Are Birds Happy When They See Us After a Long Absence?
Image of a black-headed caique parrot.

Are Birds Happy When They See Us After a Long Absence?

Miriam writes to us with a concern,

Hello there! Trying to find a past blog relating to my current situation, and value your input.

My Caique is staying with my parents for about 37-40 days. He likes them but I miss him tremendously & hear him scream for me when he hears me on the phone or FaceTime. I will need him to have some distance too from my husband for a while since he got a transplant once we get home.

Wondering how Mango will be when he sees us again – do birds just forget us? Thank you so much for your help

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Why Does My Pionus Go Nuts When He Sees the New Shirt I Bought?
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Why Does My Pionus Go Nuts When He Sees the New Shirt I Bought?

Dear Janet

It is hard to tell why a bird doesn’t like a new hat or shirt we wear.

Was your Pionus a rescue? Did it come from another home before you had him? If so, he may have been traumatized by someone who wore something similar.

If you can avoid this terror by not wearing it around your bird. It is a kind thing to do.

Catherine

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I Have Questions About My Lovebirds Care
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I Have Questions About My Lovebirds Care

Jim relates,

We have a 12-year-old lovebird.

He’s had all kinds of injuries over the past 5 yrs and early last year we discovered he has glaucoma.

We found him on the floor which is very unusual and realized he injured himself …he now has tilted his head to the left and can’t lift it straight up or hold it in the position much longer.

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I Want to Own a Pet. Should I Buy Parrots?
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I Want to Own a Pet. Should I Buy Parrots?

With all due respect, the question answers itself. There are a 350 species of parrots and about 372 species of parakeets As opposed to there only being one species of dog.

 

Further, the individual who acquires a single parrot can be considered a pet owner or companion, our term is “pet bird keeper” Once a second parrot is introduced the aforementioned individual becomes a zookeeper.

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Can You Help Me With Lighting for My Eclectus Parrot?
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Can You Help Me With Lighting for My Eclectus Parrot?

Victoria K. has an avian lighting question,

hi there, I purchased this hanging full spectrum light for my Eclectus a while ago and can’t seem to find the setup instructions (and don’t see them on your website).

Would it be possible for you to provide it to me?

Green Bean is in his cage 12-14 hours/day and is otherwise on a playstand most days unless I am away from home.

Is it ok for this light to be on for a full 12 hours (I am not often gone that long but just want to make sure because I think one of your articles mentions that retina damage can occur with more than 4-5 hours of UVA/UVB lighting in certain circumstances)?

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Here Are More Ants Around the Birdcage Solutions
Illustration of ant lifting a rock and sunset

Here Are More Ants Around the Birdcage Solutions

Alice H. relates this about ants around her birdcage,

Have fought off ants inside our home along two walls for years. Used diatomaceous earth which is a desiccant and harmless which was somewhat effective but messy.

 

Found Amdro Ant Granules and sprinkled outside on a few spots as a test. I was amazed to see the ants grab up the granules and take them right back to their nests.

 

Literally within days no more outside in those spots and consequentially no ants in the house anymore either.

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Can You Recommend a Quality Air Cleaner for My 3 Parrots?
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Can You Recommend a Quality Air Cleaner for My 3 Parrots?

Virginia V. writes,

 

Hello,

 

I have a blue and gold macaw, an orange wing Amazon, and an African grey. They have been living together for over 30 years. Each has a separate gigantic cage in a medium-size room with windows all around.

 

When I am home they have the ability to follow me around on the first floor.

 

I am in desperate need of an air cleaner. What would you recommend? Thank you so much for your Sunday morning messages.

 

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How Do I Care for the Special Needs of an Older Budgie?
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How Do I Care for the Special Needs of an Older Budgie?

Debra C. wants to know how to care for the special needs of an older budgie,

I love all of the wonderful info about taking better care of my birds that I am able to take away from your newsletters.

But I am especially wanting more info on how to meet all the needs of my precious 9-year-old Goofus.

She still gets around in her cage pretty well most of the time by climbing, She is a fast climber. Sometimes she flies, I have added extra perches across the length of the cage so she doesn’t have to fly far.

She seems to have her good days and her not-so-good ones. But she seems happy. She and my much younger male budgie Lavender have fallen in love and are mostly inseparable.

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Are Essential Oils Safe to Use Around Parrots?
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Are Essential Oils Safe to Use Around Parrots?

Linda is concerned with using essential oils around her bird,

 

Are essential oils safe to use around parrots? Like on the family dog. Not diffuser. Would you share your insight, please? Thank you, Linda and flock

Hi Linda

We discourage essential oils in a bird home simply because it’s oil. The oil can merge into floating particulates or aerosols that can line the nasal passage and respiratory system reducing a bird’s ability to breathe.

Best

MitchR

I’ve added a video about avian respiratory systems below.

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