Blue throated macaw

Motion sickness is caused by disorientation.  When you are still and seated in a vehicle, but you can see and hear the world whizzing by, a confused signal is sent to your brain.  The inner ear knows that you’re moving, yet you are motionless.  The result is sweating, nausea, and vomiting.  Though it seems like a trick of the mind, it is very real and quite unpleasant.  Parrots, like people, can be affected during travel.

There really aren’t any rules regarding motion sickness.  Some are affected by it, others aren’t.  ...

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Blue and gold macaw, Military macaw

So many people I know are learning how to build things for their birds – from foraging trees to play gyms to outdoor aviaries.  Maybe it’s the economy, or maybe we’re just tired of paying extreme prices for the things we know are necessities for our birds, and can build ourselves.  I thought it would a great time to do a post about safe building materials and construction.  Here are some general guidelines to use:

Always use parrot safe woods and lumber. Remember the ...

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Blue and Gold Macaws

It is frequently said that a parrot has the emotional capacity of a two year old and the problem solving capabilities of a 5 or 6 year old.  I have drawn the comparison between my parrots and children many times.   It’s hard not to do when they play with toys, throw tantrums, and look to you for their care and comfort.  There are many similarities, but I think there is a place when the line should be drawn.

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Blue throated macaw

PDD is a disease that causes a failure in the parrot’s digestive system. While it is also called “Macaw Wasting Syndrome”, it is absolutely not exclusive to the macaw.  In fact, it has been seen in many species of our companion birds and their wild counterparts.

So that you can better understand the impact of this disease, first let me describe the parrot’s digestive system:  The bird breaks down food with its beak and passes it down to the crop.  The crop slowly delivers food to a two ...

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Goffin Cockatoo

I really don’t like the word “desensitizing”, it sounds so…insensitive. It is an appropriate term, however, and sometimes necessary. If you’ve read some of my recent posts, you know that Theo, my goffins cockatoo,  is often overwhelmed by new things, sometimes by old things, and that I have been concerned about how she would handle the changes in Florida.  In no particular order, these are some of the bigger concerns I had and how she actually responded to them:

1) the chaos of packing up the house – didn’t ...

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