Q: Is it okay to give my bird dried fruit instead of fresh?
Martine B., Stuttgart, Germany

A: Dried fruits have some wonderful advantages. They are small and convenient and they taste great. Being dry, they are perfect for use in foraging toys. When broken into small pieces, they are great for training. But there are some concerns about using them.

Fruits have a high water content and the drying (dehydrating) process simply removes the moisture. As a result, they shrink considerably in size. The biggest problem ...

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One of the best parts about working for Birdtricks.com is the constant contact with other bird lovers. As owners, the learning never stops and we are always looking for new and better ways to improve our birds’ lives.

Out there, in the avian community, there are countless unsung heroes – rescues who go the extra mile for the birds in their care every single day, without much praise or much help, people who have gone to extraordinary lengths to create amazing habitats for ...

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One of the main problems that I have had with my Blue and Gold Macaw Fid, is getting him to settle at night. He cries when I put him to bed, he cries again when I turn off the light, he screams in fear if anything disturbs him and he often wakes up and starts making a heart wrenching, hiccupping sob noise for no obvious reason.

In my last post on Fid, I ...

 

Maybe it’s my suspiscious nature, but whenever a doctor or vet “highly recommends” a name brand product (especially if they sell it), I think twice. To be fair, I must acknowedge that many may carry products because they truly beileve in their health benefits. But there are also those who carry products, and push them, because it benefits their bank accounts.

Many medical professionals receive kickbacks for promoting certain brands of products. (A kickback is a payment of money, favors or something else of value offered in exchange for pushing ...

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I write this post reluctantly. I want to be careful not to cast doubt and suspicion onto the many great, reputable parrot organizations out there. I don’t want to scare you away from donating money or otherwise contributing to your local rescue, but I DO want you to take a look at it before you do so, and especially if you are thinking about relinquishing your bird.

In a previous post, I listed these criteria for a good rescue:

• The facility is clean and operated by knowledgeable caretakers. ...

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“Oh wow, you’re just soooooo fat,” my Eclectus Pepi has started saying to people in a very despairing voice. My voice. He picks his audience too. I have one relative who is particularly concerned with her appearance so naturally she is his favourite target. As he uses my voice – I’m the one that gets the blame for being rude. How dare I teach my bird to say that to her???