Earlier in the week I made an appointment with Linus (my umbrella cockatoo) for a nail trim. Some of his nails were a bit long and one was painfully sharp. I hunted for my favorite nail trimming clippers and couldn’t find them, so I put off the trim until they could be located.

I had bought these clippers perhaps as many as 12 or 13 years ago. I brought them home and tested them out on my dog and loved the handling so much that I returned to the store the next day to purchase ...

My Blue and Gold Macaw, Fid.

I just had my hair dyed yesterday. I got rid of all of my grey roots. I had finally found a colour that I liked and my hair was still at that stage where it looked like I’d been to a human hairdresser rather than to a lorikeet frizzathon. I had chocolate in the house and no one needed me to do anything. I had no assignments due and I had at least 10 minutes to myself. Only ...

Greenwing macaw

You have heard us recommend many times that you should strive to mimic nature with your birds. You will hear it many more times in the future. This should always be in the back of your mind and if you are doing things the right way, you will find this idea infiltrating all aspects of your parrot’s care.

The most emotionally healthy birds are the ones that are allowed, and encouraged, to be birds. My feeling is that birds that are parent raised (avian parents!) and allowed to fledge make ...

A planned burn in the Dandenongs, Victoria, Australia. It doesn’t look it to the untrained eye, but this actually a controlled fire.  Firefighters do these burns to reduce fuel load to reduce the risk of serious bushfire. The smoke blankets numerous suburbs when they do this.

Occasionally something may happen in the area that you live that can create poor air quality. It wasn’t that long ago that there were reports of pigeons falling dead out of the sky in ...

Photo of blue and gold macaw from parrotinfoclub.com

When we look at our birds, one of the first things we notice is the over-sized protrusion jutting out from its face. It is something we bird lovers have all come to respect enormously and the thing that causes many people their fear of parrots. I thought it would be fun if we took a tour of the inside our bird’s beak and discovered what is (and isn’t) in there.

When you look inside the mouth, right away you will notice there are no ...

Q: I live in Florida where the humidity levels are very high. Should I get a dehumidifier so my bird isn’t uncomfortable?

Pam G., Cape Coral, FL 

A:  Contrary to popular belief...

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