What is the best diet for a parrot?
In my opinion, the best diet for a parrot is the one that fits your lifestyle. It is the one that you will do EVERYDAY without fail. A friend once told me "it hurts to be hungry.", and it does! So, the best diet is the one that you will never forget - never put off. If that means a prepared product, there is nothing wrong with that! Pick one that has the best variety for the particular type of parrot you have and be sure it is given every day along with fresh, clean water. Then, if you can add a few other things for nutrition, interest and treats, so much the better. Around here, we feed 1/3 seed and nuts, 1/3 pellets, and 1/3 fresh and sprouted foods. Our seed and nuts are mixed to our own specifications and adjusted for the different types of birds we are feeding. In addition, we add Nekton vitamin supplements and calcium (for Greys especially) according to the bird's needs.
What size cage does a bird need?
The rule of thumb is "Bigger is Better" but most cages have a rating that gives you a good general idea of which bird will be comfortable in which cage. Remember, the amount of time the bird spends in the cage versus out on an open perch directly affects its needs. If the bird is out most of the time and can stretch its wings and tail then a smaller cage for sleeping at night is not a big problem; however, if, like a lot of people, you have to be gone most of the day, then a bigger cage becomes much more important. In this case, try to get one that allows enough room for the bird to exercise its wings, turn around without hitting its tail, and generally move with relative freedom.
Other than a cage and food, what are the necessities for having a parrot?
Love and patience! With its basic needs met, your bird needs you! Stimulation, entertainment, something to occupy its time and brain can all be accomplished with a few creative toys, but none will replace your love and interaction! Give your bird your time - that's what it will need the most.
Why do birds pluck their feathers?
Usually plucking falls under one of these 3 categories: - physical, emotional or mental. I always start by trying to eliminate the physical - check its diet. Often diet deficiencies cause problems. Check what it is eating, how much it is eating, check for weight changes up or down and adjust accordingly. Next look at the condition of its feathers. Are there pinholes visible when held up to the light (mites/bugs)? Are they straight, clean and well formed (healthy growth)? Is the bird acting 'normal' or could there be the start of an infection? With physical issues checked, look at the emotional issues. How old is the bird? Many will start to pluck as their sexual frustration mounts with hormones at maturity. It is a natural instinct for many birds to 'feather their nest' by pulling out a few of their mates feathers (or their own if no mate is available) when they want to breed. Has your household been disrupted lately? Has your time with or around your bird changed? Your bird will react to these changes. If you can't go back to your old routine, then offer your bird new things to think about. Try music if your voice is not within hearing range or toys with treats inside to peak its interest and occupy its time. Put another bird in closer proximity so that they can interact without hurting each other. Finally, take a look at its mental state. Is plucking a habit? Is it plucking when it's bored? Is it plucking when some particular thing is happening around its cage (or not happening)? Again, you are smarter than your parrot, so come up with a new idea to take its mind off of plucking and give it something else to do. There are some plucking remedies on the market. Most are based on bad tastes that discourage the bird from wanting to taste its feathers. Don't spend a lot on these - remember, your bird needs to be able to preen and clean its feathers, especially during a molt, but do try to discourage the behavior before the feather follicles are permanently damaged.
How do I stop the screaming?
Screaming is a learned trait for many birds (exception - cockatoos who like to announce the morning and evening - it feels so GOOD!). Often they learn it from other birds but it can also be picked up from a very noisy household. Think about it... when trying to break a bird of a screaming habit, there are a few rules I like to use: 1) Patience! It took the bird a while to learn to scream, it will take a while to unlearn as well. 2) Don't reinforce the bad habit! Your natural reaction will be to give the bird some attention when it screams - good or bad - be careful. Attention is probably what it is looking for, and it won't distinguish good from bad: so what you are really doing, is reinforcing the action! Try not to react. 3) Give it a distraction. The best is to teach your bird to talk. Then, when it screams, calmly start talking in its presence. It will not be able to resist the urge to join in the conversation. Don't react to it until it starts talking in a civil voice. Thus, teaching it if it wants your attention, it needs to talk, not scream. 4) Finally, many birds develop a routine. They scream around the same time of day or in reaction to the same stimulus. If you can identify what triggers its screaming, try to interrupt the pattern. Give it something else to do BEFORE the screaming starts. Eventually, it will forget that it likes to scream when you leave the table to clear the dinner dishes!
Glove or no glove?
A question that comes up an amazing number of times is whether or not to use a glove when working with an aggressive bird. There is an 'old wives' tale' out there that says birds are instinctively afraid of gloves.
This seems to have started back in the days when most birds were wild caught and brought into the country through quarantine stations. In these stations they were handled very roughly by people wearing gloves and having no interest in the birds or their care.
Back then, wild caught birds probably were 'trained' to be afraid of gloves but today, birds are no longer imported in this manner. Most birds are lovingly bred and trained by people with a real interest in their well being.
So, when people ask me if birds are afraid of gloves I generally answer - yes...but only because birds are generally afraid of anything new! (Ever give a new toy or even a new food to a bird only to see it run to the far corner of the cage and act like the new thing is going to attack it)?? If you have a bird that has become a little aggressive - usually when being asked to step up out of its cage - I would first recommend going back to basics.
Start over with your "up-up" training. If the bird insists on biting, use a stick until your fingers are safe or learn how to remove the bird from its cage with a towel (most birds do not associate the towel with you - it's just that mean white thing that makes them come out of their cage).
If these don't work for you, then, by all means, wear a glove. In fact, a little self sticking tape like Vetwrap, around the fingers before putting on the glove also helps! Wearing a glove and teaching your bird not to be afraid of it is far more preferable to leaving the bird in the cage for the rest of its life!!! As your confidence builds, try using the glove to get it out of the cage and your bare hand once it is on the perch. Whatever works for you is fine - just keep trying, don't give up on the bird because of a bad habit - break the habit!
SPECIES PROFILES AND GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
MACAWS
scarlet Macaws are arguably the most beautiful of all of the large parrots. They have the most vibrant red bodies with an almost iridescent yellow wing cover accented by shades of blue and sometimes green. But Scarlets are also, in my opinion, the most temperamental of the large macaws.
I never recommend a Scarlet to anyone who has not had a large bird before. With proper care and attention they make wonderful pets but they do require high maintenance. I would equate them with some small dogs – a little high strung, easily reacting to rapid movements and excitement and requiring more hands-on time to keep them tame and happy. They can become more protective of their family and cage than many other varieties and therefore need a person experienced enough not to be intimidated by their strong personalities.
My experience with Scarlets is that they can be nippy when very young. If this is discouraged from the start, they become wonderful loving pets, however, if the handler shows any kind of fear or physical discipline it can result in an aggressive bird. Biting is encouraged by reaction of the handler to nips and pinches.
Scarlets well socialized and carefully handled make equally delightful pets as any other macaw with the added benefit of their very distinctive and gorgeous coloration.
Blue and Gold Macaws are probably the most popular of the macaw varieties. They have an extremely playful, outgoing personality and do well as a family bird. They handle the commotion of the family setting very easily.
Blue and Golds do have a mischievous side! If there is something to get into trouble with, they will find it…Very curious, usually gregarious, they thrive on a lot of attention.
Green Wing Macaws, in my experience, are the sweetest of all the common Macaws. I would describe them as real "cuddle-bugs"! Often mistaken for the Scarlet Macaw, the Green Wing has a red body, usually a bit more crimson than the vibrant Scarlet and has a green wing that blends into shades of blue (the Scarlet has bright yellow). They are one of the largest of all of the Macaws with the very rare and expensive ($8000-$10000) Hyacinth Macaw being the largest variety.
Green Wings adore people. They are generally very gentle birds and make a great choice as a first big parrot. They entertain themselves well and with a minimal amount of training enjoy sitting on an open perch or playpen without the constant need to explore the rest of their surroundings. They are very trusting of people and can be easily introduced to new visitors. Because of their love of people, it is always a good idea to allow interactions with men/women/children (with supervision) to keep them from becoming overly bonded to one handler.
PARROTS
Hawkhead Parrots are one of the most unusual of all parrot species, not just that they are the only species in their genus, but because of their very distinctive look and personality.
The Hawkhead is most recognized by its unique crown of feathers that lay down around its neck. When startled or defensive the Hawkhead raises these feathers making a crown which reminds me of the mane of a lion that surrounds its head. This crown allows the Hawkhead to look much bigger than this small bird really is!
In the wild, the Hawkhead is a ferociously protective fighter, often encouraging fights to protect its territory. For this reason, they have presented some problems for breeders in captivity. Locating pairs in such a way as to prevent them from being so distracted by other pairs presents a real challenge for some. With this in mind, Hawkheads are somewhat rare in the parrot community.
With a small size, similar to that of a conure, the Hawkhead is any easy choice for people with limited space. When raised as a handfed baby, they make exceptional pets. Their personality is fun, extremely affectionate and a little exuberant! They have a wonderful ability to entertain themselves and can be taught to stay on a playstand with ease. As a comparison, many people liken their personality to that of the Caique or the Blue and Gold Macaw. Hawkheads, however, are extremely intelligent and can be taught to talk with a fairly wide variety of words. There have even been reports of Hawkheads that have learned to recognize frequent visitors and address them by name upon their approach!
When happy, Hawkheads have a whistle that can be fairly loud. If taught to talk, this whistle can be replaced by words but some training is necessary to accomplish this task. In my opinion however, the whistle is rather different and not nearly as offensive as the loud scream of many other birds
