For the tiny creatures that they are, parrots seem to have a lot of things, from cages to boxes of toys to dishes to perches and swings.  They dominate any home they occupy.  Here are 5 more things that you should not be without, or without access to, when you own a parrot:

1. GRAM SCALE
Birds are so good at masking an illness that there are few ways that we have to learn that something is wrong. One of those ways is by weighing them frequently. Because birds are so light, they must be weighed in grams to get an accurate idea of weight fluctuation. For instance, my large umbrella cockatoo weighs about 1 and 1/2 lbs.  If I suspected a weight loss, and used a pound scale, it would not register. It would only indicate a loss or gain by one pound, which is most of a bird’s weight. The loss of a one pound in my bird would be the equivalent of a 150lb person dropping suddenly to 50lbs, or escalating to 250lbs, just to give you an idea. Even very experienced bird people cannot reliably pick up a bird, particularly a small bird, and say with certainty that their weight is acceptable. Gram scales can be purchased at an Office Depot type of place for a small cost, at a pet store, or an online bird store where they will come with a perch attached.

Photo from www.avianlive.com

2. AVIAN VET
No matter how much you love the vet that takes such good care of your cats and dogs, you need an AVIAN vet.  If your regular vet is a good vet, he’ll understand and acknowledge his limitation. A bird’s physiology requires the expertise of someone uniquely familiar with their specific needs, diseases, and medications.  In fact, in many cases, taking your very ill bird to someone not avian certified is a waste of your money and your bird’s precious time. I know that avian certified vets are hard to come by in some rural areas, if you google avian vets in your city or state it will help you find the closest one.  Many people drive for hours to get to one. If this is your case, at least make sure your regular vet is teamed up with a certified avian vet for guidance.  If there is a university near you, see if they have an exotic pet department where you might obtain help when in dire need.

Photo from www.windycityparrot.com

3.  AVIAN FIRST AID KIT
Know what the contents of your first aid kit are and know how to use them. Your vet can help you with this. Keep a book on Parrot first Aid with your kit. Print off a copy of this post on critical care for parrots and keep it with your kit for when emergencies arise.  Believe me. They DO arise.
4. CARRIERS
There were been two times in the past 5 years that I had to rush my pets out of my former apartment because of fire. Since I am currently staying in Jamie and Dave’s house and they are probably reading this and sweating bullets, I want to quickly point out that neither incident originated in my apartment.
In the first case, there was an actual fire in an apartment in my building. It was the middle of the night and I heard someone pounding on my door yelling:  “FIRE!  EVERYBODY OUT!”  Then I heard the sirens, and knew it was serious. Of course, I had carriers. 3 of them. And I had six animals and birds to evacuate. Fortunately, I was on the first floor and was able to roll two of the cages outside to safety, and use the carriers for the rest.  We were outside for about 6 hours that night and it was inconceivable that I would have been able to restrain a bird or animal outside of a carrier for that long.  Lesson learned.
The second occasion was an evacuation because of smoke.  The geniuses in the apartment next to me turned on their oven with a pizza box in it and set it afire.  While flames weren’t shooting out of the apartment like in the first case, the smoke was overwhelming.  This time I was prepared.  Each animal had their own carrier, except the cockatiels who shared one.

5.  A JOURNAL FOR EACH BIRD
I started keeping a journal years ago for my birds to maintain a good record of their weights and health issues. It helps me to keep a handle on any significant changes that occur. At some point it dawned on me that recording behaviors was just as important.  I have countless times referred to the previous year’s journal data to see if certain odd behaviors are seasonal with a particular bird, and it has at least once alerted me to a problem in the making.  I keep my journals with my scale to make it easy to record the weights of each faithfully, and the journals have accompanied me to the vets office on several occasions and have helped me to explain health concerns or incidents accurately.

These are just five things, four when you exclude your vet, who likely doesn’t live with you.  When the time comes that you must move to a larger house to accommodate your bird’s growing entourage, please don’t blame me.

Sprouts are the single most nutritious whole food you can feed to you parrot. The reason for this is that they are a living food. They are a plant in the progress of growth, and it just doesn’t get any fresher than that

With regards to produce, the term fresh is relative, unless they are coming straight from your garden. The vegetables and fruits we see in the supermarket are far from fresh picked. Once they are harvested, they are brought to a plant where they wait for processing and packaging.Then they wait for several more days for a truck to transport them across the country to the stores. Then they wait some more until they are displayed, bought, and eventually cooked.  It is now many days past their harvesting, and each day accounts for more and more nutritional loss. By the time we buy them and get around to serving them, they are far from what they once were.

I have heard people complain that sprouting is hard. It is not. Let me tell you a little story: One day when I was reaching on top of my refrigerator for a fresh scoop of cockatiel seed, I noticed my freezer door was ajar. I shut it, without noticing the moisture that had built up around the edges of the door. In the process I spilled a few seeds, and made a mental note to go back and clean it up, which I forgot to do.  A few days later, there were plants growing in the rubber gasket on the door. So, no. It isn’t hard.
The only other concern is for the growth of bacterias and fungi on the the seed while they are sprouting. As long as you keep them properly rinsed and drained and keep them in an area where there is good air circulation (not in cabinets, for instance), there should never be a problem with that.

There are several kinds of sprouters on the market and I imagine they all work well. I use an Easy Sprout sprouter, which I bought for under $15. There are 6 pieces included in this lightweight, easy to clean sprouter, and they all have multiple uses. All the parts you need to sprout and store them are included along with directions. The Sprout People, who manufacture Easy Sprout also sell different varieties of sprouters, like grass sprouters, for wheat and barley grass flats etc, grain sprouters, micro-green sprouters, seeds, beans and more. All of the seeds they sell are safe for your birds and they even have a mix especially for birds that come in three seed sizes for small, medium and large sized birds. This is one stop shopping for your sprouting needs, the prices are reasonable and everything is organic.

This is the effort you will expend to make a batch of sprouts:

• Soak the bean or seed mix for 8-12 hours.
• Rinse thoroughly.
• Drain well and set aside until they sprout.
• Snap on the enclosed lid and refrigerate.

It’s quite an undertaking, isn’t it?  Each step takes less time than it does to change a roll of toilet paper. Do try your hand at sprouting the mung beans, which I find to be the yummiest of all the sprouts I’ve tried. They require 4-5 days to grow to their full potential and take a little more care, but are well worth it.

If you look around The Sprout People site, they offer many practical tips on growing and storage.  They have videos that walk you through the process, as well as several recipes. I recommend the Beanie’s Awesome Mix, and The San Francisco Mix for beginners. They are super easy to sprout, and my birds love them.
In my shopping cart at the site is the flat grass sprouters and the soil-less growth medium. This kit will grow flats of grasses for your birds, like the squares of sod you buy for bald spots in your lawn, except they are made of edible, nutritious greens. I have bought wheat flats before from Whole Foods and tossed them in on the floor of my birds’ cages. What a ball they had rolling around in the wet grass!  Linus, my umbrella cockatoo, had a the time of his life “mowing” his own personal lawn.  And the grass continues to grow for some time.

If you have young children and are looking for a way to help them to be interactive with the family parrot, sprouting is a good place to start.  The experience of growing things, especially food, is a wonderful learning tool for children.  When that food is shared with, and appreciated by, your parrot, a special bond is made.
I hope I have eliminated any doubts that you can grow your own healthy sprouts, no matter what color your thumb is. It’s cheap, takes almost no time or energy, and there’s no clean up. And, it’s quite a lot of fun!

I heard a disturbing fact the other day: this will be the first generation of children that might NOT outlive their parents.  The generation referred to is the preschool and grade school children, and those to be born to couples currently in their 20’s.  When you think about it, it really isn’t that surprising.
There are many, many households where both parents need to be working full-time, in which children must fend for themselves at mealtimes.  It is much easier and safer for them to use the microwave than the stove or the oven, so when dinner rolls around, often it’s pizza rolls.  Couple that fact with that schools offer snack vending machines (some even have their own McDonald’s), and it’s a dietary disaster.  These same children stay indoors playing video games instead of playing baseball out in the sun and fresh air.  With the poor eating habits and the utter lack of exercise, there is a huge occurrence of obesity in today’s youth,  which raises the number of instances of diabetes and heart disease.  Children nowadays are starting their lives with disease instead of ending them that way.

It started me thinking about the comparisons between these children and our parrots.  It worries me that captive parrots might be following the same path. As each successive generation of parrots come along, they are one step further away from the wild, the native foods their species thrive on and a life of daily exercise. The reality is that most parrot owners do not know how to properly feed their birds, provide them with healthy activities or understand the level of their intelligence and need for mental engagement.
Proper nutrition and mentally and physically challenging activities are often discussed as topics on the general health and well being of parrots.  This information is readily available to those of us who know to look for it, but something often overlooked is the vital role that simple, natural sunlight plays in their lives.
Outdoor aviaries are becoming more and more popular in the avian community.  They are expensive to buy and require special considerations for safety when built, but they offer so many healthy benefits for our parrots in return.  Every species on our our planet has evolved under the sun, and every species requires it to sustain their lives. Vitamin D is manufactured by the body when touched by sunlight.
The function of vitamin D is to absorb calcium and other vitamins and minerals and keep them at proper levels in the blood stream. The lack of sunlight is a nutritional deficiency.  It has been discovered that the liver stores a small amount of vitamin D3.  This means that less time in the sun is needed than previously thought to get the job done.

Take a look at some of the ways a parrot utilizes sunshine:

• It produces strong bones, beaks, and aids in feather production.
• It builds the immune system.
• It kills germs and bacteria on the feathers and skin (and it has been recently discovered that direct sunlight kills the deadly PDD virus on surfaces.)
• It minimizes the chances of developing certain cancers.
• It reduces anxiety and depression.
• It enhances a bird’s vision.

Natural sunlight can only be reached outside.  Setting your bird’s cage by the window isn’t enough.  Sure it will give them something different to look at during the day, but glass blocks out 90% of the sun’s UV rays, even screens block out 30%, so there is no gain or vitamin D production.

Full spectrum lighting is the closest thing we can manufacture to natural light if you are not able to create an outdoor setting for your bird.  It provides some, but not all, of the benefits.  Nothing man-made can ever compare to the real deal.  Taking your parrot outside after work to catch the last hours of sun in the summer will provide long term health benefits.
Please take care when you bring your bird outside.  Never bring a parrot outside without a harness that is not trained for free-flight or does not have exceptional recall skills. Most birds are able to fly with clipped wings, THIS IS A FACT.  Never leave your bird’s cage in direct sunlight, there are enough reflective surfaces outside for beneficial rays to reach them in the shade.  Never leave them unsupervised.  Hawks and ground predators can and do reach in and kill birds.  If you choose to buy an aviary, choose on from a reputable company (Jamie and Dave use Cages By Design). If you choose to build one, make sure it is sturdily constructed so that a bird will not injure itself or escape, and so that no predator can get in.  Most importantly, use BIRD SAFE woods and metals.
The best thing about natural sunlight is that it’s free and comes with a complementary side of fresh air.

Photos by Sweet Acres Birds Farm

A bird laying an egg is the most natural thing in the world.  Still, we humans always seem so surprised when it happens.

Egg production is not the result of mating, as many astonished single bird owners have discovered.  It is the breeding stimuli in the environment that causes a hen to generate an egg.  If you have only one bird, or are certain that your male and female are nothing more than good friends, the egg will be unviable.  Without fertilization, an egg will not produce a chick.  Now that we’ve concluded the birds and bees portion of this post we can move on to what to do if your bird does lay an egg:

1.  Don’t mess with mama!:

So you wake up one morning to find your bird sitting in a corner of her cage.  You realize that something isn’t right, and you reach in to retrieve her.  She charges forward, her wings out to the sides, straight towards your hand (which you have hopefully withdrawn in time).  Behind her is a little white egg.  She returns to her corner and repositions the egg under her warm body. She will stop at nothing to protect her little treasure. If you’re smart, you will let her be for a few days.
cockatiel egg

2.  Don’t remove the egg too soon:

If you were to immediately remove the egg, while your bird is still in parenting mode, it will only cause her to lay another to replace the one she lost. This can bring about some serious health concerns, including egg binding, common in cockatiels.
It doesn’t take mom long to realize that the egg is a dud. Often,she will abandon the after a few days or start spending longer periods of time away from it.  When away from the immediate nest site, you will find her less defensive with you.  This is the time to remove the egg.
Some people will then replace the stolen egg with a similar sized stone or plastic egg to minimize the need for the hen to lay again. It has been explained to me that this kicks the breeding urge down a notch, surely she understands that this is not a real egg, and quells the urge to produce more. I have never used this technique, but many have successfully.

3.  Keep her from over producing eggs:

Since it is the breeding stimuli in the environment that encourages her egg production, you need to take a good look around and eliminate those things which might be causing her to lay. Cover the area of her cage where she tends to lay with a large toy or object that she cannot use as a nest or nest behind. Keep her from any dark, private areas, such as under or behind the couch, cabinets or corners.  Remove anything that can be used as a nesting material, like shredders, cloth or wood chips.  Avoid warm, mash-like food and limit bathing for the time being.  These are breeding stimulators.  Make sure she gets at least 10 -12 hours of darkness a day.  If you don’t cover your bird’s cage at night, you might want to do this during the spring.  Extended daylight hours signify breeding season.

4.  Keep her healthy while she is laying:

The egg shell is made up mostly of calcium, which comes directly from the calcium stores in your female’s body.  This means she is surrendering her own personal supply for egg production.  Every time she lays an egg, she will be somewhat depleted.  In a chronically laying hen, the depletion is serious and her own health is at risk.
You will want to serve her a calcium rich diet at this time.   Feed her lots of legumes (especially navy beans), broccoli and papaya. Give her scramble eggs, with the shell crushed in to it, a couple of times a week.  Avoid the leafy greens, like kale, spinach and mustard and collard greens. These are normally great foods for your bird, but they contain oxalic acids which inhibit the absorption of calcium, which she desperately need at this time.

Some fun egg facts:

• Did you know that the egg is a miracle of engineering?  It’s dome-like shape distributes pressure evenly, which allows mom to walk all over the eggs, but have you ever noticed that the ends are differently shaped with one end being broader than the other?  If you were to interlock your fingers and apply pressure to the egg lengthwise, you would be very surprised how difficult it is to break.  (Wear gloves if you try this, egg shell shards are sharp!)
• Did you know that, while in the shell, a bird develops an egg tooth?  This is a hard, pointed ridge that grows on top of the beak that is used to pip his way out of the shell when the time comes. It falls off shortly after hatching.
• Did you know that the egg comes with its own supply of food?  The contents of the egg changes as the bird develops, and it contains a constant supply of nutrients.
• Did you know that the mother bird turns her eggs frequently to keep the chick from getting stuck?  A baby bird can adhere to the inside of the shell causing developmental problems and death.  The turning also serves to keep the egg warm from all sides.

For those of you who have read my posts over the past year, I hope I have impressed upon you the importance of feeding your birds a nutritious, healthful diet. Anyone who knows me, or has contacted me with questions about certain products has learned quickly that I hate everything. I could never bring myself to suggest a product that I know falls short of it’s claims, or worse, might actually harm a bird.  I don’t recommend commercial supplements, in large part because of their questionable ingredients, but mainly because I have never found anything that could stack up against a fresh food diet. I have said that all the love, foraging opportunities and enrichment you offer goes to waste if your bird is not feeling well and is without energy as a result of a poor diet.

I have complained a number of times about the iffy eating habits of my umbrella cockatoo, Linus.  For those of you struggling with this problem despite doing the right things, I do understand. Everyday I serve Linus his fresh fruits and vegetables, and more often than I can bear, the dish is removed later in the day untouched.  Every once in a while, I find his dish nearly empty. Before I throw a parade, I check the cage bottom, the floor, the walls and finally the stainless steel bucket attached to the side of his cage, where I often find the missing broccoli.  It is frustrating and worrisome.

The more I look into good nutrition for my birds, the more concerned I become about the foods available to us today.  Did you know that produce today has 25-50% FEWER nutrients than produce grown in the 1960’s? That number will only decline as our environment worsens and as business practices are left unchecked. The fresh foods we DO manage to get into our birds are sub-standard.  I recently have felt near the end of the road in my search to provide Linus with the balance he lacks and the rest of my birds with the ultimate diet.  A friend, who distributes the product, suggested I try Tahitian Noni Juice.
I figured: Why not? I’ve tried everything else.  I looked into the product, and couldn’t find any reason not to try it, but to be honest, I really ordered that first bottle to be supportive of my friend’s business and because she’s such an all-around great gal. I decided, however, to try it myself for a couple of weeks while I did further research and before offering it to Linus.

So that you understand the depth of my skepticism, I read up on the fruit and the plant, grown on pristine volcanic islands in the South Pacific, and how it has been used medicinally by ancient Polynesians for thousands of years. I learned that the leaf of the plant has been used to heal wounds, was applied to broken bones and used as skin care. I looked into the company’s manufacturing and the pasteurization process of the fruit, which they are very forthcoming about. I found they have put over $500 million into noni research since 1996.  I read every word of their unprecedented 14 human clinical trials.  Please trust me when I tell you I did my homework.  I was amazed by the countless stories of improved health.
As we are beaten down every day by stress, the environment, and the poor quality of foods we put into our systems, Tahitian Noni’s bioactive ingredients attach themselves to our cells to repair them, enhance them and maintain them to give support while they do the job they were meant to do. The noni’s claim to fame, however, are bioactive compounds called iridoids (I’d never heard of them either). An iridoid is an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, antispasmodic, antitumor, antiviral, and immunomodulator. Further, iridoids have “smart” adaptogenic properties.  This means that they go to task with the areas of your body that need support. How they benefit you might be entirely different from how they serve me.  It all depends on the individual’s needs and deficiencies. The medicinal capabilities of iridoids are too many to list. This is the big point of difference between noni and other “superfruits” like acai and mangosteen.
The Tahitian Noni company doesn’t deny or try to hide the fact that vitamins and nutrients are lost during the pasteurization process, a process all juices must go through to eliminate harmful bacterias. It is a fact, however, that the iridoids, which are found in enormous quantity in the noni fruit, unlike flavenoids and carotenoids found in all fruits, are unharmed by heat, air and time. You get the full benefit, always, which other juices can’t claim. This is why they call it a bioactive beverage, and not a juice.

The proof of their claims came to me within two days. I felt energized and didn’t feel the need for my usual several cups of coffee to get me through the day.  I wasn’t surprised, in fact, I expected this.  My research had already told me this would be the very least I could expect.  What I didn’t anticipate was that in the the first two weeks, I was sleeping better, the leg cramps that were plaguing me were gone and my vision actually improved.  My thought process seemed somehow clearer and, along with a couple of other benefits that are just too TMI to mention here, I felt great and my performance at work improved. This was the point where I decided to start Linus on it.
Tahitian Noni Original doesn’t taste good.  If you’re expecting Welch’s grape juice, well, just don’t. The great thing is that only a couple of ounces a day gets the job done for most people. The taste, however, is perfect for parrots because they like bitter things.  I still expected to be showered with Linus’s first dose. He tentatively licked the end of the syringe, then I heard a loud “Mmmmm” and he opened wide.  By now he is requesting it.  He calls it: “Mmmm juice”, or actually “Mmmm Oot”, which is pretty darn close.  I have started all of the birds on it.
He’s been on it for over a month and I can already see a lustrous improvement in his, and all of the bird’s feathering.  Further, and most importantly, I can see that he feels good.  There is a twinkle in his eye now, that hasn’t always been there.  Granted, when I see that twinkle, he is usually about to get into some mischief that will ultimately land him behind bars, but as I’ve said before: a naughty bird is a happy bird, and a happy bird is a healthy bird.

I can finally, without hesitation, recommend a product that fulfills its claims and then some.  Tahitian Noni is worth its weight in gold for you and your parrots, especially those who are finicky and inconsistent with.their diet. I am so grateful to have found something to help ease my concerns, and very excited about how quickly I have seen such great results.  Please feel free to contact me  at maginux@hotmail.com if you are interested in learning more, or visit their website.

Q:  Why does my bird act crazy when it rains?

Laura G.,  Oakland, CA

A:  Rain can mean many things to a parrot.  The warm rains of spring mean that the plants are being nourished and food will soon be plentiful.  It is a precursor to breeding season and can signal the onset of hormonal behaviors.  Parrots are able to detect a change in barometric pressure and may be aware of a coming rainstorm well before we are.

At other times of the year, a rain shower will inspire my birds to take a swim in their water bowls.  In this case, the rain is reminiscent of a nice bath.  Wild birds bathe both out of necessity and as a social activity.  Just as we must frequently bathe our birds at a home, wild birds rely on the rains to keep their feathers in top condition and to wash away dander and debris.  Bathing is also a fun activity for any bird and is a time when they get a lot of exercise and expend a lot of energy.

During the dry season, rain is not only a nice change of pace, but it usually brings with it cooler temperatures.  Your birds will take advantage of this for some some exuberant play, or a comfortable nap.  As hormones kick in, you might see some nesty activity.   All of these behaviors are normal for your bird.