Q: Yesterday I was in a parrot shop and the owner suggested that there are actually preferable ways to layout a birds cage.  Is this true?
– Michelle Rae & Cheeky

A: There are definitely preferred ways to set up your bird’s cage and there are many considerations to take into account. The most important aspects of your bird’s inside-the-cage environment are safety, security, opportunities...

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In case breeding season isn’t enough to make you crazy, we can now also embrace molting season. Half of me loves the molting season. I am always fascinated by new feather growth – out with the raggedy and in with the shiny and new. The other half, perhaps the bigger half, hates it for the extra work it creates.

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…bathe your bird?
…get your bird to eat healthy foods?
…put your bird to bed for the night?

These are some questions that have come up recently, so I thought I would answer them in a single post.

BATHING:

During the winter months, I prefer to bathe my birds in the late morning or early afternoon since this is the warmest time of the day.  Once the weather has warmed up, I bathe my birds any time from early morning to late afternoon. I avoid bathing them in the evening time ...

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I have to admit that I chuckle when I read the stories about the weird bird behaviors going on at this time of year. I think I chuckle out of relief that I’m not the only one with strange birds. This year has produced some funny stories. One friend tells me...

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I came home from work the other day to find the most vile looking slop in the water bowl of Linus, my umbrella cockatoo.  As I investigated the bowl’s contents, I found several water logged pellets, bits of broccoli, toy parts and slivers of wood. I gave him some clean water immediately, and he drank several big gulps right away.
This is one thing I have never been able to understand about Linus and so many other parrots I have known. Why would a parrot fowl his ...

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Q: My bird keeps wandering over to my kitchen set to chew on the wooden chairs. Everything I have tried to make him stop has failed. What can I do?
– Donna M., Casper, WY

A: Most species of parrots are cavity dwellers. In preparing the nest site, they will sometimes need to excavate a hole into a...

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