The momentum of success is powerful. Every time I read another success story of people applying what they learn through the Bird Tricks training program, it inspires me to work harder with and devote even more time to enriching the lives of my own birds. I hope it makes you feel the same.

I particularly love this next story about a resourceful 15 year old girl who got her cockatoo to eat his veggies, all through the power of flight training.

MEET PUPPY

My Rainbow Lorikeets, Lori & Dori caged and ready for an annual vet checkup.

I have spent more time sitting in a vet’s waiting room than I would have liked recently. Three of my birds needed a vet in seven days. Naturally, none of them managed to time it for the same day. That seems to be a rule for veterinary emergencies in my house. It’s cheaper and easier for me to combine birds into one consultation so naturally, my flock seem determined ...

Camelot macaws

I live in Florida where the temperatures never get particularly cold. It is a rare occasion when we get an overnight freeze and it never lasts for more than a day or two when it occurs. I love the warm weather and I intend to make good on my vow to never shovel snow again.

However, I am not the only one who finds the climate here particularly hospitable; bacteria also thrives in warmth – and moisture, another thing that Florida supplies in abundance. Most bird owners experience warm weather ...

Nuts are high in calories and fat, it is true, and they can become unhealthy when we allow our parrots to overindulge in them. However, you should understand the part that nuts play in the parrot diet. There are species, such as the macaw, that benefit from the inclusion of nuts to their diet.

Nuts are a great source of omega 3’s – the good fats – and one of the best sources for plant proteins. Nuts in the wild parrot diet help provide the energy needed to ...

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My galah Morgy enjoying a carrot. Does this bird look like she is dying to you?

We often talk about the importance of monitoring your bird’s weight and how you need to get it to a vet fast if you have a significant weight drop. We often don’t think of a weight increase as being equally as significant and alarming. We tend to think of a weight increase as being diet related, or basically an indication that the bird is too fat. There ...

Q: My cockatiel has a ring on its leg with letters and numbers on it. What is it for?

– Beverly F., Staten Island, NY

A: The ring is called a leg band and it is intended as a means to identify your bird’s place of origin as well as some other information.

The practice of banding began in North America a couple of hundred years ago by field researchers in an effort to keep track of the populations of wild migratory birds and local flocks.

In later years, as parrots became ...