I miss my birds terribly when I am away from them. Sometimes when I am at work, a coworker will see me staring off into the distance with a big smile on my face and will automatically know I am thinking about my feathered family. Sometimes all I want to do is go home and cuddle up to one of my cockatoos, arms holding him tightly against me and nose buried in soft, white feathers. But, as appealing as the thought of this is, I know it is...

blue throated macaw

Q: I went to my local bird store with my sun conure, Joey, the other day to get him a cage mate. I thought this way I could let him choose his new friend. The store owners made me leave with Joey because they don’t allow outside birds around their own. I thought they were rude. Why do they have this rule?

Dena W., Norfolk, VA

A: I’m sure it did seem a little offensive to you that they sent you and Joey packing, and maybe they could’ve been a ...

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Camelot Macaw, Blue Throated Macaw

About six years ago, I suffered the loss of my dear, wonderful cockatoo, Abu.  I was reeling for months following her unexpected death. I had considered getting another bird, but was still in that place where it hurt too much to think about it and it seemed somehow disrespectful to her memory to “replace” her so quickly.
During that period of time, my daughter and Jamie knew each other from online.  It turns out Jamie and Dave were looking for a good home for their umbrella ...

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Blue throated macaw

There was a question following one of my recent posts that I thought would make an interesting topic for a new blog post.  I had made a reference to adding crushed egg shells to an omelet I was preparing for my birds.  I do this often because of the added calcium provided by the shells of the eggs, which are made mostly of calcium.  This is particularly a good idea for parrots producing eggs during breeding season.

It was asked if the shells weren’t harmful to the bird’s throat ...

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Scarlet Macaw

I got an email the other day from a friend informing me of the death of his scarlet macaw, Lola. It is a tragic ending to an already sad story.
My friend, Mark, rescued Lola from a dingy pet store basement in Michigan about 7 years ago. She was in horrible shape when he took her in. She was grossly underweight and suffering from malnutrition. Her beak was horribly deformed. She had pressure sores on both feet and could barely get around. Not a single toy embellished her cockatiel ...

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