The padlock holding the food bowl door shut met an untimely death.

I was at the local hardware store replenishing my stock of padlocks (Fid my macaw killed my last spare) when I heard the word “macaw”. Naturally I found myself eavesdropping on the conversation that the three men nearby were having.

They were discussing a nearby robbery. One of them had a friend who owned a Blue and Gold Macaw. Apparently this friend lived just down the road and had been robbed a ...

Jackie - a young female cockatiel with issues

Meet Jackie. A young, very friendly female cockatiel that is different from most companion birds because Jackie has a job. Jackie lives in an aged care facility (nursing home) where she provides “animal therapy” to the human residents who require assisted living care. As you can probably imagine, this little bird has become very important to the residents, as they are unable to have their own pets. Many don’t have regular visitors, so the companionship ...

In the northern hemisphere, we are heading into summer at full speed. The temperatures are already climbing and air conditioning is running round the clock.

Many people think of parrots as “warm weather animals” and surmise that they are most at home in high temperatures and humidity. Given that many parrots come from tropical climates, it is not an unreasonable assumption. However, summer is actually a season bird owners need to prepare for.

What most people don’t realize is that the hot temperatures of summer are far more ...

Umbrella cockatoo. Linus

I know I am not the only person that has suffered through another crazy spring breeding season this year. I hate to use expressions like misery loves company, but I have to admit that while Linus was threatening to use my body parts as nest lining, I was glad to have those around who truly understood my frustration. This year has been hard on everyone it seems.

Thankfully, it appears to be drawing to an end for most of my birds. While their behavior is only somewhat improved, I ...

Read the rest or post a comment »

A European Wasp eating Lorikeet wet food.

Generally speaking bugs aren’t a major issue for birds. Birds are largely protected by their feathers, which make it significantly less likely for them to be stung or bitten by a bug. There are some exceptions to this though. I’ve written before about my encounters with a parasitic fly – the Hippoboscidae Fly. Another exception would be mosquitoes that might be carrying diseases (especially if you keep a species of bird with exposed facial skin ...

The momentum of success is powerful. Every time I read another success story of people applying what they learn through the Bird Tricks training program, it inspires me to work harder with and devote even more time to enriching the lives of my own birds. I hope it makes you feel the same.

I particularly love this next story about a resourceful 15 year old girl who got her cockatoo to eat his veggies, all through the power of flight training.

MEET PUPPY