I recently saw an ad on the Internet for bird training treats. What was interesting to me was in recommending bird treats similar to NutriBerries. Don’t get me wrong we love NutriBerries and think it’s a great treat, just not for training.
Before I get ahead of myself when I speak of training when it comes to birds (horses and dogs do well with this) I talk about clicker training.
We talked about wing clipping adversely affecting your bird’s feet and that clipping your bird’s wings may cause your bird to scream more
One of my favorite things to do is “muddy the waters” will. Wing clipping is not simply a two-dimensional subject. It’s not just about whether should I clip my bird’s wings or not.
Greg Glendell One of Europe’s foremost parrot behaviorists talks about the “quality of wing clipping” here (more…)
Okay all you cage bird keepers whose birds have clipped wings, I can see all of you rolling your eyes from here. “What’s he up to now Virginia? How in the world can wing clipping and screaming be related?”
Today I have science on my side – and who can argue with science? From the blog “the Scorpion in the Frog… It’s in our nature” by Miss Behavior who’s real name is Sarah Jane Alger and she is a biologist
Mitch,
Are you saying you don’t keep your birds in a cage? Ever? Like they just roam around the house all day?
How do you keep from stepping on them, what about electrical cords that might look like a toy to them while you’re not observing?
What about things like china plates on a hutch they could fly into and hurt themselves?
I would love to let them lose but how would I keep an eye on them say if they’re upstairs and I’m down? They get into EVERYTHING!
Imagine a world where you spend every day looking at, reading about, or having conversations with other pet bird keepers. File this under “be careful what you wish for.” That said I will tell anyone upfront, I’m not an expert on caged bird keeping. I don’t have a degree – in anything. I haven’t written a book – yet.
How many times have you watched in awe as a flighted bird hops off the top of it’s cage – flap flap flap then lands on an inch wide piece of ceiling crown molding or a computer monitor and in bird speak says “What’s up?”
Never giving a thought to that gravity thing that keeps the rest of us tethered to Mother Earth. These are special creatures indeed.
It’s been my observation that most caged bird keepers fail (sell, re-home or give to a rescue) because the birds are unable to adapt to the keepers expectations.
From a Facebook threadWindyCityParrot.com Hi as I don’t have a Facebook page I would like to comment on your article about keeping parrots in the uk.It is true that some people are horrified that I have five parrots. I have an orange winged amazon an African grey,a greenwing macaw, a Ducorps cockatoo, and a galah.
Normal Values for a Small Bird
Normal Values for a Large Bird
We have a 10-year-old Yellow Nape Amazon. He is a constant source of entertainment and wonder. He eats several fresh foods regularly and also enjoys Roudybush medium pellets.
One of his/her favorite activities is to tear into a fresh pepper hanging from a spike in the cage. Anything from Hatch to Jalapeño, to Poblano, and even an occasional Habenero, is fair game. (more…)
A couple of months ago we talked about the how to’s of traveling with your bird. the physical portion of terrestrial travel doesn’t change whether you’re traveling in town or across the country.
You can travel with your bird by air or by car. We talked about Disaster preparation with your bird. Here’s a great page that outlines what you need to do and lists a whole bunch of pet friendly hotels and motels which dovetails with our talk about travel today.