Blue and gold macaw

I think that one of the hardest jobs here at Birdtricks is consoling owners whose birds have died. I don’t envy the ladies in customer service – sometimes it is heart wrenching.

Often people contact us because they need a shoulder to cry on – we all know how hard it is to find anyone who understands the way we love our birds. Sometimes it helps to communicate with people who you know won’t make little of your grief.

Perhaps the hardest is the contact with people whose ...

Linus hates nuts. I know…what self-respecting bird doesn’t eat nuts? He and I have discussed this at length and he doesn’t care. No nuts. End of conversation.

Some people have the opposite problem with their birds – they can’t get enough nuts and will complain, loudly, when they don’t get their daily quota. This can be a problem if you are the kind of owner that gives in to your bird’s demands -or the kind of owner that uses nuts to quiet vocalizations, as a distraction from mischief ...

Blue and Gold Macaw with Assorted Goldfish

There are times when it amazes me just what will upset a companion parrot. The smallest thing can seem to set off the world’s biggest tantrum. The latest cause for tantrums in my house just happens to be my pet goldfish.

I got rid of my outdoor pond. I got sick of fighting the wild birds, who somehow managed to get past the wire grille I’d set up to protect the resident goldfish. I moved my goldfish indoors, ...

Rosebreasted cockatoo

Hi. Dr. Killjoy here. We just concluded another fun photo contest here at Birdtricks – congratulations to the winners of Parrots On Harnesses! Your photos were amazing.

I didn’t want to bring this up in the middle of the contest because I didn’t want to kill the mood. Since the photos being submitted were of events of the past, I felt this post could wait until the contest was over.

However, it is an issue which needs addressing: flying your bird on a harness is dangerous. There is no way around ...

In the northern hemisphere, we are heading into summer at full speed. The temperatures are already climbing and air conditioning is running round the clock.

Many people think of parrots as “warm weather animals” and surmise that they are most at home in high temperatures and humidity. Given that many parrots come from tropical climates, it is not an unreasonable assumption. However, summer is actually a season bird owners need to prepare for.

What most people don’t realize is that the hot temperatures of summer are far more ...

Blue fronted amazon

This is one of those posts that I hope you never have a need for, but I encourage you to read it thoroughly so you know what to do in the event of an incident that requires this particular skill. When your bird has stopped breathing, you will not have the time it will take to locate and read this, or any other, set of instructions.

People are always surprised to learn that CPR (CardioPulmonary Resuscitation) can be done on animals. When you think about it, it shouldn’t come ...