Christmas Nuts for the Flock

Seasons greetings!

Not to be left out, we give each of our flock a small christmas present.

From left to right: Tweety's, Tara's, Casper's (of course a guest should have a present as well, isn't it?), Xiao Feng's, Bodhi's and Baby's.

They are nuts in shells in gift wraps which are in season and commercially available in Singapore now.

Baby enjoying her christmas present...a pecan nut!!

Tara enjoying her present...an almond!

Trying to be cheeky, Xiao Feng waving her gift pack for the camera.

Xiao Feng feeling out whats in her gift...an almond!

See Bodhi's fierce enjoyment...

Mike's Mana Mash (A Complete Parrots Diet)

Now's end of the year school holiday. As I managed to find some time to do some shopping, I decide to try out a popular but demanding mash recipe called the Mike's Mana Mash.

Some of the ingredients have been modified due to availability.

The 34 ingredients I use for this mash:

Part 1: Cooked Grains-Beans Component
1) black-eyed peas (1 tablespoon/15 ml)
2) organic pinto beans (1 tablespoon/15 ml)
3) kidney beans (1 tablespoon/15 ml)
4) yellow split peas (1 teaspoon/10 ml)
5) red split peas (1 teaspoon/10 ml)
6) chick peas (1 tablespoon/15 ml)
7) black beans (1 tablespoon/15 ml)
8) soy beans (1 tablespoon/15 ml)
9) lima beans (2 tablespoons/30 ml)
10) organic wheat (1 tablespoon/15 ml)
11) pearled barley (1 tablespoon/15 ml)
12) organic wild rice blend (2 tablespoons/30 ml)

The beans are bought in separate packs and mixed. You can try to find pre-mixed grains-beans mix at health food stores but they would nto carry the exact ingredients as required for the mash. Some of the beans are not available in Singapore's supermarkets and therefore I tend to use organic grains and beans from health food stores if I can't find them in the supermarkets. Freshness of dried beans and grains can be extended by storing them in the freezer, otherwise they can be stored at room temperature in cool and dry places.

The beans are rinsed several times and soaked overnight (at least 8 hours of soaking). This will soften the grains and beans up and activate the process of germinating, which further enhance their nutritional values.

They are again rinsed several times before filled with clean water that just barely covers the mixture. The mixture is heated to boiling for 10 minutes and then allowed to simmer till most of the water has been simmered off. The trick is to have as little water left from the cooking as possible as nutrients will be leeched into the water. By simmering till dry, it will further soften the grains and beans while retaining the nutrients. This cooking method is similar to cooking rice.

The cooked grains-beans mix is the allowed to cool before used for the mash.

Part 2: Frozen Vegetables Mix Component
13) frozen corn
14) frozen peas
15) frozen carrots
16) frozen green beans
(all-in-one 500g pack)

Frozen vegetable mix can be bought direct from supermarkets and grocery shops. Stored in freezer compartment and thawed when needed.

Part 3: Cooked Vegetable Roots Component
17) steamed sweet potato (1 small piece/175g)
18) steamed white potato (1 small piece/175g)

The sweet potato and white potato are cut into cubes and lightly steamed. Steaming will make them more palatable as well as make it more easily digestible.

Part 4: Seeds Component
19) sesame seeds (1 teaspoon/10 ml)
20) raw pumpkin seeds (1 teaspoon/10 ml)

Pumpkin seeds are raw. they are harvested from pumpkins directly and not bought commercially. You can buy pumpkins and retain the seeds. These are washed and sun dried. The sesame seeds are bought from supermarkets or shops. You can choose either black or white sesame.

Part 5: Fresh Vegetables and Fruits Component
21) zucchini (1 small piece/60g)
22) tomatoes (1 piece/110g)
23) parsley (25g)
24) tou miao (baby green leafed vegetables; 25g)
25) bananas (1 piece/150g)
26) apples (1 to 2 pieces/150g)
27) oranges (1 to 2 pieces/150g)
28) blueberries(1 tablespoon/15 ml)
29) mango (1/2 mango/60g)
30) papaya with seeds (150g)
31) red/green grapes (175g)

Fruits and vegetables are cut into bite size. Any leafy vegetable can be minced, especially for birds who turn away from these green vegetables. Mincing will ensure some of these vegetables in the form of tiny green pieces will be ingested together with the rest of the mash.

The recipe prescribe the use of cranberries...as they are less easily available than blueberries, I have replaced them with blueberries. The same can be said for the green vegetables; they need not be tou miao or parsley. You can experiment using other green leafy vegetables.

All the fruits are to be de-cored and pitted as some fruits' seeds, such as apple, are toxic to parrots. The only exception is papaya, whose seeds can be eaten by parrots and are intentionally retained in this case. Peeling is optional but I did that for oranges and mango. Some birds like the different texture of the skin and the flesh of the fruits while others might be discouraged. So assess how your bird reacts to fruit skin.

Part 6: Supplement Component
32) kelp powder (1 teaspoon/10 ml)
33) alfalfa powder (1 teaspoon/10 ml)
34) pollen powder (1 teaspoon/10 ml)

The supplement powders have been pre-mixed before the photo is taken. Some supplements can be bought containing both kelp and alfalfa. I added pollen and I also recommend another possible addition in the form of wheat grass powder. Just be careful with the amount as these are supplements and not main components of their diet.

Ingredients before mixing:

The final stage of preparation is simply a mixing of all the various components together. Just ensure that all the ingredients are well mixed.

End product:

Storage:

The mash is packed into serving size and stored in the freezer compartment for around 1 week. Each pack is thawed slowly over 24 hours in the cooling compartment of the fridge before serving.

Serving Size:

Small parrots (parrotlets, budgies, lovebirds, cockatiels, etc) should be given one heapful teaspoon amount.

Medium sized parrots (quakers, conures, pionus, caiques, mini macaws, etc) would suffice with around one heapful tablespoon.

Large parrots (African grays, Amazons, cockatoos) take around 3-4 tablespoons.

Very large parrots (macaws, large cockatoos) take around 4-6 tablespoons.

The suggested amount of the ingredients are adjusted to my own flock's 1 week supply. You may have to adjust the amount of ingredients so that you won't make too much or too little of the mash. Refrain from storing too much mash for too long as their freshness will be compromised.

The above is just a guideline and not a prescription. Fine tune the amount to what your bird can finish within 2-3 hours. The leftovers should be removed within this time span as well as they contain fresh ingredients and easily goes bad.

I therefore prefer offering the mash in the evening after school or work so that there is enough time to clear up in 2 hours time after they are done eating. My flock will usually retire for the night after their evening meal.

Afterthought:

All my birds take the mash readily. It helps that they have been trained to eat these food as I have been feeding them fresh or cooked vegetables, fruits, grains-beans sprouted or cooked. So for them, it is just a change of presentation and variety.

Considering the issue of freshness, I would have preferred to offer the three main components separately so that the food offered will be as fresh as possible instead of having to freeze them. For example, I would advice to give one day cooked grains-beans mix, another day would be fresh vegetables and fruits mix and yet another day giving cooked vegetables.

Baby enjoying walnut

The end of the year is a good time to stock up on nuts in shells as they will become available in Singapore's big supermarkets such as Cold Storage and NTUC.

Expecially macaws, love and relish nuts in the shells, which their beaks have been evolved to crack.

Watch a video of how Baby, our dear bl;ue and gold macaw, crack a walnut with skills and a macaw's beak power!

Xiao Feng Stealing Corn and Bathing with Bodhi!

Sometimes we wonder where on earth Xiao Feng got all the large amount of goodies when we purposely limit her favourite food so she will take the rest of her greens.

Now, we know better!

Xiao Feng has been caught red handed stealing corn from her friend, Enzo (a friend's Ducorp cockatoo) while Enzo looks on stoically.

We caught her in the act on film and she is now guilty as charged--of stealing from a visiting guest of her home!!

Talking about bad table manners and hospitality...

We were bathing Bodhi, who is enjoying his weekly bathing bath as usual when we spot a white fluff ball outside the bathroom puffing and dancing to catch our attention.

Its Xiao Feng (the Little Wind) who wish to join in the fun! We are pleasantly surprised because this is the first time Xiao Feng requested for a bath when previously, she dislike bathing!

Bodhi's enthusiasm must have rubbed off on Xiao Feng.

So there you are, two parrots enjoying their bath together, in different ways.

Enjoy the clip. :)

The Two Ts: Tara and Tweety

After the tragic death of Sunny, Tara's bonded buddy, Tara once again fall into solittude and loneliness. She screams more often and tends to be more restless...

Due to a strange twist of fate and unforseen circumstances, a good friend of mine decided to give up his Tweety, Sunny's little sister!!

He has very generously and kindly pass Tweety to me, with the knowledge of what happened to Sunny.

I kindly accepted his offer considering Tara's loneliness and thought to give myself a second chance and opportunity to make-up for the wrong we have done with Sunny.

Both Sunny and Tweety came from the same brood and both of them are yellow Fischer's lovebirds.

Today is the first day Tara meet Tweety and to our pleasant surprise, it is a sisterly love at first sight!

They started preening each other and perching together on the play gym within a minute of their first encounter of each other.

We are so glad things turn out fine!

Below are some photos of how contented both of them are, in each other's company.

Article #2: A Guide to Parrots Caring

A Guide to Parrots Caring

Acommodation

Cage is often seen as a must for the birds, not as a place to imprison them but as a secure and comfortable night nesting ground wild equivalent . The principle to the sizes of the cage is as big as possible according to the respective sizes of the parrot species. Therefore the bigger the bird, the bigger the minimal cage size requirement. Care needs to be given to the cage bar spacing according to the size of the specie to reduce any possibilities accidents of.
A macaw’s jumbo cage

A jumbo cage made for a macaw. The bigger the cage the bigger, especially for these huge, hyperactive guys.






Bodhi's cage

Play gym or stand are good places to allow the birds to be during their ouc time. There are specially designed, ready made ones commercially available or one can diy. A variety of different types of Toys are often added to the gyms so that the birds will not be bored and can enjoy themselves, being intellectually and physically engaged for hours on ends.

A diy tree gym made of natural acacia branches suitable for medium to large sized parrots.

Perches are an important component of parrots' accommodations as they spend almost their entire lives on their feet. It is thus prudent to be aware and consciously select quality perches for our birds.

Natural perches which come from non-toxic trees are the best as the bark serves as natural friction and traction for their feet and claws as well as provide something to chew, which is part of their natural behaviour.

Synthetic perches often take the forms of ropes, concrete, metal or plastic ones.

Concrete perches are good in offering some friction for the claws such that nail clippings need not be done as often. However, some poorly designed ones may affect the feet over prolonged usage by the bird.

Wooden dowels are the most readily available type of perches encountered commercially. They may serve adequately as a perch but can be a tad smooth for baby birds who are learning to perch. Generally speaking, variety is king in selecting perches for the parrots and therefore, it is good to have the various types of perches available for the parrots' standing pleasure be it in the cage or on the gyms or stands. Remember however, not to overcrowd with too many perches.

Food

Morning: Pellets with a scatter of seeds mix

Late Noon/Evening: Vegetables-fruits mix or sprouted grains/beans mix

Sunflower seeds are not given as a staple for Tara, Bodhi and Xiao Feng due to their high fat content.

Baby get 1 scoop each day though as he's a growing and hungry baby. Bodhi is especially susceptible to obesity as an Amazon and Tara because she is smaller in size and thus more vulnerable to a high fat diet.

To achieve a balanced diet for the parrots is an art in itself, where some species have unique requirements that need to be met. There are many articles and studies on it. So do check them out. Check out Article #3 if you are curious what a healthy parrot diet is like!

Bathing

Sometimes when I'm more free...Baby, Bodhi, Xiao Feng and Tara gets a bath....they usually gets it at least once a week...sometimes more, depending on the weather. Sunny weather usually means more bathing opportunities. They get to dry themselves on the play gyms. If it is sunny after their bath, their gyms are sometimes placed partialy exposed to the sun so they get some natural sunshine. Natural sunshine is a good source of vitamin D.

Hygiene

Baby's cages lining are changes daily due to the amount of waste she generate! Xiao Feng, Bodhi and Tara's cage linings are changed once in a few days.

The metal bars are swiped with clothes or towel papers to remove stains due to flinging of food, dropping stains, etc. The perches are scrubbed of any dropping or food debris, rinsed and sun-dried before putting back into the cage. These are done sporadically by my sis or me when necessary although some would prefer a weekly or monthly cleaning routine.

The rationale is to make their cages as clean as possible by changing the linings as frequently as possible. In the wild, they do not have problems in hygiene in the form of contact with their droppings because the forest is so huge!

Food bowls are washed daily and dried every time before refilling for the day.

Physical Maintenance

Wing clipping: This is done whenever they molt and their primary flight feathers grow out to ensure safety. Wing clipping is practiced to limit flight, i.e. inability to gain altitude when flying; NOT to eradicate flight altogether. They should be able to land safely on the ground in times when they decide they want to fly!

Nail Clipping: This is for both our safety and theirs. Claws are naturally polished in the wild due to activities that causes their claws to be in contact with frictional surfaces. Claws are clipped when that they do not injure themselves or ourselves.

OUC Time

OUC Time refers to Out-of-Cage Time. Parrots are not born to be imprisoned. In the wild, they would have ample space to fly, climb or walk! Given the sacfricies they made to be with us in domestic settings, ouc time will help increase the quality of their lives as our feathered friends.

Baby, Tara and Xiao Feng are let out everyday but the amount of time they are out are random. It can be long hours or lesser than half an hour; either on the play gym or cage top playing, depending on whether me, my sis or dad are around to supervise. Bodhi gets out of cage time daily, Bodhi usually just around his cage, or on the gym.

Especially for Baby, the macaw, she is let out as much as for the whole day. Having ample space to play, climb or just perch is very important to the well being of parrots as huge as these. They thrive on space and stimulations.

My flock are also often let out during feeding or cleaning times when we clean the cages or fill the food bowls.

Toys

Toys are an indispensable tool to keep our parrots occupied and exercising due to their captive situation where they no longer need to search for food, nesting sites or flee from predators. A collection of toys are reserved for all 4 birds. Basically toys can be grouped into 3.

Synthetic toys: Those made specially for parrots or for human babies.

Home Toys: Safe domestic materials that can be converted to toys for parrots to play, e.g. toilet rolls, newspapers, cleaned empty plastic bottles, etc.

Natural Toys: Natural non-toxic branches, leave and flowers. These are the "toys" parrots have in the wild! Once in a while, Baby, Bodhi, Xiao Feng and Tara get big fresh, non-toxic branches to play in and chew. They love the fresh branches a lot!! Its parrot paradise for them.

Foraging Toys: Working toys are toys that make the parrots "forage" to get treats, so as to simulate the natural setting of foraging and searching for food. Another way to simulate this natural foraging behaviour is to put clean pebbles in the food bowls or cover the food bowls with some safe chewable material so that the birds have to find their way to the seeds or pellets.

1-4 of these toys are placed in their cages at any single one time. They are cleaned and rotated. Natural and home toys are expendable, old ones being thrown away and replaced by fresh new ones.

Socializations

There is so much information for this topic that it can be written into a book all by itself!

Random one-to-one direct interactions.

Handling the bird in the form of Step Up Practice is an important direct interaction to be done with our birds on a regular basis. it is a form of direct interaction that allow both the bird and us to clear what cooperative and healthy relationship exist between both--us being the dominant member of the flock to eb trusted upon for safety, food and other material resource securities.

With Tara, it occasionally takes the form of trick learning. She currently knows 2 tricks and can perform one rather consistently.

Momentary direct interactions also occur spontaneously throughout the day to tell them we are still around. This is practiced in the form of spontaneous greetings, cuddles and dry kisses when we pass by our birds while doing our stuff.

Other forms of direct interactions includes talking to the bird, cuddling/scratching/preening, giving them treats etc.

It is also important that the birds are exposed to direct interactions with people other than the caregivers. So the birds occasionally gets to be exposed to different people and environment through mopa outings or when visitors to our home are interested enough to handle the birds.

For any bird excursion, safety is one of the highest concern. Ensure the bird is well clipped and do not have any behaviourial problems that make the bird dangerous to itself or the public, e.g. phobia.

Passive interactions throughout the day as my mum is often at home or when we are around and the birds' cages or stand are placed where they can observe going-ons.

Instructional interactions, teaching them how to play by themselves independently is very important. Wild birds spent most of their time searching for food, keeping a lookout for predators and breeding. A companion parrot who does not need to find food and worry about predators will thus have a lot of free time on its hands (or wings).

This is where playing and instructional interaction comes in. Some birds naturally learn by themselves the concept of playing and making themselves occupied. Others don't. Anyway, instructional interaction teaches the bird how to play and occupy themselves so that they are not over reliant on us or becomes bored. We play toys or shred paper/branches with them in a fun way while they are on their respective gyms. Another way would be the “picnic play”. A picnic cloth can be laid on the ground for hygiene and easy clean up. Toys are spread out on the floor and the birds and humans get to play together. Bodhi and Manju (a grey that used to be with us) enjoy this on the floor play time very much. They love the toys, each other’s company in playing and also us playing the toys together with them. It occasionally ends with some favourite treats of theirs—seeds! So you can get idea how the name “picnic playing” comes about! Also random.

Sleep

All 4 birds get their cages covered with clothes usually by 7 pm and uncovered around 7 am the next day. This is to reflect the natural amount of daylight and sleeping hours they get back in the wild...approx. 12-13 hours. Sometimes Bodhi and Xiao Feng will sleep much later due to disturbance from my night activities.

Cloth is used as cage cover so as to minimize disturbance that our night activities will have on their sleep. Be careful about the material. Those that can be chewed by the birds and sprayed have the potential of entangling them. There are birds that lost a toe or are strangled to death in this way.

Working Principles

There should be some underlying regularity to the care regime but there should also be some flexibility and randomness so that the parrots do not get fixated to certain rigid schedules, which is bad for their psyche and may result in behavioural problems.

Consistency is also important. Parrots have long lives and therefore there is a need to be consistent in the quality and quantity of care and love we offer them!! I know it may be hard at times...so the keyword is try to be consistent over the many years ahead!! This is where multiple care givers can make the difference. While one person's consistency in quality and quantity of care may fluctuate over time due to personal circumstances, other care givers can fill in for the lack in those times. Having several capable people as primary and secondary caregivers will reduce the chances of some behavioural problems such as one-person bird. It also helps in situations when we may not be around due to work or other leisure activities, e.g. overseas tour.

Vet Checkup

Routine checkups are good for the birds, especially if the bird is approaching middle age where some of the old age problems may start arising. Recommended routine checkup is once a year.

A purely physical examination cost around $20-40 dollars. A full health screening should include tests done on the blood and droppings which will of course, cost much more.

There are two views on checkups. One is that unnecessary checkups may expose the birds to infectious diseases at the clinic while another view is that routine checkup is a health guarantee so as to remedy any health problems before they escalate.

So far, Bodhi has been to the vet once for an irritated eye and Baby has been to the vet for an injured leg. I do not, however, bring them for annual checkup. This, however, will change once they get older when old age, long term diseases may set in and where health screening will be beneficial in detecting these problems early.

Conclusion

The above brief outline only covers the day to day care of parrots. They are however, sufficient to ensure you raise a healthy and happy parrot. However, it does excludes parrots that already carry with them behavioural or health problems.

If a parrot without any physical or behavioural problems baggage are cared for in the above manner, they are most likely to be happy, problem free and healthy parrots for life even though there might be periods (e.g. breeding, molting) that may test our consistency and patience. If the parrots are problems free, happy and healthy and we enjoy both their companionship and the care we give them, there are much fewer reasons or causes for selling or giving parrots away. This is one of the most important reasons the above was written in the first place.

For birds with behavioural or physical problems, additional care, socialization/training techniques, medical aids etc needs to be applied to remedy the situation.

Also, building up upon a healthy and happy parrot, we can enrich the relationship further by trick training or for certain species, speech learning.

Finally, breeding is not covered here.

For these topics, you can refer to many articles, books or experienced trainers, vets or breeders for answers!!!

Article #1: 10 Pointers for the New Parrot Companion Caregiver

Over the years, being someone who loves to write, I have pen down much of what I have learned either through experience, research or from people into thematic articles.

They have been stored on my hard drive, with some being posted in a parrot forum.

Thought it would be nice to share them all here in my blog since I'm too lazy to update the blog regularly. :P

So here it is...Gabriel's Parrot Articles Series...article #1:

10 Pointers for the New Parrot Companion Caregiver

A young bird is like a blank page waiting to be written. That is why a new parrot caregiver should be prepared and educated on guiding the baby what is appropriate and constructive in making the human-parrot companionship a fulfilling and problem free one.

The first three points are to prepare ourselves as parrot owners while point number 4 and 5 prepares the bird for its arrival. Point number 6 reminds us on how to take care of the bird’s health while the last four points pertain to starting the bird right in its behavioural development.

For the second hand parrot or untamed parrot, there may be baggages and history that the parrot carries with it. Yet, the shift to a new environment with new owners means a period of adjustment. This period of adjustment provides a golden opportunity to reduce or even eradicate past behavioural problems or other challenges. Therefore, the following points can still be applied to these birds with positive effects.

It is hoped that the below will be of help to fellow parrot lovers who wish to keep these nature’s wonders!

1. Do your research

The most important first step towards parrot keeping is to know what you are getting into! Below are some critical reasons why doing self study on parrots and parrots keeping is mandatory:
--Diversity of parrot species from the majestic macaws to the precociously pretty parrotlets
--Different types of parrots have different physical and psychological requirements, characteristics and general personalities
--Second hand birds versus baby birds; untamed birds versus handfed tame birds; weaned versus unweaned babies.
--What we want and wish to have in a parrot companion
--Our budget, both short term and long term costs of keeping the various types of parrots.
--Our lifestyle, current standards of living, family members’ acceptance/involvement etc.
--Therefore, research aids us in making informed and well thought out decisions on the type of parrot that optimally matches our wants, abilities and resources with the needs of the particular parrot specie

The above paves the way towards happiness and contentment of both our companion parrots and us, reducing the chances of regrets and mistakes in our choices of parrot.

2. Unweaned and Untamed Birds

There is much literature on why getting unweaned baby parrots are discouraged, so do check it out. Weaning is a stressful process for baby birds and many things could happen if they are not cared for properly. The same goes for handfeeding, with concerns such as sour crop, burnt crop, infection, formula rejection, etc.

I remember losing my first unweaned African Grey baby. The vet’s lab report is a bacteria respiratory infection, caught from other birds while at the pet shop. On hindsight, the baby has appeared skinny and of a weak constitution then but I was so eager to get a bird I consciously will myself to overlook that nagging sign. It’s a harrowing experience losing a baby parrot this way, not to say a huge waste of money and time. Lesson learnt and I get my second chance with Manju, my sister’s African Grey; healthy size and outgoing baby when we first met him. He sailed through our handfeeding and weaned smoothly.

Moral of the story--unless you seriously wish to learn how to hand-feed and wean a baby bird, is willing to make all the efforts (multiple feedings daily, preparing formula, weaning food, etc), to learn and accept whatever risks that may come your way, it is much safer to get a weaned bird although unweaned babies are more readily available in Singapore’s contexts.

Other than the issue of unweaned babies, is the issue of tameness. Parrots come with varying degrees of tameness from wild caught untamed adults to meek and mellow babies. It is therefore important to be clear right from the start the kind of relationship you wish to have with your parrot.

A most intimate and interactive relationship with a parrot would probably means a need for a tame bird while someone who wishes to keep the parrot in a cage or aviary all the time and appreciate it at a distance can be less demanding in this respect. To avoid disappointment in companionship expectations, get a parrot that is tame enough to be handled, that cooperates in stepping up onto our hands. Wild adults may be much cheaper but the taming process require skills, experience, consistency and patience on the part of the owner and the help of a bird trainer or avian behaviourist, best left to those willing and capable of the aforementioned.

3. Protection from household dangers

Before bringing your bird home, an inspection around our house can help reduce the chances of regrettable accidents. Keep a lookout for toxic plants or substances such as Teflon coating on frying pans and ironing devices, uncovered fish tanks that can drown unwitting birds, etc. A checklist of household dangers can be gotten from available parrot resources.

4. Homecoming

It would be good to prepare the cage in advance, if not at least the place and position allocated for the parrot and its cage, keeping in mind the dos and don’ts of a parrot’s housing environment—not too near an open window with strong noon heat, not too near doorways that may frighten the birds when people pass by and suddenly appear in their line of vision, etc.

Ideally, fetch the bird home at a time when the house is quiet and when one has ample time to help the bird adjust to its new home.

5. Wing Clipping for the Companion Parrot

Parrots destined to become friends with us and allowed some freedom outside their cages should have their wings clipped for safety reasons. Limiting their flight ability through wings clipping is a painless process and helps facilitate the establishment of a cooperative relationship between us as dominant flock leader and them. Many a new bird is lost when the bird is startled into flight, leaving the new owner distraught with loss. Wings clipping also prevent birds from flying into household hazards such as ceiling fans, kitchen fire, etc.

There are, however, some people who allow their companion parrots’ wing feathers to remain unclipped. These people have chosen to flight train their parrots. As wonderful as it may sound for the birds and us to see them happily and healthily soaring, recall training is important. These parrots have to be trained regularly. Even so, loss is unpredictable especially when they are startled while in the open. I have heard of macaws lost this way.

There is a lost budgie that once flew into a classroom, colliding with the ceiling fan, splattering blood and feathers all over the screaming students.

Please, do not let tragedies like this happen to you and your bird.

6. Introduction to a healthy diet

A healthy selection of fresh vegetables, fruits and grains should be introduced right in the beginning as this is a good time to teach the bird to be open to a wide variety of food alternatives. Offer the bird comfort food that it has been eating while introducing new vegetables, fruits or grains. Pellets are a convenient and important addition that should make up a major perceptage of their staple.

This is because once the bird is set in its eating habits; it is more difficult and stressful to convert it to a healthier and varied diet.

7. Setting limits right from the start

It is understandable that the new bird may be frightened of us and its new environment initially and may require a few days to settle down and get used to. Once the bird is observed to behave normally, relaxed, eating and drinking properly, socialization and handling should begin.

Baby birds are usually cooperative, mild and easily impressionable, making handling and training easier. This is a window of opportunity not to be missed. This will let the bird learns its place in this new “flock hierarchy".

Behaviours can be modified to make some species more suited to domestic setting, for example, teaching a cockatoo to play independently and quietly, a firm will with the baby macaw so that it knows its place, stick training the Amazon in the event of sexual maturity aggression in the future, teaching the bird to get used to a carrier for transportation and excursions in the future, etc.

8. Attention moderation

While there might be an urge by you, family and friends to keep checking out the new bird frequently, moderate the attention to the same amount you are able to consistently give throughout the coming years. Giving too much attention at the beginning will deceive the bird into expecting the same amount of your time, all the time. The innocent bird may not understand why we have to spend the whole day working plus over time or rushing a school project, thereby possibly inducing stress or bouts of screaming episodes.

So start the bird on the right footing by balancing different forms of attention and teaching it independent play. It will go a long way to achieving the happy and contented parrot family.

9. Socialization and the one-person bird

Just as with attention, a bird should be exposed to interaction and handling by different people so as not to allow the bird to demand too much out of a particular person or be too reliant and emotionally attached to him/her. Such strong attachments may on one hand be flattering for the person, can on the other, become a source of problems, especially in the event that this person may not be able to care and attend to the bird due to unforeseen circumstances.

Exposing the bird to multiple people allow the baby to be used to others, thereby making for a stranger friendly bird. Although some species, such as the African Greys, may be shier in front of strangers, with proper and consistent exposure and socialization, it is possible to get an extroverted grey that talks in front of strangers! There are accounts that validate this, so do not overlook this aspect. It can also be an enjoyable experience for these intelligent and sociable birds.

10. Toys and a dynamic environment

In relation to the above point, get the new bird used to changes in the environment and different toys. This is a preventive measure against phobias that some parrots might develop. Toys are instrumental in engaging the time of the parrot to occupy their intelligent minds. As such, it is important to get new baby birds used to the idea of toys and their purpose as play things. Some intuitively know toys as toys but some may need to be taught.

To break the monotony of our home, outdoor excursions can be a stimulating and enjoyable experience for both the birds and us. So do get the bird used to going outdoors and to different places, making for a confident and outgoing bird.

Finally, enjoy the companionship of your parrot!

End Note:

This is yet another piece written during the holidays when I'm very free. Because I realize that many questions have been frequently asked by those who are new to parrots keeping, I have decided to write an organize into a guideline what I have learned from people, books, magazines and experience with my birds.

May they be of help to new parrots owners.

Xiao Feng's here to stay!

My first priority is that Xiao Feng will go to a good home after knowing what he's been through. And initially i have doubts about whether I can provide him such a home in consideration that I already have my flock to care for and how needy cockatoos can be.

However, after several weeks of being with us trying to work out his screaming problem and searching for a suitable, trusted friend to adopt him, Xiao Feng seems to have fitted right in to our home. He seems to be contended and confident with my home environment and flock care routine such that he no longer scream intermittenly for long.

So I guess he'll be with me for good!

Too soft hearted and GREEDY to part with him now that we find out what a sweet little cockatoo he is!!

Here's a clip of Xiao Feng playing with some of his toys:

Xiao Feng, the Home Jumping Ducorp Cockatoo

Xiao Feng (little wind) is a nickname we gave to this darling female Ducorp cockatoo that has shades of yellow here and there in her white cockatoo feathers. She is a very tame and sweet cockatoo…in fact, too tame. Like many cockatoos, Xiao Feng thrives on attention. Deprivation of which, she is prone to scream for it.

There is something special about Xiao Feng and that is her left leg—two toes are missing and she has this interesting habit of tapping her leg stub against plastic to make a tap-tap sound to catch people’s attention. And indeed, as characteristic of all cockatoos, she requires daily out of cage time and quality interactions with her human friends to be happy.

Unfortunately, she has been jumping from home to home and according to what we have found out, she has switched 3 owners. We retrieve Xiao Feng from the latest owner who is selling her off in the hope of finding a special someone who can take in stride the demands of a cockatoo and give her a permanent loving home.

Xiao Feng needs a cockatoo lover, who is tolerant of his noise volume, who can be trusted not to sell her away yet again, who can give her the attention that a cockatoo needs to thrive.

If you think you are this special someone for Xiao Feng, please contact us for further details.

Rescue of Yahu, the Dusky Conure

I came across this yahoo auction post one night that I will never forget. In the picture was a shabby looking dusky conure being kept in a hamster cage. The first look of the picture tugged at my heartstrings. The living condition was totally a turn off. Even my conure at home is so much luckier compared to it.

I was actually having second thoughts about biding for the bird as I have two other parrots at home. A friend somehow managed to get me to bid for it. I must say that the bidding process took quite awhile. Somehow the lady who put up the post could not be reached at all. She posted 3 posts in the auction but I’ve only bided for one. Since there was nobody bidding for the dusky, I naturally won the bid. By then, my patience grew thin. Although I’ve won the bid but the lady still did not contact me at all. My friend and I decided to give up bidding for the bird.

Few days later the lady replied my mail. She said she was in Malaysia therefore didn’t read my mail. She agreed on letting me have the dusky since I’ve won the bid. I left her my contact number and she called me the next day. The process of getting the dusky was quick. I took the dusky home that very day she called me.

Dusky looked skinny when I brought it home and it’s tail feathers were breaking off.
I soon found out that it is perfectly tame. It loves head scratch and even eat out from my hand. I soon introduced dusky to my black capped conure (millie) and my parrotlet (junior). They soon became good friends- “The green Trios”.



Dusky is now named “Yahu” (yahoo) since I got it from Yahoo auction.
I hope that I can provide Yahu with a good home. Never will I forget the encouragement and kind donations made by my forum friends.

--Kindly contributed by Louisa
May Yahu has a happy and contended life with Louisa and the rest of her flock!
:)

Flock Journal No. 2

Sunny's Tragic Death*
(*Disclaimer: Contain grisly photos. Not for the squeamish)

It was another day. I left for school.
My sis put Sunny back into his cage and tied strings on each cage door (because he has learned to open the cage door).

Baby's back into her cage. All's well. Never did I know of the horror that is to come.

Somehow, Sunny managed to escape from his cage despite the strings my sister use to tie the cage doors.

Somehow, sunny managed to wander into my bird room to look for Tara.

Somehow, Sunny must have flew onto Baby's cage top.

Somehow, Baby the macaw must have been noticed Sunny.

Somehow, Baby is in one of her most rough and playful mood.

Because this is what my sister found when she came back, to our extreme horror:

(Due to feedback by friends that some may find the display of such photos disagreeable, I have hyperlinked the photos instead.
May you look at death in its face and see it with wisdom, dignity and peace.)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/Kalden/Sunny0001_9.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/Kalden/Sunny0001_10.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/Kalden/Sunny0001_8.jpg

Post motem...death by serious injury to the head. We believe Baby must have reached through the cage bar and grab Sunny's head.

The power of baby's beak must have cracked Sunny's skull. Never ever underestimate the power of a macaw's beak.

I am so very heart broken now. Both are my beloved birds.

I can't bring myself to fault Baby because to her, a small bird is just another toy. Just as I wouldn't fault a little girl for strangling a cute canary because she held it too tighly.

I can't bring myself to fault my sister because she even made sure the cage doors of Sunny's cage are tied with rope. Yet Sunny has somehow managed to escape.

Who else can I fault than myself?

I feel so sad now over Sunny's death and Baby's violent deed.

I don't think I have the mental strength or courage to buy another bird anymore ....

Sunny, I'm so sorry for what happened to you!!

So very very sorry....:'(

The only thing we can do for you now is...PRAY.

Buddha bless you!

Om Mani Padme Hum!

Tayata Om Bekandze Bekandze Maha Bekandze Radze Samud Gate Soha!!

Sunny Personal Diary Entry 1

Sunny's friend: NuNu the Peach-Faced Lovebird

Dan, a friend, recently just bought a normal green Peached-Faced from a breeder friend of mine. Hereby introduce NuNu, the lovebird. NuNu has just recently been weaned before Dan acquired him and Dan brought NuNu over for a first wings clipping.

We make use of this opportunity to bring Sunny into the picture and let them become friends!

Online Parrot Quizes

3 short parrot quizes for your entertainment....

1) What Kind of Parrot are You?
http://www.youthink.com/quiz.asp?action=take&quiz_id=868

2 What Parrot are You?
http://quizilla.com/users/actingislife/quizzes/What%20parrot%20are%20you?

3) Short Quiz that test your knowledge of parrots:
http://www.bellaonline.com/misc/quiz/quizdtl12

Tara's Personal Diary Entry 1

Tara's New Cage

With the sad lost of Manju, we now have an empty three feet cage. Not to left it to waste, especially seeing how desolate the cage look and how the emptiness keep reminding us the loss of Manju, we decided to give it to tara.

This is how the cage looked after refurnishing it with food bowls, natural tree branches and Tara's favourite rope swing.

We have yet to add a concrete and rope perch and ....more toys!

Photos will be served shortly ;)

Flock Journal No. 2

Tara and Sunny Bonding

Tara has always been observed to have a soft spot for lovebirds as friends (*caution: not all parrots behave the same). We therefore recently acquired Sunny in the hope that Tara's quality of life will improve with the presence of a feathered friend. We are gladdened to observe the introduction of Sunny and bonding process has been going well! Tara takes to Sunny like a little brother! Here are two photos, testaments of Tara's sisterly love.

Despite their compatibility, we still continue to house both in different cages for safety reasons. Moreover, the bar spacing for Tara's cage is too wide for Sunny, who can easily slip in and out of Tara's cage at will!

So their daily routine being together playing on the gym or in Tara's cage when there are people to supervise and when no one's at home, Sunny has to go back to his lovebird cage. Both sleep in their respective cages as well.

The introduction of Sunny begins with placing Sunny and his cage adjacent to Tara's cage where they start to get aquainted. After it is observed that both are comfortable with each other with no signs of aggressions or animosity, they are both introducted to each other in neutral space under our direct supervision. Playing together in neutral space without any problems, we proceed to place them together on their cage tops. This further progress to staying in the same cage together with no signs of aggression.

Viola, you have a pair of bonded parrots that is cross-species, cross oceans in homeland!

See how they enjoy each other's company!

Introduction to My Parrot Flock Part 0

Sunny, the Yellow Fischer’s Lovebird

Sunny came to us very recently as a baby from a private breeder friend of mine. We do not really know its sex but tend to perceive Sunny as a male. Sunny is a yellow black eye Fischer’s lovebird and his brilliant yellow remind us of the sun and thus, Sunny he is named.

We have hope that he will bond with Tara, our Jenday conure. As of now, both live in separate cages and are given out time together. So gar, Tara has been rather sisterly or motherly around him.

More on Sunny later after we know him better through the years ahead!

*Edited: With the passing away of Sunny, I'm sorry and sad to say this post shall be relabelled as "Introduction to My Parrot Flock Part 0"

Flock Journal No. 1

The Clash of Old and New World Parrots

Bodhi, my resident Amazon parrot just discovered a "new arrival" and enthusiastically went over for a "colourful" welcome. Well, sort of.

In the historical meeting between the New World parrot (i.e. South American Amazon parrot, Bodhi) and the Old (i.e. Indonesian Ducorp Cockatoo, Casper), colours fly and crest rises.

It is the first time I see Bodhi flare his fullest, displaying the striking Amazon colours he has been hidding from us. Beautiful as it can be, it does signify his wish to challenge Casper and show that he is the alpha of the flock, who in return, raised his crest and puff up in defence. I guess its a confrontation of two male egos. =)

Bodhi...is that how you welcome your new friend? tsk tsk

Below are some photos of the episode before they are separated:

Sweet Casper hiss and protest like a baby.

Bodhi continuing to flare and display even after being returned to his abode.

Eclectus Parrot Rescue Part 2

Here's an update by Nelson on Amber, the female eclectus parrot which I believed is a red sided based on its appearance:

Day 4 and 5
These two days, Amber have been going out gaigai (excursion). Saturday we went Fort Canning, had a fun time day and Rane helped to clip Amber's nails. Everybody commented that Amber was tamed and a very good girl. She's overweight and many says she looks like a hen! Haha!!

Amber with another bird friend.

After that, we went to walk walk at orchard with her on my shoulders! I even smuggled her into the toilet and into Hereen! Hahahz... We had dinner at marina south with my friend and she was busy munching corn while we te steamboat.
She KO immediately when we reached home at 9pm. Sunday we went Serangoon to see birds. She accompanied me for 3 hours conducting my cello lesson before going to GW and other shops. She must have been very cold in the aircon room. Reached GW (Goodwill Bird Shop) and its the most damaging time!

The BBB virus came! We bought Pellets which smell soo soo soo nice,remind me of morning cereals! Also I bought some toys, A HUGE cuttlefish bone, 4 wood perches and a bottle of very expensive supplement! Oh!

Not forgetting her new big big cage too! (time to scrap the old and rusty one!)

Mr Chua commented that Amber is very guai and very healthy! She just needed some energy! Mr chua also put on a S hook on her leg for free so that she can stay on the perch for a longer time His skill is so good that Amber didnt know it was on till now!

Thanks Nelson for the update.
Glad Amber experience such a dramatic positive change in lifestyle after she came into your care!

Taming a Ducorp Cockatoo

Turning Enzo (aka Casper) Around: the Journal of Taming a Ducorp Cockatoo



A friend of mine , Nic, has a semi-tame Ducorp cockatoo, named Enzo, that he has not the time to truly make tame. This bird used to be a cage bound one person bird before coming to Nic. Since then, he has refused any interactions with Nic or anyone else except another Goffin cockatoo. According to Nic, at his mildest, he will allow Nic to hand feed him through the cage.

On the verge of selling this cockatoo away, I decided to help Nic out by bringing Enzon into my care and try to tame and socialize Enzo. My sister, upon seeing this beautiful white guy with distinctive blue eye rings, immediately called him "Casper...the friendly ghost!", because according to her, he looks uncannily like Casper, the cartoon character! However, this Casper is not that friendly after all.

We therefore decided to nickname him "Casper" in the hope that he can become a friendly bird and try to rehabitate him to life as a companion parrot. He needs lots of opportunities, time and patience to establish trust and confidence in the company of us humans. This is indeed a meaningful challenge for me to help bring Casper around.

There are generally speaking two tecniques to tame a parrot who is afraid of humans. One is through a slow and gentle trust and confidence building process by tender loving care and interactions while the other requires a T stand and neutral room to teach the bird to step up cooperatively, which is more stressful initially.

I'm more for the first method as it will cause less stress for Casper despite taking a longer time. Will definitely need to consult my avian behaviourist shifu (master) on this. We'll see how it goes!

Do watch this space as I will be updating on Casper's progress as time goes by.

Introduction to My Parrot Flock Part 3

Baby, the Blue and Gold Macaw

Baby is a three year old macaw when she came to me and has been with at least three previous owners before. I'm glad to be able to take over the care of Baby because I have seen her through most of her three years as both her previous owners are my friends. I just hope with my heart, this will be her last home ever.



This friend of mine unfortunately has to give up all his parrots due to some personal issues. Somehow, Baby must have sensed something because the feather chewing habit she once had with the second owner came back again just before her latest owner place her under my care.

Her previous owner, my friend, informed me she started feather picking in the week long vacation he took recently, whereby only the maid cared for the bird. She also has this habit of bending her beautiful tail feathers and uses them to tickle her face. As funny as it can be, it does damage most of her tail feathers some of which are broken in this manner. We believe these are due to all those unexpended macaw energy and boredom that pushes her into this self-destructive behaviour. So it’s a challenge for me to find means to address this relapse.

Initially, I'm pretty daunted by her massive size, of which I'm not used to (the biggest bird I'm comfortable with is my blue fronted Amazon, Bodhi). While Baby has to cope with adjusting to a new home and new caregivers, my family and I have to learn to overcome our fear for her, despite my keenness in keeping a macaw! I'm with the rationale that keeping companion parrots require not just the behavioural modifications on the part of these intrinsically wild but super intelligent creatures, but also demand changes in our attitude and behaviour. This is to allow for confidence and trust building between both us and our parrots.

So back to Baby's story, I have it going between me and her. Initially, she nips me pretty hard with scratches, bleeding and bruises to prove the point. Basically, she tested me all the time to see how far she can go with me. Thankfully, over time, my fear for her has slowly dissipated as I get used to her size and begin to understand her macaw personality better. All these threats, squawking and lunging are part of her mischievous and playful way of getting some fun out of me--a fearful stranger! So once my fear for her dissipates and while she begins to get used to the new home and people, things progress rapidly.

Now, not only am I able to step her up and handle her, I'm also able to cuddle her, kiss her and even cut her nails and clip her wings without any restrain. She might complain with some squawks and half hearted nips but she knows her place and what kind of relationship we're both in and grudgingly cooperates...but not without some show of disagreement to retain her pride.
She's such an exceptional macaw! Rarely does she exercise the full power of the macaw voice she is capable of. Instead, she prefers to mumble and talk human. Why, my Tara can even be louder than Baby on many occasions. That is how it’s even possible to house her in my apartment when almost all parrots literature says no to macaws in apartments.

Still, lots of room space in my bird room has to be dedicated to fulfill her needs. In fact, half the room I give her and she went on to claim ¾ of it! She used to be housed on a single perch stand alone and I suspect this contribute partly to the problem of boredom for such a hyperactive and large bird. I build her a play gym made out of non-toxic acacia branches. Also, I got her a roomy approx 5 feet macaw cage.

Part of the challenges of keeping her, as do all large macaws, is to find enough toys and activities to keep them engaged and away from boredom and her feather chewing habits. I provide her with a play gym with toys and natural branches to play with. I have also started to bathe her several times a week, which she relishes much, flapping her wings with gusto and imitating human laughter while drying her feathers. All this while, monitoring and keeping a close observation to see how the feather chewing is developing.

I also use a bitter spray to discourage her tendency to chew her feathers.
I’m glad to say the combination of a big cage, big play gym, daily human interactions, balanced stimulating diet, weekly misting bath and toys have helped. She has not been feather chewing for some time and the tail feathers are growing back.

Baby's cage where she's housed when no one's at home to supervise her and when its time to sleep at night.

Macaws are known to speak human although not very well. Talk human she did, which make me pleasantly surprised when she says "hello", "what", "whatever", "go back", "Robert", "huh?', "step up", "stop it" and "bye bye", many a time within the right contexts and situation. She'll lift up her feet and say "step up" when she wants to play. When Tara or Bodhi is doing their morning vocalizations and getting too noisy, she might say "stop it". If she don't like what you're doing to her, say clipping her nails, she' say it too.

Once, she found her way to the window railings, look out the window into the open sky and trees in the park and turn to me saying, "Bye Bye". I would have a heart attack there and then if I did not know the window glass panel has already been closed!

I believe as large birds with large personalities, they will continue to test the boundaries with us and see how much they can tweak us around. And for a tame macaw that’s comfortable with humans, this can be done with a playfulness and high level of energy that is distinctively macaw. On the other hand, particularly with macaws that are tender of age, they may behave mildly and sweetly. Let not these baby stages deceive us into letting down our guards for their powerful beaks are to be respected. And there may be times when they get over stimulated in their play with us and deliver a hard damaging nip. Consistent socialization and having the firm upper hand will go a long way in our lives with these monkeys of the parrot world.

Boy have I learnt alot since taking in this big Baby!