Teaching Parrots to Be Touched All Over

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Senegal Parrot

 

People instinctively crave touch, as to us, it means empathy, love, and affection. To a parrot, however, touching outside of the head, neck, and feet means that you are initiating sex, very simply. A parrot can be perfectly happy without touch, though many love it.

We should not be touching our parrots outside of the head, neck, and feet, as it brings such frustration to our birds. If continued, human touch can actually spur hormonal attacks in our feathered pets. There are a ...

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How to Import Pet Birds Into the U.S.A. – the Complete Saga.

Senegal parrot in his IATA-approved travel box.

Senegal parrot in his IATA-approved travel box.

 

A lot of people want to know how to import pet birds into the U.S.A. (in my case from the UK), and having recently experienced this, I can tell you bringing a parrot or finch into the country is not easy or cheap. But it will be utterly worth it if you decide to go through with it, for everyone involved.

I’ll do my best to explain!

To ...

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On Grieving for Our Pets

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Cockatiel.

 

It is very difficult to write, but as some of you may have read in a previous post, our cockatiel passed away on New Year’s Eve. She dive-bombed a closing door. There was no party, no hubbub, nor anything out of the ordinary. Mishka the cockatiel simply made a bad decision.

It has been a terrible shock to everyone – to me 3,600 miles away and not sure how to process this, and to my partner, who has been left with the aftershock of losing ...

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Are Scentsy Products Safe To Use Around Birds?

Wax warmer photo from amazon.com

This question comes up often and creates enough confusion that it merits a blog post.

When I am asked questions about the safety of a product, I get online and I research. I consider the opinions of all sources, both pro and con, and take what information they offer and further dissect it.

Because most of the products in question are on the market for human use, there is precious little out there that is directly relative to birds. This means looking hard at not only the ingredients ...

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A Bird Tricks Success Story: Meet Spike the Galah!

I am loving this new series we have begun on sharing people’s success stories with the Bird Tricks’ training program. It is incredibly uplifting and inspiring to hear about more and more people realizing that having a bird is so much more than just something pretty in a cage to add to their household décor. This next story is particularly near to my heart as it’s a great example of my fervent belief that no matter what the start your bird has had in this life, no bird is untrainable – every bird deserves the opportunity to live an enriched ...

 

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Accidents Happen: A Conure Dies From Being SAT On

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Samantha and her Green Cheek Conure "Phoenix". One of Phoenix's favourite toys were Samantha's tops. He'd dive right in.

 

Every now and again you hear a story about a bird that sticks in your mind and just doesn’t go away. It makes you stop for a moment and re-look at what you do with your own birds. This is one of those stories.

 

I received an email from a Birdtricks.com follower that many of you may know as a regular poster to the ...

 

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