How to take care of a parrot: parrot care for beginners

Updated 15/11/2024

Thinking about welcoming a pet parrot into your life? If you’ve decided it’s the right choice for you, your home, family, and of course, your new bird, you’re probably wondering how to take care of a parrot. Stick with us as we explore all things parrot care for beginners, from nutrition, to habitat, training and more.

Pet parrot diet: what to feed your parrot

Parrots are exotic pet birds, so it’s useful to know what parrots eat in the wild when learning how to take care of a parrot, before choosing your pet parrot’s daily food. 

The food your parrot would have eaten in the wild differs a little depending on the parrot species and where they originate from. 

Generally speaking though, wild parrots eat a mixture of seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, mineral-rich soil, insects and a variety of other tropical plants.

Parrots therefore require a varied diet as poor nutrition is a common cause of disease in pet parrots. Speak to your avian vet for a specific diet recommendation for your pet parrot, but generally, your parrot’s diet will look something like the following:

• 50-60% of your parrot’s diet will be made up of pellets specifically formulated for parrots. These generally contain seeds, grains, vitamin supplements, fruit and plant extracts. Avoid seed mixes, where your parrot can just pick out the bits they like best, and leave the rest, as this can lead to nutritional deficiencies.
• 30-40% of your parrot’s diet should include fresh fruits and vegetables (take a look below to find out which fruits and vegetables parrots can eat).
• Up to 10% seeds and nuts - these are great to be used as treats - not when feeding your parrot their daily meal, but for your parrot’s training sessions.

Fruits and vegetables safe for parrots

• Carrot
• Sweet potato
• Squash
• Bell peppers
• Beetroot
• Peas
• Broccoli
• Sweetcorn
• Apple
• Banana
• Orange
• Papaya
• Mango
• Asparagus
• Green beans

There are a fair few more fruits and vegetables safe for parrots. Before deciding on your parrot’s daily diet, consult your avian veterinarian and double check before introducing any new ingredients into their meals or treats.

What to never feed your parrot

Knowing what parrots can’t eat is just as important as knowing what they can, when it comes to parrot care. Make a note of the list below to make sure you never feed your parrot something that could be harmful.

• Caffeine. This can increase your parrot’s heart rate and lead to cardiac arrest. It can also cause hyperactivity and other forms of cardiac distress.
• Chocolate. This contains caffeine, along with theobromine, so eating chocolate could cause cardiac complications, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, seizures, and even death.
• Avocado. Parrots - along with most birds - cannot eat avocado because it contains persin, a toxin which can result in lethargy, respiratory problems, heart failure and even death.
• Alliums. Parrots can’t eat any form of alliums (onions, leeks and garlic) because they contain sulfur compounds that can cause red blood cell rupture, anemia, tissue damage and toxicity.
• Fruit pits. These contain cyanide, which can cause toxicity. 
• Dairy. Parrots do not have the enzyme lactase that breaks down the lactose found in dairy products, so consuming them could cause gastrointestinal issues.
• Raw or dried beans. These contain a toxin called hemagglutinin, which is toxic to birds - plus, they pose a serious choking hazard.

Something else you’ll need to be cautious about when learning how to take care of a parrot is your cookware. Parrots are highly sensitive to Teflon fumes, which are released when non-stick pans are overheated. Birds have a respiratory system unique to them, that allows them to take flight. If the fumes are inhaled by a parrot, respiratory issues, seizures and coma could be caused, and even sudden death.

How to train a parrot

When learning how to take care of a parrot, an important aspect is knowing how to train your parrot. With a parrot for a pet, there are a few behavioral issues you could run into if you skip the training stage. So before we get into our tips on parrot training, here are some reasons why training your parrot is so important.

Why train your parrot?

• Social interaction. Training your parrot involves interacting with you and others, and it makes socializing your parrot a whole lot easier, which is great for their overall wellbeing.
• Avoids unwanted behaviors. Training your parrot from a young age helps to avoid behaviors like screaming and biting.
• Mental stimulation. Training - including tricks - provides mental activation to your intelligent pet bird.
• Exercise. Training is also a great opportunity to give your parrot some much-needed physical exercise.

Tips for training your parrot

• Positive reinforcement. Like with any pet training, you should reward your parrot with treats and praise when they do what you say - this will enforce the behavior and strengthen your bond.
• Never punish your parrot. A belief also held by the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Protection of Animals), punishing your pet bird for unwanted behavior only worsens the situation. Instead, reward your parrot for the right behaviors.
• Parrot-proof the room. Remove anything unsafe for your parrot that you don’t want them to chew on before starting any training sessions, and use bird-safe cleaning detergents.
• Hand-feeding. This can help to forge a bond between the two of you, and get your parrot used to being close to you (which is always helpful for training).
• Consistency. Play with, talk to and train your parrot every day to get them used to your company, and associate you with treats.
• Follow a routine. This makes your pet bird feel safe and secure - meaning they’re more likely to behave.
• Seek professional help. If your pet parrot is having behavioral issues and you’ve tried training them, seek advice from your avian veterinarian.

Create a habitat for your parrot

Setting up a parrot cage is one of the most important aspects to parrot care - it’s where they’ll be spending the majority of their time, so its quality will massively affect their wellbeing. Take a look below for tips on building the ideal habitat for the parrot in your life.

• Ensure it’s big enough. Your parrot’s cage needs to be big enough for your house parrot to spread their wings fully without touching the sides of the cage, and have space to play, eat, poop and move around freely.
• Temperature. Your pet parrot will thrive in a room that’s around 65-80 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Shade. Make sure your parrot’s cage isn’t in direct sunlight, and they have somewhere to take shade if the sunlight does come in at a certain time of the day.
• Air flow. Parrots are sensitive to smells and fumes, so make sure your parrot has access to fresh air. You could open a window and use a fan to keep the air moving in your house parrot’s habitat. However, avoid draughts, which can affect the ambient temperature.
• Provide fresh food and water. Make sure your parrot’s housing is always stocked with enough to eat and drink.
• Choose a non-toxic cage. According to SASH (Small Animal Specialist Hospital), stainless steel is the safest material for a parrot cage, and others that can rust can be highly toxic to parrots.
• Consider other pets. Don’t have more than two large parrots (such as African gray parrots and Amazon parrots) in the same home aviary - the RSPCA recommends that a home aviary would not be big enough to house any more.
• Accessories. Kit your parrot’s cage out with a perch (for resting and looking out), bedding free from scents, and toys (like ladders and puzzles for mental and physical stimulation).
• Use bird-safe cleaning products. Parrots can sometimes gnaw on their cage, so anything used to clean it needs to be safe for parrots to ingest.

Grooming your parrot

When learning how to take care of a parrot, it’s vital you know that generally, parrots will do most of the grooming themselves. Take a look below for a few more must-knows about grooming your parrot.

• Provide a hard block designed for self-grooming - here your parrot can naturally wear their own beak down.
• Get their nails trimmed by an avian veterinarian.
• Ask your vet to trim their feathers - this helps to avoid over-grooming.

Parrot hygiene

Parrot care involves keeping your parrot and their environment clean and safe. Explore our tips below on how to look after a parrot by looking after their hygiene.

• Clean up droppings. In the wild, parrots wouldn’t generally be living right on top of their droppings, so keep their cage free from bird droppings as much as you can.
• Use bird-safe detergents. Many household cleaners are toxic to birds if ingested or inhaled, so make sure anything you use is safe for your parrot to inhale (and ingest small amounts of if they enjoy gnawing).
• Use bird-safe pest control. Pests (like insects) can be a nuisance to your home and pet parrot, so use bird-safe pest control to keep them at bay.
• Allow your parrot to bathe. Naturally, many parrots love to bathe, like many other bird species. Give your parrot the chance to bathe in shallow water for an experience so natural to them.

Provide play and stimulation for your parrot

Learning how to take care of a parrot is also learning how to mentally stimulate your pet bird. They’re curious, intelligent creatures, so they’ll need daily mental and physical stimulation to keep them happy and healthy. Take a look below for a few ideas on how you can mentally stimulate your parrot:

• Invest in toys that encourage exercise, like ropes, ladders and bungees.
• Invest in toys that encourage mental stimulation, like foraging toys, puzzles, and toys that make a noise.
• Build a bird playground where your parrot can spread their wings around your home, incorporating nets, toys, swings and feeding areas.
• Hide treats to encourage their natural foraging instincts.
• Invest in a flight aviary - this allows your parrot to spread their wings and get some much-needed fresh air and sunlight.
• Play games with your parrot, like hide and seek, or teach them tricks, like repeating a word, dance, or turn around.

Learn to recognise parrot sounds

When getting clued-up on how to take care of a parrot bird, it can help if you understand the variety of parrot sounds, so you’re aware when your parrot is simply being playful, and when they’re feeling distressed. 

Here are a few parrot noises and their potential meanings (and if you’re ever concerned about the sounds your parrot is making, speak to your vet).

• Beak clicking: Go away!
• Beak grinding: Contentment.
• Tongue clicking: Attention seeking.
• Whistling: Happiness or attention seeking.
• General chatter: Contentment.
• Purring: Relaxation and happiness.
• Singing: Contentment and happiness.
• Growling: Annoyance and aggression.
• Screaming: Alarm that predators are near.
• Squawking: Boredom and annoyance.
• No noise: Tiredness, boredom or illness.

Organize vacation pet care

Another vital part of parrot care is getting prepared for when the time comes for you to have a vacation. Your parrot will need to be properly cared for by a verified pet sitter so that you return home to a happy, healthy pet bird. Plus, vets agree pets are happier when looked after in the comfort of home, so click below to find out how to connect with a verified pet sitter.

Meet our veterinary expert, Lizzie

This article has been checked by veterinarian Lizzie Youens BSc (Hons) BVSc MRCVS. Lizzie graduated from the University of Bristol in 2011, and has been working in first opinion companion animal practice. She has worked in a variety of clinics across the UK, from large hospitals to small branch practices. She enjoys doing a mixture of medicine, surgery and emergency work. Lizzie currently works in a small rural practice where she enjoys working in a close-knit community.

Useful resources

• 7 reasons to have birds as pets
• Top pet bird names
• Find a verified bird sitter near you