Camelot macaws

This is a horrible topic and I hate to even put these thoughts and images into your head, but it is important and I ask that you bear with me and read this short post.

When a bird dies unexpectedly, if the unthinkable happens and you should find your bird dead or if there was an illness that claimed you bird’s life that had yet to be diagnosed, it is wise to have a necropsy done.

A necropsy is the term used for autopsy when performed on an animal. The procedure ...

Galah AKA rosebreasted cockatoo

This blog topic comes at the suggestion of one of our readers, who, while trying to determine the origins of her birds mystery illnesses, took note of some alarming information she happened upon that might concern many of us. Thanks Michelle!

Many of us put our birds directly into the shower for bathing. It’s a very convenient arrangement – the shower is an enclosed, tiled area that limits a bird’s freedom in the bathroom and it expels water to clean up the inevitable messes. Sometimes the bird itself ...

photo from thescienceofeating.com

A friend directed me to a comment on another bird site that revealed some serious misinformation regarding oxalic acid. One of the posters listed off all of the vegetables she discovered that contained oxalic acid and recommended that they be discontinued in the diets of everyone’s birds based on concerns that have been circulating for years now. Oxalic acid is a term that is on the lips of many parrot owners and it appears to be only slightly less concerning to them than battery acid. So, let’s get ...

Vegetable smeared beak. The galah/rosebreasted cockatoo equivalent of a milk moustache. Merlin loves his food.

The only stupid question is the one that you don’t ask. I’ve heard that often enough and I’m not entirely sure that I believe it. Mainly because I once worked in a bookstore and was asked if we stocked books that had pages in them? Or the time that my mother asked me what the dishwasher was doing and I answered the dishes? Yes, I’m afraid there are stupid ...

Recent visitors to my house – separated from my flock by a glass wall.

Well it hasn’t been quiet at my house lately because we’ve had some visitors staying with us while their human left the country. Three extra birds don’t sound like much in theory but noise wise – it adds up.

Camelot macaws

I recently wrote a blog post that discussed how important it is to try mimic nature in the environment we provide for our birds. Being undomesticated animals so new to captivity that some of their their grandparents may have lived their lives in the wild, they will certainly appreciate that level of attention to detail.

But recently, I had a conversation with someone specifically about looking to nature for guidance in the parrot diet. It brought to light how very confusing this message might be – in fact, we actually ...