Galah/Rosebreasted Cockatoo eating Eucalyptus Flowers

At the start of each year, I tend to reflect on the past. This year I’m asking the question: If you could go back in time to when you got your first bird, what is the one thing that you would tell yourself or wish that you’d known?

I used to think the answer to that would be “Birds don’t just eat seed” because I look back on the birds I had as a ...

There has been a video circulating for a couple of years that depicts a parrot on a counter top feeding long strands of pasta to a large dog waiting below. It is an adorable video of an interaction between two species that are not naturally seen together. While it is touching and sweet, I cringe every time I see it.

There are two parts to my discomfort. First, there is the idea of a prey animal and a predator interacting. I can’t tell you how many stories I have ...

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Every now and again, people write to me complaining that they have seen a photo of me with a bird on my shoulder. People tell me that I shouldn’t allow this. I’ve also had some negative feedback about perch location in some of my aviaries. Some of my perches are above my eye level. I am told that this is a terrible idea and very dangerous.

Now you’d think high perches and having a bird on your shoulder are completely different topics? I’m grouping them together because the ...

Camelot macaws

Q: I make a lot of toys for Puffin, my african grey, by myself. Her favorite ones are the hanging toys that I string up with rope, but now she bites through the rope and they end up on the bottom of the cage and get “messy”, if you know what I mean. I want to use chain so she can’t bite her toys down but I don’t what metal is safe to use. What do you suggest?

Ashley G, Scranton, OH

 A: This is a great question because while ...

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Did you know that YOU are a trainer? Blue and gold macaws

Does the idea of training your bird put you off? Are you thinking: “I don’t want to train my bird, I just want it to behave”? Are you unwilling to begin a process that you might not have the time or energy to commit to?

I get it. Life is busy and complicated enough without having to delegate time to training an uncooperative bird.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: you already are a trainer. You train ...