Umbrella Cockatoo

Natural sunlight varies as seasons progress and ebb.  It is the intensity and duration of light that tells a bird that it is breeding season, and when to molt – it regulates it’s cyclical clock and adjusts metabolism. Ultraviolet light strengthens the immune system and works with the glandular system in the synthesis of vitamin D, which through a series of processes, increases calcium absorption.  This means healthier and stronger bones and beaks, and improved feather production.  Additionally, a bird’s vision and perception is dramatically enhanced.  Our parrots ...

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Camelot Macaw

Some birds have the strangest fears: a certain color, a leather jacket, a particular chair, sunglasses, flies.  As random as these might seem, each of my birds has had nightmares over one of the items on this list at one time or another. Fear of toys is frustrating because it leaves your bird with nothing to do all day while you’re away.  Many resort to feather destructive behaviors, and worse.  Such was the case with Theo, my rehomed goffins cockatoo.

When I took her in, she had never been ...

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White Budgie

Recently, a parrot that I had never met, but had heard countless stories about was lost to the emissions from non-stick coated cookware. The loss hit hard. This rescue bird had just found a new home.

The morning following bringing home their new bird, a couple brought him into the kitchen while they prepared breakfast. They knew about the dangers of cooking with a teflon coated pan, but they were under the impression that it was the food cooked in these pans that was toxic to parrots. This turned out to be a ...

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Dave and I spent the day cleaning out the aviaries (so excuse the still mess in the background of the video sometimes)… we raked them all out and changed out toys from all the aviaries. And in the moment, since we moved our three smaller parrots inside for the cleaning… I decided, why not try Storm outside now?

We hadn’t planned on moving him out there that early but decided ...

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I decided to do a video blog about the changes we made to Storm’s environment in an effort to set him up for better success in his time here with us. So please take a look!

Tip to take home: Setting an animal up for success just means putting the odds in his favor. For example, if you’re going to train your bird a new trick, you don’t want to start at your neighbor’s house, ...

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Apparently, there was a law passed stating that when your bird needs medical attention, your vet must be closed. Probably for the weekend. Sure, there are all night emergency vet clinics available, but chances are there won’t be an avian vet. Bad enough that you have to bring your beloved parrot to a complete stranger in the worst of times, but he or she might not know an egg-binding from a fur ball. Still, accidents can and do happen. It is a very wise idea to have a parrot first aid/evacuation kit always on hand to treat the minor problems, ...

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