Parrot-medics Real Life Drama in the Avian ER! Are You Prepared?
Veterinarian examining Alexandrine parakeet in clinic, closeup

Parrot-medics Real Life Drama in the Avian ER! Are You Prepared?

I admit there are times that I struggle to find topics and content that would be interesting to caged bird keepers. Much of the time though, the blog writes itself. A little known but highly reliable source for content on our blog is “customer reviews”

Catherine likes calf’s liver. I won’t eat out of a pan that has cooked calf’s liver. That does not make calf’s liver inherently bad. I’ll tell you right off the bat that if you give a product one star because “your bird didn’t like it” (think calves liver) we treat it like a review on calves liver – love it or hate it , it’s still good for you and because I don’t like the taste of it does not make it a bad source of nutrition and the review won’t get posted.

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Why Does Your Bird Preen and How the Heck Do You Pronounce Uropygial?
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Why Does Your Bird Preen and How the Heck Do You Pronounce Uropygial?

LOL – Sunday I put my female DYH Amazon in the sink. she never preens herself like most birds do! I don’t know why! She is healthy, so??? Anyway, she was looking a little rough around the edges so I gave her a bath in the kitchen sink! She deals with it but it isn’t at the top her list of fun things to do!

The comment above was about the image below posted in parts of the black hole of the internet known as social media. 

that’s Popcorn our cockatiel who uses her tail

to dust the crown molding just below our 10-foot ceilings

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How to Get Your Bird Used to Toweling for Restraint
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How to Get Your Bird Used to Toweling for Restraint

and Why It’s Essential

This is a follow-up to our recent post about learning how to restrain your bird using the zombie death grip.

The grip goes hand-in-hand with toweling a bird when you need to restrain it for maintenance like nail trimming or a first-aid emergency.

Speaking of emergencies. You have to love technology (or not). It’s been a very wet summer so far much of which has come in the form of storms.

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The Skinny on Lafeber Nutriberries and Avi-cakes
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The Skinny on Lafeber Nutriberries and Avi-cakes

As you read this, the conflict between the Hatfields and the McCoys is probably still raging but in keeping up with the times it probably sounds something like “Hey Edgar McCoy, stay off my Facebook page or my family will hashtag you with some really bad stuff” tagged Ralph Hatfield – 18 likes – two shares – or something like that. 

And so the debate rages about how a seed diet is bad for birds. Pellets are the only thing you should feed your birds, saving seeds only as treats is something that I read a lot on the Internet – so must be true. Tell that to the parrots who for generations in the rainforest never once fed off the Mystical Magical Pellets tree.

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I Lost My Bird or I Found a Parrot Are 2 Problems W/ Interchangeable Solutions – Think, Don’t Panic & Have a Plan
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I Lost My Bird or I Found a Parrot Are 2 Problems W/ Interchangeable Solutions – Think, Don’t Panic & Have a Plan

While cruising one of my subreddits – parrots (yes Virginia there are more social media sites than Facebook) a woman posted she had found an African grey parrot who is now locked in a room by itself so her dogs don’t get to it. 

She was seeking “care” advice and people were giving it to her. No matter that the bird might’ve had a microchip that could be scanned by a local veterinarian. No matter that the bird’s human family is probably freaking out.

sigh

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Control Your Bird With the Amazing Zombie Death Grip!
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Control Your Bird With the Amazing Zombie Death Grip!

We buy mortgage insurance for our homes and auto insurance for our cars.

We buy cars with airbags because they’re safer

We wear bicycle helmets.

We make our kids wear bicycle helmets.

When we have a babysitter watch our children we provide a list of numbers where we can be reached.

We bring a bird into our home who could conceivably be with us for decades and yet we fail to take the fundamental steps to help us cope with avian emergencies that will – eventually happen.

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Is Tea a Magic Potion for Your Bird? Should You Be Using It?
Is Tea a Magic Potion for Your Bird? Should You Be Using It?

Is Tea a Magic Potion for Your Bird? Should You Be Using It?

Hello Mitch:

Love your birdie brunch and have learned much from it.

Do you know whether or not it’s harmful to give a budgie green tea? Don’t know if you heard of the lady with the 26-year old budgie who claimed he was so long-lived because they shared a cup of green tea every day.

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Can the lack of change in your bird’s life drive it’s bad behavior?
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Can the lack of change in your bird’s life drive it’s bad behavior?

I received a phone call from a woman with a 15-year-old Blue Front Amazon.
He was in the original cage he had come home in 15 years ago.
The cage needed replacing and she was seeking a residential model.
Because he didn’t like being in the (24″ x 24″ brass) bird cage he had his own room.
In the room was his own futon.
He perched on top of the futon where he’d been whittling down the wood for a while and spent a lot of time under the futon on a blanket.

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7 Edge of Your Seat Tantalizing Heart Pounding Bird Bathing Videos
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7 Edge of Your Seat Tantalizing Heart Pounding Bird Bathing Videos

Don’t blame me. Marketing said to use that title.

Parrots in the wild bathe by receiving a gentle misting on a regular basis simply by enjoying the rain. In this video, you’ll see a Lorikeet in Australia having a wonderful day sucking nectar from flowers while bathing courtesy of Mother nature. One-way Lorikeets get nutrition is just like Hummingbirds, from the nectar found in flowers.

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