| How To Provide Exercise For Your Pet Bird |
| Our pet birds can become overweight, unhealthy �perch potatoes� if they eat too well but don�t get enough exercise. Birds that don�t fly due to having their wings clipped for safety reasons need to have enough toys and space available inside and outside their cage to encourage active and vigorous play. Climbing around in the cage can be good exercise. Place your bird�s favorite toys, food dishes and nutritious treats at different heights and on different sides of the cage so your bird has to climb up or down or across the cage to reach various items. A swing�s movements will exercise muscles used for balance. Ladders can provide an alternative to climbing on the cage bars. Some birds like climbing on �Olympic rings�, linked rings of metal or plastic which often have a bell at the end that jingles with every movement. One toy my birds really seem to like is a perch shaped like a long spiral and covered with heavy, colorful cotton rope. Soft and comfy on the feet for perching, great to climb up, hang from or swing on! Mine hangs down inside the cage and swings freely in any direction, but I�ve also seen a similar spiral perch that attaches on top of the cage and sticks up into the air for climbing and perching, but it Some people exercise their clipped birds by encouraging the bird to flap its wings. Place your bird on your wrist and gently cover the toes with your other hand. Then, in a quick and sudden movement, lower your arm several inches. This will cause your bird to instinctively flap its wings, but the bird won�t fall because your hand over its toes keeps it perched on your arm. You can even get your bird flapping its wings by running through your house with the bird on your wrist as described above (if you don�t mind looking like a nut!). Many birds absolutely love this and find it very exciting to have their owner �fly� them! Be forewarned: when �flying� your bird, your energy will probably wear out well before your bird�s enthusiasm does! |