Think about being a parrot for a minute… You are stuck in a room the size of a small bedroom for about ten hours a day waiting for your people to come home from work to let you out. All you have to entertain yourself with is...

Read more:

Military Macaw

When discussing bird toys, there are two very common statements made:  “I don’t give my bird toys anymore, she never plays with them.”  and  “Whenever I get my bird new toys, he just destroys them.”  Do either of these sound familiar?  Read on…

Toys are multi-tasking things. They should be fun, educational, provide challenges and satisfy a bird’s instinctive needs. They are there to fill the void that a caged bird might feel with limited space and social activity. They exist to be chewed on, smacked around, yelled at and ...

Read the rest or post a comment »

Blue throated macaws

This question seems to be coming up a lot recently on the birdtricks facebook page and other places I visit regularly. I appreciate that people have the good sense to ask, but it’s a very difficult question to answer without knowing the person asking it, without getting a sense of the person or what their lifestyle is. I normally spend more effort trying to talk people out of getting birds than recommending a species to them.

Owning a bird takes a lot of time and work:
Are ...

Read the rest or post a comment »

Cockatoos are weird. I’m sorry, but they are. It is this fact that makes them such a challenge, so interesting and my favorite species of bird. I understand what mine like and dislike. I know to avoid what makes them nervous or over-excited. I get it that they are high strung sometimes and that their moods can turn on a dime. One minute I can be a valued flock member; the next I’m at the top of their ten most wanted list.

Over the years I have tried to compile a mental list of ...

Umbrella Cockatoo

I had two days off in a row this week!!  I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when you work in retail, believe me, it’s rare.  It feels like spring break.  I intended to tackle some projects that needed tackling.  I actually tackled two.  And they were, of course, bird projects.

New cage covers were desperately needed for Linus, my umbrella cockatoo, and the cockatiels, so I moved this to the top of the to-do list.  I went to the quilting section at the fabric store and ...

Read the rest or post a comment »

Congo African Grey Parrot

Parrots are instinctively highly attuned to everything around them.  It is this awareness of their environment that keeps them safe from predators.  So it’s easy to understand why parrots are so quick to pick up on the energy levels of their owners and the home they live in. This is something we can use to our advantage and is just one more example of how having an understanding of a wild bird’s nature will help us with the birds we keep in our homes. Have you ...

Read the rest or post a comment »