Welcoming a new parrot into the family is exciting, but it can feel overwhelming too, so we’ve put together this new parrot care guide to make settling your feathered friend in a little easier. It covers everything you need to know, from their first days home through to their long-term health, diet and behaviour. No filler, just straight up quality information from the bird experts.

On This Page

Welcoming Your New Parrot Home
Essential Supplies for Your New Parrot
Housing
Toys & Enrichment
Diet & Feeding
Providing Water to Your Parrot
Mineral Supplements and Vitamins
Behaviour & Handling
Training
Common Health Issues
Parasite Control
Vaccination and Desexing
Health, Hygiene & Safety
Toxic & Dangerous Hazards
General Care and Grooming
Visual & Health Checks
Sexing
Record Keeping
Holiday Care
Transportation
Compatibility with Other Animals
Boarding
Licensing
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommended Vets and Links

Welcoming Your New Parrot Home

Set up

First 3 Days

Never rush your new parrot. They’ll naturally be a little scared because of the change in environment, and may not eat much for the first day or so due to stress. Place an extra seed bowl on the floor while they’re settling in. It’s important to get a young bird used to a varied diet early, or it will grow into a difficult feeder as an adult, so supply seed, our Birdsville blend and pellets straight away. Once they’re eating properly and feel at home, it’s time to start training. It’s completely normal for young birds to mostly eat grain for the first 6 weeks. See our website, Facebook and Instagram for more tips.

The First 10 Days

When bringing your bird home, we recommend adding Spark liquid to the drinking water daily for the first 10 days. The carbohydrates and electrolytes help during times of heat or stress, such as a bird adjusting to a new environment. Worm your bird after day 7, following the instructions on the bottle, and keep that extra seed bowl on the floor going for the full 10 days.

Essential Supplies for Your New Parrot

Housing & Enclosure

Cage or enclosure sized appropriately for the species, since needs vary hugely between a budgie and a macaw. Chat to our staff about the right size and style for your particular bird. A minimum of 5 perches per cage, most cages come with 2 dowel perches, so add 2 natural wood perches and a cement perch in varying sizes for healthy feet. The mix of textures and sizes helps prevent a condition called bumblefoot.

Setting Up Your Parrot’s Cage

Bowl placement matters as much as what’s in them. Hang the water bowl or drinker away from direct sun and not directly under a perch, so it doesn’t end up fouled with droppings. Keep the seed bowl and pellet bowl as two separate dishes rather than mixed together, since a lot of birds will simply pick out the seed and leave the pellets untouched if they’re combined, and separate bowls make it easy to see exactly how much of each your bird is actually eating. Space the bowls and perches across the top, middle and bottom levels of the cage so your bird has reason to move around rather than sitting in one spot all day.

For a baby bird, add an extra seed bowl and water bowl on the floor of the cage as well, alongside the usual elevated ones. A young bird fresh out of the nest hasn’t necessarily built up the confidence or coordination to reliably fly or climb up to elevated perches and dishes yet, and may spend a good part of its first days on the cage floor while it works this out. Floor level bowls make sure it can still reach food and water the whole time, rather than risking it going hungry or thirsty while it finds its feet. Once you’re confident your bird is moving around the cage properly and using the elevated bowls on its own, the floor bowls can come out.

That also gives proper backing to the floor-bowl mentions already in First 3 Days and First 10 Days, since now there’s a full explanation for it elsewhere on the page.Updated memory

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Enrichment & Toys

A ladder, a swing, and a minimum of 4 toys, spread across the top, middle and bottom levels of the enclosure. Ladders help a bird move confidently around the cage, and swings work muscles in the legs that a stationary perch doesn’t, giving your bird a form of exercise. A seed bar makes a great play treat too, keeping birds busy working at it.

Water & Feeding

High-grade seed, since low-quality supermarket blends are best avoided, especially for baby birds. Pellets (Passwell, Vetafarm, Zupreem or Harrisons), making up around 40% of the diet, though baby birds can take over a month to learn how to eat them. Millet sprays, great for training and for getting a young bird eating while it settles into its new environment. Our Birdsville blend, a mix of dried fruit, chilli, nuts, pumpkin, sweet potato and other legumes and herbs that broadens a young bird’s diet and helps it grow into a better feeder.

Bedding & Substrate

Grit or sand sheets for the cage floor, making cleaning and cage maintenance easier.

Supplements

Calcium, charcoal and iodine, via a pink iodine perch or bell, a cuttlebone or white calcium button or bell, and a charcoal button or bell to aid digestion. These tend to last a long time, and many birds are genuinely deficient in iodine and calcium without them. A general vitamin supplement (Multivet, Calcivet or Ornithon).

Health & Parasite Care

A wormer, given from day 7 after bringing your bird home and then every 3 months. A lice and mite spray, also applied every 3 months, easiest to remember if you do it at the same time as worming. Sulfa 3 or Spark, both useful for helping a bird through the stress of settling into a new environment.

Hygiene & Cleaning

A bird-safe cage cleaner (F10 or Avicare) for removing droppings and dirt from the enclosure, toys, perches and bowls. Standard household disinfectants can be quite toxic to parrots, so stick to a bird-safe product.

Transport

A carry enclosure for safe transport, outings, or somewhere to hold your bird during a cage clean.

What You May Consider

Enclosure stand, enclosure cover, enclosure tidy, spare bowls, a no-mess feeder, drink bottle, cuttlebone holder, millet spray holder, bird bath, tent or hide, bird stand or play gym, Synbiotic or probiotic, The Good Oil, a first aid kit, and harnesses.

Everything above, and more, is available in-store, and our team is happy to help you put the right combination together.

Housing

Position the cage somewhere warm and free of draughts. Well away from the kitchen, since cooking fumes are a genuine hazard covered under Toxic & Dangerous Hazards below. Most parrot species do best with a consistent routine and a similar amount of natural light and darkness each day.

The cage needs to be suitable for the species and able to fit the toys that it needs so it doesn’t develop issues such as self mutilation. It is not worth keeping a parrot if it is not happy.

Toys & Enrichment

A bored parrot is far more likely to develop problem behaviours like screaming, feather plucking or aggression, so enrichment isn’t optional extra, it’s part of basic care. Rotate toys regularly, offer a real mix of textures and difficulty levels, and don’t be afraid to let your bird destroy the odd toy. That’s often exactly what it’s there for. If feather plucking is something you’re already dealing with, our dedicated Feather Plucking in Parrots guide goes into a lot more depth on causes and solutions. They need ladders, swings and on top of this at least 5 toys to keep them mentally stimulated. Toys for the top area of the cage, mid way and toys for the floor.

There’s a lot of conflicting information online claiming seed is bad for parrots or only suitable as a juvenile transition food. In our experience, high-quality seed is a genuinely healthy, beneficial part of a parrot’s diet for life, not something to be phased out. Seed provides natural vitamin E and oils that support skin, feather and overall condition, and offers enrichment value that heavily processed diets can’t replicate. Because seed isn’t put through the high-heat extrusion process used to make pellets, it holds onto heat-sensitive nutrients, particularly vitamin E, A, D, K and B1, that break down under that kind of processing.

We recommend mixing your parrot’s seed with our Birdsville blend, which includes dried fruit, chilli, nuts, pumpkin, sweet potato, and other legumes and herbs. The pumpkin and sweet potato contribute natural vitamin A, while the nuts and legumes add protein and healthy fats, rounding out what plain seed alone would miss. Mixing the two also broadens your parrot’s exposure to different foods early on, helping it grow into a better, less fussy feeder.

Pellets earn their place too. Our pellet range (Passwell, Vetafarm, Zupreem, Harrisons) is formulated to guarantee a consistent balance of calcium, vitamin A and amino acids in every mouthful, which is harder to achieve from seed alone. That consistency matters, especially for birds that might otherwise pick and choose their favourite seed types and miss out on balanced nutrition.

Rather than choosing one over the other, we recommend feeding both, around 40% pellets and 50% seed, with the remaining 10% fresh fruit and vegetables. Each covers a gap the other leaves: pellets guarantee the vitamin and mineral balance, while seed contributes the natural oils and heat-sensitive vitamins that pellet processing can reduce.

Fruits & Veggie Guide

Examples below, not an exhaustive list.

Fruits

Pears, apples, citrus, watermelon, stone fruit, kiwi fruit, strawberries, rockmelon, banana, pomegranate, mango, papaya, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, and pineapple.

Note on apple and pear seeds: you’ll see plenty of warnings online claiming apple and pear seeds are dangerous for birds, and it’s one of those claims that gets repeated constantly without much evidence behind it. Yes, the pips contain a trace cyanide-producing compound, but it’s only released if the seed is actually crushed or chewed, not simply swallowed, and there are no documented cases of a parrot being poisoned this way. In practice, parrots tend to swallow small pips whole rather than bothering to crack them when there’s fruit flesh right there. This isn’t just theory either: in over 25 years of feeding whole apples and pears in-store, we’ve never once seen an issue, and the birds simply don’t go for the pips. If you’d still rather not think about it, coring the fruit first takes seconds, but based on both the evidence and what we’ve actually observed, leaving pips in an otherwise whole apple or pear isn’t something we consider a genuine risk.

Vegetables

Silver beet, sweet potato, carrot, green beans, peas, corn, capsicum, endive, broccoli, spinach, pumpkin, zucchini, cucumber, celery, bok choy, kale, and cauliflower.

Protein & Treats

Millet sprays and seed bars both work well as treats or training rewards, and our Birdsville blend doubles as a tasty way to broaden a fussy eater’s diet.

Avoid Entirely

Chocolate, salt, low-quality seed, avocado, onions, garlic, ginger, iceberg lettuce, processed foods, caffeine, dairy products, tea, coffee, and alcohol.

Fresh water should be available at all times and changed daily. During the first 10 days home, or any other period of stress or heat, Spark liquid added to the water gives a helpful boost of carbohydrates and electrolytes, but plain fresh water is what your bird needs the rest of the time. Some birds like to dunk food or splash around in their water bowl, so check it more than once through the day and top it up or replace it if it’s gotten dirty.

The calcium, iodine and charcoal buttons and bells listed under Essential Supplies above cover most birds’ day-to-day needs and tend to last a long time. A general vitamin supplement like Multivet, Calcivet or Ornithon fills any remaining gaps, particularly for birds on a seed-heavy diet. Natural sunlight matters too. At least a few hours of unfiltered sun each week helps a bird’s body process calcium properly, and since window glass filters out the relevant UV, time outside the glass is what actually counts.

Behaviour & Handling

Basic training brings huge benefits for you and your bird. It takes dedication, especially in the first few weeks, with repetition and persistence being what gets you there. If your bird bites you, don’t pull away, keep working through it calmly. Ignore bad behaviour and reward the good.

Handling needs to be consistent. Improper or inconsistent handling can cause a parrot to revert to being less tame, since it won’t get the chance to properly bond with its new owner. Over handling can lead to stress and death. Under handling, or being afraid of your bird, especially with a young bird, will just as easily result in a bird that never becomes tame.

Training goes hand in hand with the handling routine above. Keep sessions short and consistent, lean on positive reinforcement, and use a millet spray or small treat to reward calm behaviour rather than punishing the bad. Visit our in-store bird training page, Facebook and Instagram for more tips.

H3: Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD)
A highly contagious virus that affects feather and beak growth in parrots, with no cure once a bird is infected. Some carriers show no obvious symptoms early on, which is exactly why buying from a reputable, health-checked source matters. Ask your vet about testing if you’re ever concerned.

Chlamydiosis (Psittacosis)

A bacterial infection that spreads between birds and, rarely, to people, causing flu-like symptoms in humans. Watch for lethargy, discharge from the eyes or nostrils, green droppings and weight loss. A long course of vet-prescribed antibiotics usually clears it, and good hygiene plus quarantining new birds both help keep the risk down.

Respiratory Infections

Bacterial or fungal infections affecting the airways are common enough in pet parrots, often linked to poor ventilation, dirty water or food dishes, or a stressful transition into a new home. Laboured or tail-bobbing breathing and nasal discharge are the main things to watch for, covered in more detail under Visual & Health Checks below.

Feather Plucking and Stress-Related Behaviour

Not always a medical issue, feather plucking is often driven by boredom, stress or an imbalanced diet rather than illness. Our dedicated Feather Plucking in Parrots guide covers the common causes and what actually helps.

Parasite Control

Worm your bird 4 times a year, with the first dose 7 days after bringing it home rather than immediately, since worming too early can upset a baby bird’s crop and digestion. Worms genuinely can kill a bird left untreated, so don’t skip this one.

Apply a lice and mite spray every 3 months too, all over including under the wings, avoiding the eyes since it can cause discomfort there. Lice and mites spread easily even to birds kept entirely indoors. Timing it alongside worming makes it easier to remember both.

If you already have other birds at home, keep a new arrival separated for 4 to 6 weeks before introducing them, long enough for anything contagious to show up before your existing birds are exposed to it.

Vaccination and Desexing

There’s no standard vaccination program or routine desexing procedure for pet parrots in Australia, unlike cats, dogs or rabbits. Good parasite control, a clean environment and regular vet checks do the heavy lifting instead.

Daily: fresh food and water, and a quick spot clean of droppings and food debris. Weekly: a full wash of the cage, perches, toys and dishes with a bird-safe cleaner like F10 or Avicare, never a standard household disinfectant, which can be genuinely toxic to parrots. Monthly: a deeper clean of trays and liners, and a check over every toy and perch for wear.

Food hazards are covered in the Avoid Entirely list under the Fruits & Veggie Guide above. Around the home, non-stick Teflon cookware releases fumes that can kill a bird within minutes when overheated, so keep the cage well away from the kitchen. Aerosols, air fresheners, scented candles and cigarette smoke are all serious respiratory hazards too. Supervise any out-of-cage time near open windows, mirrors or ceiling fans, and never leave a parrot unsupervised around cats or dogs. Cheap cage hardware or toys made with galvanised wire can contain zinc, which causes heavy metal poisoning if chewed, so stick to bird-safe products, and be careful with wild plant clippings, since they haven’t been checked for pesticide residue or bacteria from wild birds.

General Care and Grooming

Nail Trimming

A variety of perch textures helps wear nails down naturally. We sell bird nail clippers for anyone happy to do it themselves, but we also offer in-store nail clipping 7 days a week. Some birds hold a bit of a grudge against whoever trims their nails, so we’re always happy to be the bad guy if that’s easier for you.

Wing Trimming

There are pros and cons to having a bird’s wings clipped. It won’t guarantee your bird can’t fly away, but it should reduce flight enough to let it glide safely to the ground, which can make training and bonding more manageable, especially for anyone new to bird ownership. Chat to our staff in-store if you’re unsure which option suits you. If the bird you are getting has its wings trimmed keep in mind they will grow back around every 6 months.

Bathing

Most parrot species genuinely enjoy bathing or being lightly misted, and it helps keep feathers in good condition. A shallow bath dish or a gentle mister a few times a week is worth adding to the routine.

Moving from one location to another can cause real stress and a temporary drop in immunity, and baby birds have undeveloped, immature immune systems, so they’re more delicate and can decline faster than adults. Keep a closer eye on new babies especially. Watch for fluffed-up feathers, laboured or tail-bobbing breathing, discharge from the eyes or nostrils, loss of appetite or weight, reduced vocalisation, favouring one foot, or changes in droppings including watery poo. Getting familiar with your bird’s normal droppings early is genuinely one of the best diagnostic tools you have.

If you notice watery poo, a bird fluffed up on the floor of the cage, faeces covering the vent, or a bird that just seems generally flat, monitor it closely. Our usual first line of defence is Sulfa 3 or Triple C in the drinking water alongside Spark liquid, with a heat lamp to keep the bird warm. If things haven’t cleared up within 10 days, or get worse before then, get in touch with one of the vets listed below. We stock everything mentioned above in-store, but we can’t give health advice over the phone since we genuinely need to see the bird, and if we don’t have something that can help, we’ll point you straight to a vet who can.

Sexing

Most parrot species can’t be sexed by eye. Males and females look identical, and DNA testing or surgical sexing by a vet is the only reliable way to know for sure. A handful of species are the exception, eclectus parrots being the best known, where males and females have completely different colouring. Birdsville does not identify or guarantee sex at the point of sale.

Keep a simple record of your bird’s weight (a digital scale makes this easy), along with worming and mite/lice spray dates and any vet visits. Weight loss is often the first sign something’s wrong, well before a bird looks visibly unwell, so having a baseline to compare against is genuinely useful.

Holiday Care

Heading away for a night or two? Make sure feed and water are topped up generously before you go, and where possible, arrange for someone to check on your bird daily regardless. Most parrots are social, interactive animals, and going without any company for more than a day or so isn’t ideal.

Always transport your parrot in a secure, well-ventilated carry cage, and keep the trip as short as reasonably possible. Avoid extreme heat or cold, and never leave a bird unattended in a car, even briefly, since temperatures inside a parked car can become dangerous within minutes. We sell carry cages in-store if you don’t already have one.

Compatibility with Other Animals

Different parrot species vary hugely in size and temperament, so mixing species in the one aviary or cage needs real care. A smaller, gentler bird can be seriously injured by a larger or more territorial one, so any introduction should happen slowly and under close supervision. Cats and dogs should never be left alone with a parrot outside its cage, however placid they normally seem, since instinct can take over in an instant.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take a new parrot to settle in?

Most parrots start eating normally and relaxing within a few days, though it can take a couple of weeks for a bird to feel truly at home. Keep the first week or so low-key, offer a varied diet from day one, and hold off on training until your bird is eating well and moving around confidently.

Should I feed my parrot seed, pellets, or both?

Both. Seed offers natural oils and heat-sensitive vitamins that pellets lose in processing, while pellets guarantee a consistent balance of calcium and amino acids that seed alone can’t. We recommend roughly 50% seed, 40% pellets and 10% fresh fruit and vegetables for most adult parrots.

Do I need a licence to own a pet parrot in NSW?

It depends on the species. Common pets like budgies, cockatiels and sulphur-crested cockatoos don’t need one, but several other parrot species do require a NSW licence. Check with our staff or the NSW Government’s bird keeper licence pages before you buy to confirm your specific bird’s requirements.

How often should I handle my new parrot?

Daily, once it’s settled and eating well, but in short, calm, positive sessions rather than one long forced one. Both extremes cause problems: too little handling and a bird can become fearful and hard to manage, too much and it can genuinely become stressed and unwell.

Can I keep two different parrot species in the same cage?

It’s risky and not something we’d generally recommend. Species vary a lot in size and temperament, and a larger or more territorial bird can seriously hurt a smaller, gentler one. If you do want multiple birds, matching species and introducing them slowly under supervision gives you the best chance of it working out.

What’s the biggest mistake new parrot owners make?

Getting the handling balance wrong in either direction. Under-handling, especially with a young bird, often means it never becomes properly tame, while over-handling causes real stress and, in serious cases, can be fatal. Consistent, moderate daily interaction from day one gives you the best outcome.

Boarding is available at www.petsvillehotel.com to book your stay. Come see us in store if you have any concerns, or questions and feel free to bring your bird for us to see!

Come see us in-store if you have any concerns or questions, and feel free to bring your bird in for us to see.

The Wild Vet 1300 9453 838  Glebe

SASH 02 8913 400 Alexandria

SERV  02 9436 4884 Artarmon The Unusual Pet Vets 02 9319 6111 Waterloo

Carlingford Animal Hospital 02 9871 6036 Carlingford