It is obviously important not to let your parrot’s nails get overgrown. If they are too long, the have a higher likelihood of getting broken and are sharper which would cause anyone holding the bird discomfort. Some people freefly their parrots or have them in particularly natural environments so they don’t cut the nails but I would say they are the exception to the rule.

Given that your parrot lives in a cage at home, it is understandable that it is not exposed to the natural claw cutting things it would encounter in the wild. Naturally the nails keep growing to compensate for the rate at which they are used. At home they are not used, so they become overgrown. Since we live in unnatural environments and use tools/helping devices for different things we have to cut our own nails and our companion parrot’s.

There are basically three ways to keep a parrot’s nails trimmed:

1) Cut them with a nail clipper

2) File them with a nail file

3) Provide filing perches

I use all three of these and highly recommend that you use all of these methods. I would like to describe the benefits of each of these.

The advantage to cutting the nails is that it is relatively quick and leaves a clean cut. The end of the nails is very blunt and it takes a longer time for the nails to grow back from this stage. The downside is that it is a dangerous/stressful process. If cut incorrectly, the bird can bleed to death so it is important that you have a vet or bird expert do this.

To prolong the benefit of the cut nails, I file my bird’s nails every few weeks. By doing this, I can stretch visits to the vet or bird store from once every two to once every three months. I would have to file the parrot’s nails every other day if I wanted to avoid having to get them cut altogether but it is difficult to find the time to do that. So instead, I just blunt out the tips every so often. By holding my bird for nail filing every so often, it makes her more used to the process and better behaved at the store when she gets trimmed.

The disadvantage to nail filing is that it is a lot of work for a little benefit. One filing session takes as long as one nail cutting session because each toenail has to be individually worked on. But unlike the cut, the amount of nail scaled back is barely noticeable. The other problem with filing is that even if the nails are kept short, they end up getting sharper and sharper. A cut every now and then helps to keep the nails blunt and not cut your hands when your bird is on them.

Finally, I provide my parrot with natural branches with bark and filing perches to keep the nails trimmed. Unfortunately, this does not seem to help that much. It does help me prolong the duration between visits to four months because filing and perches take about a month off out of every four but it is not enough by itself. Also the filing perches seem to make my bird’s nails sharper while keeping them shorter. This forces me to have to file them by hand every so often to dull the points. However, because filing only takes a little bit off at a time, it doesn’t take long for the nails to get sharp again.

Even if I cut the nails myself, I still find benefit in taking the parrot by the bird store every quarter. At the bird store I bought Kili from, the women that runs it is quite expert in birds. It is reassuring to me to have an outside expert take a look at my bird for a quick assessment. Vet checks are very expensive and in my experiences, general veterinarians aren’t very proficient with birds. An exclusively bird veterinarian is very hard to come by. But by bringing the parrot by the store every so often, I can have an unbiased glance over health inspection, nail trimming, and beak trim all in one.

So what I recommend is to have your bird’s nails cut but to use filing perches and manually file them in order to prolong the duration between required cuts. Following these steps will help ensure your own comfort and bird’s safety.

None of my parrots are great talkers.  Aside from Theo, my goffins cockatoo, who has never uttered anything sounding remotely like human speech, they all have a small repertoire of words which they use when they choose to.

Libby, my quaker, is probably my best talker and has made big leaps in his vocabulary over the past year or two.  He likes to watch Pluto the quaker parrot videos over and over, and is eager to learn whatever Pluto says.  He is a long way from having the Quaker Song down, but he’s off to a great start.

Linus, my umbrella cockatoo, greets me everyday with a boisterous Hi! How doin’? when I return from work, and informs passersby that I’m a bird when he’s outside.  He associates words with objects and will call them by name IF he feels like it. I know he can talk because he does when it suits him, like the cute and VERY clear hello he purrs when I’ve caught him in the act.

I asked a friend of mine, a retired school teacher in Louisiana, if I could read the vocabulary journals she has kept on her scarlet macaw Fergie, and Blusher, her red fronted macaw.  When I opened the attachments, I was surprised to see hundreds of entries.  Some were cute and funny,  some were impeccably and appropriately timed, they were all amazing.  I just had to share a few of them:

Their correct usage of pronouns is astonishing. One example:

I was on the floor after cleaning cages.  Fergie was “owning” the floor.  I ended up on the floor with a toy.  Fergie finally came to me.  Blusher was on the swing and tried every way to get me.  She tried “Up,” “Mama,” “Step up.” and finally “I up.”

This was a conversation his owner had while trying to order something by credit card over the phone with Fergie nearby:

Once upon a time I had to have hand surgery.  The PT that followed required my doing exercises.  I got my hand level, started the exercises, and counted them off: “One, two, three, etc.”  My bird started learning the numbers.  I thought that was cool until I realized that he could not say the number “four” clearly.  I feared the worst, so I quit saying the numbers.  Not to be deterred, he somehow managed to learn a few numbers, his favorite being “five.”

Weeks after this I was making a phone call and I had to give my VISA number (or account number, or some such thing).  My bird was on my arm.  The conversation went something like this:

Me: Two one six.

Bird: Five.

Clerk: Two, one, six, five.

Me:  No.  There is no “five.”

Clerk:  OK.  Two, one, six.

Me: Three two nine.

Bird: Five

Clerk: Three two nine five.

Me:  No.  There is no “five.”

Clerk: OK.  Three, two, nine.

Me: Six, two, three.

Bird: Five.

Clerk: Six two three five.

Me:  Sir, there is no “five.”  Could you wait while I put my bird down?

Note:  She has recently noticed that the birds are not just using numbers arbitrarily.  Lately there has been a correlation between the number and how many items are present.

A conversation with Blusher:

Blusher:Mama?
Me:Yes, Blusher?
Blusher: Want up.
Me: Blusher, we’re going to take a nap now.
Blusher: Mama?
Me:Yes, Blusher?
Blusher:Want up? Do you want up?
Me:No, Blusher. I want to take a nap.
Blusher:Mama?
Me:Yes, Blusher?
Blusher: Want up.
Me: Blusher, we’re going to take a nap now.
Blusher shrieks and shrieks and shrieks.
Sound of Blusher’s guts coming up.
Blusher:Mama?
Me:Yes, Blusher?
Blusher:Get up.
Me:No, Blusher. I’m going to take a nap.
Repeat the above for 5 (at least) minutes. I finally give up and don’t answer her. She continues alone for a long time then gives us about 20 minutes of quiet. Then she starts again.
Blusher: Mama?
Blusher: Want up.
Blusher: Mama? I want up.

Fergie requesting to go to bed:

While I was at computer; she had said “light” and I told her I couldn’t go to bed now that I was working on the computer.  She said “light” a few more times then said “night night.”

The next night she said “Light” three times and each time I told her I was busy and couldn’t turn off the light.  Then she said “Night night” three times and each time I told her I was busy.  She then flew off my shoulder and stayed somewhere behind me.  She kept saying “Light.”

I knew she could not get in any trouble back there, so I ignored her until the lights went out.  She had flown to the top of the piano and had reached up and grabbed the light switch, saying “Light” until she finally got it to turn off.

As soon as the light went off, she let go of the switch and it popped back up and the lights came back on.  She had not pulled it completely down, but she knew exactly what she was doing.

And another from the journal:

Tonight I heard the sound of two birds “fighting,” but they were in their cages.  It had not really dawned on me what I was hearing until Blusher said, “Hey, you two.  Break it up.”

Sunshine is an african grey that came through a shelter in need of a new home.  While he was adjusting to his life at the shelter, this video was made.    (In another, he repeats a one time conversation his former owner had with, perhaps,  a carpet cleaning company, he spells out the owner’s last name and starts to spell Albuquerque – which I just had to look up!)

If anyone would have told me 5 years ago that today I would have amazing but totally unique companionships with 3 different birds, I would have quickly let them know that they were crazy! But the fact is, it is very true and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So. Who am I and how did I get here? My name is Liz. I am 23 years old, living in Raleigh, NC. I am a senior in college with a job, friends, a boyfriend, and just a generally busy life. So where do my parrots fit in? Well, that’s one reason why I am here- to talk about that. I currently have a 3 ½ year old male sun conure (Skittle) , 2 ½ year old female blue and gold macaw (Charlie), and a 10 year old female congo African grey (Roxanne) that I have adopted in the past few months.

The main focus of my writing here will be about Roxanne. You see, I hand-fed and trained my conure and macaw from when both were just over 2 months old. My bonds with Skittle and Charlie are strong, they are some of my best friends! They are by no means perfect angels, but in each of those bonds I have a trust and companionship that comparably, is just non-existent with Roxanne.

When Roxanne came into my home, I realized that on rare occasions she had been outside of her cage for very short periods of time. Roxanne had rarely been handled and by her vocabulary of “OW that hurt!” or “Don’t bite me!” she had no plans of being handled either.

I found this very puzzling since Skittle and Charlie always want to be around the humans of the house playing, cuddling, just whatever to have human interaction. But Roxanne, she is content sitting on one side of her cage all day and not being bothered and is quick to those blood-drawing bites if you have anything BUT the same notion.

So. Here I am living the typical busy life meanwhile trying to maintain and keep the two birds I am bonded with content, as well as, trying to develop a relationship with a 10 year old grouchy bird! What can I do to simultaneously continue fortifying the relationship I have with my bonded birds and grow the relationship I have with Roxanne? These are just 2 of many simple things that I have noticed that help both of those needs along.

1. Give me some LOVE!

Charlie and Skittle love human interaction. First thing in the morning or whenever I get home, they are ready to jump out and into my arms. Roxanne, not so much. If the first thing I do is head straight for Roxanne, she shakes and puffs up larger than a blowfish . As soon as I open her cage door, she poses for a strike. I have found if I go onto to Skittle and Charlie first, give them both a few minutes playing and loving each within sight of Roxanne and then approach Roxanne, she is much more inclined to step-up onto my hand.

I will keep her on my hand for maybe a ¼ of the time I was with my other 2, give her a sunflower seed, and put her back into her cage to reward her for not biting me. I also don’t keep her out as long because the longer she is out, the more nervous she gets. I am definitely taking it slow with her for now.

2. Calling in back-up!

I could not imagine living in a multi-parrot home by myself. The feeding, clean-up, entertainment, and time spent is never-ending. I am sure that there are many out there that succeed quite nicely on their own, but I can admit that I don’t think I could do it right now. I have 4 other family members that I presently live with that enjoy being around the birds. Each of them have some kind of relationship with either Charlie or Skittle.

My boyfriend that does not live here happens to have a great relationship with both of them. So far Roxanne is the most responsive with me. Having others in the home that are able to give time towards Skittle and Charlie not only help them by socializing them, but help Roxanne so she can spend time with me while I earn her trust. With Roxanne seeing the others interact with Charlie and Skittle, it encourages her that us humans are not out to scare or hurt her! I strongly believe that having frequent and different human interaction is not only vital in keeping your own sanity, but it’s also good for the well-being of the bird.

I look forward to writing again and tracking Roxanne’s progress in her new home!

I am lovingly owned by four beautiful angels…a Blue and Gold Macaw named Kacey, a Moluccan Cockatoo named Chloe, an African Grey named Sophie and our recent added family member Zazu, a baby Blue and Gold Macaw.  When I say I am “lovingly owned” I can assure you that it was not always the case in the early onset of my infatuation with parrots.  At a very young age, I was actually attacked by an Umbrella Cockatoo which made me deathly afraid of birds!!  Then as an adult I had the chance to work at one of the highest rated pet stores in the US…lucky me, they put me in charge of the Bird Department!!  During that time my fear of birds subsided and I started learning their behavior and little quirks.  This was so fascinating to me I started to research on the web anything I could about parrots.  I purchased a cockatiel from the store and hand tamed it (Sydney was a parent raised wild little thing that couldn’t be touched).  After about 6 months, I started getting an itch for something bigger (maybe a conure).  Well, the call came in and I suddenly found myself driving an hour and a half to go see a Blue and Gold Macaw that I had no idea about!!

Kacey

Here is Kacey’s Story:
Read the rest of this entry »

I like to think of my bird’s cage as her bedroom – a happy place, with lots of stuff to do, that belongs to her.  I respectfully try keep out, except when it needs cleaning or toy changes.  A cage needs to provide safety, security, and comfort for your bird and peace of mind for you in knowing that she will be okay while you are out of the house.

If you are looking for a new cage, or buying your first, here are some rules of thumb to go by:

BIGGER IS BETTER! Birds are active creatures. Always try to get the largest cage you can that has bar spacing still suitable to your species.  A parrot needs to exercise it’s wings and must have enough unobstructed room to do so.  This means that you should look for a cage that is larger your bird’s wing span with several inches on each side to spare.  This allows for any toys or perches that are in the cage and could injure the bird during vigorous activity.  If you have a long-tailed parrot, remember to plan for room for that too!  Your parrot should be able to turn in any direction without bumping any part of its body, wings or tail against anything.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dave and I sat down to watch some TV and take a night off when we decided it might do Storm some good to hang out with us. He stayed out for a couple hours?and was very content being with us both in the same room which I felt was amazing progress. There wasn’t any aggressive behavior towards Dave, who was sitting on the couch and he was still fine with me being up and about and sitting down, too.

Although he was concerned when I left the room at times, he never screamed as I think he still felt Dave was there and that was some kind of sense of security somehow.

This is something we try to do with all our birds who can be mellow around the TV. Like Cressi, our African Grey. She and Dave have taken naps together before, it’s incredibly cute.

Don’t underestimate the power of quality time with your parrots at home. It is a love language in humans, after all, and I’m sure it fits right into the birdie love languages, too.