Introducing Cats Into a House With Pet Birds


Oscar - my mum's new addition to the family.

 

I pretty much live in a zoo. Multiple birds, dogs and cats permanently own me, there are also a few goldfish and the odd passing rescue waiting for re-home. Most of the time, we all get along beautifully but it has taken work to get to that point.

 

My mother recently added to the zoo, by adopting a shelter cat. It wasn’t an easy decision whether or not to take on ...

 

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Using Touch Training to Solve a Problem With My Eclectus Parrot


Male eclectus parrot.

 

My male Eclectus Pepi, has been a flying nightmare lately. He has gone from being sweet, affectionate and talkative to being moody, unpredictable and often downright nasty. It happened overnight and hasn’t been accompanied by any of the usual signs of sickness.

 

Of all of my birds, it’s Pepi who seems to have the nastiest bite. He has this knack for getting a tiny bit of skin pinched in his beak. When something ...

 

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Talking Parrots Can’t Keep Your Secrets


Pepi, he's all innocence in the shower!

 

You can’t have secrets when you have parrots. Even when you think they can’t hear you or aren’t listening, you have to be careful about what you say. I’ve learned this the hard way more than once.
I was a bridesmaid at a wedding about a year ago. The bride and groom had been living together for a while, so it was one of those situations where they didn’t need household themed ...

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Does Your Bird Use Light to Communicate?

Otto's "I see a threat!!!!" pose.

When I took on Otto (my musk lorikeet), I was expecting major behavioural problems. He was a re-homing case, which is very different from a rescue. He came to me because he didn’t fit in with his family and their lifestyle. He had serious behavioural issues and was inflicting some pretty serious injuries on his humans. They’d dealt with his health issues, they’d bought vet-recommended training courses but he was still completely unreadable ...

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