You may feel that feeding your pet bird, giving it fresh water and keeping its cage clean is the full extent of the care it needs, but that is just not so. Many people regard birds as more decorative than anything, as though they are simply a pretty element to add to the household decor, and they give their psychological and emotional needs hardly more thought than those of pet fish. But pet bird care involves more than just keeping the pet functioning in physical health.

Caring for a pet bird requires that you deal with its psyche, as well as its physical needs. This is a creature designed to fly high and free through open spaces, so placing it in a cage may be compared, psychologically, to putting a human in a jail cell. Yet your little feathered friend is not a jailbird, so pet bird cages are best if they are as large as possible, allowing the bird to make short flights and flap its wings. If you are able to train it to leave the cage and fly around for exercise at certain times of day, then all the better for both its physical and mental condition. Of course, be cautious about this if you also have a cat or other pets.

Another way to provide psychological pet bird care is to keep your bird’s mind active and engaged. Give it lots of things to explore and chew on. Some websites and pet stores offer a variety of bird toys, such as dangling bells, swings, ropes and untreated wood blocks. These need to be of an appropriate size, with parts that can’t be broken off and swallowed. And if the bird is allowed to fly free at times, then you also need to watch so it doesn’t chew on electrical wires or ingest small objects that could cause it to choke.

Birds also tend to be social and interactive, so keep this in mind for your pet bird care as well. You can develop quite a rapport, and the bird will enjoy regular interactions with you. If you can get involved in some kind of bird training, then that will not only allow the bird to have a relationship with you, but will also keep its mind active. Of course you will take care of its feeding and physical needs, but remember to take as much care for its psychological needs too.

Kenny Leichester is a foremost expert in the interior design industry specializing in the outdoor or patio settings using outdoor heaters, patio umbrellas, outdoor cushions, patio lighting and so on to create exquisitely beautiful layout. His work on patio umbrellas are widely distributed and is a regular contributor to PatioShoppers.com.