Note: If you prefer video blogs, just watch the video. If you like to read and see pictures, that’s what the text and photos are here for. Your choice on how you receive this blog post’s information!

Here in New York, I’ve had a really hard time getting around without it taking all day… and there’s a Petco super close to us that is convenient but has a terrible selection.

So on my last trip there for the summer, I decided to get a little creative. I remembered my friend Patty (who also blogs here) said something about how she almost bought some small animal toys for her birds because the selection was so bad at a store she went to. I thought about this hard, and decided to go look at the selection for animals like rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs and other small creatures.

To my surprise, I found some things that would work for my birds as well! And I happily got them. I wanted to share them with you, so that if you’re in the same situation as me, your birds can go on enjoying new and exciting toys nonetheless!

The first toys I found were the ones pictured above, they have one walnut in the center of each of them. Perfectly fine for birds.

Other things I found were mats like this one where the birds can use it as a preening toy, and just more or less take it apart like Cash, our military macaw, is starting to do in this picture.

The one that most excited me though, was the organic (USDA certified) wheat grass in the stores that was already grown and freshly green! I’ve gotten bird ones before, and posted videos of which, but this one was for cats. I read and looked closer, and it was labeled good for birds and other small animals as well and isn’t treated with anything at all. I was so excited I bought one for each of my smaller birds who dug right in.

Check out the video at the top of this post to see more toys I found that work as bird toys!

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“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 »

After you watch this video, you’ll understand why my brother and I are such big proponents of flight training.

If you’d like to learn more about how flight training might save your birds life someday, one of the DVD’s from our Total Parrot Transformation Seminar covers indoor flight training in great detail.

You can get it here:
Total Parrot Transformation Seminar DVD’s

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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 »

I couldn’t decide which title to go with.

I know I’m behind a post for this past week. I have a good excuse though,  I just got home from visiting Dave and Jamie at the circus in Coney Island, NY where they have been stationed for the summer. It was so much fun. This was my first time out to see the show. It was strange to see my friends in this bizarre setting, and stranger still that they fit in so well.

The show was GREAT. I have decided I like a 1-ring circus better than a 3-ring because it is so much less overwhelming an experience and I think you see much more cool stuff that way. I watched the show three times and I still hadn’t gotten enough of it by the time I left.

I worked in entertainment most of my life and have seen a lot of strange things happen in backstage areas, but nowhere else will you walk back there to find an elephant standing around casually wagging its trunk back and forth right next to a guy juggling items that were moving too fast to identify. There was a guy warming up before his act in such a way that would’ve dislocated my joints, and everyone was wearing costumes that were so bedazzled that they probably weighed more than the people wearing them. Then there’s Stevie the clown who takes spiky hair to a new level. It’s all part of a typical day in the circus.

Of particular interest to me was watching the trainers interact with their animals, not all of whom were part of the show.  The care and attention they received was an all day/everyday thing with no small detail being overlooked. The animals and their enclosures were kept in pristine condition and it was heartwarming to catch a trainer talking baby talk to their animals when they thought no one was watching.
Of course, I was paying a lot of attention to how the birds were faring, and they all looked in great health and spirits. If I’m going to be honest, I was expecting to see some wear and tear on the flock (and on the Womachs), but I didn’t. They all looked and acted much like they did before they had left on tour. Jamie and Dave have done a spectacular job in raising the birds to be able to handle their lifestyle which always includes a lot of travel. The birds are well adjusted and therefore open to change and new experiences. And, man, do they look beautiful flying across the ring during the show.

So, you’re probably wondering where recall training fits into this post. Unfortunately, in order to explain, I have to throw Jamie under the bus for a second.  Following the final show on the first day I arrived, Jamie was carrying the macaws, Comet and Tusa, from their backstage cages to the aviaries for the night when Comet broke loose from her grip. I remember my jaw hitting the ground as I watched Comet fly ahead of us and bank to the right and out of sight. Jamie yelled to Dave, who was at the aviaries, that Comet was loose and he somehow managed to be on top of the aviary in the time it took us to round the corner to see Comet circling back and landing in his hand. These accidents happen to trainers too. If it weren’t for the excellent recall skills trained into these birds, Comet might be gone.  I think Jamie will forgive me for bringing this out into the open in the hopes that it will serve as a lesson for others.  Hopefully she’s forgiven everyone for all the teasing she received following the incident.   Got to have a sense of humor around here!

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"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 »