I’ve made sure to raise my birds where they got showers from a young age so it would never be a problem getting them to bathe. However, a lot of birds refuse to shower with their owners or at all and it can be very difficult for the bird owner to deal with because as we all know… parrots NEED to shower, and often. They have lots of dander and baths help a ton with stopping feather plucking.

So here’s a tip from my galah, Bandit…

Step one: Turn on shower and hang out near by. Feel the mist and hear …

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Photo by Alan Lee

In the early morning hours, as the sun is rising and weather permitting, wild parrots all over the world visit clay licks on tall riverbanks to eat dirt.  This practice has long confounded bird watchers, conservationists and scientists alike, and while all of the benefits of this activity are still a mystery, more and more is being discovered and understood.

Wild parrots forage on plants, their fruits and their seeds as part of  their natural diet.  However, plants naturally produce chemicals, poisons, that protect themselves, their unripened fruits and seeds …

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So many people have heard the old saying, “can’t teach an old dog new tricks” and assume it applies to older parrots too. But I have news for you – it doesn’t!

No parrot is ever “too old” to learn new tricks.

In fact, old parrots is where BirdTricks.com was founded with Tiko (pictured above) a 15 year old blue and gold macaw and Linus, a 10 year old umbrella cockatoo. Tiko had been a trophy pet all his life, and never handled since the age of 2. His owners were people who …

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Lately I’ve found that a lot of bird owners have high expectations of their birds that are unfounded.

If you just have a bird and you don’t work with it in the least, and then expect it to come to you graciously “just because”… you’re going to be disappointed no matter what.

If you aren’t offering your bird something it wants in exchange for what you want it to do, then don’t expect your bird to do it.

A lot of bird owners have a really hard time wrapping their head …

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How fast can you really train your bird?

In many of my training videos I continually show examples of how to train birds to stop biting, or step up in very short periods of time. It is not uncommon for me to be able to get a bird to stop doing bad behavior within 2-3 days.

Many of my clients send me comments about how implementing one of my training concepts or strategies fixed their birds problem in less then 15 minutes.

On stage at our Total Parrot Transformation seminar I trained …

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Photo: A bad macadamia nut, rejected by a hungry hyacinth macaw.

Parrots love nuts.  Many of our parrot species require them in their diets, such as the macaw.  They are part of their diet in the wild and contain many of the fats and oils necessary to maintain energy.  Since this is such a popular parrot food, it is important to be sure that you can recognize their quality and freshness.  Nuts do become rancid and their shells can contain mold spores that can give your bird aspergillosis (typically a fungal infection of …

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