About five years ago, the avian community was buzzing about two African greys that had died suddenly within twenty minutes of each other after eating grapes imported from Chile where there is little regulation and farming methods make it impossible to eliminate pesticides from food grown there.Several months later, a flock of four green cheek c...

This question comes up fairly often this time of year, so it would seem a blog post on the subject is in order!

We are always looking for ways to keep our birds entertained because a happy bird is a bird that has destroyed toys littering the bottom of the cage. When nature offers us free “toys”, we should gratefully accept.

Pine cones are wondrous little things…they are shreddable, have interesting little slots for hiding things which qualifies them as foraging toys, and they are safe…well, with just a couple of minor tweaks:

How To Find ...

 

I hope that all of you are aware by now that a bird needs fresh produce to be the largest part of its diet. Vegetables are the food most valuable to your bird and need to be offered every day.

Of course, you want to serve the best there is to offer, which is generally organically grown produce because it is cultivated using natural pesticides, as opposed to the much more toxic and dangerous synthetic pesticides, and because organic produce is usually higher in nutrients.

Not everyone has access to organic ...

 

This should be titled:  “How to buy the best veggies when you live in an area where the produce leaves a lot to be desired.”  Welcome to Orlando!  What a disappointment it has been to find this city so short on choices and quality. The Whole Foods here just isn’t getting the job done for me. The limited selection is often...

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A:  Times are tough.  We are all tightening our belts and following our budgets to the letter.  When it comes to our bird’s diets, it’s important that we do the very best we can, everyday.  The most important thing is that we keep the veggies coming, in whatever form is the most affordable and practical for our budget.

Organic veggies and fruits do have a lot to offer: ...

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So many people I know are learning how to build things for their birds – from foraging trees to play gyms to outdoor aviaries.  Maybe it’s the economy, or maybe we’re just tired of paying extreme prices for the things we know are necessities for our birds, and can build ourselves.  I thought it would a great time to do a post about safe building materials and construction.  Here are some general guidelines to use:

Always use parrot safe woods and lumber. Remember the ...

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