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.

**INSERT**

“Using this ‘Real Speech’ system for only 15 minutes a day, teaches your parrot how to speak more words, phrases and songs than you can ever imagine. Even species that can’t talk will whistle your favorite tunes.” Click for more »

I learned a long time ago never to look at Linus when I am on the phone.  Being a cockatoo, he believes the sun rises just for him.  He can’t understand why I would talk to an electronic gadget when I have perfectly good cockatoo standing by.  If I look at him, it’s an invitation to join in the conversation.
My daughter called the other day and was telling me about a jacket she had seen in a store window that cost $3500.  She was jokingly asking me if I thought she should take out a loan for it, just as I was passing the cage.  I looked up, and briefly locked eyes with Linus.  “Alright” he says.  Astonished, my daughter says: “WHAT??”  “What WHAT??”, I said.  “You think I should take out that loan?”  “NO!!”  Apparently, Linus sounds a bit like me.  It took a minute to clear up the confusion.
I have a friend with an african grey that like to sit in his cage and have long imaginary phone conversations, in her voice.  He begins by imitating the tones of the phone dialing and goes on the have the most boring phone chat: “Uh huh, uh huh.  Really?  Hmmm.  Okay.  Uh huh…”  It’s really embarassing for my friend who hopes she’s not really that dull.  I find it hilarious, and have suggested that she employ his services when telemarketers call.  Or her mother-in-law.

Dave and Jamie’s rose breasted cockatoo, Bandit, sounds exactly like Jamie.  Listen for it when they post videos.
I have some friends that own an amazon, who favors the husband, but speaks with the wife’s voice.  I was mentioning to them that I thought this was an interesting twist.  They are convinced that it is intentional.  While the husband might not respond to the bird beckoning him, he is unlikely to ignore his wife.
Ironically, I have started sounding like my parrots.  When I leave for work, I make a big production out of saying goodbye to each of my birds individually:  “Bye BYE, Theo.”  “Bye BYE, Tinky”, until I have addressed them all.  Ususally, the last thing I hear when I am walking out the door is a giant “Bye BYE” from Linus.  It’s really cute, but not so much when it slips out when I am leaving my co-workers for the day.  “Bye BYE, Jessica!”  It’s a bird owner thing.  I dropped a pen one day and a little girl picked it up and handed it to me.  I said: “Thank you!  What a good bird.”

**INSERT**

Watch a LIVE video demo of me taming our wild, biting Macaw, “Tiko.” (See how I handle “Tiko” as he lunges at me, screaming and biting — how I lovingly calm him down… and mesmerize him so much that he BEGS me to pet him with my BARE HANDS 5 minutes later!) Click for more »

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.

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.

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.

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.

**INSERT**

"Discover How New Training Techniques Can Finally Train Your Parrot To Entertain Himself Quietly… Even If Trying To Ignore The Screaming, Cramming It’s Cage Full Of Fun Toys, & Giving Him More Attention Has Failed Miserably!"  Click for more »