Rose Breasted Cockatoos and African Grey

I have heard so many times that a certain parrot doesn’t like women, or that another prefers them. I have myself had a parrot that didn’t care for men – loved my daughter, liked me, hated my ex-husband.  Smart bird.

I was even told once that a female parrot is more likely to do well with a male human, and vise versa.  Where does this preference come from? Were they born with it? I don’t think so.

Often, a bird that has been placed in a rescue ...

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Blue throated macaw, Camelot macaws

Wild birds learn everything that isn’t hard-wired into them from their parents. Everything from what is safe to eat to how to bathe to what to be afraid of is learned by watching.

Many of our companion parrots have been captive bred and have not had the advantage of having a feathered mom or dad teaching them the ins and outs of being a bird.  It makes perfect sense that our parrots learn from one another.

When I first got Theo (goffins cockatoo), she was sedentary.  She didn’t ...

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Blue and Gold Macaw

None of my parrots are great talkers.  Aside from Theo, my goffins cockatoo, who has never uttered anything sounding remotely like human speech, they all have a small repertoire of words which they use when they choose to.

Libby, my quaker, is probably my best talker and has made big leaps in his vocabulary over the past year or two.  He likes to watch Pluto the quaker parrot videos over and over, and is eager to learn whatever Pluto says.  He is a long way from having ...

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Hyacinth Macaw & Camelot macaw

The very best advice anyone is going to give you is to know your bird and understand its body language. Know what calms them, know what excites them, know what motivates them.  Know what tone of voice they respond best to, and know which actions (or inactions) indicate aggression.  Know their favorite foods.

Know when they’re tired or that they are over stimulated from too much play.  This knowledge is the very best tool in helping you to control their behaviors, assessing their health and preparing their ...

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Congo African Grey Parrot

I am resistant to change.  It is my nature.  I try not to pass that trait along to my parrots, but I have to work really hard to avoid it.  I wish I had a dollar for every time I said: “Boy, I should’ve done this sooner.”   A lot of my hesitation has stemmed from my concerns about how the birds might respond to certain changes.  I’ve worried about moving because the birds are happy where we are.  I worried about starting a new job because they ...

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Military Macaw

Maybe it’s the rebellious kid in me, but nothing makes me more uncooperative than being told what to do.  Ask me to do something, sure, no problem.  Suggest that something needs to be done, I’m all over it. Barking an order to me is the surest way of seeing that I’ll get to it in my own sweet time, which might mean next month.  My umbrella cockatoo, Linus, seems to take after his mom.

I think it’s really important to allow our parrots to have some control over their environment. ...

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