Last Updated on August 31, 2023 by Mitch Rezman

When bringing a new bird home, its initial days can either be a breeze or slightly distressing, contingent upon factors like the bird’s personality, previous living conditions, age, and the introduction process to your home.

Birds possess great adaptability, and as long as you have created a suitable and welcoming environment for the bird to accommodate, it should experience minimal difficulty adjusting.

Allow the bird a couple of solitary hours upon initial introduction to its new abode.

Refrain from engaging in immediate play; it is crucial for the bird to have ample time to discover the locations of food and water vessels and to select a desirable, cozy branch to land on. Additionally, the bird may express an interest in exploring its fresh assortment of playthings.

If you have no history on the bird all you can do is guess.

When we brought Keto our ringneck home, the dog carrier he came in had a mirror on the bottom of the cage and a big green bell toy.

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To this day any cage he’s in at home/work/travel has a bell toy and a mirror.

Although his original mirror was at the bottom of the cage, we now hang the vertically for cleanliness.

The advice regarding minimizing interaction with your pet bird during the initial days varies greatly among individuals.

The disposition of your avian companion plays a crucial role in determining whether you should adhere to such guidance.

In case you have a sociable and friendly young feathered friend who is accustomed to engaging in interactive activities, undoubtedly, it would be beneficial to embrace that and indulge in playtime.

Any bird that comes into our care gets socialized immediately with both humans and other new flock mates.

Some say if you happen to be taking care of a bird that has been rescued or is of advanced age without much exposure to human contact, it would be more beneficial to provide the bird with ample time to familiarize itself with its environment and the new family it has been introduced to.

I’ll say the neurons in a psittacine’s brain race around 3 times faster than humans, are packed in higher density than humans, and require less protein to function.

So while we’re watching the world in standard time, birds like pigeons have high fusion flicker rates, and raging neurons literally see a 16 mm movie as a slide show.

There is no need to coddle them or let them “chill” for a week or 2 before socializing.

Discover the true essence of your feathery companion by setting aside preconceived notions.

Is stepping up a familiar skill for your bird or will you need to guide them?

Are they fond of nutritious fare or do they require encouragement to explore new culinary possibilities?

Disregard any assumptions based on your experiences with other birds or their species. Remember, each bird possesses their own unique character.

We test for everything.

I mentioned Keto, our ringneck likes bell toys but doesn’t like to chew wood.

Our Quaker Chili likes string, rope, ribbons, and S hooks as in the video below.

Take note of your bird’s behavior to ensure that his new environment meets his needs.

Is he fearful of any specific toy?

Are the perches arranged properly?

Is he soiling his food or water bowls?

Can he access them effortlessly?

Observe how the bird moves around in his enclosure.

If any adjustments are necessary, make them immediately.

Get the bird to sleep on a soft rope perch regardless of the past.

Simply make the soft rope perch the highest perch in the cage without the bird’s head touching the top birdcage bars.

Birds are prey animals, in the wild they spend 40% of their time looking for food and 60% of their time trying not to be food and that’s how you want to think of your new birds as well as all the others.

Keep them mentally and physically active while providing “safe haven” in their birdcage environment.

Written by Mitch Rezman
Approved by Catherine Tobsing