Read About Daily Bird Exercise

As with any pet, proper daily bird exercise is an important part of your pet bird’s health and well-being. How much daily exercise your bird needs will depend upon the breed. Many smaller birds get most of the exercise they need while in their cages. Larger species need to spend time outside their cages to get their needed daily bird exercise. Choosing the proper cage is a good first step in ensuring your pet gets the proper daily bird exercise. Size is a very important issue to consider when looking at bird cages, to ensure the cage is large enough to accommodate the size and activity level of your bird. At the very least, the bird should be able to extend both wings inside the bird cage. The bars must strong enough to withstand biting. The spacing between the bars is also an important safety issue. The bird should not be able to fit her head between the bars, to prevent her from getting trapped. Many birds, especially parrots, like to climb as a form of exercise. Cages with horizontal bars are ideal for this, as are swings and perches. Always make sure the bar size is appropriate for the species of bird. Bars with a larger diameter are stronger; always make sure the bars are stronger than the bird. Provide your bird with a variety of perches, and space them far enough apart in the cage to ensure the bird gets plenty of daily exercise just moving from one perch to another. The perches themselves should be made of a variety of materials in different sizes, to provide exercise for the bird’s feet. For all species, bird toys can keep your bird entertained as well as provide daily bird exercise. Be sure the size of the toy is appropriate for the size of the bird. Check the toys often for signs of wear and discard any toys that could lose pieces which could then be swallowed by the bird. Be sure all painted toys use non-toxic paint. Look for toys that are appropriate to both the age and size of your bird. For larger species, wooden or rawhide chews are often a good choice. You do not necessarily need to invest in a huge array of different toys. Simply keep a variety of toys on hand and rotate them frequently. By putting a toy away for a few weeks and then reintroducing it, you can keep the same toys new and interesting for your bird. The more interested he is, the more he will play with it and the more daily bird exercise he is likely to get.