Foraging

This is more of a photo thread then anything, but photos are such fun, right? I wanted to give readers a hint of how easy implementing low cost, enticing foraging opportunities can be. I was cleaning and rearranging cages, and introduced some foraging toys for the caiques.

This was one of my caiques cages, Higgins, before cleaning and re-arranging

This is the cage after. It looks like a whole different setup, when in fact very few new elements were introduced. Its all a matter of creative re-arranging and implementation of ‘old’ toys.

A foraging toy that I made more interesting. Stuff with coffee filters, and the popsicle sticks for chewing pleasure.

As you can see, the cage and foraging toy were a big hit!

Why your pet parrot, needs bird toys

Why Your Parrot Needs Bird Toys

Just like children, your birds / parrots can benefit from having and playing with toys! A baby bird that is busy with its bird toys is not eating your wood furniture or ripping your leather jacket that you left out. Toys can help sooth your birds chewing need and calm them while you are away. From bird swings, boings, shreddable toys to puzzles, there is a toy for every parrot.

Bird toys give your bird safe items to explore - birds seem to be fascinated with dangerous household items. When your bird(s) are attracted to items they should not have - giving them one of their toys is the PERFECT distraction. Give them lots of attention when they are playing with their toys. When your parrot is playing with an item that you do not want them to play with — ignore them! If you need to take away a forbidden item — do not give your bird any attention, simply take the item away (negative attention is attention in your birds mind). If your bird tries to entice you into a game of look-at-what-I-have-you -better-get-it-me try getting one of their toys and start playing with it. When they come to get their toy, that is a great time to use your Clicker Training System because that is the behavior that you want! Soon they will choose their toys over the other items that do not get them attention.

Birds benefit from being challenged. A bored parrot is going to find a way to entertain itself, maybe by eating your couch or re-wiring your tv/ stereo system! When you are shopping for bird toys make sure you get a variety of sounds, textures, and challenges. Some sound toys make noise when you bite them them, others when you shake them, others you just have to nudge — Baby, our sound loving blue and gold macaw, will work with a bird toy until he has figured out how to destroy it in the most effective way, or how to create the most noise. Chino, who is a Umbrella Cockatoo mix loves foraging bird toys. Chino have to figure out how to get puzzle toys apart, Chino loves to take the apart over, and over again.

Some Parrots just love destroying their toys. Just like the children who you give a new bike to, only to have them take it apart! Baby and Chino rarely take apart their toys; however, when they do the pieces (we call it a carcass) become treasured toys. You should see Chino prance around the play gyms, play stands carrying and shaking whats left of her bird toy.

If you need help selecting the right bird toy for your parrot, let us know — we are just an eMail away!

Toy Tips

* Foot and Beak Toys are great to help challenge your bird into a variety of agility skills while having fun and being entertained in multiple ways .

* Foraging Bird Toys are perfect to entertain your pet. They bring out the foraging / hunter instinct and can get that couch potato moving.

* When buying toys for your pet look for a variety of shapes, colors, sounds and textures. This will keep your bird(s) challenged and entertained.

* Puzzle Toys are meant to relieve boredom and entertain your pet parrot. These toys tend to hold their attention for long periods of time.

* If your pet is anxious when you are away try recording your voice - hearing you can calm your pet when you are away.

* When you get a new toy for your parrot - make sure you supervise them with it to make sure that it is safe for them. Every bird will respond to various types of toys differently.

* Try rotating your bird toys - have a few out at a time. You can also hide toys because a “found” toy is just so much fun!

Reccomended Online Bird Toy Retailers: http://www.BirdToys.com

The Biggest Myth

By Ken Globus

You hear it over and over again. You read it in magazine articles and books by virtually all of the popular behaviorists. It’s repeated in Internet chat rooms, on message boards, and email rings and is echoed at bird club meetings everywhere: “Never use gloves. Birds are afraid of gloves.”

Oh, yeah, that’s right. Birds ARE afraid of gloves. But then, birds are afraid of lots of things. In fact, they’re afraid of anything new. And yet nearly all the well-known, influential bird experts staunchly forbid the use of gloves. So, what’s the result of their sage advice? When birds bite, their owners feel frightened and helpless and back off.

What’s the result? Your bird bites. Ouch. You back off. When you approach it again, it is with some hesitation. Your movements are tentative and jerky. This makes the bird more nervous, so it bites with more conviction. “After all,” he’s thinking, “if that bite got him to go away, I’ll do it again.” Now you’re even more hesitant to get close to your bird. So, you back off. The bird is rewarded with exactly what it wanted - to get you to go away. The next time, it bites harder. In other words YOU’RE TRAINING YOUR BIRD TO BITE.

I contend that the no-glove rule does more harm to people/bird relationships than any other misinformation. And it is promoted by virtually all the experts. With something as important as this, wouldn’t you think that those pushing this theory might have taken the trouble to find out if the rule actually holds up under scrutiny? Well, I did. And it doesn’t.

Want to stick a bare finger in here?

Birth of a Legend

So, where did this pervasive concept, that birds are afraid of gloves, come from? In the days when I first started working with birds they were mostly wild-caught adults. People believed that because the imported birds had been roughly handled with gloves during capture, transit and quarantine, birds built up a negative association with the bulky hand gear. It seemed to make sense, since birds recoiled at the sight of them. But birds aren’t wild-caught today and they still recoil from gloves. Even birds that are hand raised babies. Why?

Anyone who spends a lot of time around birds soon realizes that birds are afraid of ANYTHING new. You can change your hair color, put on a hat, new nail polish, introduce a new toy to its cage, and your bird might wig out. So, rather than there being a negative association with gloves, it’s the fact that gloves are something new that scares birds.

Get Over It

If using a glove is the only thing that will keep you from being hesitant or backing off, my advice is, use gloves. Birds soon become accustomed to them and in a very short time the gloves can be abandoned.

What if you were Superman? What if you were invulnerable? Impervious to pain and injury? You could tame any bird in the world. So why do people let fear of pain keep them from taming their birds? Remove fear from the equation and you’re on your way to a tame bird. Want to be less vulnerable, less frightened? Wear gloves. And hold the kryptonite, please.

When I work with a new bird, the first thing I do is test to see how committed it is to biting. Only then, if necessary, do I put on gloves for the first minutes of a session. The bird soon realizes that biting is not effective and it stops. At that time I slip off one glove and continue with one gloved hand and one bare hand. Then the second glove comes off and the bird hardly notices the difference.

Another “F” word

Another benefit of the gloves is to help lower your fear level so you can remain calm enough to keep your energy low and move your hands in a slow, smooth, fluid way. Birds don’t perceive fear as much as they perceive what makes them fearful. And it is almost totally visual. The way you move your hands makes all the difference. So, it doesn’t matter how afraid you are; I can have sweat running down my spine, but as long as I’m able to control my energy and movements and project a sense of calmness, the birds respond well.

So Much Malarkey

So, what would it take to convince you that the glove thing is a myth? Here’s what got me. Like the majority of my most important realizations about working with birds - and the glove issue is a major one - it is the birds that taught me how to work with them. And this one came about totally unexpectedly. I was working with a very aggressive bird, a passionate biter. I had to wear gloves or I would have been shredded. I had worked a few minutes on the biting behavior, getting it to stop biting, then do step ups, etc. Then I slipped off one of the gloves. What happened next really surprised me and it was as clear as a bolt from the blue. The bird recoiled at the sight of my bare hand! So, now do we have to say, “Birds are afraid of bare hands!?” Of course not. The bird had gotten used to being touched by my gloved hand, but not the bare hand. It was that something new was added to the mix. And that same thing has been repeated with many other birds; not every time, but often enough to clearly indicate that birds are afraid of change, not gloves. Once again, I want to emphasize: The glove thing is nothing but a myth!

Here’s another compelling piece of evidence: In a bird club program in Salt Lake City I worked with a wild caught adult Orange Wing Amazon. It apparently had negative experiences with gloves and was more than a little afraid of them. I didn’t need to work with gloves with the bird because it was not biting very hard, but I decided to demonstrate something for the audience to illustrate my point. When I went near the bird with gloves it squawked and recoiled. Then I handled the bird with gloves, exposing it to what it was afraid of. In a few minutes, I handled the bird with one bare hand and one gloved had and it accepted either hand equally as well. Again and again the birds teach us.

Empower Yourself

Get gloves that reduce collateral damage, but are supple; you need to feel what you’re doing. You’ll find that what gloves do for your confidence is invaluable. And having confidence is a big part of being able to lower your energy and help your bird become more comfortable with you. That’s anything but a myth.

Glove Me Do

Here’s a photo showing Arlene, a Redondo Beach workshop participant , with her African Grey. Arlene had lived with this bird for years without ever being able to touch him. After Ken got the bird accepting his touch, he blended Arlene into the process. Because she was fearful, Ken had her start with gloves. After a couple minutes she gained the confidence to remove one glove. At this point the Grey related the same to the gloved hand and the bare hand. And, for the first time, Arlene was touching her bird.

Many photos on this web site show Ken and others working in various combinations, with gloves, with one gloved hand and one bare hand or with both hands bare. When you get past the bird’s aggressive stage you can blend in the bare hand. I do this as quickly as possible.

All You Need is Glove

You can find gloves at your local hardware store. Ideally, you would want them snug fitting; the more slack, the easier it is for a bird to get a hold of soft tissue. They should be thick enough to provide protection yet supple enough for you to feel the pressures of your touch on the bird. No welder’s gloves or oven mitts. A cowhide work glove will do just fine. Lamb is better. Goat is the strongest for the thickness. Deerskin is my favorite. It’s very flexible and supple, but also a bit expensive.

When I do workshops, knowing that I may have to handle as many as twenty birds in a weekend, I usually put self-adhesive bandage (also known as vet wrap) on my index fingers. Great protection.

Also, when dealing with a bird that repeatedly takes chunks out of my forearms, like the large macaws, I wrap them in Ace bandage (the forearms, not the birds).

The Fist of Iron

The Fist of Iron

No, it’s not a chop-socky movie… it’s a simple, effective way to get close to a bird that’s hand-shy and aggressive

If you make a fist and bend your wrist as far as it will go, you’ll notice that the skin on the back of the fist becomes very tight. In fact, on most people, it’s too tight a surface for a bird’s beak to get a hold on. And it creates a safe place (a “sweet spot”) for you to use to get your hand near a nippy bird. In this way, it’s similar to the “heading” technique. Bring your fist up to the bird very slowly, finding out where its striking range is. Making gentle contact with the bird’s beak helps get it used to your hands, to being touched and helps it gain trust. It can also be used to fend off an attacking bird.

***Keep in mind that you must use care and judgment with this technique. It is still possible to get bitten if you’re not alert and agile. You don’t just thrust your fist at the bird’s beak, you must keep the center of the back of your fist, the “sweet spot”, where the skin is stretched tight, lined up with the bird’s beak. If the bird moves its beak to bite you, you must move your fist accordingly. Otherwise it will simply bite you on the edge of your hand where the flesh is soft. Also, approach the bird with your hand at a distance and let the bird demonstrate how far its striking range is. Then slowly move into the range so the bird is only able to barely touch the back of your hand when he is reaching out to bite you. ****

This workshop participant uses the “fist of iron” to approach an aggressive macaw

After a few failed bite attempts Fred, this Sulpher Crested, begins to calm down and nibbles harmlessly at Ken’s “sweet spot.” Fred is already becoming comfortable with hands.

Moments later, Ken is freely cupping Fred’s head and kissing him. Fred’s enjoying the contact.

The fist is also great to protect yourself from an aggressive bird. Let’s say your bird gets territorial and starts attacking you when you go to feed it. Or it goes after your feet when it’s on the floor. The Fist, brought slowly toward the bird’s beak, can be used to control the bird, move it away from you, hold it off and let it know that you are not about to be driven out of the territory.

Managing Chronic Egg-laying in your Pet Bird

by Dr. Anna Osofsky, DVM of Carrollton West Pet Hospital * (972)492-1828

Introduction:

Chronic egg-laying occurs when a bird lays more eggs than is normal during a given period of time; unfortunately, it is a common problem in pet birds. Although any species can be affected, it is most common in cockatiels, budgies, lovebirds, canaries and finches. Contrary to what many people think, birds can lay eggs without having a male available to mate with. Often, the bird perceives a person in the family or an object (such as a toy in their cage) to be her mate. Chronic egg-laying can lead to many severe medical problems such as egg-binding, egg-yolk collecting inside the abdomen, and fractured bones due to calcium loss. Because of these medical problems, it is important that we work together on reducing the number of eggs your bird lays.

What you can do at home:

There are many things that you can do at home to try to reduce the number of eggs your bird lays.

Removing any perceived mates: Birds will try to find ways to mimic their natural environments as much as possible; thus, they may try to find something to act as a mate whether one is available or not. Pet birds often consider one or more of the people in their family as a mate, toys or certain perches in the cage can act as stand-ins, and other birds in the household can, of course, be perceived mates. Try to remove contact with any perceived mates; for example, remove toys that your bird is mating with or reduce contact with the person the bird thinks of as a mate. Try to restrict petting to the bird’s head. Sometimes, the bird will masturbate on anything (food dishes, toys, perches etc), in which case it is impossible to remove perceived mates.

Removing any nesting material: If your bird is spending time at the bottom of the cage shredding newspapers or paper towels, these must be removed. Contact paper can be applied onto the bottom of the cage for easier daily cleaning of droppings and food. Newspaper or paper towels can be used when the bird is not trying to lay eggs. Nest boxes should only be provided when breeding is a goal.

Leaving eggs in the cage as long as the bird is interested in them: This will allow the bird to try to go through her normal behaviors after laying the eggs. If she is actively sitting on a clutch of eggs, she is less likely to continue laying. If her eggs keep being taken away, she may continue to lay eggs so that she can have something to sit on. If the bird has absolutely no interest in the eggs, they can be taken away. If your bird is sitting on the eggs at the bottom of the cage, make sure her food and water are easily accessible.

Decreasing day-length: Birds usually lay eggs when day-lengths are long (e.g. in the summer). By making your bird think it is winter, you may be able to reduce the number of eggs being laid. The bird should be kept in complete darkness for 14-16 hours a day (so only 8-10 hours of light); if any light is available during the dark period, this will not work. A walk-in closet or guest-bathroom may work best for providing complete darkness for this length of time. Some birds (e.g. cockatiels) breed during the rainy season and may initiate egg-laying when it is raining. Though we cannot control the rain, if you have a fountain near your bird or flowing water your bird can hear, this may increase her egg-laying.

Changing the environment: Birds need to feel secure to breed. If you can move your bird to a different place in the house and change her cage around a bit, you may make her feel insecure enough to stop laying eggs.

Nutrition:

In addition to trying to reduce the number of eggs laid, it is important to make sure your bird is on a good diet; an all seed diet increases the risk of egg-binding and fractured bones due to malnutrition. Ideally, we’d like small birds (cockatiels, lovebirds, and budgies) that are chronic egg-layers to have 50% of their diet be good quality seed and 50% be healthy fruits, veggies, and bird pellets. Larger birds should have no more than 10% of their diet consisting of seed. A cuttlebone should always be available to birds that are in lay so that they can increase their calcium intake in addition to what they receive in their regular diet.

Medical treatment:

Despite your best efforts, your bird may continue to be a chronic egg-layer even though you have followed all the recommendations for environmental changes. In these cases, or if your bird has become sick from egg-laying, medical treatments are needed.

Calcium supplementation: Egg-laying requires a HUGE amount of calcium, most of which is used to make the shell. Birds, especially those on an all seed diet, can quickly become calcium depleted, leading to serious medical problems. Thus, it can be helpful to supply additional calcium to your bird when she is actively laying. We can prescribe a calcium syrup that you can give to your bird via syringe once to twice a day or you can place the syrup in the water daily. Keep in mind that when your bird is NOT laying, the calcium supplementation should be stopped or it can potentially cause kidney problems in your bird.

Lupron injections: Lupron is a reproductive hormone that can be given to birds to stop egg-laying. It may initially cause an increase in reproductive behaviors but should then suppress them starting about 3 days after the injection. Each injection should last approximately one month, but the actual time may vary. Lupron does not work in every bird but it is quite safe and can be very effective. Lupron injections are moderately expensive but are an essential tool in treating birds with reproductive diseases. In addition, the injections may eventually stop working over time.

Surgical treatment: “Spaying” your bird is the most definitive way to stop egg-laying and it can be life-saving. However, there are downsides to this procedure. First, it can be costly. Second, there are significant surgical and anesthetic risks. Finally, at present when we “spay” a bird we only remove the oviduct and uterus and must leave the ovary in place. As a result, we estimate that in about 10% of birds, the ovary will continue to try to release eggs but they will have nowhere to go. These birds then have egg yolk in their abdomen and can become sick. This complication does not occur in most birds but it is important that you are aware of the risks.

When to call your veterinarian:

Chronic egg-laying can lead to many secondary health problems. Please contact us immediately if your bird has been trying to lay an egg for a prolonged period of time but has not been able to pass it, if your bird is not passing any droppings, if your bird is bleeding from the vent, if you notice tissue protruding from the vent, if your bird is lethargic, if your bird is sitting fluffed at the bottom of the cage, or if your bird is not eating well. Please also contact us (though it is not usually an emergency) if your bird’s eggs become soft-shelled or malformed as these can indicate problems to come. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the information in this handout or concerns about your bird—and thank you for trusting us with the care of your special family member!

A Water Bottle For Your Bird

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Are you considering buying a water bottle for your bird, but don’t know what to look for? When buying a bottle for a parrot, you must consider the following:

- durability

- safety

- ease of use

- size

The size of the bottle is very important- consider the size of the bird, size of the beak, in comparison to the size of the bottle and spout. You don’t want to spend twenty or more dollars on a bottle that you later find out to be suited for a canary, when your bird is an amazon! You also want to consider what the bottle is made of. The cheaper alternatives are made of plastic in varying ranges of thickness. While plastic bottles may be OK for smaller birds, birds with larger beaks are more apt to do serious damage to the bottle. Look into the heavy duty glass bottles (that normally resemble old milk bottles) for birds larger then a budgie.

You also want to make sure that the spout is made of a bird safe material. Some of the cheaper bottles are plastic spouts, and something you do not want to risk is your bird being able to bite right through the spout and flooding its cage. Look for bottles that are outfitted with stainless steel spouts.

Is the bottle easy to use? Some bottles appear to be ok, but then the ball sticks or is hard to manipulate within the spout, restrcting water flow. Other bottles may be easy for the bird to use, but hard for the human to change out on a daily basis. Even though the water bottle holds more then your average water dish, you want to make sure to change out the water on a daily basis, so considering ease of use from the humans point of view is beneficial.

There are many brands of bottles to choose from, everything from Oasis brand water bottles, to Lixit. Lixit are the most popular brand, and for good reason. Their water bottles come outfitted with stainless steel trappings, and the bottles are heavy glass that will stand up to a lot of ‘beaking’. My birds each have a glass Lixit bottle and I am very pleased with them- they are easy to clean, stand up well to large beaks, and do not leak. Lixit also offers an interesting alternative to purchasing their bottle kits- they sell the bottle heads/spouts that fit in any standard size glass bottle (such as a snapple bottle), so that you can make your own waterbottles for a cheaper price.

Even if your bird has a water bottle as its source of water, also considering giving your bird the traditional bowl as well. Since many birds are natural ’soup makers’, giving them an outlet to dunk their food will prevent attempted ‘dunkings’ in the spout of the bottle. There are also some species that ‘backwash’ for sanitary reasons, like amazons, so having an open source of water like a bowl is important. I personally use both water bowls and dishes. I’ve found that my birds enjoy drinking out of the bottles, and will dunk their food in the bowls but then go to the bottle to actually drink from. Please remember to carry out the same sanitary precautions with a water bottle as you would a bowl.

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Are you considering buying a water bottle for your bird, but don’t know what to look for? When buying a bottle for a parrot, you must consider the following:

- durability

- safety

- ease of use

- size

The size of the bottle is very important- consider the size of the bird, size of the beak, in comparison to the size of the bottle and spout. You don’t want to spend twenty or more dollars on a bottle that you later find out to be suited for a canary, when your bird is an amazon! You also want to consider what the bottle is made of. The cheaper alternatives are made of plastic in varying ranges of thickness. While plastic bottles may be OK for smaller birds, birds with larger beaks are more apt to do serious damage to the bottle. Look into the heavy duty glass bottles (that normally resemble old milk bottles) for birds larger then a budgie.

You also want to make sure that the spout is made of a bird safe material. Some of the cheaper bottles are plastic spouts, and something you do not want to risk is your bird being able to bite right through the spout and flooding its cage. Look for bottles that are outfitted with stainless steel spouts.

Is the bottle easy to use? Some bottles appear to be ok, but then the ball sticks or is hard to manipulate within the spout, restrcting water flow. Other bottles may be easy for the bird to use, but hard for the human to change out on a daily basis. Even though the water bottle holds more then your average water dish, you want to make sure to change out the water on a daily basis, so considering ease of use from the humans point of view is beneficial.

There are many brands of bottles to choose from, everything from Oasis brand water bottles, to Lixit. Lixit are the most popular brand, and for good reason. Their water bottles come outfitted with stainless steel trappings, and the bottles are heavy glass that will stand up to a lot of ‘beaking’. My birds each have a glass Lixit bottle and I am very pleased with them- they are easy to clean, stand up well to large beaks, and do not leak. Lixit also offers an interesting alternative to purchasing their bottle kits- they sell the bottle heads/spouts that fit in any standard size glass bottle (such as a snapple bottle), so that you can make your own waterbottles for a cheaper price.

Even if your bird has a water bottle as its source of water, also considering giving your bird the traditional bowl as well. Since many birds are natural ’soup makers’, giving them an outlet to dunk their food will prevent attempted ‘dunkings’ in the spout of the bottle. There are also some species that ‘backwash’ for sanitary reasons, like amazons, so having an open source of water like a bowl is important. I personally use both water bowls and dishes. I’ve found that my birds enjoy drinking out of the bottles, and will dunk their food in the bowls but then go to the bottle to actually drink from. Please remember to carry out the same sanitary precautions with a water bottle as you would a bowl.

“But He Doesn’t LIKE It….”

I offer a wide range of parrot behavior consulting services and am privileged to consult with owners as far away as Australia, Japan and Canada. Each consultation is tailored specifically to meet the client’s needs, and is conducted in as thorough a manner as possible. In each case, I attempt not only to target solutions to particular behavior problems, but also provide up-to-date, accurate education regarding species-specific nutrition, caging, social issues and environment.

For additional information about my consulting services click here.

“But, he doesn’t like vegetables!”

“But, he’s afraid of showers!”

“But, he won’t sit on other perches…he afraid of them!”

I hear these, and similar, protestations frequently, in response to recommendations I have just made, recommendations aimed at improving a parrot’s quality of life, which will in turn serve to reduce or eliminate existing behavior problems. These reactions have given me a good understanding of just how frustrated owners can feel when trying to introduce new foods and experiences to their parrots. They know that their bird needs showers, and should eat fresh vegetables. They know about the dangers of a parrot getting too cage-bound. However, they often eventually feel powerless in their efforts to introduce new things or experiences to their parrots, in the face of the resistance their birds routinely and vociferously offer.

Not only can it be difficult to figure out how to introduce new things and experiences to a parrot, especially a mature parrot, but also we find ourselves reluctant to push very far in this endeavor. I observe a widespread need among owners to make their birds happy. This is quite understandable. They certainly bring joy to us in so many ways. We want to give back to them and make them as happy as they make us. Thus, as we live with them we seek to discern what they like and concern ourselves enthusiastically with providing those things.

The Owner’s Appropriate Role…

Teacher and Protector

A parallel phenomenon I observe is a reluctance on the part of the owner to take the upper hand with his parrot, not in any authoritative manner, but as a flock leader who actively seeks to teach and guide the parrot during the parrot’s learning process. I have often mused at the genesis of this tendency. We seem almost to sit in awe of our parrots, afraid to impose ourselves on them perhaps, or to even be a little physically afraid of them.

In discussing wing clipping, I regularly ask clients how many flight feathers their bird has clipped. They usually have no idea. They not only apparently have no ability to handle their bird in such a way as to be able to look and observe the answer to this question, but they don’t even see it as their responsibility to know this. And, yet, the number of flight feathers and the way the wings are clipped are critical to many aspects of the human-parrot relationship. There is some unspoken barrier there that apparently keeps many owners from really developing a true intimacy in their connection with their birds, in both a physical and an emotional sense. Perhaps because we know we lack a true and complete understanding of them, we are reluctant to push too hard, especially if we don’t have the tools to know how to do this effectively.

Recently, I was astonished to hear a client tell me that she had never asked her African Grey to do anything he didn’t want to do. This woman loves her parrot and wants badly to do a good job with him. However, she bought him as an unweaned baby, and as a result of her lack of knowledge of the sort of instruction young parrots need, as well as her reticence to serve as his “instructor,” he is now, at the age of two years, a bird that doesn’t even know how to step up and can not be handled. And, as you might imagine, the quality of his life is much less then if she had been less concerned with what he “likes” than with what it was her responsibility to teach him.

Unfortunately, many parrot caregivers allow their choices about handling, feeding, and care to be guided solely by what their parrot seems to like. However, this is a concept that has very little validity when it comes to our companion birds, at least in terms of how it should guide the choices we make about how we care for our birds.

The Concepts of Like and Dislike

Humans have contrived the concepts of like and dislike. They are ideas directly reflective of and generated from our egos. In our crowded and pressure-filled society, in which we ourselves can feel so invisible, we define ourselves in part by what we like or don’t like, comparing this knowledge with the likes and dislikes of others. In this manner, we build a concept of our own individuality and an understanding of how we differ from others.

However, parrots have no ego. On the most fundamental level, their primary concern is with survival, and similarities with other flock members are much more likely to insure this than their differences. In order to insure his physical survival, a young parrot in the wild is patterned into the ways of the flock, so that he will be best equipped, as the older members are, to survive and breed. Once he becomes patterned to the ways of the flock, new things that appear in the environment frequently spell “danger” and he is instinctively programmed to react to them with caution.

In captivity, when we experience from our bird an adverse response to a new item or experience we have attempted to introduce, in most cases, this response is based solely on this same instinctive response, not upon any ego-driven need to assert his own personality. Parrots live with one foot in our world of logic and reason, and one foot in their own world of instinct. This is largely what makes them such delightful and magical companions. They have the intelligence and ability to think and respond that allows them to participate in relatively sophisticated relationships with us. However, much of their behavior is not a proactive response, but an instinctive reaction, to what we have offered. Further, this instinctive reaction is largely influenced by the patterning the parrot receives during the first two to five years of its life.

Parrots are fundamentally creatures of patterning. When living in the wild, they receive their early pattering from their parents and other members of the flock during the years prior to becoming sexually mature. Thus, for African Greys and other medium-sized parrots, their period of patterning will occur between fledging up to the age of two or three. For larger parrots, it is likely to extend even further.

Let’s use our imaginations to take a look at what type of patterning might take place when young parrots fledge and leave the nest for the first time with their parents. This is when the most influential patterning begins in earnest. The first task, once the young fledglings have achieved a measure of competence in their flight skills, is for them to learn where to find food, what types of food are to be eaten and how to manipulate the food in such a way that they can successfully eat it. Their parents and other flock members of course, lead these early foraging trips.

Do the parent birds take the babies out to a certain foraging site and say to them, “Here…take a bite of this, and if you don’t like it, then we’ll make the whole flock fly over there so that you can try something else?” Of course not. Instead, I feel certain the message communicated would look more like this: “Here…this is what African Greys eat. We are African Greys. Thus, you eat this, and here’s how to do it.” For young parrots in the wild, the world is as it is. They learn about it, about their own place within it, and that is that. Their survival depends not upon individuality and exercising any likes or dislikes they might have, but upon following the flock and doing what the flock does.

In captivity, examples of this early tendency toward patterning are everywhere around us, and especially evident in second-hand birds when we provide a new home for them. In fact, our success in helping them to adjust can depend upon how much of this earlier patterning can be discovered from conversations with the previous owner or “divined” from observations made of the parrot himself. An example: An owner who had adopted an older large macaw was perplexed and frustrated at his behavior. Enthusiastic about improving his life, she had provided

him with lots of physical freedom, lots of time out of his cage, as well as a great diet and the opportunity to interact with other large macaws. She could not understand why he had become so aggressive. Although this is not the whole story, she found that when she gave him more cage time and kept him further away from the other birds, he became calmer and less aggressive. His early patterning in his last home had included life as an only bird, as well as long hours and often whole days spent in his cage. Thus, even though greater freedom and the opportunity to be around other parrots seemed on the surface to be a real kindness, it created problems in his behavior because he had been patterned to feel comfortable with just the opposite. Examples such as this abound.

The fundamental truth is that, as prey animals who derive their physical safety from living in flocks, parrots are instinctively “programmed” to learn their survival skills during their early years before they begin to breed and are fully independent. Whether they are in the wild or in our living rooms, they are learning…every minute…and this learning takes place as patterning. A young parrot is instinctively programmed to look to a “flock” leader of some sort to teach him what he needs to know. If he lives with a loving human who is unaware of this responsibility and works instead to please him and discover what he “likes” so that he will be “happy,” it sets the stage for a myriad of misunderstandings and ultimate behavior problems.

In an ideal situation in captivity, both the breeder and first owner are cognizant of their appropriate roles in a young parrot’s life. First the breeder, and then the new owner, take an active role in teaching him about new toys, bathing, eating a variety of foods, entertaining himself, and all of the other skills which will ultimately insure his success in captivity, whether he stays in his original home or goes to another at some point.

In fact, this is a major reason why selling parrots as unweaned babies can be so detrimental to the parrot’s eventual quality of life. Aside from all the issues surrounding problems that result from changing hand-feeders and the inexperience of the new hand-feeder, the new owner is likely to know little about how to provide the learning experiences to the young bird that he needs. In fact, often this same person is working full time. The young parrot sits in a cage all day, learning nothing, and in this void, begins to demonstrate problem behaviors, such as repetitive calling.

It is also important to understand that much patterning also takes place in a more passive manner as well, in that the parrot will “imprint” on physical circumstances, such as cage size and type, diet, cage location, bonds to other pets, the type of treats shared with the human, etc. This early pattering dictates later what the parrot will feel comfortable with. Thus, for example, a young parrot who has a primary bond with a woman during his first three years may be likely to always prefer females in subsequent homes. A young parrot, who lived in a standard powder-coated parrot cage for several years, may have terrible problems adjusting in a new home when provided with an acrylic cage. These examples I hope serve to illustrate the importance of both intentional and unintentional early patterning.

As most of us know, the ideal scenario described above occurs in only a small minority of cases. Most parrot owners are currently living with older birds that were not patterned when young to have a full set of living skills appropriate to life in captivity. Usually, because of this, they are dealing with behavior problems of one sort or another. Even in the best of cases, usually at least one or two important skills are missing, and the owners are helpless in the face of the parrot’s instinctive reactions to remedy this, despite their best intentions.

Thus, we have come full circle in this discussion, back to the challenge of providing such skills to these older birds, in other words “re-patterning” them. However, it is not as difficult as it appears to re-pattern an older bird to accept new foods and experiences, as long as it is done with skill, compassion and an understanding of the process. Further, it is our responsibility to each and every bird that comes under our care to work to make sure that the lives they live with us are as full as possible.

Things to Understand before Beginning

Before attempting to re-pattern an older parrot, certain knowledge is necessary. It is important to understand that it is the absolute responsibility of the owner to gently, in a trust-building manner, work to broaden a parrot’s living skills, in such a way that he is eating a healthful diet, showering frequently, able to be handled, etc. Such things should be introduced slowly and with sensitivity to the parrot’s reactions, and if the parrot shows initial fear or hesitancy, we must provide constant reassurance and be careful not push too quickly or too far. However, neither must we waiver in our efforts. Sally Blanchard has often said that, when behavior problems are not resolved, it is usually because the owner didn’t do the right things for long enough. The same statement could be made regarding parrots who are never successfully re-patterned to have better skills.

Second, we must understand some things about the both the physiological and instinctive nature of parrots. For one thing, parrots tend to react to different things in the environment based upon their visual experience. Much of a parrot’s instinctive behavior is based upon his visual experience. Parrots have vision that is significantly different from ours in several ways. Most owners know that parrots are able to see into the ultraviolet (UV) portion of the light spectrum, while we are not. Consequently, many objects look quite different to parrots than they do to us.

I have several times heard African Grey owners on the Internet state that their parrots hate the color red. Since Congo Greys have red tails and the degree of health of an individual bird could be indicated by the depth of this coloring and might indicate desirability when choosing mates, common sense might dictate that perhaps something else was at work in the reactions these people had observed in their parrots. For instance, a parrot may react to a red article of clothing that is made from a synthetic fabric, because the color on that fabric looks different and startling to them under the UV portion of the light spectrum. Does the parrot’s reaction mean that he doesn’t like red? No, it means that there was something about the appearance of the shirt under UV light that startled the parrot. It was an instinctive reaction, not one based upon color preference.

Another way in which the vision of parrots differs from ours is that they have two foveas, instead of one. A fovea is an area of the retina most densely packed with sensors. Most mammals and we have one. According to Gould in The Animal Mind, parrots have two, so that they are able to look ahead at what they are eating, while at the same time looking to the side for predators. Often, when parrots demonstrate a startle reaction, it occurs when they have seen something “out of the corner of their eye” or from the side. I have often wondered if perhaps some instinctive programming exists which dictates that things viewed from the side will purposely elicit a more fearful reaction than do objects viewed from the front.

Thus, when introducing new things and experiences, it is important to not move too quickly, physically, but to pause and allow the parrot to view the “scene” or item or room carefully from all directions, but especially looking at it from their front.

Secondly, as referred to above, parrots are conservative, wary creatures likely to respond to anything new in an adverse manner. Thus, owners should not give such reactions much “weight” when they are observed. Again, new things are introduced cheerfully, with reassurance, in “baby steps” by an owner who acts with the conviction that he is doing the right thing for the parrot and that the small amount of anxiety the bird might experience along the way will not be detrimental in the long run.

In fact, this is really the true manner in which owners establish themselves as “flock leaders” with their parrots. This much-discussed concept is never really achieved through any type of dominance or control. It is achieved through the process of the owner assuming a leadership role, teaching the parrots about new things by introducing them in an appropriate manner, which in turn, leads the parrot into depending upon the owner to show him what he needs to know and reassure him through the sometimes “scary” process of learning. Thus, a relationship akin to child and parent is established, which helps to prevent the frequently developed mate-bond type of relationship between owner and parrot which can be so problematic once the parrot reaches maturity.

Re-patterning Diet

Most frequently, my discussions with clients of what parrots like and don’t like centers around diet. The owner has fed fresh carrots and corn, and decides to give the parrot broccoli. The parrot takes one look at it and tosses it down. The owner concludes that the parrot doesn’t like broccoli. Is that a valid conclusion? No. It means that he has not been patterned to recognize broccoli as valuable food. As we have said, parrots will react with aversion to many new things that are introduced. The very qualities that insure their survival in the wild, will hamper their ready acceptance of new experiences in captivity, once they have grown past the fledgling stage.

I frequently work with clients to re-pattern their birds to eat a healthier diet. Granted, many are the theories about what a healthy diet even is. This is arguable. However, for the purposes of this article, we are going to assume that the healthiest diet includes a vast amount of fresh, raw food, since this is what parrots eat in the wild. It also needs to include enough complete protein to satisfy the requirements for replacing healthy feathers annually and meet energy needs.

Fresh foods contain certain nutrients that cooked and manufactured diets can’t possibly include. Among these are myriads of enzymes. Enzymes, so necessary for optimal health, are destroyed by heat and processing. For one thing, enzymes initiate all cellular activity. Enzymes also break down toxic substances so that the body can eliminate them without damaging the eliminative organs. Animals in the wild consume large amounts of enzymes as a result of their primary raw food diets. IN addition, as I have pointed out in previous articles, a fresh diet foraged from the wild is also high in essential fatty acids, which are also destroyed by heat and manufacturing. Thus, to me, it simply appears to be common sense that a creature that has evolved to enjoy the greatest health from eating live, raw foods should, in captivity have a large percentage of his diet provided in similar form.

Diet and nutrition have grown to be one of my greatest concerns, because with each passing year I see more and more frequently a correlation between behavior problems, especially feather picking, and diet. Thus, I encourage clients to feed a wide variety of fresh, raw foods, cooked grains, cooked legumes and beans, and fresh nuts, some seed and some pellets, as well as a source of complete protein occasionally.

Upon first suggesting this, I am always met with reassurance that an individual parrot will not eat what I am suggesting. However, I personally have converted many, many of my own rescued parrots, as well as those of clients to this type of diet. In doing so, I make use of a layered fresh food mix. The instructions for making this are included at the end of this article. By using the recipe for the layered mix and the following instructions, you will be able to successfully convert any parrot to a fresh food diet that includes tremendous variety.

The diet itself has several advantages. First, there’s no need to chop fresh foods every day.
Second, parrots are very visual, as well as wary, creatures as we have said. When fruits and vegetables are fed singly, or in large pieces, or in small combinations, and you add something new, it is likely to be rejected solely on the basis of the fact that it is visually unfamiliar. When you feed a mix like this, you can put anything into it and it will be accepted because the appearance of the mix hasn’t changed overall.
Third, this mix is exciting for the birds, and allows them a foraging experience. They never know what they’re going to find in their food dishes and show considerable interest when I feed them. A huge amount of variety can be achieved. Greens and the types of vegetables used vary from week to week. The pasta shapes are varied (alphabet, whole wheat, elbow, etc.). You can use other types of citrus instead of oranges, including grapefruit, lemons, tangerines, etc. Instead of grapes, you can substitute fresh blueberries and pitted ripe cherries, or fresh cranberries. Instead of the 17-bean mix, you can use a soak and cook mix. Instead of grated carrots, you can use cooked and chopped sweet potato or winter squash. The possible variety is endless.

Fourth, parrots that won’t eat pellets, often will when they are combined into this mix because (1) they are part of an exciting mix, and (2) they will be slightly softened by absorbing some of the moisture from the mix.
Lastly, I leave this in the cages from 7:00 am until 4:00 pm, which you can’t do with mixes that have been frozen or cooked. Since the majority of the foods are neither cooked nor frozen, they stay fresher longer. Temperature, moisture, and the breakdown of cell walls increase bacterial growth. This mix tends to be relatively dry, because the pasta and pellets absorb the vast majority of the moisture. Further the cell walls in the fruits and vegetables are largely intact because they have not been broken down by either freezing or cooking. In hot weather, it tends to desiccate rather than spoil.

Directions for Converting a Parrot to a Fresh Food Diet

Using the Layered Fresh Food Mix

The following instructions have been written with the assumption that the parrot has had unlimited access to seed, whether other foods have been fed or not. If the parrot has been eating a diet of only pellets, then the instructions should be modified to eliminate the dish of seed that is provided in Step 1.

1. Begin with four dishes in the cage - pellets of choice (no dyes or preservatives hopefully), a high quality seed mix, water and the fresh food mix. The fresh food mix provided at this time should contain a ratio of 50% high quality seed mix and 50% fresh layered mix. Pellets may be added to this mixture, if desired. The latter will not be eaten for several weeks. Get over it. Serve this twice a day, in the am and in the late afternoon or evening, for the sole purpose of creating a pattern of feeding and allowing the bird to get used to looking at it.

2. The day you see the bird exploring the fresh food mix in order to eat the seed out of it, you make the following change in your procedure: Each morning, you remove the seed dish and have only three dishes in the cage - pellets, water and the fresh mix, that is still 50/50 seed and fresh foods. Each evening, you again feed the fresh food mix, but give the seed dish back. We don’t want a bird undergoing diet conversion to be hungry. A hungry, anxious bird does not make behavioral changes gracefully.

3. The day you see the bird with a piece of fresh food in his mouth, or observe that he has eaten some of it, then you eliminate the seed dish completely. From that point onward, you provide only three dishes - water, pellets, and the fresh mix that is 50% seed and 50% fresh foods.

4. A month later, and on each succeeding month, you decrease the amount of seed in the mix until it is down to between 10 - 20% of the mix. So, for instance, if you remove the seed dish on February 1, then on March 1, you will begin to feed a mix that is 40% seed and 60% fresh mix. On April 1, you will begin to feed 30% seed and 70% fresh foods. And so on. The amount of seed can be decreased more quickly if the parrot is really eating the fresh foods well. In my personal opinion, the final amount of seed included should be approximately 10% for New World parrots, such as Amazons, macaws, Pionus, conures, etc. For African Greys and Cockatoos, I include 20% in the final mix fed.

Readers should note that this particular mix is still not what I would call a “complete” diet, for a parrot should also receive a large variety of cooked grains, and nuts in moderation. I believe that, in feeding parrots, the goal should be to achieve an abundance of variety. However, this gives the owner a good start toward this goal.

The Introduction of Showering

Showering a bird is another area of great difficulty for the parrot owner. Many settle for misting the bird with a spray bottle, since an initial attempt at taking him into the shower produced such fear, the owner was reluctant to try it again. Still other birds demonstrate fear of both the shower and the spray bottle, and thus do not get bathed at all unless they do so in their water dish.

I personally believe that showering in the bathroom until drenched is a necessary life skill for a parrot to have. For one thing, they need the drenching regularly for good feather health. Second, in our environment, they are exposed to more airborne substances than they would otherwise be in the wild. For this reason also, they should be drenched until thoroughly wet once or twice a week. And, I don’t know about you, but showering a bird with a spray bottle until drenched is not a happy proposition. Everything in the surrounding area gets soaked, it takes a long time, and my hand gets tired. Thus, call me suspicious, but I often doubt whether all these birds being showered with spray bottles are really getting as wet as they need to be.

Teaching a bird to shower in the bathroom with you is not difficult, once you understand that it must be undertaken in “baby” steps. Necessary equipment includes two shower perches, one for the bathroom mirror and one for the shower wall. Please make sure that these have four suction cups holding them onto the surface. There are many styles available, and I have tried them all. I believe that only those with four suction cups are safe. It is also helpful if you replace a stationary showerhead with a hand-held model.

Instructions for Introducing the Showering Experience

The following instructions are written with the assumption that the parrot is even afraid of the bathroom. The speed with which the owner can proceed to the next step can be increased according to the comfort level of his own parrot.

1. Take the parrot into the bathroom and let him look around. If he seems comfortable and interested, show him the contents of the medicine cabinet or a drawer. If he seems nervous and anxious, take him back to his cage after just a brief look into the room itself. Continue this once a day until you can show him all around the bathroom and, by his body language, you can see that he now feels comfortable being in the room. This introduction “honors” the parrot’s visual experience.

2. Take the parrot into the bathroom and place him on the shower perch that is attached to the mirror. If he seems reluctant to get on it, gently encourage him. If he still persistently resists, tell him, “That’s okay…you can do it next time,” and return him to his cage. If he will sit on it at all, but is very nervous, just leave him there for a minute and then take him off again, praising him extravagantly and returning him to his cage. Continue this daily practice until the parrot readily gets on the perch without protest and can sit there comfortably.

3. Begin to take the parrot into the bathroom and have him sit on the perch attached to the mirror while you shower. This will allow him to get used to the sound of the water running, the sight of the shower curtain opening and closing, etc.

4. When he seems completely comfortable with accompanying you to the bathroom and sitting on the mirror perch, then begin to place him on the perch in the shower while you bathe. Make sure that this is at the end furthest from the water source. Don’t expect to get him wet. Just let him watch you. If he seems very nervous the first time, then after a minute, take him out and place him back on the mirror perch. Gradually, his comfort with sitting on the perch in the shower will grow.

5. When he can comfortably sit on the perch in the shower and watch you bathe, begin to allow a little of the spray to bounce off of you onto him. Gradually, begin to spray him with the hand-held showerhead, or hold him under the spray, increasing the time you do this as his comfort-level increases.

I have a variety of species of all ages and backgrounds, but I have taught them all to bathe in this manner. Some have come to love it and some only tolerate it. However, even those who still protest a little and seem only to tolerate the experience often reward me with a happy shake and tail wag once the experience is over. The truth is, they feel better for it.

Breaking Things Down

These have been two examples of introducing new experiences, provided in detail with the hopes that owners will see how “doable” these things are. The introduction of new things and experiences becomes a process that we learn to accomplish. We become successful at it with more practice, if we keep in mind the tendency of a parrot to react instinctively and do not misinterpret this or take it too seriously, and if we learn to break new experiences down into very small steps, always proceeding in accordance with the parrot’s comfort levels, remembering never to push too quickly. At all times, what we do should be, to use Sally Blanchard’s well-contrived phrase, trust building. It will not destroy trust to introduce new experiences and foods, even if the parrot becomes slightly anxious in the process, as long as we work to minimize that feeling for him and reassure him constantly during the process.

Jane Hallander once pointed out in an article that it is often the toweling experience at the vet’s office, if the parrot has been toweled from above, that triggers phobia in a parrot. This is quite true. However, I do not believe that this would be so, if the parrot had been introduced to traveling in a car and to toweling by the owner in a safe manner and environment previously. A parrot who has been “sheltered” and then who is taken by car to a strange place and is toweled from above is very likely to have a bad experience. However, if the owner has introduced traveling in the car in small steps until the parrot feels completely comfortable with the experience, and has toweled him herself at home many times, this whole scenario is prevented. In effect, in the scenario which Ms. Hallander so wisely described, the parrot was “set up” by the owner to have the phobic incident because he was already so stressed by the time he arrived at the veterinarian’s office by all of the other unfamiliar things with which he was dealing.

Any new experience or thing can be introduced to our parrots if done with sensitivity and if we proceed slowly. And, the bottom line is, as their caretakers, it is nothing less than our responsibility to keep working at it…slowly but surely.

Recipe for Layered Fresh Food Salad

The following instructions will allow you to feed a diet high in live, raw foods with minimal effort. This diet has several advantages, not the least of which is that I can feed fresh foods to multiple parrots on a daily basis, while only chopping fruits and vegetables once a week. I have successfully used this recipe to feed anywhere between 12 and 40 birds.

For those of you with only one or two parrots, this recipe will need to be modified. You may find it easier to create a similar “salad” every two to three days, or to try creating two or three smaller containers, each of which will last two days… giving you a week’s worth of food. (Bear in mind that every time you open a previously mixed container and dish a serving out, you are introducing bacteria. Thus, a salad that is served over the course of two or three days must be watched closely for signs of deterioration.)

The size of containers you use will depend upon how many parrots you are feeding. When feeding 30-40 parrots, I used seven 2-gallon containers. Currently, I feed 13 parrots and use seven containers that each hold 1.1 gallons. My daughter uses this recipe with her single parrot and makes three containers that hold 4 cups each. Some experimentation may be necessary to achieve the correct quantity, but the end result will justify your efforts.

Once a week, I layer in plastic storage containers the following:

Layer 1 (bottom layer) - chopped greens, which are varied each week. One week, I’ll use collard greens and parsley and mustard greens, and the next I might use Swiss chard, kale and dandelion greens.

Layer 2 - chopped (1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes) vegetables, including any of the following: Brussels sprouts, zucchini and other summer squash, jicama, red or green peppers, fresh hot peppers, chayote squash, green beans, fresh peas, cucumber, cauliflower, celery, anise root, etc.

Layer 3 - chopped broccoli and chopped, sliced or shredded carrots

Layer 4 - a mixture of chopped apples, oranges and whole grapes

Layer 5 - frozen mixed vegetables.

The containers are then placed in the refrigerator (don’t freeze).

This mix stays fresh in these tubs for up to seven days for three reasons. First, layered salads stay fresher longer than those that are mixed up. Second, the orange juice from the chopped oranges filters down and slightly acidifies the mix. The frozen mixed vegetables placed on top super-cool the mix immediately (cold air sinks/warm air rises). I do also wash all the fruits, vegetables and greens with Oxyfresh Cleansing Gele, which not only gets them clean but also has some anti-bacterial action.

Use: each morning, I empty out one container into a large mixing bowl. At that point, I add the following:

1. Cooked beans (I prefer to soak and cook dry beans, which are then stored in the freezer in bags until defrosted and added to the mix. However, canned beans can also be used.)

2. Cooked or sprouted grains. (A rice cooker is an invaluable kitchen appliance. Any grain can be cooked to perfection in a rice cooker, then cooled, and frozen in serving sized portions.)

3. Dry, uncooked, whole wheat pasta.

4. Other soft fruits in season (blueberries, peaches, plums, kiwi fruits, melon, etc)

5. A small amount of high quality parrot seed mix.

*Sometimes, in order to generate a little excitement, I’ll sneak in some pine nuts, walnut pieces, flax seeds, Molucca nuts or other item of interest. (Usually, I feed nuts separately, but I like to use this fresh mix to surprise the parrots – since it also offers them a true foraging experience.)

When making the mix each week, strive for variety, alternating the vegetables, fruits, grains and beans that you include each time you make the mix. Also keep in mind appropriate proportions when creating the mix. I suggest the following: Cooked beans 15% - 20%, cooked or sprouted grains 20%, raw pasta 5%, fruit no more than 20%, greens 5%, seed mix no more than 4% - 10%, vegetables at least 30% - 40% of the mix.

This recipe can be adapted for any number of birds with a little creativity, by reducing either the number or size of the containers used or both.

All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without permission from the author.

Frostie the Dancing Cockatoo

Internet Marketing Targeting Parrot Owners

Barbara Heidenreich has published a position statement on marketing practices companion parrot owners may encounter. Buyer beware.

Internet Business Practices that Target Companion Parrot Owners

One thing that’s a sure giveaway that a “professional trainer” is more interested in making money than disseminating knowledge is a total lack of references to other trainers’ resources or qualifications, and claims to have the “secrets!” that others don’t. Respected professional trainers work together, not in competition.

— Carly Lu’s Flight Blog

Our favorite rainforest…

… soundtrack.

Someday I’ll realize my dream of living in a treehouse.

No screaming parrots, screaming monkeys, or new age flutes on this one (unless they’re in your living room). Half sunny, half rainy. Everyone here is quite relaxed and chattery with it on. Except me, who is quite relaxed and napping with it on.

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