Blue fronted amazon

Q: My cockatiel has been sneezing a lot lately. Is that normal?

-Joshua P., Balzac, Alberta, Canada

 A: There are many reasons a bird will sneeze. The nares (see photo below) are your bird’s nostrils. When they collect dust or if an object, such as a seed hull, were to get lodged in them your bird will force air through their passages to disperse whatever is obstructing them. This will result in what is called a “dry sneeze”, a sneeze that does not expel any fluids. You can expect these types ...

Can dogs, cats and birds live together?

Photos and videos of birds with other pets tend to start wars on social media. There are many people that swear their dogs and/or cats are best friends with their birds but there are just as many tragic stories where those friendships end in disaster. It’s a tough topic.

There are two main reasons to be concerned about letting your birds interact with your dogs and cats. The first and most obvious is the fact that you’re trying ...

Green-winged macaw feathers.

My flock started off rather by accident. Despite knowing what a bad idea it was, I ended up going into a pet shop near my university one day before a lesson. I saw two adorable wee canaries and had to have them. My boyfriend, Oliver, reluctantly agreed. How much trouble could two fluffy songbirds bring?

Quite a lot, as it turns out – though indirectly! It was through my belated in-depth research on canaries that I discovered parrots.

I knew right away ...

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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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The distinctive brightness of a well-fed Rainbow Lorikeet is unmistakable.

My flock contains a few parrots that require a specialised diet, which makes mealtimes a little more challenging at my place. This is particularly true for my lorikeets.

Lorikeets and lories are known for their need for a specialised wet diet. In the wild they largely feed on pollen, nectar and wild fruits. Some species of lorikeet (such as the Rainbow Lorikeet) have a tongue that is adapted to enable them to more ...

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Budgies

We may talk about large birds here a lot at Birdtricks.com, but the fact is that we are also small bird keepers and we have learned that the smallest of our birds sometimes occupy the largest places in our hearts. My cockatiels are beyond precious to me.

Something that really bugs me is when the small birds are treated like second class citizens. Even though the message about appropriate parrot diet and enrichment has reached more and more people, somehow the small birds are still being overlooked.

People getting larger birds are ...