Using Your Energy When Working with Birds

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African Grey

Energy is very important to parrots and how they react to us. Our birds can sense our every mood change, reading both your body language and the way you look to them in UV. They can perceive many more colours than we can, and – as the Island Parrot Sanctuary once put it to me – because of that, they know you better than you know yourself. They can see your mood.

One of the things I try and do with new or ...

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Why Social Dominance Theory Does Not Apply To Flocks

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Aggressive Senegal Parrot

Dogs and parrots are very different creatures, but as humans, we often try to draw comparisons to their behaviour. Canines being a creature that most everyone has had experience with, a lot of owners will try to draw connections.

For instance: The theory of height dominance. The idea is that birds move up high to try and ‘one-up’ their people.

First, let’s look at a parrot’s motivation for climbing up out of reach. A bird ...

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The Unique Skill Set of the Small Bird Owner

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Cockatiel

 

Before we talk about owners, I think it’s important to talk about their birds first: I do not believe in so-called beginner parrots, or graduating from one species to the next in order of size. This is because I believe that all parrots are made equal. The number of grams they weigh does not define them as ‘beginner,’ ‘intermediate’ or ‘advanced’ – in essence, buying a budgie will only ever teach you how to work with budgies.

My parrotlet is an aggressive, somewhat bipolar fellow ...

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How to NOT Be TERRIFIED Of Parrot Bites


Umbrella cockatoo bite

“My amazon parrot sent me to the emergency room for stitches last night. He has never bit me like this before and even though I know it happened because of hormones I’m afraid of him now.”

-Gina B., Dayton, OH

This is an important topic – especially for a time of year where people are frequently bitten. A bird’s behavior in the spring (and to a lesser degree in the fall) can seem erratic and unpredictable. ...

 

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Are Human Snack Foods REALLY Bad For Birds?


Camelot macaw

Q: I was on another bird site and someone said that potato chips were toxic to birds. I have given chips to my african grey many times and he has never gotten sick. He loves chips and I don’t want to have to take them away from him unless they really are bad for him. Are they safe or not?

-Michelle B., St. Petersburg, FL

A: There is a big difference between something being toxic and being bad for ...

 

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Gardening for Parrots and People: Ten Easy and Nutritious Foods to Grow for Your Flock

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My Senegal Parrot helping my garden

Gardening for parrots is not the nightmare you might imagine, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t have a green thumb! Now that spring is here, it is the perfect time to start planting for you and your flock — or to begin planning for the summer. Start small. Anyone with a garden or little patch of grass can grow their own produce, and doing so is a great way to save money. Feeding your flock is, after ...

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