Camelot macaws allopreening

The winter months are some of the driest months of the year. Not only are the natural humidity levels typically down during these months, but heating systems further deplete the air of moisture. The result can be dry, itchy skin for everyone – humans and parrots alike.
Typically, when our skin gets dry, we grab some hand or body lotion. But when our parrot’s skin gets dry, they might scratch with their feet or make a fuss to let us know that they are uncomfortable. Some might begin to preen…and preen…and preen.  Some might cross the line into plucking to alleviate the itchiness.

Rosebreasted cockatoo

There are three courses of action we can take:

Bath your parrot more frequently. Somehow, bird owners have gotten the notion that it is unsafe to bathe parrots in the cold weather.This is simply untrue. For all the reasons listed above, it might be MORE important to get them nice and wet at least a couple of times a week during the winter. It is a necessary grooming procedure and your bird’s feather and skin health will suffer if it is overlooked.

If your house is cold and drafty, bathe your bird earlier on so it can dry off during the warmest time of the day and be completely dry for bedtime.This is more for comfort than safety.Your bird is not going to “catch it’s death of cold” from being wet in the winter any more than you will. Being cold AND wet temporarily lowers the body’s immune system. It makes one more susceptible to disease but does not CAUSE illness. Don’t let this misinformation cause you to avoid baths in the winter.

Buy a humidifier. Here is a post that outlines the different types available and which ones are safest for use with parrots.

Use bath sprays.There are several brands available on the market today. When it comes to selecting these products (or any type of product) for your parrots, go for the ones with the fewest ingredients. They are typically the safest and most natural. I have gone through the ingredients in the some of the more popular bath sprays and these are my findings:

• Avix Rain – This product uses ingredients that can be irritants to eyes and skin. It also appears that the more natural ingredients they use are of low quality.
  
• Avix Soother Plus – This product is frequently recommended, but it is an analgesic with medicinal purposes and is not all natural. I don’t recommend this product for aiding dry skin at all.
  
• Mango Parrot Bath Spray – Not even going to go here. These morons sell this SHAMPOO(??) stating this in their product description: ” Caution: Parrot Shampoo is extremely mild but keep away from eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth.” Run away. Run far away.
  
• THE WINNER:  George’s Aloe – Its ingredients are 100% Aloe Barbadensis Miller, a species of Aloe native to northern Africa. It can be purchased in gallon jugs making it by far the cheapest choice. You simply dilute it and put it in a spray bottle. Aloe, as it has multiple uses, is something we should all have on hand in our first aid kits for the treatment of cuts and burns.

Indian ringneck

Whichever product you decide on, spray some on your hand before you spray it on your bird so that you can feel the texture and consistency. You should not be able to actually feel any of the ingredients. There should only be the feeling of soothing moisture. If  it feels oily to you, it will to your bird. It is in a bird’s nature to remove anything foreign from the feathers and your bird will set out to remove the what doesn’t belong. Even the oils secreted from their own preen glands are barely detectable. Never use more than what is recommended with the idea that you are making your bird even more comfortable. You will in fact be causing him distress and givng him a reason to over preen.

Congo african grey

We recently received this email from a customer and just had to share it:

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!  In just a few short hours your training tips have made me love my bird again.
My African Grey had become a screamer, I think mostly from being left alone too much.  The kids are grown and I work two jobs, so she spent a lot of time alone.  When I came home she screamed constantly.  I was on the verge of finding her a new home, but hesitated because I thought someone who did not know birds would end up with her and not treat her well.  The clicker training has pretty much stopped the screaming in just two evenings and in about 15 minutes she mastered the “no” head shake on signal.  I’m amazed and cannot wait to teach her more tricks.  The purchase of your cd’s & dvd is the best money I have ever spent.

Sincerely,

Nancy Bendon

To Nancy: Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your success. We appreciate how difficult it can be to live with a bird that screams to make itself understood. Many people choose to rid themselves of their “defective” bird rather than manage a fixable problem. Thanks for going the extra mile for your bird and congratlations on a job well done!

Screaming course

Screaming is one of the most perplexing of all the behavioral issues our birds have. They scream because they want your attention. They scream because they are bored. They scream because they feel insecure about you or their environment. I suspect that many have no idea why they are screaming at all beyond the notion things are just generally not to their liking. For whatever the reason, all screaming has one thing in common – it manipulates the owner into action of some sort.

The most typical reaction to a screaming bird is over-reaction: anger, pleading, and forced affection. All of these responses add fuel to the fire and reinforce the likelihood that the sceaming will continue. From a bird’s perspective, he has gotten what he wants. He definitely has your attention and is no longer bored. He is feeling less insecure about his world because he has discovered a way of gaining control over it, and you.

It only makes sense that you don’t respond with over-reaction, and in fact, should show no response to the screaming at all. This will make it clear that he can’t manipulate your behavior with his own. However, and this is very important to remember, it does not solve the problem that initiated the screaming to begin with.

Nancy’s first step toward success came when she recognized that there had been a change in her bird’s environment.  Her african grey was not getting the same level of attention she was accustomed to and chose to state her objection through screaming. Nancy amped up her interaction with her bird through training.

cockatiel

One area where we bird owners often fall short is in the type of interaction we share with our birds. We may come home from work and let the bird out of its cage to sit on a nearby perch while we make dinner or on our shoulder as we watch TV or read the paper. No doubt our birds appreciate being with us, but this level of engagement is shallow. Our attention is on our dinner, the TV or the paper – not the bird.

If we can truly call it interaction, it must be…interactive. We should have our focus solely on our bird, engaging in a mutual activity. This is where training works its real magic. The opportunity for bonding through training is unique. It is all about you and your bird, and nothing else.

Training gives your bird the opportunity to earn treats, but it also opens the doors to a new world of learning. You will see how important training becomes to your bird in the focus it has on each task, but you will also notice how much more directly and intnently your bird now looks into your eyes. You reach a new height in your communication and it is a deeply rewarding experience for you both.

rosebreasted cockatoo

Imagine if our birds could say to us: “Look I know you mean well, but this isn’t working out. I’m bored to tears. Either you give me something to do or I’ll have to scream all afternoon…” in language just that clear. There wouldn’t be any behavioral problems and this site wouldn’t exist. The fact is, there’s a lot of guess work and it is hard to find and correct the exact problem. When you begin training your bird, you inadvertantly address a number of issues. Boredom is alleviated, mental stimulation is increased, your level of interaction becomes meaningful. These are the three most common causes of problem behaviors and all can be managed through simple training.

If you have problems with your birds, whether it be biting or screaming, or if you simply want to take your relationship with your bird to the next level,Birdtricks courses are designed to help you get where you want to be with your bird. Visit Birdtricks.com/store  to get started.

Blue and gold macaw, Scarlet macaws

There are any number of things wafting through the air in a home where a bird lives.  Dust, dander, seed hulls and even airborne particles of dried poop occupy more than just the the immediate air space. It settles on and into everything creating the need for a higher standard of hygiene. Floor or ceiling fans and open windows seem to aggravate the problem more than solve it as it blows the settled dust back into the air.  Some of the better home air conditioning systems will trap a great deal in its filters, the rest just lies there in the vents.
Whether you need to invest in air filtration depends on your circumstances.  If you have multiple birds, have a few birds that you live in close proximity to or if you have allergies, I would recommend a good air purifier.
Among the dustiest birds are the cockatoo, the cockatiel and the african grey.They all produce a powder down that is finer in texture and more difficult to deal with, leaving a white film over anything that it lands on, in which you can write your name after a few days, if that interests you.  If you have one or more of these birds (I have 4) a separate air filtration unit is your best bet to ensure good air quality in your home for both you AND your birds.
It’s important to note here that it is not recommended that you house any of these dusty birds near your macaws, especially the blue and gold, who are very susceptible to a respiratory disease called Pulmonary Hypersensitivity Syndrome resulting from poor air quality which has led to deaths in the blue and gold and some other macaw species.  Further, Birdkeeper’s Lung is a human disease that can come from the inhalation of bird dander and other related particulates over a prolonged period of time. The particulates infiltrate the small air sacs in the lungs causing inflammation.  As exposure continues, the lungs lose their capacity and the damage as irreparable. It has also led to deaths.  Although macaws have different respiratory systems than humans, the outcome is basically the same.
pet dander

There are several different types of air filtration available. When you live with birds, a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter is really what works best, since particulates are the main offenders. They range in cost from about $70 to $500+.  The economical shopper is saying: “Where do I get the $70 one.”  Before you run out to Target, let me point out that you will not really be saving money with these inexpensive units. Besides being questionable in their ability to really clean the air, they have filters that require constant replacement, mostly because they aren’t very good filters to start with. The cost builds up.  And with birds, the filters need changing more often than recommended. Try to remember that the point of this is clean lungs.
Avoid anything ionic. These purifiers create ozone in dangerous amounts.  In fact, The Sharper Image, who created the Ionic Breeze recently faced a huge class action lawsuit for knowingly deceiving the public as to just how much ozone was manufactured with the use of their product. I know this because it was the first air purifier I bought, and threw out.

Following this, I contacted my friends with multiple birds and asked them what they use.  Most referred me to the Austin Allergy Jr.  One person told me hers had been running 24/7 for 14 years and works as well as the day she got it. I bought one and LOVE it. There’s no question as to how well it’s working, I know it’s doing its job.
The unit I have cost about $300.  In a non-bird household, the filter, which you will vacuum with your upholstery brush a couple of times a week to clean, needs to be replaced every 3 years (they cost about $125). With multiple birds, you will want to replace it more often.  I replace mine about every 18 to 24 months because I have several of the most dusty birds.
When buying an air purifier, look for companies talking about the filtration.  Forget about how pretty it looks in the wood cabinet, chances are more time was spent on that design.  All that matters is how well it cleans the air.  Mine incorporates a HEGA (High Efficiency Gas Air) filter that removes allergens, chemicals and gases from the air.  It also removes, bacterias, germs, molds and smoke among other things.  Air is filtered from all sides of the unit.  If you’re going to buy an expensive unit, compared with the $70 ones, it should do all of these things.

Mazuri Toucan Pellets

What are pellets?

Pellets are a formulated diet for our parrots, much like the kibbles our dogs and cats are given, but specific to the needs of parrots.  They contain grains, seeds, vegetables, fruits and proteins with added vitamins and minerals.  The ingredients are mixed, and then baked.  Some are made into shapes, dyes and sugar added.  Some of them contain only organic ingredients and human grade grains. None of them are complete.  We can send a man to the moon, but we can’t duplicate a parrot’s natural diet.

Which pellets do I feed my parrot?

Different species have different requirements.  A macaw needs a diet higher in fat and lower in protein, a cockatoo requires the exact opposite, though many pelleted diets will feature both a macaw and a cockatoo on its packaging indicating that it is the right food for either.  There are no species specific formulated diets on the market today, but an organic pellet is always preferable.  If your parrot has any history of liver problems, stay away from the colored pellets.

Are pellets alone enough?

Pellets should be offered in conjunction with fresh fruit and vegetables, cooked grains and pasta, tubers and legumes.  Sprouts might be the healthiest thing we can offer to our birds.  A seed or grain expends its fat reserves in the process of sprouting and the end result is a living plant that offers more nutrients than just about anything else we can feed them.

I offer seed to my cockatiels as a large part of their diet, and my bigger birds are offered seeded treats, like Nutriberries.  Pellets should be used as an addition to an already great diet, in the case of some of my picky eaters, I rely on the pellets to balance out their diet when they flatly refuse to eat the good stuff I give them.

White Budgies

My parrot won’t eat pellets.

You aren’t alone.  Many people who have brought home parrots that were on seeded diets have found it very difficult to convert them to a fresh foods and pellet diet.  Upgrading them to a better quality pellet might present the same problem.  Hiding the pellets in foraging toys has been helpful in introducing the idea of them to skeptical parrots.  When a pellet is where a treat usually is, it might be sampled.

Another thing to consider is: does your parrot recognize it as food?  You might want to mix it in with the other foods that you offer to get that point across, or play games where you pretend to eat one in front of him and make a big deal about how yummy it is.  You can play the “you can’t have this, it’s mine” game.  A parrot wants anything that belongs to you.

Do I have to offer pellets?

There are a number of parrot owners I know that don’t use pellets at all.  The idea that nature doesn’t provide a pellet tree is a compelling argument.  If your parrots diet is so good and so complete that they don’t need the dietary backing of a pelleted food, then you are doing a wonderful job.  Not having a dish of pellets in all of my cages makes me nervous, personally. But, your house, your rules.

Camelot Macaws

I did a survey with a bunch of parrot owners asking them what brands they use and why.  Here are some of the responses:

*Syd (greenwing macaw) will only eat the Kaytee exact rainbow pellets, Cassie (goffins cockatoo) also. Stella (umbrella cockatoo) eats the Zupreem fruit blend. I am working on switching them all to the Zupreem natural to get away from the colors. The amazons eat the Kaytee original. Little ones wont eat pellets. Each bird, depending on size is offered from a dozen to 2 dozen pellets daily along with their veggies, seeds, and things.

*I mix one 5 lb bag of Roudybush to 50 lbs of a natural seed with no dyes. I like Roudybush because of the ingredients and nutritional value, not to mention it also contains no dyes. It tastes good too apparently…I’ve never had an issue getting a bird to try it. I’ve been researching cockatiel diets for almost two years now…and 10% pellets to 90% seed mixture with daily fresh veggies, twice weekly sprouts, and once weekly egg with cheerios or rice krispies seems to be as close to a perfect diet as you can produce in captivity for them.
I understand most people here have big parrots…but this is what I feel is the best for my little guys.

Kaytee Toucan Pellets

*I buy Zupreme Fruit and Natural and mix them. Chicken (moluccan cockatoo) refuses to eat the purple ones, Daisy (greenwing macaw) will alternate between the fruit and natural. One time she’ll eat all fruit, the next time she’ll eat all natural. I never know. My guys aren’t fans of fresh food so they get pellets so I’m sure they eat.

*I keep some pelleted food around and feed some once in a while more as a prevent emergency starvation thing here in Hurricane Country. Hagens natral or Zupreem natural, I am not a proponent of pelleted foods. Feed a fresh seed and sprout mix with chopped veggies and fruit with either some Walnuts, Almonds Pistachios or Pine nuts every day here. Scrambled eggs once or twice a week and a warm mash mix at night just as a bonding thing and to make it easier to medicate if needed. I know spoiled-well maybe a little.

Colored Parrot Pellets

Finally, I want to add that I have actually eaten a pellet.  I was motivated to do this by the smell of the Zupreem fruit blend.  They smell like Fruity Pebbles and I had to know what they tasted like.  I chose an orange one.  For my life I don’t know what they do to make them smell like that because the taste of it doesn’t correspond.  It wasn’t horrible.  It seemed fresh, but tasted bland and not at all sweet.  I wish I had another brand on hand to compare it to at that time because I don’t know if whatever struck me to do that then will ever strike me again.

Here at BirdTricks.com we recommend an organic parrot pellet called Feed Your Flock.

Since I’ve had a bird, I have had to make some small sacrifices in my daily life to accommodate my feathered friend. And believe me, to me these sacrifices were small compared to losing my parrot to deadly fumes. If giving up non-stick cookware seems too big of a sacrifice, you may need to reconsider having a bird.

The nice thing is that most non-stick cookwares we are used to have alternatives without those deadly chemicals. For instance, giving up the non-stick pan was a no brainer. I just replaced it with a stainless steel pan. While the non-stick pan could be cleaned just with one quick wipe, the stainless steel pan needed to soak in soap for a few minutes and then a light scrub. The cleaning wasn’t the problem but the food just didn’t cook the way I wanted on that. So I continued to search for the best alternative.

A few appliances that I had to give up included my electric waffle iron, and george forman electric grill. I have not since found a replacement for the waffle iron but it’s a loss I can go without. The grill on the other hand seemed a greater loss because I enjoyed steaks cooked on it. It took me a few months of searching till I found a solution. I did not come across a single electric grill without the non-stick coating. Someone recommended I try cast iron so I bought a cast iron pan with the lines in it like a grill. I learned to cook steaks, burgers, hot dogs, etc on it and taste as good (if not better) than going out for those. I used to have a non-stick pancake griddle which I replaced with a flat cast iron pan. On both pans, I lightly grease the bottom with cooking spray or oil before use and they are practically non-stick for a single session.

Cleaning cast iron is a slightly different story. If you cook things on it that aren’t messy, it’s actually very easy to clean. Just a wipe down with a moist paper towel and oiling the surface to season it. The oily surface of the seasoned pan becomes almost like a nonstick surface if you maintain it properly. If you do cook something messy, cleaning is a different story. You’re not supposed to soak cast iron so you need to do some hard scrubbing with some steal wool sponges. But not to worry, you can always scrape it clean, season, and reuse it. It’s not the easy one wipe cleaning like non stick, but it’s not as difficult of a sacrifice as it may seem. And honestly, I think the food comes out better prepared on cast iron anyway.

I gave away all my non-stick pots and cookware since I have no use for them anymore and it’s safer than having someone use one by mistake. A few days ago I forgot my cast iron pan on the burner for 3 hours which made me realize how lucky I was that it was not non-stick because then my birds would have been dead. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can get by with non-stick cookware. I’ve read so many sad stories about people who killed their birds that way so I wouldn’t want to take any of those chances.

I found this cute little parrot kit at PetSmart and had to buy it! It’s mainly for small parrots like budgies and the like but I decided to give it a try with my medium sized birds. I can see why it’s for the small ones, though, as my parrots could easily ruin the thing!

Above is a short clip of Bondi lifting the barbell weight it came with. I love the way it is set up because it sets your bird up for success in learning how to do it. The bird has no other choice in what behavior to really do with the barbell so it is a fast trick to teach. Here are the steps I took to get Bondi to learn this in ONE training session!

Conure, Budgies

Photo from www.petsmart.com

I got her to touch the blue ball on the end of the barbell first. I would have preferred if she touched the skinny stick part of it, but she wasn’t interested. Because the toy was new, she was naturally curious and once she touched the barbell, I clicked and rewarded.

Once she understood touching the barbell got her a reward, she began doing it easily so I decided to change things up. I pushed the barbell as far to the right as possible, so some of the connecting stick piece was showing more. I let her explore the blue ball part of the barbell and when she accidentally touched the stick part, I clicked and gave her a jackpot reward. She was willing to touch other parts of the barbell to earn the treat since I was no longer rewarding for just touching the ball. From this point forward, I didn’t reward ever again for touching the ball part of the barbell.

Next, I encouraged her to touch the middle of the stick as I moved it back to the left more and more each time. She got confused a couple times, and went back to touching the ball but quickly remembered it wasn’t earning anything and tried again with the stick part. Once she touched the middle of it (which I had to help her do by lifting it as high as it would go) I began only rewarding for her grabbing the skinny part by the middle and not the sides.

Note: I lifted the barbell up because I realized it was uncomfortable for Bondi to put her head in between two things. It’s important to recognize these things when teaching your bird new things. If I wouldn’t have caught onto that, the training session would have gone a lot slower and wouldn’t have been as fun for Bondi.

Once Bondi was grabbing the middle of the barbell by herself as I held it up, I tried it once where I didn’t hold it up and she immediately went for it and picked it up. I clicked and rewarded and she began offering the behavior over and over again. I realized I could get her to do more than one lift of the barbell if I wanted, and we worked up to 3.

To learn more about prop trick training with your own parrot, check out http://www.birdtricks.com/trick-training!