From Reddit
I’ve had my African Grey for a bit over 2 weeks. He only started flying recently.
He’s a 5-month-old birb and I’m getting worried because when he flies he usually flies into a wall.
Our Response:
Flying into walls can be based on color.
Editors note: In the featured image above, Barney was obsessing with the other bird in the mirror as Catherine observed.
We have since blocked access to that part of the mirror and Barney has become far more social (less hormonal). Endnote
One of the reasons we are able to stay in business going up against the likes of Amazon and Chewy is that we answer the phone and can provide useful advice.
And although PetSmart and Petco will answer the phone on a national or store level, good luck with getting information about proper care for your white-capped Pionus.
There is been a definite uptick of calls and emails seeking advice for birds exhibiting bad hormonal behavior.
Brandi T. seeks cockatiel advice:
Hi! I’ve been reading and learning from you guys for the last 8 years.
So I’m really hoping you have some advice for me!
Recently we’ve adopted a female cockatiel, Roxy.
She came from a high profile hoarding case here in Michigan.
She’s one of over 200 animals who lived under garbage, in cages of twenty plus birds, most of which were eating their mates and young.
Carol Wrote:
Mitch: I read on line something you wrote about the possibility of training adult budgies.
I have inherited two budgies – about 1-year-old.
They are in a cage and have never been trained.
They seem very happy with each other.
They are very active and chatty.
Absolutely!
Watch this osprey get fully submerged.
I find it amazing that the bird has enough energy to take off as water-laden as it got.
Note the “rounded” wing flap necessary for enough lift to fully emerge and propel itself from the surface carrying not only the fish but a few pounds of water caught up in its feather (integumentary) system.
Birds have been used as organic hunting mechanisms since Genghis Khan ruled Asia.
With proper training, you can have precise control over any bird.
You asked whether our birds are flighted.
All three of our birds – African Grey, Dusky Pionus, Cockatiel – are fully flighted.
We have a lot of large windows in our apartment but so far we have not had a problem.
They all have their favorite routes and pretty much stick to them.
The only time we have clipped our bird’s wings is when we were traveling internationally and they had to go through the health and customs inspections at the airports.
Lisa Y.
Over the past few years, we’ve been emphasizing the proper use of man-made lighting and its effect on pet birds.
Search results when googling the term “pet bird lighting” predominantly yield links to products relating to lighting for pet birds.
With the exception of Windy City Parrot and the Lafebers blog, it is difficult to find information about pet birds and the many ways light affects them.
File under “the universe is too complicated to be arbitrary” which begs the question “does a dyslexic agnostic believe in dog?”
From our Birdie Bruch reader Betsy L.
(more…)
It’s a bird not a dog and doesn’t necessarily want to get pet.
Birds want to be preened.
From Quora Re: “Larry’s was more direct.
“He let himself get bitten.