Hyacinth Macaw

Your bird’s feet have to do double duty serving both as feet AND hands. The nails at the end of those jointy toes play a big role in their grasping and maneuverability. Nails grow long and sharp and we need to be certain to keep them well maintained to keep them safe in their cages. Your will know your bird is in need of a trim when the nails is long enough to prevent the ends of the toes from laying flat and naturally against the surface ...

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Camelot Macaw, Blue Throated Macaw

I get a lot of questions by email or see questions posted on the Birdtricks facebook page and other parrot forums from people wanting to get help for their bird’s problems: “my bird screams all the time, how do I stop it?” Whether the nature of the problem is behavioral or medical, it is almost impossible to give accurate advice without being able to witness the problem personally. Whether you are seeking the advice of a consultant or are trying to figure out where to ...

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Rose breasted cockatoos

Just a quick reminder… It is fall and a time of year when birds will exhibit some hormonal behaviors.  I have been noticing that Linus, my umbrella cockatoo, has had trouble lately sleeping through the night.  This is always a sure sign that he is hormonal.  The good news is that this is a milder version of the peculiarity that we see so often in the springtime, so not to worry.

Hormonal behaviors are brought on by the changing seasons. Spring behaviors come about when warmer temperatures ...

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Congo african grey

Obesity in parrots is one of the most common health concerns we owners face, maybe second to certain vitamin deficiencies. It is a serious concern and one that will affect the health and well-being of your parrot in the years to come.
I have found that many parrot owners really don’t have any idea what their bird’s healthy weight should be. There are lists out there that will give you the approximation for your bird’s species, but few of them take into account that each bird is an ...

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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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