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Noice parrot owner needs help

KASHISH

Moving in
Joined
2/24/21
Messages
9
Hello,
I know I have had multiple posts here before but this one is going to be a big one so I'll apologise beforehand. I have had budgies before and they usually aren't as complicated as Indian Ringnecks. With my budgies it was just giving them outside time every morning and providing them with food and toys and they were always content. This was years ago and unfortunately my budgies have both passed since.

Getting y'all up to speed. I just received two Indian Ringnecks (presumably less than 1 year) (presumably a male and a female) from someone who didn't want them anymore since they wouldn't speak. It doesn't matter to me if they speak or not I just want to provide them with the best possible care. So as a novice here are some of my questions.

BATHING - So when I got them I bought them a sort of a big bowl which could easily fit them both in it and I used to regularly fill it up with water for them to bathe in. [they still preferred to bathe in the water bowl but what can you do]. This was in Summer. I live in Dubai so it doesn't really get cold here until November and even then it only gets as cold as 27°C or 80.6°F. For the past month I haven't really provided them that bowl to bathe in but occasionally they bathe in their water bowl which I then change promptly.

Now they have started to smell... like really smell. I share a room with them and my entire room smells like the inside of a bird pet shop. I don't know if I should take them into the bathroom and give them a hot water bath [I have a rain shower so I would switch it on with medium hot water and at the softest setting] and then dry them off with a hair dryer and then continue to provide them with heat using a electric heater[I've been using this whenever I see them shiver of course with the cage door closed].
So my question is bath during winter good idea or no? Also any tips to help them to bathe frequently by themselves would be appreciated.

CAGE CLEANING AND TYPES OF PERCHES- I change the cage liner every day and of course wash their bowls and the bowl hooks [the thing that you out the bowl in to attach to the cage] everyday and on a weekly basis I wash their perches [which they always cover in poop I DON'T KNOW HOW] and the divider net between the cage liner tray and the birds actual cage. But the cage still is really dirty I let them out daily and I have a stand alone perch for them to sit on and also my entire window sill plus the entirety of my room floor. [they are not flighted birds yet as the pervious owner cut their wings] but they prefer to sit on the cage top.

I leave plenty of toys and food outside when I open the cage for outside time but for some reasonthey are only interested in the toys inside the cage even though the toys outside are the same and if I put them in the cage they will play with it. Anyways the point is since they sit on top of the cage it always gets dirty as they poop on top and down the sides. The cage is taller than anyone in my family so I can't clean it every day but on a weekly basis I do scrub it out and clean it. But its dirty like 3 hours after I put them back in and it all seems kind of pointless.
Any tips to help me to keep on top of this is much appreciated.

Secondly I want to know if it is necessary to provide perches for them to sit on while they eat their food or is it fine if they sit on the edge of the bowl and eat. Even after putting perches in any bowls I buy are deep enough that they would need to bend inside to grab the food. Keep in mind these aren't big birds small birdies with small beaks and a small size so the bowls I use I nearly half their height.
Initially I put a perch in front of their food bowls but they never sat on them so I removed them to provide them with more space to move around. They don't seem to mind sitting on the edge but I am not sure if it is fine for them.

DIFFERENT FOODS TO TRY - Simply put my birds are picky they are really picky. They won't eat spinach or carrots to cauliflower or pumpkin. The only things they seem to like are bell peppers, chillis, green beans and peas. They won't even eat grapes or apple or banana. They hate any sort of pasta [I've tried macaroni, penne, fettuccine and spaghetti]. Now I think they are loosing interest in bell peppers and green beans as well. So I am at a a loss of what to feed them. Please help.

HOW TO BOND - My birds currently step up on my hands without verbal command just buy seeing my hand and they usually jump up on my shoulder. They also try to nip at my ears and nose. They also playfully bite my lips [it doesn't hurt as much as a bite]. But apart from this they won't let me pet them at all or give them scratches. How can I bond more?

AM I A GOOD BIRD PARENT - Lastly I have qualms about whether I am a good enough bird parent or not. I don't want to give them a life that isn't fun or good for them. I really want to be a good parent to them and I always feel like I am failing them. Makes me thing I should give them to someone with a bit more experience. But I always decide against it because I love them soo much.
Any tips on how to be a good bird parent are also appreciated
 

Hankmacaw

Ripping up the road
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Mary Lynn Skinner
If you love them as you say you do - you can learn anything you need to know to be the best owner in the world for them.

(Psst - none of us bird owners were always good parents for our birds - we learned over time.)
 
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