Why Is My Bird Suddenly Biting Me?
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Why Is My Bird Suddenly Biting Me?

I am so torn by my bird’s recent behavior. While I was cleaning his cage this morning, I let him roam. He was well behaved. He started pecking at the carpet and I said “No” in a stern voice. Of course, he fluffed up and waddled around.

When I finished, I gave him his bath which he loved. He just goes to the top of his cage and I spray and sing to him. After that, I got the cape I usually wear when holding him. He got all excited and came right up to my shoulder. He nuzzled and kiss my ear many times.

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The Challenge of Caring for a One-eyed African Grey
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The Challenge of Caring for a One-eyed African Grey

Aloha!

I am truly enjoying your email newsletters. Very informative.

Need some of your advice, I have a Timneh African Gray named “Saber”, now I think about 30 years old. I ended up buying him when he was about 3-4 years old. For several months I would visit the pet shop and always stopped by Sabers cage to play and talk with him.

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Why Does My Bird Sccccrrrreammm?

A Conversation with Greg Glendell, UK Parrot Behaviorist: Part Two — Screaming

A few weeks ago we began our three part series about a telephone conversation I had with noted UK parrot behaviorist and author, Greg Glendell. Because we talked for about two hours, I found it best to break the highlights of our conversation into the three main topics: biting, screaming and plucking. Part One of the series covered biting. Today I’d like to summarize some of our discussion on parrot screaming.

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Total Cockatiel Personality Change After Death of Cage Mate – What Can Be Done?
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Total Cockatiel Personality Change After Death of Cage Mate – What Can Be Done?

“Poor Popcorn”, it seems we say that a lot. She has such high expectations of us and when we cannot fulfill them for her, she lets us know, but unfortunately we can’t explain “why” in bird speak.

Since we have had her, she has gotten us well trained to serve her, she wants attention when she wants it and not most other times. BUT she does want people time every day.

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Arranging Your Bird’s Cage: the Cage Canopy Concept
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Arranging Your Bird’s Cage: the Cage Canopy Concept

Mitch mentioned something to me the other day that I had never given any thought to the cage canopy. I had more or less arranged toys in the top part of the cage, from instinct I suppose, but never knew why I did it or thought that others might not do exactly the same. 

In the wild, parrots and other types of flighted birds (as opposed to emus and ostriches (that can’t fly) spend a lot of time foraging, often on the ground. All the rest of their time is spent in the upper branches of trees.

This provides the best cover from predators by preventing the things that want to eat birds from easily spotting them while the rustling of leaves alerts the birds to the presence of some creature in time to make every effort to escape the danger. The birds play, sleep and nest for the most part in the top one-third of the tree canopy. 

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Are Himalayan Salt Lamps to Parrots what Coal Mines Were to Canaries?
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Are Himalayan Salt Lamps to Parrots what Coal Mines Were to Canaries?

Editor’s note: some of you may remember my journey enabling my mother’s return to Chicago Arlene (my mom) has been on five of the seven continents. Eight years ago at the tender age of 76, she spent three weeks traveling to China.

The Himalayas span five countries: India, Nepal, Bhutan, China (Tibet), and Pakistan, with the first three countries having sovereignty over most of the range. At the time, China had not closed the border to Tibet and she was able to spend three days there. According to mom the majesty, environment, and the purity of the air you breathe in the Himalayas – cannot be understated.

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Is it Plucking, Molting or Over-preening? Why are those Feathers on the Cage Floor?

A subscriber from our Sunday Brunch writes

I recently adopted a 15-year-old Severe Macaw whose previous owner had a terminal illness.

 

I could tell the Macaw had been taken care of meticulously from the written records of her care from Hatch Papers to recent complete blood panels however I never had the opportunity to question the previous owner concerning details of ‘Bandit”.

 

I knew the moment I saw her that I wanted her as I owned a Severe 30+ years ago and have known several over the years but none as sweet as this little girl.

 

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Fixing the My Bird Hates Pellets but I Love Pellets – Enigma
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Fixing the My Bird Hates Pellets but I Love Pellets – Enigma

Some of you realize – many of you don’t. The majority of social media posts you read were programmed days or weeks before for “future distribution”. This means whoever is pushing the erudition out won’t be around when you’re reading their content to actually engage you in a discussion about this new important “message” from the person or brand you are following.

Water from a fire hose is fine for putting out fires, but you can’t drink water from a fire hose and you can’t water plants with a fire hose. Getting information from social media is like getting information from a fire hose.

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