1. GET TO KNOW ABOUT PARROTS BEFORE YOU BRING ME HOME - I am not a domesticated pet like a dog or cat. I still have the spirit of the jungle in me. I have special needs, which you may find hard to fill. Please don’t learn these too late for my well-being. And please don’t acquire one of my cousins wild from the jungle – it will jeopardize his survival and well-being, and that won’t be a party for you either!

2. GIVE ME THE LARGEST HOME POSSIBLE - I am used to flying through rainforests or savannas. I have given up this great gift for your pleasure. At the very least, give me enough room to flap my wings and exercise. And I need toys for my amusement and wood to chew – otherwise, I might confuse your Home with the forest and its trees.

3. GIVE ME A NUTRITIOUS DIET – I need a wide variety of fresh and nutritious foods, even if they take time to prepare. I cannot survive on seeds alone. Take time to learn what my needs, and preferences are.

4. LET ME HAVE A ‘SOCIAL LIFE’ – I am a gregarious flock animal – but I am not one of you. I need lots of socialization to learn how to act with you, and with my siblings. I also need to have adequate quality time with you every day – no matter what your schedule or other needs are. I am a living, feeling creature. Above all, I need to be able to have complete trust in you, and count on your predictability in looking after me – every day.

5. LET ME BE CLEAN – I may like to drop food or even throw it, but I need meticulous cleanliness to be healthy. My skin itches without frequent showers, the barbs of my feathers won’t seal if they become oily and, worst of all, I may become ill if my food or water is not always sanitary.

6. I NEED MY OWN DOCTOR – You may not understand my physiology and therefore you may not recognize it early on when I get sick. And it may be too late when you do, because I hide my illnesses (remember what I said about my being an animal of the jungle, where there are lots of predators). And I need an avian vet – a specialist (no HMOs for me please). If you can’t afford one, perhaps you shouldn’t have taken me home.

7. PLEASE DON’T PUNISH ME – Just as I don’t always understand your peculiarities, you may not understand mine. I don’t TRY to get in trouble – remember, a house is not the jungle. If I do screw up, don’t yell at me and never hit me. I have sensitive ears and I may never trust you again if you strike me. Hands are sometimes scary things to us (why in the world would you not be zygodactylous like us?). Even more importantly, we don’t learn by punishment. We are gentle creatures who only strike back to protect ourselves; we learn through patience and love.

8. SPEAK MY ‘LANGUAGE’ – I know you get upset with me when I knock over my water bowl, throw food, scream or pluck my feathers. I don’t do these to annoy you – I am probably trying to tell you something (perhaps that I am hurting, lonely, or sad.). Learn to speak MY (body) language. Remember that I, alone of all creatures on this planet, learn to speak yours!

9. SEE ME AS AN INDIVIDUAL – I am a unique and feeling being. No two of us are alike. Please don’t be disappointed in me if I don’t talk like you wanted, or can’t do the tricks that your friend’s parrot can do. But if you pay close attention to me (and I always empathize with you, whether you know it or not), I will show you a unique being who will give you so much more than talking and playing. Give me a chance to show you who I am; I think you’ll find the effort worth it. And remember – I am not an ornament; I do not enhance ANY living room décor. And I am not a status symbol – if you use me as such, I might nip at your up-turned nose!

10. SHARE YOUR LOVE WITH ME – Above all, please remember that you are my Special Person. I put all my trust and faith in you. We parrots are used to being monogamous (no bar-hopping for us!). So please don’t go away for long periods or give me away – that would be a sadness from which I may never recover. If that seems to be asking a lot, remember – you could have learned about my needs before bringing me home. Even having a baby or taking a new job isn’t a fair reason – you made a commitment to me FIRST. And if you think that you must leave me because you might die, provide for me forever after you leave. I may live to a ripe old age but I can’t provide for myself. Remember I’m in a small cage amongst people who are not of my blood.

11. YOUR RIGHTS – You have lots of rights, but I can only assure one. And that is, if you treat me the way I described above, I will reward you with unwavering love, humor, knowledge, beauty, dedication – and a sense of wonder and awe you haven’t felt since you were a child. When you took me home, you became my Flock Leader, indeed, my entire universe – for life. I would hang the moon and stars for you if I could. We are one in Heart and Soul.

Source: http://www.cleos-corner.com/Rights.html

My wife and I have two Amazon yellow heads, one is 40 and the other is 20. Both are males and are different kind of yellow heads.

They go in and out of screaming modes, thanks for the advice.  We are trying to get them on a better path of behavior.

The younger bird Cyrano has started to pick the feathers out of the front of his neck. We have had him for 31/2 years before this behavior started. We have taken him to the Vet for a physical and advice.

We spray the birds with aloe Vera and water every day and they get weekly showers. We have changed their diets on the advice of the Vet and our bird groomer.

Cyrano will let the feathers on his neck get almost grown back and then he will pick them out during the night. The next week or so he seems to be in some pain from the picked area and the spot looks kind or irritated.

Do you have any other advice for us?

Thank you

Pat and Bob Young

**ANSWER**

If the vet has done a complete physical did that also include a CBC blood test?

And was this an avian vet?

There is a difference between regular vets and avian vets. Avian Vets are required to take more extensive training in Avian Medicine.

My concern is if he doesnt have a medical issue then have there been any different changes in the home? Such as a change in location of his cage or new changes in the home such as a new family member.

If the parrots owners are under stress and displaying negative feelings or arguments will cause the bird to stress out and it could cause behavioral problems and plucking at its feathers.

Its important to find what is causing his stress in order to stop the plucking.

Does he had toys him his cage? and if so does he have a favorite one or do you rotate the toys from time to time? How much time does he get out of his cage to play and socialize?

All of these are important, because boredom and frustration will also cause plucking. It just I do not see many pluckers in amazons as much as I do in cockatoos or african grays.

I personally would have to spend some time with him to pin point what he is feeling or bothering him.

This question came from a Macaw owner, who read that you never give your birds “human snacks” suck as potato chips, French fries, or other highly salted foods. They were told that salt is extremely toxic to birds and could kill them. Was that true?

Well, my first thought was no, because if it were true I would have a whole lot of dead birds lying around our aviary. We always share our snacks with them, including salty snacks. I’m not talking about dumping a sack of chips into their food dish…just an occasional chip or two.

I thought about it some more……if salt kills birds how do sea birds that live around oceans survive? Obviously someone is wrong here.

And nearly every animal on earth needs salt! Why would such a vital mineral be highly toxic to birds?

I took a careful look at the formulated food products available for birds, and sure enough, right there in the ingredients is Natural Trace Mineral Salt and Sodium Selenite. Sodium Selenite is added to many poulty foods to promote growth and prevent selenium deficiency disease. But both of these salts are added to Harrison’s food diet, and this (it seems) is the de-facto diet to feed recommended by many bird enthusiasts.

So ok….salt is good, right?

SALT GLANDS

Sea birds have evolved with a digestive system that combines their kidneys, GI tract, and special salt glands to regulate the amount of salt in their body. Their system is designed to maintain a total body fluid homeostasis, which allows them to live off the high sea salt diet native to their environment. Unfortunately, this is not the case with most tropical birds. Their system is dependant on their kidneys to remove any excess salt in their system. Too much salt will also increase the urination, resulting in hydration problems.

Well hey! That’s the same problem humans have, isn’t it? If you eat too much salty foods, your body craves for fluids, and your urination increase dramatically! But salt doesn’t kill humans….?

The problem lies with the birds kidneys, and their inability to produce hypertonic urine (urine with lots of sodium). In other words, they have more difficulty removing high amounts of salt, unlike Sea Birds which accomplish this with their salt glands. Therefore, too much salt will quickly dehydrate a bird.

So OK, am I now saying salt is bad? No!

Any time you eat a diet high in salt or sugar, you are going to have health problems. The same goes for birds! Too much will cause health issues, as I just discussed…..but not enough salt will cause a number of deficiencies also! A diet with little sodium will result in loss of weight, iodine deficiencies, and (for breeders) lower egg production and a higher loss in egg size and growth. There are also a number of skin diseases traced to salt deficiencies.

The problems begin when you start feeding diets with excessive amounts of salt! But what is “excessive”. Unfortunately, the folks sounding the warning bell are using terribly unrealistic diets. They point to work done in Illinois and Maryland, where studies were done on birds being fed diets containing 4% salt! Well Holy Cow! What do you expect from that sort of diet!!!

So the warnings went out…bird lovers heard the sirens and assumed that too much salt means “all salt” and they cut back on loads of food items. Bread? Well of course…we use salt to make bread. So now all bread products are bad. Processed food? Yup, more salt…gotta stop giving my birds that too!

RELAX

You can feed your bird salty items without worrying about them dropping dead in their cage. Just keep in mind that heavily salted items must be given only occasionally.

If you gave your bird 3-4 potato chips, the salt content he is receiving is equivalent to a human eating 2 teaspoons of salt. Obviously any more then that would begin to have some serious dehydration problems. But that small amount isn’t going to hurt your bird.

It’s like I preach over and over…birds have the exact same nutritional requirements as humans do. You obviously are not going to eat 4-5 bags of potato chips or fatty snacks…but a small bowl is just fine. Therefore, 2-3 snack chips or crackers will not cause your bird problems either. And they will enjoy their occasional treat!

Use your common sense! Quit listening to these doomsday scientists who run test designed to find something wrong with any product. Once you look at the actual test results, and get past the doomsday news flashes, you will relax and give your birds their snacks.

I know that if I wanted to start a birdy-riot in my aviary, the sure way to do it would be to stop putting salt on their popcorn!

Eclectus are very unique parrots, because they are sexually dimorphic, which means there is a very big difference between male and female, making it extremely easy to identify them. Male Eclectus are green, while females are predominately red and blue.

It was during the late 1880′s that scientist discovered that the green Eclectus were the males and the Red Eclectus were the females and that applied in each of the Eclectus species. This made sexing the chicks easy for breeders since there is no doubt by the color of the pin feathers as to what sex the baby was, so this was a financial savings on DNA testing on all the chicks.

BACKGROUND

There are 16 documented species of the Eclectus, however only 4 are generally available in the United States and Europe. These are the Solomin Island, Red Sided, Vosmaeri, and Grand. The Eclectus is a medium sized parrot. Solomon Island’s are the smallest, being 12”-13” long. Red-Sided Eclectus are the biggest at 16”-17”.

Eclectus are a bird native to New Guinea , the Solomon Islands, and southwards to Australia. In the wild, they are very good fliers, and spend much of their time flying over the jungle canopy.

As pets they are very gentle and playful. While they have a loud scream they are normally very quiet. They are excellent talkers, being rated in the top three of the parrots. From our experience, the males have always been the best talkers, and the most friendly and sociable of the sexes.

They are fairly difficult to breed. Breeders that start out as pets have a difficult time learning to parent and are the most difficult to breed. Wild Eclectus parrots seem to do better.

The female will generally lay 2 eggs and only she will incubate them, coming out of the breeder box twice a day to be fed by the male. When the chicks are a bit older she will come out and feed herself. The chicks are weaned by the age of 16 weeks.

In captivity, Eclectus parrots do not require a large cage, as they tend to not fly much. Many breeders who are offered large cages simply walk around or stay on their perches. The female spends most of her time in her breeding box. As pets, they enjoy spending their time on their cage, or on T-stands. They enjoy being petted and cuddled, but don’t usually get involved in active play with their owners.

Therefore, they will do great in a medium sized parrot case of 30x24x50. They are active chewers, and will quickly destroy their perches. So be sure they have extra wood toys to chew on, or invest in some good Manzanita perches. These are a very hard, dense wood that is difficult for birds to destroy.

DIET

Eclectus have a few unusual dietary needs. They must have a diet with a low fat content (adults only) due to their longer digestive tract. They are also susceptible to having low vitamin deficiencies, such as A, E, and D. Too much cholesterol will quickly develop into liver problems and a host of other blood related issues.

Therefore, they must have a very well balanced diet. It is important for an Eclectus owner to understand these health issues, and be able to identify the signs of potential problems. The very best method is to have your bird checked annually by an experienced avian vet, who will do a CBC blood test. Otherwise, you must learn to watch for feather problems, especially discoloration and blackening of the tops of the feathers. Also monitor them for fatigue and signs of diseases that are brought on from immune system problems.

There are some special pellet diets on the market designed for Eclectus parrots that contain a very low oil and fat content. When we bred them, we used just a standard pellet (such as Zupreem or Kaytee) and monitored their other food intake. They must be given extra vegi’s loaded with Vitamin A and E. Some research indicated they do not handle vitamin mixes, but I am not really convinced by this research to the point of abandoning them. We have taken in Eclectus birds with obvious deficiencies, and the vitamins brought them back just fine.

As a pet, the Eclectus is an excellent choice for a large parrot. They are intelligent, and known to just sit quietly and observe what is happening around the room. They are friendly and affectionate, great talkers, and will generally stay on their cage or stand. If you are planning to get one as a pet, it is recommended that you choose a male over the female, as they tend to be more docile and adjust to their new homes much quicker.

[tags]eclectus parrot, eclectus bird diet, eclectus parrot info[/tags]

On the one side, we have the folks who insist that birds must have grit in order to digest their food. Without it, they will die a quick death! Besides, if grit was bad, then why would all of the pet stores sell boxes of grit in the bird departments?

My response? Most pet stores do not hire knowledgeable people. They are more concerned in selling products like mite protectors and grit, and let the buyer beware if they are safe or not!

WHY GRIT?

In the wild, birds don’t have a tremendous choice in what they eat. Many times they will have to settle on seeds. Most wild birds are soft billed, meaning they eat the seed whole and don’t “shell” the seed first. The hull is non-digestible, so wild birds will also eat a few pieces of grit. This will act as an abrasive. Once the seed and grit enter the gizzard (which is similar to the human stomach), the muscle action combines with the grit, and rubs off the shell and grinds up the food. Eventually the shell gets passed through the system.

Healthy, captive birds are fed a pelleted diet, fruits and vegetables. The seed that they eat is generally shelled, and the birds eat the nut. Only a few types of captive birds, such as finches, canaries and doves, eat the whole seed. These types of birds are soft billed, and are unable to shell the seeds. In these cases only should grit be offered, but only a few grains a week. If the bird is allowed to consume too much grip, it will become impacted in the crop and gizzard, causing severe medical problems.

Another reason birds will eat grit is to supplement their diet. There are several types of “soluble” grit that birds can safely digest. This form of grit is made from ground up cuttlebone, powered oyster shell, gypsum and limestone. Once ingested, the bird dissolves this material with digestive acids as it passes through the digestive system. This is a much safer form of grit than offering stone or sand, which is often sold in pet stores or even mixed in with the bird seed.

SHOULD YOU FEED GRIT?

Very few domesticated birds will require grit. This will include finches, doves, pigeons, and canaries. However, if you do feed grit, only give a few grains per week. Do not offer grit in a separate bowl, as the birds will over consume it, and develop problems. Do not give silica based grit designed for wild birds. Look for soluble brands that contain a high calcium content. Look at the ingredients to make sure it does not contain rock or sand grit.

Do not use gravel paper. Not only is this made from rock, it’s also on the bottom of the cage with the bird droppings! I have never figured out the logic in this.

[tags]parrot diet, bird grit, what do parrots eat[/tags]

We were introduced to mealworms several years ago. A salesman called us up. At that time we were at the biggest stage of running our aviary, and did some advertising. That usually brings the salesmen to us. We were already aware of mealworms, but just barely.

This guy told us that pet birds LOVE mealworms. After all, wild birds eat them all of the time, and captive birds would greatly benefit from the protein they supply to the diet. Well….OK, that sounded reasonable.

He gave us a box of samples, and some literature, and basically was trying to get us to push his product on our customers. Again, this was reasonable request. But since I was the main nutritionist for our aviary, I needed to be more convinced. So I experimented for the next few weeks with feeding mealworms.

My first “test subject” was my breeding pair of African Grays. Since their diet required lots of protein, especially for breeders, they would probably love to try them. They took one look at their food dish, saw that it had a bunch of crawling bugs in it, screamed and ran into their breeding box. It took several hours to get them to return to the food dish again.

The only birds that seemed even a bit interested in mealworms were my finches, and even with those birds we had mixed results.

WHAT ARE MEALWORMS?

Mealworms are the larvae of the darkling, or flour beetles. They are not really “worms”, but the larvae just before turning into beetles (after about 10 weeks). They are an excellent source of protein, which is severely lacking in many fruit and seed diets that wild birds are accustomed to. Therefore, wild birds look to insects to supplement their diet. And mealworms are mighty tasty to them.

They are very easy to grow. Generally, fill up a box with rolled oats, toss in some slices of apple, potato, or carrots, and add some mealworms. They can also be purchased in a freeze-dried state. These are commonly sold in pet stores, and are used mostly for reptile and fish food. But home-grown mealworms are very popular for feeding wild birds. But since captive pet birds were never introduced to them, they are generally fed by their parents, or hand fed a powered formula by their breeders. Foraging for insects never quite got into their education.

Mealworms come in a variety of sizes. Small ones are ½ inch, and will grow to as much as an inch in size. The very large sizes are just common mealworms that are treated with a growth hormone that prevents them from developing into beetles, and grow even larger!

If you want to try your birds out on mealworms, what I would suggest is getting a small quantity of them. If your bird shows an interest in them, grow your own. They are a little expensive to buy, but since they are easy to grow yourself you can keep a never ending supply of them on hand.

The main advantage of mealworms is the high protein they supply. Most captive birds do not require such a high amount. The birds that seem to eat them are soft billed birds, such as Finches and Canaries. These types of birds love the small seed diets, like millet. Since these seeds lack a not of nutritional value, you need to supplement their diet with whatever you can find. If they will eat mealworms, that’s great!

But for other birds, I have not found any great advantage of feeding mealworms. They will have an easier time eating other sources of protein. The expense and trouble of feeding mealworms does not justify making this a major portion of their diet. If your bird will eat them, give it a try. But I wouldn’t try changing their diet over.

[tags]mealworms, parrot diet, bird care[/tags]

Buttered microwave popcorn is bad? No way!

A group of doctors have decided that based on one single known patient, and very little research, that the butter flavoring in microwave poses a major health risk. This single patient was known to eat two bags of popcorn per day, and has been doing it for ten years!

The problem, according to Denver’s National Jewish Medical and Research Center is with the food flavoring additive Diacetyl. This ingredient has been around for many years. It is a naturally occurring flavoring found in a wide variety of foods, including butter, milk, cheese, and fruits. It has already been examined and approved by the FDA for use in food manufacturing.

The disease, known as bronchiolitis obliterans, has been researched at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine. Their research indicates that there are numerous infectious agents that can cause this disease. It’s extremely rare, and mostly develops in patients who have gone through lung transplants and are already in high a risk group.

One case of “popcorn lung” is diagnosed….out of how many millions of people who eat buttered popcorn? And now it gets a bad rep. My wife tossed out all my popcorn! What do I eat while watching television now?

So why are my birds making fun of me? It’s payback time because I tried to change their food over to organic pellets!

THE PELLETED FOOD DEBATE

If you have read my book The Easy Parrot System – Feeding and Nutrition, then you know I’m a big believer in pellet diets. They contain all of the vitamins, minerals, and protein that your bird needs. But if it doesn’t taste good, your birds will not eat it. If it doesn’t look appealing, or doesn’t have any flavor, the birds will not want to eat it.

>>My book also goes into great detail about pellet food diets, and gives you a step-by-step method to convert your birds from a seed diet. It’s very easy to do, and you will extend the life of your bird, plus eliminate a lot of health problems. This information and much more is available at The Easy Parrot System – Feeding and Nutrition

Many of the “organic” pellets do not contain artificial coloring or flavoring. That assumes that you use a very liberal definition of what “artificial” means. They taste like cardboard. Go on…taste it! Would you eat that stuff? Does it smell good? Then why would you want your bird eating it?

Don’t get me wrong! I am not against the “natural” or “organic” brands of pellet or formulated diets on the market. If your bird will eat them, that’s all that counts. My problem is that there are a lot of uneducated bird enthusiasts who are dead set against many brands of pellets. When you ask them why, they give you the same set of responses. So let me give you my opinion on these “facts”.

“PRESERVATIVES ARE BAD FOR YOUR BIRD”

This one is easy. Without preventives the food will go stale, become rancid, and very unpalatable. Your bird will refuse to eat it. Like it or not, you have to put preservatives into the food.

Many of the ingredients that are used in pellets (organic or not) use ingredients that already come with preservatives in them. They seem to forget this fact when talking about their products. As long as “they” don’t add more preservatives, it is ok, and they can still call it “organic”.

These are grain and protein products, and they only have a certain amount of shelf life. Unless you send them directly from the factory to the store, and they are sold within a couple of weeks, they will go bad. But bird pellets are manufactured and shipped to distributors, where they will sit in a warehouse for several weeks. Then they are shipped out to stores where they are again shelved for weeks or months! Ask your pet store how often they rotate their products? Even with preservatives, the shelf life of most pellet diets is only 1 year.

Therefore preservatives are added. The problem is which one to use. Many manufactures, such as Kaytee, Zupreem, and Prettybird use an antioxidant called Ethoxyquin, along with other natural antioxidants like Vitamin E and C extracts. This makes people nervous because they can’t pronounce it and do not know what it is. Used in small quantities these preservatives are perfectly safe. This is an FDA approved additive.

However, due to a narrow group of organic food enthusiasts, panic set in when they began to spread rumors about this product. Their concern was based on lab studies where rats were fed huge amounts of ethoxyquin in their diet caused transient depression and organ damage. But upon reading the study, it clearly goes on to report that “chronic toxicity in animals is reported as ‘apparently low’”. Isn’t it funny how this statement never got out in their warnings? This original study was done many years ago, and proven to be flawed and poorly developed. Numerous studies since then have proven this preservative to be very safe.

Some manufactures (such as Roudybush and others) caved in to the pressure (and lost a lot of sales) and changed over to a vitamin E derivative called D-Tocopherol. While this is a more natural preservative, it is not as effective or long lasting. It also has not been tested for safety in birds. They may be one reason it’s not readily available at pet stores, due to the short shelf life.

I guess that fact never gets mentioned in the anti-organic literature either.

ARTIFICIAL FLAVORINGS OR COLORINGS

In nearly every article I’ve read about the evils of these in pellet diets, they rarely ever target any particular chemical. But when they do, they go after them in vague accusations. Try this one:

“Artificial colors are derived from coal tar dyes or petroleum.”

The fact is that in the US, there is only a small handful of approved food colorings used in human and pet food production. And with these colorings, they are made of a huge variety of ingredients. Some are derived from tar/petroleum products, but to label the entire coloring as such is extremely deceptive. You will note in these articles that they never mention natural coloring or flavoring…..many of which are used in pellets, and are completely safe.

“Norway banned all products containing coal tar and coal tar derivatives in 1978”

True. But they lifted the ban in 2001 when the claims of their danger were proven false.

“Erythrosine is linked to thyroid tumors in rats”

Yeah, you remember this one I’m sure….the Red Dye #3 scare. Feed a lab rat 1000 times the normal consumption and it certainly did cause problems. So if you intend to drink 40 gallons of red soda a day, you need to be very concerned about this. The rest of us can relax.

My point is that even though many of these chemicals have been researched and approved by the FDA for human consumption, they should also be safe for your pets. And if it makes the food more palatable and appealing for the bird, without causing an unreasonable health risk, why all the fuss?

I am more concerned that birds are not getting a proper diet. I do not need tons of lab research to tell me that an all seed diet will cut the lifespan of a domesticated bird in half! I’ve seen too many cases of this myself, and my eyes do not lie to me.

So in conclusion, it is my “educated” opinion that the vast majority of pellet diets are safe, and I will continue to encourage them. If your bird will eat the “natural and organic” brands, so much the better. But my experience is that they will be more likely to eat the colored and flavored pellets such as Kaytee, Zupreem, Pretty Bird, and the rest. This does not make them better! But birds are like kids, and they can be very picky. They want their food to taste good, and not taste like cardboard.

Now, if you will excuse me…I need to run to the store and replace the buttered microwave popcorn my wife tossed out yesterday!

[tags]parrot diet, parrot food, pellet diet[/tags]

* For starters, you really need to do some research into the birds you plan to buy, and especially their behavioral traits. Nanday Conures are known to be a very loud bird. Their screech can be heard all over the neighborhood, and make it a terrible pet if you live in an apartment.

This behavior comes from their past. They are a very sociable bird, and in the wild would often stay in very large flocks. It is not unusual to see them with flocks of Monk Parakeets. Their mating and social habits are associated with their screeching.

Nandays that have been born in captivity and hand fed are usually not as loud. This is why it’s preferred to get them when they are quite young.

As a pet, they are very playful and affectionate. They are a very good “intermediate” bird for people interested in raising them, and the price is not that expensive. We usually recommend this type of bird to someone with no bird handling experience, and are considering the purchase of a large parrot. Once you can get the hang of a Nanday, and can train and handle it, you are ready to take on the challenge of a large bird.

As a pet, Nandays are fairly hardy. They do take a lot of showers, and should be allowed access to a water bowl for bathing daily. Like many conures, they are more then happy sitting in a sink while you use the sprayer to “rain” down on them.

Nandays are capable of talking, but it does take some work. I have heard stories of success with those “Get your parrot to talk” tapes, but I have not talked to anyone who has ever been successful with this. Just use the tried-and-true method of working with your bird, praising it when it makes appropriate sounds, and socialize with it. Interaction with your bird works far better then those store bought tapes!

To get your bird to stop screeching all the time, there are some methods. First, keep in mind that this behavior can be triggered if the bird is afraid. Something in the environment is bothering him and needs to be changed. So look around.

They also scream when they feel neglected, depressed or bored. Get your bird more toys and swap them around frequently. One mistake bird owners will make is to put the bird into a distant part of the home, so their screams can’t be heard. This may only cause it to scream more! They want attention! They are calling for their flock!

Sometimes a bigger cage will help. Just keep in mind that this breed of bird is loud by nature. They tend to scream in the morning and evenings.

DIET

Nandays diet should consist of lots of fruits and vegetables. They require a low to medium protein content, with lots of dark green and orange vegetables. They are used to having a variety of foods, and will become quickly bored with an all pellet diet. Try to get your Nanday on a 60% pellet diet, and push those veggies!

The Nandays we had were suckers for apples! We would put apple quarters into their cage and they would be devoured! This made it easy to add additional vitamins and calcium to their diet by sprinkling them over the apple.

They also like grapes, broccoli and carrots. You can get protein into their diets by adding some diced eggs and bits of cheese to their food dish. Also give them a few shreds of chicken and meat occasionally.

HEALTH ISSUES

I have noted that Nandays have a tendency to pluck their feathers. This is usually caused by a combination of a poor diet and boredom. They are also prone to Conure Bleeding Syndrome. This disease results in internal bleeding of the bird and can be fatal. This is thought to be cause by a diet lacking in Vitamin K and Calcium, both of which are readily available in broccoli. I won’t touch the stuff, so my Conures got to clean off my plate! One more reason to keep Conures as a pet…….

Just remember, a proper diet will ensure that your bird will stay healthy.

*Picture taken from http://www.birdchannel.com/images/species/subspecies/nanday-conure.jpg

[tags]nanday conure, nanday conure care, nanday conure information, nanday conure bird, nanday conure parrot, nanday conures[/tags]

When we started out as bird breeders, we though we knew everything. We knew everything about nutrition…well, actually we knew they need more then seed, just didn’t know why. We know how to breed them…just leave them alone, they don’t need our help. We knew why the parents fought with each other all the time… OK that’s a lie… Nobody knows that answer!

We started out with cockatiels, and had quite a bit of success.

Then one day we were quickly brought back to earth, and reminded that we didn’t know nearly enough! One of our breeding pairs gave us a deformed chick. The baby’s legs were splay legged. That is when the legs are growing out sideways from the bird, and not under it where it can stand. We did our best and tried to help it, but it died after a few weeks.

A few months later it happened again, and with the same results. That is when we began to read everything on the subject we could get our hands on, and try to prevent it from happening again.

This little Quaker here will be able to live a normal life because it’s owner knew what to do to correct it’s splayed legs. If treatment is started early the legs will continue to grow normally, in a few weeks she will be able to remove the splints.

WHAT CAUSES IT?

Most of the research on splay legged birds seems to indicate the main cause is … You guessed it… Nutrition. How many times have I said this? Most problems that develop with birds can be directly blamed on poor diets, especially all-seed diets!

It is believed that when you have parents being fed an all seed diet, they are not getting nearly enough protein and calcium. Iodine, manganese, magnesium and many other minerals that are critical to reproduction are totally deficient in their diets. And this gets passed down to the chicks.

Other possible cause is not enough, or incorrect, bedding in the nest boxes. Remember, parents sit on their birds to keep them warm. The chicks are being forced down to the ground where they can not get their legs under them, causing the legs to get deformed. In come cases, their legs or joints become fractured.

Some research also indicates that this can be traced to a genetic problem. This is especially true if the parents come from a line of inbreeding. With inbreeding, there is a huge risk of passing along characteristics which can be undesirable, and will multiply with future lines. These genetic problems are suspected in a number of health problems in chicks.

The funny thing is that the parents seem to already know their baby is not quite right. They will refuse to take care of that chick, and concentrate on the rest of the clutch. There is absolutely no visual sign that the chick has a problem! This is what happened with our cockatiels. We had to start hand feeding at a very early age, making us think the splay legged problem was something we did.

In researching this, we also discovered one other possibility. In the wild, birds are always outside and in the sunlight (very important for health). When the chicks hatch, they are also in areas where they get some direct sunlight. But bird breeders were lead to believe that you put up a breeding box and the chicks are born and grown up inside of them. They spend their first few weeks of life…in the dark bottom corner… where there is no sunlight! To solve this, you need to be certain to give the parents a good pelleted diet that contains “active” Vitamin D3. Most of the better mixes do contain it, and it’s passed along to the chicks when the parents feed it.

HOW TO PREVENT IT?

It’s easier to prevent splay legged problems than it is to cure it! So start by getting your birds on a good diet. Many seed mixes contain a lot of millet. This is a very sweet seed and is more appropriate as a snack. It contains only a small amount of protein and calcium, and if this is the “seed of choice” for your bird, then the chicks will certainly have problems.

>>In my ebook “The Easy Parrot System”, I go into great detail about the proper diets for birds. Learn how to convert your birds from a seed diet to a pelleted diet with my step-by-step instructions, and some great ideas on getting your birds to take vitamins. This and many hints can be found in one convenient source:

The Easy Parrot System – Feeding and Nutrition

Breeding birds require a lot of calcium. This can be supplied by using cuttlebones, or by sprinkling powered form over the food. You can even use Tums pills! They contain tons of calcium in an easily digestible form, and do not contain anything that can hurt your bird. The flavored Tums also make it more appealing for them to eat. Just ground them up and sprinkle over their moist food.

If your bird is not on a pellet diet, you must begin getting vitamins and other minerals into their diet. Even the use of mineral blocks is better then nothing.

CURING A CHICK OF SPLAY LEG

The method used to rehabilitate a bird with splay leg will depend on how severe the condition is, and how old the chick is. If the chick has gone untreated for too long, it may not be treatable.

It’s sad that many bird breeders will not take care of such birds, as they are a waste of their time. These birds require a tremendous amount of “special care” that could go on their entire lives. Cages may need to be modified to allow ramps or special perching areas since the bird is unable to walk or easily move around.

What we prefer to do is locate a family that will adopt it. They have to be a very special person who understand what the bird is going through…Like maybe another handicapped person? Several of our birds were adopted out to elderly people with lots of time on their hands, and lots of love to give.

But this medical problem is curable! There are a lot of different and creative ways to go about it.

Step one is to try and identify what is causing it and fix the problem. If the parents are putting too much weight on the chick, add more bedding. Double check the diet and be sure it’s sufficient. Try to get more sunlight into the case… Find some way to get additional light to the chicks.

Curing the bird will involve trying to straighten the legs back under the bird. In severe cases you will need to find some creative ways to accomplish this.

Start by putting some soft bedding, such as paper towel, soft cloth or cotton, into a cup, and place the baby in it so that the legs are fairly straight under him. This will need to be done for a few weeks until the legs heal.

Another method is to “hobble” the legs by strapping/splinting them together. Care must be exercised to ensure that they are not too tight, and won’t cut off circulation or scratch up the legs. One method is to take some “vet wrap” tape (this is bandaging tape that sticks to itself, available at all drug stores). Cut off a thin strip about 4 inches long and gently wrap around the legs in a cross fashion. This will hold the legs together but not force them together too much. Remove the wrap a couple times a day to allow the bird to get the circulation moving in the legs.

Some breeders have created other methods to make a “cast” for the legs out of surgical tubing or cardboard. This would be a better method for larger birds, but it may be difficult to do this with small chicks and prevent scratching up the legs. One method I read about involved using some wooden craft sticks (like they used with popsicles), cutting them to the correct length, and strapping them to the legs using Vet-Wrap. This not only keeps the legs straight, but in the correct position under the chick.

You may also want to check with your vet. Once it has been determined how severe the problem is, a trained avian vet can suggest some additional methods. In very severe cases some sort of traction may be called for. Just remember that even the best methods may not completely cure the birds deformed legs. That does not mean it can’t live a very long, productive life.

>>Check out my ebook at http://www.TheTameParrot.com/cb/ – I believe every parrot owner should have a copy of this. Discover more about getting the perfect bird to fit into your home in “The Easy Parrot System”

[tags]parrot diet, splay legged birds, baby, cure, prevention[/tags]

Living with a parrot can be challenging, rewarding, fun-filled, stressful, heartbreaking, nerve-wracking, and many other adjectives. Our parrot’s behavior is directly related to their interaction with us and how we care for our birds. Below are some tips for living comfortably with your pet parrot:

1. Don’t teach your bird to behave badly – Many parrot owners unknowingly teach their birds to behave badly. For example, you’re watching a movie on TV. Your parrot is on the other side of the room squawking loudly so you can’t hear what’s being said in the movie. You turn to your bird and shout “Shut up, Oscar!” Boom! You’ve just taught your bird that s/he can get your attention if s/he squawks loudly when you are watching TV. Completely ignoring the squawking will teach a parrot that the noise won’t get a reaction from you (hang in long enough for the bird to learn!). Turning up the TV volume won’t work because a parrot might squawk louder and louder until its voice can be heard above the TV volume. Be aware of your reaction to your bird’s behavior to ensure you aren’t teaching your bird the opposite of what you want her/him to learn, and also to ensure you don’t confuse your bird. A confused parrot may behave badly because s/he isn’t sure how to behave.

2. Rewarding (or not) – Always, always, reward positive (good) behavior immediately after the positive behavior. This means when your parrot steps up on your finger when you give the “step up” command, reward the bird with its favorite treat (just 1, not a dish full), pet the bird, or praise the bird. In some way, let your parrot know you are pleased with his/her behavior. Your bird will learn this is acceptable behavior. Never reward negative (bad) behavior. For example, your parrot is sitting on top of its cage and it’s time for bed. You ask your bird to “step up” and the bird tries to bite you. You pull your hand back and allow the bird to stay on top of its cage. Boom! You’ve just rewarded your bird for trying to bite you by allowing her/him to stay out. You’ve also taught your bird that biting results in the bird getting its own way. A reward to a bird can be eye-to-eye contact with you, a look from you, you covering its cage and other subtle reactions. When your bird tries to bite you or actually bites you when you are interacting, you should put your hand right back up to your bird and insist the bird step up in order to be put away. You may need to use a perch to get the bird inside its cage. Control your bird; don’t allow your bird to control you.

3. Healthy diet is key – A nutritious, healthy diet is key to your bird’s behavior, psychological (mental), and physiological (body) well being. A variety of nutritious food during a bird’s lifetime will help to ensure your bird stays healthy and happy. Good nutrition for a bird is no different than good nutrition for humans. Fast-food, fried foods, salt, sugar, caffeine, soda, chocolate, avocados, dairy products, and citrus seeds should not be fed to parrots. Raw, clean, pesticide-free vegetables are great, cooked beans/lentils, various fruits, multigrain/wholegrain foods like dry, sugarless cereals/breads, etc. , cooked brown rice, or any other types of food that are healthy and nutritious. Parrots can be finicky about their food, so you might have to try various shapes and sizes to find what suits your bird’s fancy! Piece size should be based on the parrot’s beak size, not the size of the bird. Also, some species of parrots don’t like particular types of foods and some parrots have specific dietary requirements which must be met, so research your particular bird’s species for this information. For example, a lot of parakeets and cockatiels don’t particularly care for fruit, and Lories require fruit, nectar, and pollen in their diets. An important tip about parrots and food – a parrot won’t eat something it doesn’t recognize as food. Therefore, keep offering the new food every day…the bird will eventually try it. To encourage your bird to try the new food, allow your bird to see you enjoying it!

4. Mental stimulation – An often overlooked part of keeping a parrot healthy is mental stimulation. Parrots are intelligent, some more than others. As a result, they need mental stimulation every day in order to stay psychologically fit. Provide challenging toys to fit the type of bird. A challenging toy would be one where, for example, the bird has to find the nut hidden inside; the bird has to open the lid to find the treat inside, a series of rings a parrot can climb through, etc. Many parrots enjoy music (or TV) when you’re away, but watch the type (they can learn to mimic what they hear)! Talk, play, and interact with your bird daily, particularly with cockatoos, macaws, and grays (not exclusively). Allow your parrot to be part of your flock (family)…your bird considers you (your family) his/her flock…by including him/her in as many things as possible with you in your home. Lack of mental stimulation can result in feather plucking, bad behavior, shortened lifespan, and a very unhappy bird.

5. Start with a tame bird – Most people confuse taming with training. Taming is the process of imprinting a parrot to humans so a bird is friendly. Training is the process of teaching a bird tricks, to step up/step down, to fly to you on command, etc. If you want a pet bird, one that doesn’t bite, that will sit on your finger or shoulder, and otherwise be a good companion, you have to start with a tame bird. Taming a bird begins by handfeeding when the bird is very young (about 10 days old). By handfeeding, a baby bird imprints on humans, resulting in a friendly (tame) bird. Once tame, daily human interaction has to occur or tameness can diminish. Don’t fall prey to many pet shop statements “you can start training it as soon as you get it home.” Taming takes much time, patience, and knowledge on the new bird owner’s part. Buy your just-weaned parrot from a reputable parrot breeder who handfeeds their baby parrots so you start with a tame bird. This isn’t to say all pet shops sell untamed birds…you have to do your homework and know what you’re buying. Most pet bird owners want tame birds they can handle right away, so seek out a parrot breeder or search pet shops carefully to find the tame, young bird you really want.

6. To breed or not to breed – It is a myth that parrots should be kept in pairs. The best pet bird is a single bird in the home. This means one parrot in the home can be tame and friendly, but when a second parrot is added, since birds prefer other birds to humans, some or all tameness can disappear. In most cases, one cannot keep pet parrots as breeders. In other words, a bonded pair of birds is either breeder birds or pet birds, but cannot be both. There are exceptions to the latter statement. In addition, if you don’t want baby birds, don’t buy a male and female of the same species and house them together. Baby birds may eventually result and/or the female may become an excessive egg-layer. Before you start thinking how nice it would be to have baby parrots, do some research to see if this would be something you’d enjoy. Dealing with baby parrots is a whole new aspect to keeping birds. Stick with a single bird. If you want multiple parrots, think about keeping different species if you aren’t interested in breeding them.

7. Think like a bird – You have to learn to see the world the way your parrot sees the world. Most parrots have a mental capacity of a 2-year old child. They are very psychologically skilled! Therefore, one should deal with them based on these facts. In addition, be aware that most parrots are afraid of new things, that is, things that are new to them. You might be familiar with something, but that doesn’t mean your bird is! Birds don’t know about things, such as window glass, water running from faucets, hot stoves, sinks of hot soapy water, commodes, the toy your child is playing with, the neighbor or your friend that they shouldn’t fly out of the open door, etc. A parrot does know the cat and/or dog is a natural enemy though! Be aware your bird can become stressed out, frightened, disoriented, and confused by new things. Painting the walls, bringing in new furniture, changing the furniture around, moving to a new home, addition of a child, loss of someone, are examples of some things your parrot might not understand so be sensitive to how your parrot might perceive changes in his/her world.

8. Respect your bird – A bird’s cage is its personal space, its territory, its safety zone. This is the one place in a bird’s world s/he can call his/her own. Of course, bird owners have to enter the bird’s territory to accomplish certain chores. However, when your bird is taking its afternoon nap, put off the cage cleaning until your bird awakens. Our parrots don’t always want to do what we want them to do when we want them to do it! Set up a daily routine of when you service the cage, when your bird naps, when you play together, etc. Birds love routine! There are some days when a parrot might not feel “up to par” or is in a bad mood. Give your bird the time it needs.

9. Time to visit the vet – A trip to the bird veterinarian can be a very stressful experience for a parrot. Some parrots get so stressed out they go into shock and die as a result of a car ride. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to occasionally place your parrot in a pet taxi or small, escape-proof cage, for short trips in your vehicle. Being ill is stressful enough for a parrot. Eliminate added stress and possible death by preparing your parrot for this occasion. If you own a parrot, you will eventually find it necessary to take your parrot to the birdie vet.

10. Lifetime Commitment. Be prepaired for a lifetime commitment. A healthy, well cared for bird will live for a long time. Small birds live for 15 to 25 years. Large parrots live from 30 to 50 years (or more). The birds can easily outlive you! What if your health fails, or an emergency develops where you can no longer care for your bird. Do you have someone ready to take over? Most birds turned over to rescue agencies are the results of an owner passing away, and none of the family members want the bird! Many people think of their children when they prepare their wills…and totally ignore their most loved pets.

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