Medium Hookbill Care Sheet

• Medium hookbills are parrots who generally range from about 13–18 inches in length, with strong, curved beaks built for cracking hard seeds and nuts. 
• They include cockatiels, conures, and ringneck parrots. 
• Medium hookbills’ care needs, personality, and talkativeness vary greatly between species and individuals—research carefully before bringing one home. 

• Medium hookbills use their beaks as a third foot when climbing or gripping objects. 
• Like all other parrots, medium hookbills can see the ultraviolet light spectrum, meaning they see environmental colors and their bright plumage in ways we cannot.  

Choose your medium hookbill’s enclosure based on their adult size—always as large as your home space allows. At minimum, your bird should be able to fully extend and flap their wings, climb freely, and move about their cage without a problem.  

For most medium hookbill species, this means a minimum enclosure size of: 

• Length:​​ 30–48 inches
• Width:​​ 24–30 inches
• Height: ​​36–48 inches

Medium hookbills are very clever! Their intelligence and persistence make them great escape artists. Be sure to use secure locks on all doors and cage openings. The bar spacing should be ½–5/8 of an inch to prevent escape or injury. 

Place the cage in a room where your bird can see and hear household activity—these social creatures do best when they feel included in your life.  

However, never place a bird enclosure in front of a window or near the kitchen. Direct sunlight can cause overheating, and the kitchen’s cooking fumes can be toxic even in small amounts, especially if you use any nonstick cookware with coatings like Teflon/PTFE. 

Add a cage liner or paper-based bedding to the bottom of the cage. 

Enrich your hookbill’s enclosure with perches in a variety of diameters and materials, but avoid those with very rough textures that can damage their foot pads.  

Natural wood and rope climbing ladders and swings are popular with many hookbills. They’re active and curious, so an environment with plenty of variety is essential to their health.  

Instead of placing a couple of toys and leaving them, rotate a selection of bird-safe toys to keep things​​ interesting. You can provide plenty of foraging toys and hide treats for them to find. 

Without enough mental stimulation, medium hookbills can develop problem behaviors, including feather plucking or excessive screaming.  

You should also add a UV light for your bird if your bird does not otherwise spend (supervised) time outside. Pet birds need UV lighting to help their bodies produce calcium. 

Your hookbill needs a healthy, varied diet with a high-quality, species–appropriate pelleted food (70–75%), treats (5%), fresh vegetables and fruits (15%), and seeds and nuts (less than 10%).  

Needs vary between species, so research your hookbill’s specific needs and consult with an avian veterinarian.  

Safe fruits and vegetables include: 

• Berries and melons 
• Mango and papaya 
• Pomegranate 
• Cooked sweet potatoes 
• Bell peppers (all colors) 
• Dark leafy greens like chard, kale, and Romaine lettuce 
• Snap peas and green beans 

Always remove uneaten fresh food after two or three hours to prevent spoilage. 

Clean their food and water bowls daily and provide fresh water at all times. 

Note: Never feed avocado, onion, garlic, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, or fruit pits to your medium hookbill. These foods are toxic and can be fatal. 

For calcium support, you can also offer your bird cuttlebones. Calcium is essential for healthy bones and feathers, as well as keeping high energy levels. 

Building trust with a medium hookbill takes patience, consistency, and a respect for their boundaries. These birds remember any negative experiences, so calm and positive interactions are crucial. 

Hookbills are flock birds who thrive on social interaction and need several hours of interaction daily. Birds whose social needs aren’t satisfied become stressed, loud, and sometimes destructive.  

Before trying to handle your hookbill, read their body language. They’ll tell you whether they want interaction. A relaxed bird who wants attention may move toward you with a loose and upright posture or make soft vocalizations. 

• Start by spending quiet time near their cage, without pressuring for contact. 
• ​​​​​Offer treats through the bars to help your bird build positive associations with you. 
• Teach them the “step up” cue by gently pressing your finger to your hookbill’s lower chest and waiting for them to step on. Then, ​​​​reward the behavior to reinforce the training. 
• When your hookbill is ready to come out, start in a small, bird-proofed room where they can’t escape.  
• Never grab, restrain, or chase your hookbill—it’ll scare your bird and can injure them.  

Signs your hookbill does not want attention include:  

• Lunging or ​​​​beak-snapping 
• Flared tail or raised neck feathers 
• ​​​​​Pinned eyes (rapidly dilating and constricting pupils) 
• Growling, hissing, or sharp alarm calls 
• Rigid body posture 
• Turning away or attempting to move farther away 

Your hookbill needs an annual checkup with an avian veterinarian. Bring photos of their enclosure setup, toys, and diet to give your vet all the information they need.

A healthy medium hookbill is alert, engaged, and vocal in all the right ways for their species. Their eyes should be bright and clear, nostrils clean, and beak symmetrical and aligned correctly. Feathers should look full and well-kept, feet clean and free of sores, and droppings should be consistent in appearance.  

Birds are good at hiding signs of illness until they are very sick. Reach out to your vet immediately if you notice any of the following:  

• Eye or nasal discharge, or any swelling around the face 
• Labored, noisy breathing or gasping 
• Feather plucking, abnormal feather growth, or bloody feathers 
• An overgrown, misaligned, or broken beak 
• Vomiting, open sores, lumps, or head tilt 
• Droppings that change significantly in color, consistency, or frequency 
• An unusually quiet or withdrawn bird 

Medium hookbills are highly sensitive to airborne toxins. Scented candles, air fresheners, aerosol sprays, and nonstick cookware fumes can all cause serious respiratory distress or death. Many bird owners choose to eliminate these products from their homes to avoid the risk.  

Also take care to avoid toys and cage hardware that contain lead, zinc, galvanized metal, or lead-based paint. Birds explore everything with their beaks and can ingest toxins in small amounts that over time lead to serious illness. 

Set up everything before you bring your feathered friend home:  

• Appropriately sized cage 
• High-quality, species-appropriate pelleted hookbill food 
• Separate fresh and dry food bowls 
• Water bowl large enough for bathing 
• Healthy treats for training and bonding 
• Perches in a variety of diameters and materials 
• Cuttlebone and mineral block with holders 
• Play gym or climbing stand for out-of-cage time 
• Full-spectrum UV lighting or supervised natural light (10–12 hours per day) 
• Rotating selection of bird-safe, species-appropriate toys 
• Cage liners and trays 
• Misting spray bottle or a shower perch for bathing 
• Safe carrier for vet visits