Parrot Awareness Week was launched in July 2023 to promote improving welfare for pet parrot-like birds. UK Pet Foods 2023 survey on pet ownership shows that indoor birds are the fourth most popular pet in the UK behind dogs, cats and rabbits. There is a wealth of knowledge currently available concerning the care of these pets, but parrot care advice remains difficult to find good resources for. Around 90% of parrot issues treated by vets are as a result of malnutrition, so there is a clear deficit in current parrot care advice. Parrot Awareness Week aims to bridge this knowledge gap and assist vets and owners in best care practices.
The week was spearheaded by the Parrot Society UK, a registered charity, in partnership with UK Pet Food, Petcover Group and helped by a group of dedicated volunteers, including several avian veterinary professionals, to help get the information out there. Running from 2–8 July, this online event aimed to highlight several important themes with respect to parrot welfare in captivity, to help owners provide their parrots with the best care possible.
Nutrition
Day one focused on nutrition, providing articles and videos from respected avian vet Alan K Jones, discussing the dietary needs of parrots and feeding a balanced diet in practice.
Our sponsor, UK Pet Food, created a very well-designed, accurate and informative poster to tie in with this topic, which we revealed to our followers with great feedback.
Our key take home point for this theme is for owners to be aiming to provide a diet which consists of 80% nutritionally complete food (pellets) and 20% fresh produce, and additionally to be providing some form of feeding enrichment.
Sunlight
Day two was centred around UVB/sunlight, highlighting the importance of providing UV light to companion parrots and discussing different ways this can be done.
John Courtney-Smith from Arcadia Bird provided an article – Specialist Bird Lighting – A lot to Squark About! – and Tariq Abou-Zahr, a well-known specialist avian vet, shared his practical points for providing UV to parrots.
The key point was for owners to be aiming to provide 10–12 hours of UVB per day.
Enrichment
Day three's topic was enrichment, where Vicki Baldrey, a specialist exotic vet, wrote an article titled Enrichment for Parrots and supplied a video, where she talks about the importance of providing enrichment for pet parrots and different ways of doing so.
Vicki also took part in a live interview for National Pet Month, chatting about Parrot Awareness Week in general and the areas it is highlighting this year.
The key point was for owners to aim to provide at least one item of enrichment each day.
Insurance
Day four concentrated on insurance, highlighting its necessity for pet parrots.
Lorraine Nash, part of the PAW team, who works in the insurance sector provided us with an article and a video where she discussed the importance of insurance, different types of policies, and any relevant exclusions. She also shared her key points for owners when considering insurance policies – including aiming to purchase the most comprehensive policy they can afford.
Healthcare
Day five discussed healthcare, starting with an article from Dr Neil Forbes, another well-known avian specialist, where he discussed ways to ensure the health of your parrot, followed by Tariq providing information on the importance of finding an avian vet.
We also created an infographic detailing signs of illness in pet parrots for owners to utilise. Our key point for day five was for owners to aim to take their parrot for a health check at least once a year.
Pet Parrot Gathering
The week culminated at the Pet Parrot Gathering – an event hosted by the Parrot Society and held at Stafford County Showground on 8 July 2023.
It featured a symposium of talks from prominent figures in the field of parrot care and welfare, along with trade stands selling parrot-related food, toys and equipment.
We had a brilliant day, talking to owners about their parrots at home and in attendance at the show and most importantly … promoting Parrot Awareness Week!
Go to the Facebook page Parrot Awareness Week – PAW or https://www.parrotawareness-week.com for more information.