As a professional performer who happens to work with parrots, I meet thousands of people each week and I get invited to a lot of parrot rescues because of this.  Now I know that most of the rescues I’ve been to sure meant well, but the fact remains that only a few are making a difference like Christy is at Zazu’s House Parrot Sanctuary just north of Seattle.

I was in the middle of loading my illusions into the arena in Everett, when I received a picture message from one of our tour managers.  She had taken a picture of a Hyacinth in a pet shop across the street from us, and told me it was “the most amazing shop and birds are out everywhere!”  She was right about it being an amazing shop.  I walked into Apollo’s Bird Store and struck up a conversation with the owner, Bunni.  You could tell instantly that she was a fan of birds and was willing to do anything to make sure they go to good homes.

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Bothell, WA
Pictured: Blue and Gold Macaw

It was then, that I first heard about Zazu’s House.  It was this mysterious rescue that I needed to know more about.  Bunni mentioned how the rescue lives off of donations and that once a year the pet shop holds a silent auction to raise money for Zazu’s House.  Last year they raised almost $10,000 which went towards the construction of a new building.  It was this drive that made me realize I needed to see this amazing place.

Within a couple days we had an appointment with the rescue, and we followed Bunni out while trying to make sure we got back to Everett in time for shows that evening.  When the gates opened up and we drove up to the estate, I was blown away.  This wasn’t just any old rescue, this was a heaven! 

Photo by Dave
Location: Bothell, WA
Macaw Haven Aviary in Zazu’s House

There were two sections.  One was for “special needs” and the other was for macaws only.

Since I choose editing video over writing to relay my message, I scheduled another visit so that I could film this incredible place, and share it with you.  I felt inclined to donate, and hope that if you’re in a position to do the same that you do so without hesitation.  Just watch the video above and you’ll soon know why.

Rose Breasted Cockatoo

Your best chance at a healthy and successful diet for your parrot is in the variety of foods you put in her bowl. By rotating the different foods available in the different food groups such as vegetables, fruits and grains, you increase the chances of hitting upon just the right combination, at the right time, for your individual bird.
In the wild, some birds will dine on the same food source for weeks until it is used up, or gone out of season. They then move on to another food. In our homes, birds don’t have the luxury of choice. They get what we serve, and may not always be what they need at that time.

Every species has different requirements for their diet. A macaw needs a diet that is lower in protein and higher in fat than a cockatoo who requires the opposite. Amazons need abundant vitamin A, african greys need calcium, and so on. Even this is a generalization. Within the macaw family, for instance, the hyacinth needs an even higher fat percentage than the average blue and gold. To further complicate things, each individual bird has nutritional needs unique only to them.
This creates a lot of challenges for parrot owners. Since we aren’t able to determine the exact set of needs in a particular bird, and since you will never hear your bird say “Polly want a vitamin D3 supplement”, there’s a lot of guess work involved. The best way to cover all the bases is to offer a bit of everything. Your bird knows what she needs. When she goes through a picky phase, she may be telling you that she needs a change in her diet.

Try stepping outside your comfort zone by trying veggies that you are unfamiliar with. I had no idea what bok choy or kohlrabi was before I had parrots. Throw in the left over parsley. Serve whole carrots and beets with the tops attached. Give a piece of whole grain toast for breakfast, or with peanut butter later in the day for a snack. Has your bird ever tried a parsnip? Mine love them. Try to change the menu as often as possible and include as many foods from as many groups as you can.Your bird will have a healthier diet and be more willing to try new foods in the future.

We’ve been keeping “travel diaries” for ABC while on the road with the circus and our flock. We made a fun pit stop in Waynesboro, VA to freefly our birds outside with some friends who took the Freestyle Flyer’s Club Course with Dave and I. We had a great time and of course while we were there, I got to say hello to my favorite buddy Storm the blue fronted Amazon parrot.

And I decided to do a travel diary with him in it, but of course, he always has to do ALL the talking…

Parrots

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 from violators.  As parrots consume these plants, they can become laden with toxins that can overwhelm their system and interfere with nutrient and mineral absorption.  They get tummy aches.  Their diet is less complete.

Scarlet Macaws

Photo by InkaNatura.com

Enter the clay lick.  Not only are the cliffs at the riverbank rich with the minerals that are missing from the parrot’s natural diet, but the clay content in the soil contains some of the same ingredients found in our over-the-counter stomach and digestion ailment products.  Clay coats the intestinal tract and binds to the toxins that have been eaten and passes them through the digestive system so that they are not able to be absorbed into the blood stream.

There are still many questions about the clay licks that go unanswered: for instance, it’s unknown how often a single parrot visits his local clay lick.  It isn’t understood why that, while parrots benefit from a high clay content in riverbank soil, they don’t also ingest other soils that have been tested and shown to have a higher nutritional content.

There certainly isn’t enough knowledge about this behavior for us to be adding clay to OUR parrot’s diets, although some products now include clay in their list of ingredients.  We simply don’t know how much is being safely consumed in the wild.  It makes me wonder what other resources wild parrots and animals are using for medicinal purposes and health benefits that we don’t yet know about.  We owe a huge debt to these pioneers who have taught the human race so much.

Blue and gold macaw, parrots

Photo by Alan Lee

Field researchers logged in about 1,000 parrots visiting the clay lick in Tambopata, Peru early one morning.  Can you imagine the noise? Most people seem to associate the macaw with clay licks, but, in actuality, there are many species that benefits from them.  Parakeets, amazons, pionus, caiques, african greys, conures, lorikeets and parrotlets are some of the others parrot species that frequent the clay licks as well as many mammals.

Clay licks have become a huge attraction for eco-tourists. There are many eco-tours that make the clay licks a focal point in the tour and lodges have been built locally to house the tourists.  This brings a lot of money into the local economy and helps to support the conservational efforts for these magnificent parrots.

Umbrella Cockatoo

Breakfast time!  There are four macaws, four cockatoos, three parakeets, two cockatiels, one congo african grey, a swainson’s toucan and a quaker waiting patiently for their breakfast every morning.  On the menu today is fruit pasta blend, fresh broccoli, beets, sweet potato, and kale.

Breakfast time is always one of my favorite parts of the day.  I really enjoy the preparation of foods and I love seeing the birds watching everything I do in anticipation of their first meal.  I often let one of the birds be my “helper” for the morning. This day it was Linus, and he “helped” himself to the corn that was actually on the dinner menu.  I learned the hard way to only allow one bird to “help” at a time and to never let my quaker, Libby, the resident bowl flipper, “help” from anywhere but my shoulder.

Blue and Gold Macaws

As much fun as I have in the morning, the kitchen can be a dangerous place.  Hot stovetops, boiling water and sharp knives are often present and create all kinds of potential for accidents.  It’s a good idea not to allow your birds into the kitchen when you have the stove on or have open pots of water boiling. Always be aware of birds toes when you are chopping and don’t leave your sharp knife available as a toy.  My “helper” is often unwilling to sit patiently by while I am chopping and filling bowls, so I have to be very vigilant and careful.

Blue throated macaw

I always try to serve a variety of foods and I cut them up differently everyday to keep it interesting for them.  I try to serve an orange vegetable and dark leafy greens everyday because they are so high in nutrients. I also try to feed favorite foods later in the day.  This way, I am more likely to get them to eat, or at least try, the foods that are in their bowl in the morning when they are the most hungry.  It’s a good strategy for ensuring a nutritional balance.

A couple of my birds are very finicky eaters and sometimes I have to be clever to get new foods into them.  Here are a few tips for getting your picky eaters to try new foods:

• Make food fun! Placing food around the cage, woven or wedged into the cage bars, strung onto skewers, or tossed in whole is a good way to get them playing with their food, which is often the first step to eating it.  Try buying a stalk of Brussel sprouts, a head of cauliflower, or a green pepper and letting them have a ball.
• Make foraging toys out of foods. Try putting nuts into a halved head of cabbage or beneath the leaves of an artichoke (with the pointy parts snipped off).
• If they don’t like it raw, try steaming it and serving it warm. This worked well with Linus, my umbrella, cockatoo.  It was what started the ball rolling and he will now eat his veggies raw as well.

Camelot Macaw

These are ways to let your bird find out that something unidentifiable might be a food.  Unlike a dog, a hungry bird will stay hungry before it will eat something it doesn’t like or recognize.  Eating fresh foods is the most natural thing in the world for your parrot and it should be considered the most important part of her diet.  If you have some picky eaters like I do, give them a fighting chance for a healthy life.  Use your imagination, have fun, and show your parrot the variety that’s available to them.

Congo African Grey Parrot

Veterinarians say that obesity is the most common health problem they see in companion parrots today.  Many experts say that owners tend to overfeed their birds, offer too many snacks, or are just poorly educated about nutrition.

Parrots suffer from the same ill effects from obesity as do humans. An obese parrot is predisposed to cancer. They are at risk for  atherosclerosis, where fatty substances are deposited on the walls of thick and hardened arteries, including the ones leading to the heart.  This can lead to collapse and sudden death.

Amazons and african greys are species that are prone to obesity and are most at risk, but it effects all species if proper diet and exercise are not a way of life.  We know inactivity and a poor diet contribute to all kinds of health problems in humans, and the same applies to our parrots.  A good rule of thumb is:  if it isn’t good for you, it isn’t good for your  parrot.

Amazon Parrot

You can go online and google what your species of parrot should weigh, but I don’t recommend it.  My experience is that it is never accurate because each parrot is an individual.  My umbrella cockatoo is large and, therefore, weighs more than the average umbrella, my goffins cockatoo is smallish and weighs less.  Of my two male standard cockatiels, one is large and weighs 104 grams while the other weighs in at 74 grams.  Both are just right for their size.

A better way to determine if your bird is a healthy weight is to check for the prominence of the keel bone.  It should be level with the muscle on either side of the bone.  If it protrudes, your bird is thin, and you should see the vet to make sure there is no illness present.  If the breast extends out beyond the keel, your bird is overweight.  Cleavage on a bird is not a desireable thing.

Birds are muscular creature. Feel along the sides of their body.  If you feel something that feels more like fat than muscle, it probably is.  Once you determine that your bird feels a healthy weight, your vet can help you with this, weigh him and use that weight as a guideline to monitor his health.

Blue throated macaw

How much to feed your bird is a difficult question to answer.  Some people say that a large parrot should be served 3/4 of a cup of food each day.  Keeping in mind that parrots are very messy eaters, and will take a couple of bites of one thing, drop it, and go onto another piece of food, it’s very difficult to gauge exactly what they are getting into them.  Also keep in mind that if food is coarsely chopped, a measuring cup will fill up much more quickly and leave a lot of air pockets than if is is finely chopped.

Think of how small the crop is, and consider what it takes to fill it.  My umbrella cockatoo loves cooked yellow squash.  I cut it into slices and serve it warm.  He eats a maximum of 3 tablespoons before he walks away stuffed.

Some parrots are fine with free feeding.  They can be offered food in any amount and only eat what they want and will leave the rest untouched.  Others will gorge on whatever you put in front of them.  This is another situation where you have to know your bird, set limitations, and make the best choices in the foods you do offer.

Congo African Grey Parrot

It IS possible to change the eating habits of the most stubborn parrots.  I takes time, though,  and patience.  Make him work for the foods he does eat.  Move the perch next to the food bowl and make him climb back and forth to get each morsel.  Teach him to forage for his dinner.

Some of my parrots are very picky eaters.  Most of what I serve them, winds up on the bottom of the cage or on the floor.  Those are the good days.  It’s when the food remains untouched in the bowl, that I feel discouraged.  I know that if they are flinging it, it has at some point been in their mouth, which means it has at least been tasted, and maybe, just maybe, a little has or will be eaten.  Playing with food is often the first step to eating it.  I served, and disposed of, my umbrella cockatoo’s uneaten broccoli for two years before he finally decided that it was good to eat.  Never give up.

Amazon Parrot

Obesity encourages laziness.  A cycle then begins.  The parrot overeats, and doesn’t move from its perch to work off any excess calories.  An obese parrot needs to have a feeding routine established.  Make a dietary plan and stick to it.  This doesn’t mean your parrot has to suffer or be deprived of any treats.  Think of it like this:  If you are watching your weight, and you plan on having that piece of cake after dinner, you will be eating a salad for lunch.

This spring, Jamieleigh successfully rehabbed a client’s obese parrot.  You can see the incredible transformation in Storm the the blue fronted amazon.