Wow! What a busy birdie I have been. Last month I adopted a handicapped rose-breasted cockatoo and a feather plucked lutino parrotlet. They are both thriving and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to better their life. Amazingly, both Eddie the cockatoo and Mango the parrotlet are buddies. Who would have thought! I will be posting pictures on the website homepage at http://loveyourparrot.com.
I also have received many e-mails from parrot parents all around the world wanting the best advice on how to care for their precious sweeties. I couldn't get back to all of you this month but I wanted to take this newsletter and give a few feathers of helpful information to answer most of the questions asked.
I have experienced over 15 years of caring for parrots which includes different feeding and diet types, breeding, hand-raising/hand-feeding, tube feeding ill birds, and other medical and behavioral challenges. This allows me to share my knowledge through hands on experience and give any suggestions or friendly advice to help another bird lover get through a difficult bird behavior, feeding problem, or educational information on how to care for their bird properly, the right way, the way a bird deserves to be cared for. As always, I start with my first suggestion, always ask your local avian vet and make an appointment for your bird to have an exam.
A bird that is not eating, lethargic, and puffed is usually an emergency situation. Birds will not show illness until it is really serious. They have the instinct to "act" fine so that a predator will not snatch them up, so when obvious illness symptoms show, it has already been many days of them not feeling well in most cases.
There are many ways to train and tame your bird. BirdTricks.com has excellent success at helping people stop a bird from biting and other behavioral issues. I personally like to wear a glove with a bird that is untamed and with patience and a routine of taking the bird out, putting on my lap or chest each day, the bird will usually come around. Before you know it, the bird will step up for you without a glove, this is best when the bird is out of the cage and on the ground. They will feel less confident on the floor, this is a breaking point that I have found works, they learn over time to trust. They step up then fly off, over and over, day after day, finally they don't fly off!! Only try a few times a day, then let the bird rest.
In some cases with a bird that has been abused in a previous home, it is still possible but may take longer. Sometimes it might not be, in these situation, I just give them a good home and respect their beauty. I have a red-bellied parrot with only one eye. He was attacked by an animal so he does not want hand to hand contact but will come out, talk to me, and loves attention. Respect and train the ones you can, provide a loving home for those you can't and enjoy them whether you hold them or not.
Tip #1, When training/ taming a bird, do not have them with another bird in the cage.
Tip #2: Do not put the bird on your shoulder and or higher than you. These situation will not help your bird bond to you. They will dominate and yearn to be top bird (what child doesn't), give them respect but still train that you are the parent. My birdies are naughty when they are on that very top perch, little stinkers....
Tip #3: Watch a bird video showing birds in the wild, this will help you to understand that a bird is still a bird, they chirp, scream, chew, play, poop, throw food around, and bond to a mate. U-Tube is a great place to watch your particular species in the wild.
I hope you enjoyed this more personal newsletter. Thank you to all that signed up and support the site! Next month I will be talking about food dyes and parrot pellets.
