Quaker Parrot

This question came up on the birdtricks.com facebook the other day.  In order to answer this question, I think it is important for you to know what tea is and how it is sometimes used.  This way you can make an informed choice for your birds.

What is tea?

Simple enough! Tea is a beverage made by brewing the leaves, buds and twigs of  the tea plant (camelia sinensis) in hot water.  After allowing the tea to steep for a few minutes, the plant is strained out.  The longer you ...

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In the early morning hours, as the sun is rising and weather permitting, wild parrots all over the world visit clay licks on tall riverbanks to eat dirt.  This practice has long confounded bird watchers, conservationists and scientists alike, and while all of the benefits of this activity are still a mystery, more and more is being discovered and understood.

Wild parrots forage on plants, their fruits and their seeds as part of  their natural diet.  However, plants naturally produce chemicals, poisons, that protect themselves, their ...

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Photo: A bad macadamia nut, rejected by a hungry hyacinth macaw.

Parrots love nuts.  Many of our parrot species require them in their diets, such as the macaw.  They are part of their diet in the wild and contain many of the fats and oils necessary to maintain energy.  Since this is such a popular parrot food, it is important to be sure that you can recognize their quality and freshness.  Nuts do become rancid and their shells can contain mold spores that can give your bird aspergillosis (typically a fungal infection of ...

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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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Umbrella Cockatoo

Breakfast time!  There are four macaws, four cockatoos, three parakeets, two cockatiels, one congo african grey, a swainson’s toucan and a quaker waiting patiently for their breakfast every morning.  On the menu today is fruit pasta blend, fresh broccoli, beets, sweet potato, and kale.

Breakfast time is always one of my favorite parts of the day.  I really enjoy the preparation of foods and I love seeing the birds watching everything I do in anticipation of their first meal.  I often let one of the birds be my “helper” ...

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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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