she has become a malnourished "seed junkie," it is important to work with the avian veterinarian while reforming her "fussy" habits. It will take time and patience, along ...

Natural Bird Behavior
Birds may not all look the same, but all species of birds have certain instinctive behaviors in common including aggression, fear, a fight or flight mechanism, contentment and happiness. Wild birds are highly social creatures with a constant need for ...

Scratching
Even on the best days, feathers can be itchy. But poor nutrition, dry skin, parasitic infections, and other conditions can add to your bird's discomfort and cause scratching and feather picking. So if your budgie's occasional itch turns into a daily ...

Feather Picking
Feather picking is a common and frustrating problem in pet birds. Some pets nibble the ends off their feathers, while others tear their skin, creating large open sores. Any bird can feather pick, but Psittacine birds, such as African Grey Parrots and ...