Goffins cockatoo, Theo nesting in her pellet bowl. The bowl has been replaced with foraging toys for her pellets.

“Hormones” may be a bird owner’s least favorite word. It is hormones that bring on the breeding behaviors that cause peculiar routines, odd interests and sometimes intimidating aggression. The likelihood of being bitten increases dramatically and sometimes we react to their behavior in ways that results in problems that last long after the season has passed and the hormones are gone.

The funny thing about the reproductive hormones is that they are self-perpetuating. ...

Umbrella cockatoos may be quiet sometimes, but they have the capability to produce an ear-splitting scream like a dying, wounded animal.

We can’t expect our parrots to be quiet all the time. Many species are naturally noisy, such as sun conures, amazons or cockatoos. While we can train our birds that excessive screaming isn’t okay, I feel that it’s important to allow them to let off steam sometimes.

Enter the scream session…

Try making time for a sanctioned (and planned!) ...

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Blue and gold macaws

This summer I had the opportunity to meet Chris and Misty, a couple that Dave Womach worked with on a behavior consultation involving their moluccan cockatoo. They were at the Womach’s house graciously offering their time to disassemble some of the indoor cages for the Womach’s final move to Idaho.

In talking to them, I realized that Dave had managed to drive home a really important message during the consult. Chris said to me that he was relieved to find that the source of the problem was him ...

Q: Is it safe to feed uncooked pasta to my birds?

-Julie B., Syracuse, NY

A: It is fairly common knowledge that pasta is safe for parrots. However, most people would no sooner think to serve it to their birds uncooked than they would eat it that way themselves.

Dried pasta is has a couple of distinct advantages. It is firm and holds its shape making it ideal as a safe vessel for foraging or as a plaything. Additionally, even though it’s food, it does not collect bacteria while dry making ...

Cockatiel.

Each of my birds has been instrumental in teaching me something, be it the importance of certain aspects of their lives, like training, or that persevering does pay off. But Mishka the cockatiel taught me nearly everything I know about birds. It was usually slow going. She was not the best teacher, true, but I was not always a fast-study, either.

I mentioned in my first post, here, that she – who is actually a he, by the way! – came to ...

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Q: Should I peel my bird’s fruit and vegetables?

-Christopher B., Jackson, MS

 A: Many rinds or skins taste bitter to humans and it is our habit to remove them. It seems right to prepare our parrot’s foods in much the same way as we prepare our own. However, we are short changing them when we do. Not only do parrots like a lot of bitter tasting things, but some of the best nutrients in produce are found in the parts we typically throw away or avoid eating.

• Kiwi – the fuzzy outer skin of the kiwi ...