Busy Play

It's not always easy to find the right item to keep parrots busy. For Munch, it's a bag or a hide-away. This oatmeal container was a treasure. For Buster, my grey, his latest love is to take a rose blossom apart petal by petal. He cherishes each piece. For the large macaws that I am watching, they seem to love a long branch (twig) of rosemary from the garden. I just lay them across the top of the cage and when I return, the needles are all over! The room smells good though!

Coco Coming Around

Coco is slowly getting used to the stimulation of spending time here. He is talkative and has plenty to say about the other birds. I brought him up to the ropes to hang out while I work at the computer. He obviously didn't care for Oprah on TV. He turned his back and looked out the window instead. He was not completely comfortable and didn't climb around very much. Hopefully this will improve.
I love the fact that he will talk even when I am close to him. My own grey only likes to talk when no one is watching! In this second photo he is actually speaking. Can you see his lips moving?

Bird Tube Website

http://www.bird-tube.com/absolutevc/default.aspx


Check out the above website to watch some great parrot videos. Lots of fun. Plan to spend some time there because it's addictive!

Coco Congo Grey

This is Coco! He is a big beautiful Congo African Grey. He is 20 years old and is an "only child." Mom and Dad went on a long trip and Coco is staying in my home for the first time. He is becoming more and more comfortable with the many new sights and sounds of my home. I installed a foot toy bowl and he seems to love the selection of pieces of wood, rope, toy parts, and a small whiffle ball. He plays with each for quite some time before dropping it. Then, I simply pick them up and return them to his toy bowl to his delight.

Tiel Time Out

Every day I try to give this group of cockatiels some time to explore and stretch their wings. Munchkin, the male pied usually wants to be the highest. He watches over the rest of them. If Katie, the cinnamon pied hen goes to the floor, so does Munch.
I check on them regularly and have to gather them up off the floor to go back to the play tree. Cockatiels naturally enjoy "grazing" on the ground. They busy themselves picking up all the little morsels of seeds and pellets. These four certainly enjoy each other's company. Being part of a flock is comforting.

Oh what a family!

I love this group. You've seen them before. Sydney, Sophie, and Kiwi are a happy flock of birds. The bottom photo is a shot of their Tortoise friends caught in the act. At first, I thought he was in distress...then I realized what was happening. Learn something new every day.



I care for more than just birds.

Who Needs A Roomba

Granted, a Roomba is a wonder device for any bird home. A little automated robot that undocks, patrols the floors picking up debris, and then returns to the dock to charge. It would get quite a workout at my home!
However, in this photo, you will see the more common "quicker picker upper." As Sophie enjoys a piece of wheat bread, Hazel waits patiently for any crumbs to fall.

The photo isn't easy to see due to the back light from the window. But, I couldn't resist taking a picture because Hazel didn't move for ten minutes!

My dog, Moki, is also constantly on floor patrol at my home. She is like a raccoon when it comes to reaching inside a cage to sweep a dropped piece of chicken or cheese from the newspapers. She is also quite an expert at cracking almonds and eating the nutmeat from them. Strange diet, to be sure!

Exercise Your Bird

Birds in the wild don't just sit around all day. They fly, forage, and play! Provide a junglegym for your parrot and teach it to exercise. Some parrots are more stoic. These two youngsters KNOW how to play.

Imagine how their muscles are working as they climb and hang and pull themselves up.

After some time out on the ropes, they return to their cage for some quiet time. Maybe only five minutes but, hey, it's something!

If your parrot doesn't get active, try to get him to flap his wings or walk on the floor or bed. Anything is better than just sitting and eating.

Check This Out

This is the Fine Vine Swing. My parrots, and my guest birds, are having the time of their lives swinging, climbing, and flapping in circles while playing on this. I can imagine parrots hanging on vines in the wild and having fun like this! Go to www.estarbird.com to see the details. Great enrichment for any parrot.

A room with a view.

This is Zulee. He/she is an African Senagal parrot. Zulee is positioned next to a window that looks out to the back garden and open space area. When I am there, I will sit next to Zulee and calmly talk to him. We watch the ground squirrels and birds and I am pretty sure he enjoys it. Of course, being close to a window can be scary too. There's a lot of activity out there that a parrot can get anxious over! Cats passing by, hawks overhead, and birds dispersing in a frantic maneuver.

Discussion Groups

I am thinking of hosting a series of discussion groups in my home. I would like to hear from those of you who would consider attending. The cost would be $40 per person or $45 per couple. The first one will cover feather picking. I expect a round-table discussion about what everyone has tried and what results, if any, were seen. In some ways, this is like a support group. Feather picking is a frustrating behavior that makes us feel helpless. The bird usually seems happy but the humans that watch with emotion can't help but feel there must be something they haven't tried. I will have some handouts and the discussion should be lively! Refreshments will be served and perhaps a follow-up can be scheduled periodically. Tentatively, I will schedule the first group for Sunday March 30th at noon. Other discussion groups will cover "Screaming and Noise Manipulation" "The one-person bird" and the always popular, "Biting!" Please respond soon with your input. Seating is limited.

Jasper Budgie

This is Jasper. He is 12 years old and playful as ever! He is residing in my bedroom/office during his stay because he gets medicine every morning and evening. Jasper chatters and rings his bell actively almost all day. When it's time for his medication he stands tall and allows me to gently reach in and collect him with my hand. He and I get along great. What a guy! Budgies can be wonderful company.

Fuzzy Wuzzy Preening Toy

New toy (for me) and it's a great one. Starbird.com has a fantastic selection of natural toys. This one is called Fuzzy Wuzzy. Buster found it irresistible and shredded it with gusto. It comes with two quick link hangers. I placed it near his perch and you can see how quickly its condition changed. This one is going to be a staple around here. It's always nice for a parrot to have a preening toy to buddy up to when he is roosting. Something to fuss with other than his own feathers!

Time Out

Recently I had the chance to care for a flock of parrots in their sunny home. Gandalf, the fluffy congo grey, enjoyed getting out and dancing on top of his cage. He had sun streaming in, so I sprayed him with my spray mister. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy it!

Below is Abigail, a timneh grey. She also got sprayed with the mist shower.

Afterwards, they enjoyed foraging for their Harrison's and got back to the business of playing inside their cages.

Happy birds.

Charlie Ready to Go!

Charlie the Sun Conure spent a few days with us. When mom came to get him, she hoped he would "want to go home." Yes, he had a fun time here chiming in with all the other birds, but he was happy to see Mom! They, after all, have a very special relationship. You can see this from the photo. He climbed into her sweatshirt and popped up to say, "look at me!" "This is my Mom!" That's one happy little guy.

Conure Mania

Lots of conures at my place this week! Here you can see Charlie, the sun conure, shredding away at his soft wood toy.


Kiku and Ben are next to each other and they seem to like the company. Last, but not least, Baily is not happy with the photo op. She wanted to eat her breakfast before Dude bothered her. Five conures in one room is a sight, and sound, to behold!