Blue and gold macaws

Periodically, I write a post to remind everyone to try to keep stress from entering into their dealings with their birds. It is sometimes hard to avoid. Parrots are complicated creatures that we struggle to understand and uncertainty creates stress.

There are some topics that are very complicated which cannot be ignored. Nutrition is one of them because a bird’s health relies on a good diet. Safety issues are another for obvious reasons. But if you have questions there are places to go, such as here, where ...

My elderly Galah/Rosebreasted Cockatoo is around 64 (human) years old.

This is the longest blogpost that I have ever written so I give you that warning and apologise for the length but I’m trying to be fairly comprehensive as this information isn’t easy to find if you need it. (Don’t worry – I believe in using pictures to break things up!) This post contains information for a stage of life we all hope our birds will get to. If your bird reaches old age ...

Goffin cockatoo, Theo

A couple of weeks ago, I was cleaning Theo’s cage and noticed one of a parrot owners most dreaded sights: the tattered remnants of feathers – evidence of feather destruction.

Whenever we discover feather destructive behaviors (FDB) in our birds it is heartbreaking, but this was a particularly distressing discovery for me given Theo’s background.

I took Theo in about 6 years ago from a home where she had lived for almost all of her life – she was 23 at the time. It was a good home and she ...

Adult raven flying in to his nest (hidden in the thicker foliage) in order to feed his chicks.

There are few things that I enjoy more than watching wild birds go about their everyday business. Lately, I have been lucky enough to have a pair of ravens nest within metres of my bedroom window. Ok, sometimes we’ve had our disagreements (any wild bird can attack). Generally though, I’ve been very happy to have them around and have made a point of scaring local ...

We get a lot of feedback about Birdtricks.com’s sales pitch. Much of it is less than complimentary – it seems that many people hate the way Birdtricks.com sell their products. I feel strongly that this topic deserves its very own blog post.

I recall getting a comment on a post I wrote some time ago in which I relayed information on a specific health issue that is usually brought on by poor diet. I used the opportunity to push our cookbook at the end of the very informative post.

The commenter politely thanked me ...

Eclectus parrot female

You have to be very selective when buying products with a bird in the house.

The marketing world is a confusing place…it is also a manipulative place. Products are brought to our attention by people who want us to buy them. ...