Pet Bird Supplies Checklist for Small Birds
For Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Small Parakeets, and Parrotlets
All pet bird owners need certain pet bird supplies for their feathery friend!
You probably need more supplies than you know. For this reason, we’ve created a simple checklist with links to our best recommendations in order to make this as painless as possible.
Must Have Items
- Small sized cage
- Cage lining (newspaper is best)
- 3-8 perches
- 1 Therapeutic perch
- 1-2 Wood perches
- 1-2 Rope perches
- 0-1 Heated perches
- 0-1 Shower perches
- 0-1 Dowel perches
- Food for small-sized birds
- Grain products
- Pellets
- Whole Grains
- Vegetables & Fruits
- Dairy & Meat
- Calcium & Treats
- Grain products
- 3 or more toys for small-sized birds
- Bird-safe cleaning supplies
- Food and water dishes
- Travel cage
- Avian Veterinarian
Nice To Have Items
- Books on small-sized birds
- Cage cover
- T-stand
- Spare food and water dishes
- Spray bottle for showering your bird
We know figuring out what you need isn’t easy, so we’ve done the hard work for you on this page. We hope we’ve helped you in your pet bird supply hunting endeavor!
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What is a good starter small bird for kids?
i’m not familiar with this species of finch it looks like a wild one. But if you want to get a captive finch keep it in a pair (same gender is better because breeding is not for beginners but they are social birds).
I have a dog he’s a doberman he is not aggressive to humans but at cats and birds. He is an outdoor dog and has lived peacefully with a hamster (until she died). Would it be okay if i had a lovebird inside?
i dont know who you are but i think that if the bird never sees or hears the dog it is okay or if they grew up together it is okay now stop ruining peoples mood
I currently have a pair of budgies and I am thinking of getting a cockatiel. I was wondering if I should have both birds out at the same time or should I let them out at different times.
This is a great question. You should be able to safely let them out at the same time while supervised, but if they won’t be supervised, they should be let out separately.
Hello. I’m thinking about getting a Cockatiel as soon as I can move into my new house and I’ve never had a bird before but I’ve been trying to research information for the past 3 years. One question I have that never gets answered is would it be a good idea to have 2 cages for a bird? I had been notified about bird’s normal routine of not defecating for a few hours and releasing a good amount of droppings in the morning and that birds also prefer not to defecate where they sleep so i had the idea of what if I had a cage that was slightly smaller for the Cockatiel to sleep in and a bigger cage for it to spend it’s day when I’m at classes or work? I planned on putting about 3 perches, still some food and water bowls and a cuttlebone in case it decides it would rather do something before sleeping, but I’m not sure about this until I can hear from someone. Thanks!
Hi John, This is actually really common. A lot of bird owners have a “sleep cage” for their bird. If you think that would work better for you, then go for it. 🙂
actually, cockatiels are very sustainable to “night frights”. its where they get scared at night, whether it was a loud noise outside, bright lights, or other animals, etc. They move around in the cage, banging the walls, flapping their wings. many birds have gotten injured from these night frights. they have gotten caught on toys, knocked down bowels, etc. you really should have 2 cages, one with toys, food and water bowels perches (the main cage that your cockatiel will live in) and another smaller cage with no toys and about one or two perches to put him or her to sleep. this cage can also be used as a travel cage. remember to always cover your bird’s cage when it is time to sleep, this help prevent/reduce night frights. hope this helps 🙂
A lot of small parrots enjoy having a swing.
I have all those same questions, did any one ever answer you on another site?
We care for and love many wild birds in our garden as well as 2 roaming indoor/outdoor cats and 1 lab who all cohabitat and get along. How we determine the cats and dogs wont stress the bird? Is the cage type/hieght as important as I think? As small parrot wants to be out of the cage so will that be an issue?
You should not get a bird with a cat or dog. A lot of people do it, but unfortunately do not realise that no matter what, dogs and cats WILL stress your bird out. Dogs and cats are driven by PREY INSTINCT, and unfortunately they don’t understand that you see the bird as a friend, not food. Please take this into heavy consideration and think about this heavily before deciding to get a bird, as any bird you get, no matter what size, will be stressed out and saddened by the presence of a predator in it’s home (which may cause behavioural issues, such as feather plucking, biting, screaming, self-mutilation and increased night frights). If I were you, I’d stick to feeding the wild birds, maybe try attracting some wild crows/ravens, they can be pretty fun, friendly and interesting to hang around!
I tell you this not to berate you or anything, this is a pretty common thing actually for new bird owners. I tell you this so you have all the information you need before getting a bird and to share my knowledge with you so that you don’t end up with an unhappy bird who bites you for no apparent reason.
What if they will live in separate rooms? I have cats and dogs but do not like the dogs and none of them are allowed in my bedroom at any time. I used to have a cat who lived in my room only because she didn’t like the dogs, but she passed away this past summer and I’ve been very lonely. She preferred my room and didn’t mind not leaving it, and birds are much smaller so the room would seem even bigger to them but I’d hate to get a bird and just end up making the rest of its life really stressful. The dogs can get noisy when they get up in the morning or when someone stops by (but we probably have a visitor once a month), so I don’t want the barking to stress the bird out either.
Hi Emily,
I know that is right in most cases but I have had some success with this!
I have a 3 year old conure and a 18month old English staffy and they get on great.
I lay on my bed with both and my conure (Gracie) climbs all over my dog and he just lays there. They cuddle and nap together regularly.
Now don’t get me wrong I don’t leave them along together (not 100% by choice, if I get up they both have to follow me) and when I’m at work they are in there separate areas.
But I think if a puppy is raised with the bird you shouldn’t have problems.
i have a dachshund,(aka sausage dog), and a budgie. They love playing together all day. My bird certainly isn’t stressed around the dog. If anything, them being together makes the bird calmer. However, I did introduce them to each other when they were both young, so it was probably easier than other situations.
Just keep the bird in a different room than the cat or dog when he/she is out and they will be fine.
Hi I just wanted to say that most of the time it is true about the pray drive but not always I have a cat her name’s buttercup and she was my first pet I can could call my own. She’s been around for all my animals and has never went after any of them not even my geckos she actually let my old gecko sit in her for a few minutes. But buttercup has killed a Mouse once but it wasn’t a pet so I think she knows if it’s one of mine to leave it alone if it’s not she’ll usually leave it alone except mice. Just wanted to point out it every cat has a high pray drive to worry about I tried to have another cat and she’s the reason I lost my favorite gecko while I was on vacation and someone was coming over every day to feed everyone aka my geckos and cats but in the day I was due to be home is when the cat decided to get my gecko and I was devestaded after it nf give the cat up to someone else who was looking for a cat and now that cat is having the time of her life witha old lady lol even after her being the couse of my gecko lost I love her but my cat buttercup captured my soul the day I got her and she’s forgiven me for all my animal adventures she likes mist of the animals but just don’t like other cats and a lot of dogs.
We care for and love many wild birds in our garden as well as 2 roaming indoor/outdoor cats and 3 long hair chihuahuas who all cohabitat and get along. I had paraketts as a child and have always dreamed of a small parrot. How we determine the cats and dogs wont stress the bird? Is the cage type/hieght as important as I think? As small parrot wants to be out of the cage so will that be an issue? Im also able to have an outdoor cage, will this a good thing with so many wild bird? Appreciate any advice for a southern Ca birder.
I said this to the person after you, but sadly it seems nobody has replied to you, so I will copy and paste this in the hopes that you haven’t gotten one yet and there is still time to consider everything
“You should not get a bird with a cat or dog. A lot of people do it, but unfortunately do not realise that no matter what, dogs and cats WILL stress your bird out. Dogs and cats are driven by PREY INSTINCT, and unfortunately they don’t understand that you see the bird as a friend, not food. Please take this into heavy consideration and think about this heavily before deciding to get a bird, as any bird you get, no matter what size, will be stressed out and saddened by the presence of a predator in it’s home (which may cause behavioural issues, such as feather plucking, biting, screaming, self-mutilation and increased night frights). If I were you, I’d stick to feeding the wild birds, maybe try attracting some wild crows/ravens, they can be pretty fun, friendly and interesting to hang around!
I tell you this not to berate you or anything, this is a pretty common thing actually for new bird owners. I tell you this so you have all the information you need before getting a bird and to share my knowledge with you so that you don’t end up with an unhappy bird who bites you for no apparent reason.”
As well, an outdoor cage would be nice for a bird in the day, however, at night it’s probably not a good idea to put him in there. There’s too many threats (such as nocturnal animals, lights and loud noises which can frighten your bird and cause it to have what is called a “night fright” a possibly deadly phenomena) that could lead to your birds death overnight, and you wouldn’t be able to hear anything to save it before it succumbs to injury or gets eaten by another animal. So in short, the outdoor cage should be a daytime thing, or
Also, please do not think for a second that your chihuahuas will be harmless to a bird, they can kill and eat birds, if you do get a bird, you should lock your chihuahua’s away so that it cannot get to the bird until you put it back in it’s cage.