Generally there is little that needs to be done in the way of health maintenance. A balance diet is by far the most important. A few of things to watch for are signs of illness, nails, leg bands, and strings.
If your bird sits in the corner, looks puffy, or generally doesn’t look good, he may be ill. Be sure there is food and water in shallow dishes on the floor of the cage. This will make it easier for him to access them. Try to warm him a little by moving the cage to a warmer location or placing a lamp beside the cage. Unfortunately, because of their tiny size, an illness can run its course and kill your bird before you even notice the symptoms.
Nails will usually be maintained naturally. If they get too long, you will need to catch the bird and trim the nails. A nail clipper works good. Be sure not to clip too much. If you clip to the ‘quick’ it will bleed. If you look very closely at the tip of the nail, you will see that the tip looks more clear in color. This can be safely cut off.
Watch your birds that have leg bands. I have had birds that grow up to have thick legs that become too big for the band. This restricts blood circulation and the foot will swell and eventually could cause the bird to die. Remove the band. To do this you may have to cut it off. This will maybe be a two person job. Be careful, that is a tiny fragile leg.
Strings are dangerous. Birds love to play with them. There is a possibility that the string could get tangled around a birds leg or neck and get caught on the cage, thus injuring the bird. Simply be sure the strings are two inches of shorter. Shredded burlap works great for nesting material. I cut the burlap into two inch squares and shred it.
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