Birds

Cockatiels Behavior: These sweet-tempered birds are valued throughout the world as pets due to their gentle and sociable nature. Twelve hours of sleep at least is required for a happy pet, sleep taken away can cause sickness and grumpy pets. Cockatiels living in a household with late sleepers should be taken to a quiet spare room where sun doesn't shine into in the morning or if you live in a small house or unit putting your pet in the bathroom is a good idea as long as you shut the toilet lid. Lifespan: The Cockatiel's lifespan in captivity is generally given as 15-20 years, though it is sometimes given as short as 10-15 years.	Love Birds Size: Lovebirds are small, compact parrots about 5-6 inches in length. Lifespan: Up to 15 years or more. Temperament: Very active, curious, and playful, lovebirds pack a lot of personality into a small package. They are also feisty little birds. They are very social and form deep bonds with their owners and are sometimes very cuddly birds, but their intense personalities can also make them prone to nipping and territorial aggressiveness and jealousy. Hand-raised babies make the best pets. Cages: As a bare minimum, I would recommend a cage at least 2 feet wide by 2 feet long (and 2 feet tall), but a larger cage is definitely better (with the length being relatively more important than the height). Bars should be no more than 1/2 to 5/8 inches apart, and should be oriented horizontally to allow the birds climb the sides of the cage. Avoid round cages.
Conures Description: Conures are often called the clowns of the parrot world due to their constant attention seeking behavior including hanging upside-down and swaying back and forth or "dancing." Despite being large for parakeets, conures are lightly built with long tails and small (but strong) beaks. Conure beaks always have a small cere and are usually horn-colored or black. Diet: Conures often eat grain, which causes them to be treated as agricultural pests in some places.	Parakeet Descriptopn: A parakeet is a term for any one of a large number of unrelated small to medium sized parrot species, that generally have long-tail feathers. The term is descriptive, but does not imply an actual relationship between the different parakeets. Lifespan: Parakeets can live 15-18 years with proper diet and veterinary care.
Nanday Conures Size: The Nanday will reach a mature size of eleven to twelve inches and weigh a little over five ounces and will live for about 25 years. Descripton: The Nanday Conure has a light blue chest and bluish green flight feathers tipped with a deep navy blue, with bright red thigh feathers. Nanday Conures acclimate quickly to a new environment and they are very sociable with other species. Diet: In the wild Nanday Conures have a diet of grass seeds, berries, nuts, flowers, buds, fruits, insects and grains. Because they are not as active in captivity as they are in the wild, their diet should be slightly restricted.	Sun Conures Descripton: Sun Conures are loving, easy to train little birds, about twelve inches in length, including the tail. As juveniles their coloring is a muted olive green, which serves as a defense mechanism in the wild. When they mature, at approximately one year old, their coloring is a brilliant rainbow of yellow, red, orange, blue and green and are often considered the most beautiful of the Conures. Sun Conures love attention and can develop some destructive behavior if they do not get the socialization they need. They like to be held and cuddled and talked to and they do enjoy the company of other birds. Sun Conures can learn to talk, although they are limited and their voices are birdlike and squeaky. Diet: Many Conure owners will feed their Conure a diet of primarily small parrot mix and supplement with millet spray, mealworms, green vegetables and some fruit. They can also be fed many of the same foods your family eats. In addition, provide your Conure with oyster shell or gravel in a separate dish or a cuttlebone. Vitamin supplements can be added to their drinking water or sprinkled on their food. Fresh water should be offered several times a day. A Sun Conure will probably want to have a bath first thing each morning, so offering two bowls of water, one for drinking and one for bathing is a good idea. Lifespan: An average of 25 to 30 years.
Quaker Parrot Description: The nominate subspecies of this parakeet is 29 cm long on average, with a 48 cm wingspan, and weighs 100 g. Females tend to be 10-20% smaller. As pets: Are highly intelligent, social birds. Those kept as pets routinely develop large vocabularies. They are able to learn scores of words and phrases. This species is considered especially adept at learning. Cage Size: A minimum of 18" square if the bird only sleeps and spends no more than 3-4 hours a day in the cage. Avoid placing the cage higher than the chest level of the smallest member of the house to avoid problems with dominance and aggression. Diet: 65-80% high-quality commercial diet (pellets, crumbles or nuggets). The rest of the diet should consist of 15-30% vegetables, 5% fresh fruits, and an occasional nut, mealworm, or cricket. Use many varieties of fruits and vegetables, washed thoroughly. No avocados or fruit pits. Lifespan: 20+ years.	Finches Descripton: They vary in size from under 3" up to 8" (7.5-20 cm) in length. Their plumage can be very colorful, depending on the species. Finches are mostly quiet birds, there are some that have a song, and most are very active. Lifespan: The average lifespan of most finches is between 5 and 10 years. Diet: Fresh food and water must be provided daily. Finches are easy to feed. Finch seed is their everyday food and seed mixes are readily available at a pet store. A single finch will eat about one teaspoon of seed a day and will rarely overeat, though they may need to eat a bit more when the weather is cold or during their moult. Give your finch a bath at least once a week and daily during the summer by placing a dish on the bottom of the cage. A bath with an enclosure will help to keep the water splashing to a minimum. Bathing is very important to finches during moulting and breeding. Housing: Finches get their exercise by flying so it is recommended that they have at least a 12" x 18" (30 cm x 45 cm) cage per pair. Place the cage on a stand or hang it from a wall bracket at eye level or at about 6 feet off the floor in a spot that has good light, is well ventilated, and free from drafts. Keep the cage away from doors and windows where direct exposure to sunlight can make it overly warm, but do place it close to at least one wall to enhance a feeling of security. Provide two or three good softwood perches about 3/8" to 3/4" in diameter. Social Behaviors: Most finches are very social with good personalities. They will not harm children, visitors, or other pets. Finches are quite friendly and can easily be housed in a spacious cage with other finches and other hardbills. Handling/Training: Finches are simply enjoyed for their busy antics, plumage, and some for their song. Most finches will not be handleable, though there are a few finches species that with time and patience can be finger tamed.
Canaries Description: The canary is generally between 4 3/4" to 8" (12-20 cm) in length. Their plumage is very bright starting in the yellows, yellow-greens, greens, shades of orange to shades of red. Lifespan: The average lifespan of a bred female canary is 5-6 years and up to 10 years for a male canary. Diet: Fresh food and water must be provided daily. A canary cannot live without for a 24 hour period without water! Fresh canary seed is their everyday food and vitamin coated seed mixes are readily available at a pet store. A single canary will eat about one teaspoon of seed a day and canaries will rarely overeat, though they may need to eat a bit more when the weather is cold or during their moult. Pelleted diets are also available and contain vitamins and more protein than seed, making additional supplementation unnecessary. However birds not raised on a pelleted diet may not recognize it as food, so may not accept it.. Daily supplements that canaries like to eat include greens such as kale, broccoli, dandelions, spinach, celery, peas, and watercress. Small amounts of fruits such as apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, and melons can also be offered. Housing: Canaries like wide open spaces so provide your pet with a roomy cage. A good size cage for a single bird is 16" (40 cm) or 20" (50 cm) for a pair. Place the cage on a stand or hang it from a wall bracket at eye level or at about 6 feet off the floor. Be sure the spot you pick has good light and is well ventilated, though free from drafts. It should be away from doors and windows where direct exposure to sunlight can make it overly warm, but placed close to at least one wall to enhance a feeling of security. Average daytime temperatures can range from between 60 degrees to 70 degrees Fahrenheit with nighttime temperatures down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The cage should be covered at night to prevent drafts and disturbances. Provide two or three good softwood perches about 3/8" to 3/4" in diameter. Social Behaviors: Canaries are very social with good personalities. They will not harm children, visitors, or other pets. They are, however, timid birds and should not be housed with parakeets, lovebirds, or other hookbills that tend to be more aggressive birds by nature. Pairing up with two male canaries in a cage can cause fights, but canaries can easily be housed in a spacious cage with other canaries, finches, and other hardbills. Handling/Training: Canaries can some simple tricks such as playing with a toy, but they are quite timid and it takes a lot of patience. If they are exposed to sounds when they are young, male canaries can also learn to mimic sounds such as a telephone ring or a door bell. If you wish to tame or train your canary, it is best to buy a single bird, and it is easier to tame a young bird.	Parrotlets Description: Parrotlets are very small, with a stocky build and a broad tail, much like the lovebird species. At 4½–5 inches(11-12cm) long, they are the second smallest kind of parrot in the world. This species forms strong pair bonds with mates. Lifespan: With a healthy diet, much exercise and healthy environment, the Parrotlet has a life expectancy of 20 to 30 years. Speech and training: They can learn more than 10–15 words and can "whistle" songs well. They have about the same speaking and whistling capabilities of a cockatiel. They are also very good learners for commands such as "step up", "kiss-kiss", "step down", and other small commands. Many can be coaxed into 'playing dead' over time, and with much practice lie on their backs on command. Some parrotlets can learn advanced tricks.