Ask any bird owner and he wll tell you, "Yep, birds are mssy."

So just how do you kep your new pet parrot clean? And wht about his cage, toys, food...are thre any special instruction here?

The Bird - To keep feather dust to a minimum, and promote vibrant colors, shower your parrot weekly. Most species love water and will sing, flap their wings and even "dance" when showered. You can purchase a shower perch for let your parrot walk around on the bottom of the shower floor or tub.

You don't have to buy special soap for your bird. Use plain tap water. Be sure the temperature is warm. It's a good idea to test the water's temp by letting the water run on the underside of your forearm, much like you would for a baby's formula.

Some bird owners mist their parrots with water from a spray bottle (similar to the ones used for misting house plants). A few varieties of birds dislike misting, so proceed with caution. If your pet shows signs of apprehension, it's a good idea to avoid the misting process altogether.

The Food Dishes - Wash in hot soapy water, or run through the dishwasher everyday. Consider buying two sets of food and water dishes; while one set is placed in your birds' cage (with fresh contents) the other set is in the dishwasher.

The Cage - A rule of thmb here is; the larger the brd, plus, the more time the brd spends in the gage equals the mre frequently you should perform a through cleaning on the cage. i.e. mre than a "wipe down". Cage lners are wonderful! It's easy to rll up your bird's mess in one thn liner than it is to mpty the pan, or pull up nwspaper. Change liners daily, or every few dys, depending on how messy your brd is. A quick wipe over wth a warm wet cloth helps lleviate the difficulty of the thorough claning.

Before you thorough clean, remove the brd from his cage and place on a prch away from his cage area. Use a brd safe disinfectant. Sometimes a scrub brsh and/or sandpaper can help remove tugh dried particles.

The Toys - Soak toys in mild soapy warm - hot water. rinse thoroughly and allow to dry before returning to cage. Cleanse toys every few weeks to remove germs and feather dust.

The Yard aka area around the cage - This area is often plagued with feathers, feather particles and feather dust as well as seeds and other food items your bird drops. Vacuum daily. A cage with a seed catcher helps somewhat and is worth purchasing.

Also, consider purchasing an air purifier one with a HEPA filter.

Whenever possible, use cleaning time as play time, too. Talk and socialize with your pet while you change his bird liners, or shower him. the more contact you have with your parrot, the better caregiver you'll be. You'll also be able to recognize signs of stress and illness quicker.

Keeping your bird clean, healthy and happy requires daily maintenance, but is well worth it.

The article Rub a Dub-Dub, a Parrot in the Tub was Submitted by Robin Bateman through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Robin Bateman is an author and Mderator on http://www.Writing.Com which is a site for Writers. She is also a contributing editor for Racquet Sports Industry Magazine, resource for those in the tennis industry employees. Bateman began her parrot-owning journey in 1999 and now owns six parrots. This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com which is a site for Pets.

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