Keeping Several Parrot Species In One House

Cockatiel Tinky

Moving is just no fun. It doesn’t matter whether you are doing it yourself or hiring someone to pack and do all the heavy lifting for you, having your life in total disarray for even a short period of time is just maddening. Welcome to my world.

After searching, I finally found a place that will work for me and the birds. Even though I am the only human that will be in occupancy, I have five birds and four are different species which made finding the right space harder ...

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Heat Stress In Birds

Albatross in flight

Albatross in flight. The blue sky of summer, nice for a while but continuing extreme heat takes its toll.

 

The summer we’ve just had in Australia has been a bad one. We’ve had extremes all over the country. One half is under water, the other half is melting and that’s NOW. It’s not even summer anymore, it’s supposed to be autumn here. Yet I’m slowly cooking here in a record-breaking heatwave that exceeds what we’ve seen since records began at ...

 

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Sexually Frustrated Parrots?

budgies

Q: My bird is sexually frustrated and tries to mate with my computer mouse or anything else about that size. Should I put a stuffed animal or something in his cage for him to get out his frustrations on?

–          H. Hirsch, Kettering, OH

A: This subject comes up several times a year. Many people are mistaken in their assumption that their birds are sexually frustrated and they wonder if they should get it a mate. In reality, doing so may actually make the problem much worse.
To explain ...

 

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The Benefits of Sunshine For Parrots

I have done a post or two on this topic in the past but think it’s important enough to re-visit it from time to time. Please take the time to read this to learn, or give yourself a reminder, about the many benefits of sunshine for parrots.

Companion parrots have a very different lifestyle from those of their wild cousins. As much as we try to provide them with a great diet and an active environment, there are few alternatives available for captive parrots that offer the same health benefits ...

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Parrot SHAMPOO??

Umbrella cockatoo

I log into Facebook every morning to see what is going on with my bird loving friends. Most days I scroll through the pages quickly only pausing when something catches my eye, but I was stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of what appeared to be a cockatoo wading in soapy dishwater.

Because I know this particular party to be very responsible with birds, I was expecting a humorous story with an explanation for how this bird had gotten himself into this predicament. To my surprise, I learned ...

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Is The Strong Smell Of Aftershave Bad For Birds?

Blue and gold macaw

Q: Is the strong smell of aftershave bad for birds? My dad like, BATHES himself in that stuff…and it makes me sick to my stomach and was wondering if it could have any effect on my birds.

– April Hilary R. from our Facebook page.

A: This is a great question, April. One of the most common environmental causes of parrot death comes from bad air quality. People have unwittingly killed their birds by spraying cleaners and air fresheners in their presence, and many, many have died from ...

 

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