#african grey parrot losing feathers

[cheeriecherrymain]

Headcannons you say? 👀 why not how Viktor would react to reader's lotal pet bird! Especially if it cawed out his name everytime he passed?? Only if you're comfortable with this, much love <3

My cousin has an african grey parrot, whose name I have lovingly reused for this.

Viktor x fem!Reader

-He doesn’t know you have a bird until you’re comfortable enough to visit each other’s homes.

-You’ve probably brought him (and Jayce) lunch at the lab a couple times, and he seemed to enjoy the meal, so you figured it might be nice to invite him over for dinner sometime. The two of you are always running out of time during your conversations, interrupted by school or work, so an evening together sounds nice.

-The first time he walks into your home, he’s generally polite. You’re a student, so like him, you don’t have much money to spend on decor items - but he doesn’t judge. He can smell whatever you’ve been cooking, so it’s kind of the only thing on his mind.

-Until something screeches from the other room.

-He’s visibly alarmed by the noise, whereas you’re perfectly calm. You’d heard that too, right? He wonders, hoping he’s not losing his mind.

-You disappear from the room, and he can vaguely hear you speaking softly, but he’s not able to decipher what you’re saying…

-But you return moments later, with what looks like a plucked chicken standing on your shoulder.

-And he must be making some kind of expression, because you reach forward suddenly and pinch his cheek. 

- “Don’t stare at her,” you scold, without a single hint of malice in your tone. “She’s shy.”

-As if on cue, the bird twitters softly and climbs behind your neck, poking her head out slightly so she can stare at him. Viktor feels incredibly judged, despite the fact that it’s a bird and an incredibly weird one at that.

- “Her name is Peach,” you explain, settling the table while the little creature balances happily on your shoulder. “Some rich bastard kept her in a tiny cage for years - she was so stressed that she pulled all her feathers out. As soon as she wasn’t colourful, she was abandoned…”

-Viktor watches as the little bird presses her beak against your cheek and makes a dramatic kissing noise, and his heart warms. Of course you’d be the one to see some sad creature and decide to help it; you saw the value in every life you stumbled upon. Much like you had with him.

-He was no plucked parrot, mind you, but he wasn’t unaware of the fact that most of the students at the academy -if not most of the people in Piltover- looked down on him. Because of his roots, because of his disabilities.

-But not you.

-You’d stumbled into the lab one afternoon, looking for Jayce (you’d somehow ended up with some of his mail. ‘Again’, according to you) and had started up a conversation with him instead.

-You’d shown a genuine interest in what he was working on, asking how things worked, and even offering a little bit of advice on why some components may not have been functioning. He’d been a little peeved at first, because who the hell were you to walk in there and criticize his designs?

-But then your ideas had worked and he’d been a little less annoyed. And then you’d come back a week later, once again looking for Jayce, once again striking up a chat with him. You’d eventually stopped bringing mail with you, and just started showing up to loiter and talk to him.

-Soon enough, he considered you a friend.

-Soon enough, he noticed the way his heart sped up whenever you were around.

-Soon enough, you apparently trusted him enough to introduce him to your strange little bird.

-He doesn’t get along with Peach at first. He’s rightfully wary of how protective she is of you, despite her being a parrot. She’s grabbed and chewed on his fingers on multiple occasions - whenever he got too touchy with you, really.

-If it wasn’t for Peach, he would have told you how he felt by now; he would have held your hand, or kissed your cheek, or something.

-It all comes to a head when he’s over at your house again, and you suddenly have to run to the kitchen to keep the stew from boiling over.

-Leaving him alone with Peach.

-Who glares at him with her beady little eyes.

-And he sighs.

-He reaches forward slowly, and offers his hand to the little bird, who surprisingly takes the invitation and steps into his palm.

- “Look,” he says quietly, bringing her up to eye level, “I know you do not like me very much. You bite me, and you hiss at me, and you steal my food. But I know you’re just protective of your mother.”

-With his other hand, he slowly strokes over the few feathers still on her head. “I know you love her dearly; I love her dearly, too. She’s kind, and caring, and smart. Perhaps, if you are amicable, we might be able to share her affection?”

-He hears a giggle from the doorway, and all at once he realizes how absurd he must look - talking to a bald parrot, professing his love, of all things.

-But instead of poking fun at him, you instead find a seat beside him on the couch, and lean over to press your lips onto his cheek a couple times. -It still takes a while after that for Peach to truly warm up to him, but eventually, whenever she hears the tap of his cane on the hardwood floors, she squawks his name and puts up a fuss until he comes over to offer her his shoulder to perch on.

[pro-exotics]

I was browsing my bookmarks, and found a good one that I didn't remember... and that turned out to be gone. I ran it through the Wayback Machine, and turns out the site has been down for a few years.

So, for my own sake and for posterity, I am posting it here, because it is useful information.

How to Go Cage Free

Tara Hurlin

I have been researching the care of companion parrots ever since they captured my interest at age 18. Now at age 30, I run a small rescue out of my home that specializes in special needs birds, including parrots with behavioral issues and some with what would consider depression. I take pride and enjoyment out of offering a variety of fresh healthy foods daily, rotating toys a couple times a week, and spending one-on-one time with each of them. Lets put it this way: I never shower alone!

But even after doing all of that, I still felt that I needed to do more. They seemed happy, but something was still off. I visited the Foster Parrots, Ltd. sanctuary in 2013. At first, I thought it was going to be a sad experience; there are around 500 parrots in their care. But when I arrived to see all of the huge free-flight setups, I discovered how happy those birds actually were. It was then that it hit me: I need to find a way to eliminate as many cages as I can.

Even if they are born in captivity, parrots are wild at heart. They are not domesticated animals; their brains are not wired for life in a cage. Depending on the bird, some think of their cage as a safe place to go to sleep and eat, but others act out, get depressed or start feather picking from boredom. The huge, most important part to consider when thinking about going cage free is (pay attention): You must know your bird, and if you have a flock, you absolutely must know your flock.

It took about a year for my rescue, Hurlin’s Parrot Rescue, to convert to going mostly cage free, and we are still changing things weekly. Keep in mind that we have a flock of 20, and it is a slow process because I allowed everyone to adjust at their own pace. In the beginning, I built jungle gyms hanging from the ceiling out of untreated manila rope. I hung a variety of toys, and they used that as a supervised playtime area – supervised so I could learn who may get along with who, or who was going to be a issue with other birds.  As an important note: The large birds such as the Macaws are always kept in separate rooms, the Cockatoos in another separate room, and then the Amazons and African Greys in another.

The next step was to add large hanging perches made out of bird safe woods such as poplar, maple, untreated but de-barked pine, and Manzanita wood. It is important to hang all items with either stainless steel chain or plastic chain, depending on your birds (many will chew plastic chain).  I installed dishes directly to the stands and hung toys from the chain so they could reach them. Who got to try out their cage free setup first was based upon each individual’s behavior during the supervised playtime trials.  For example, I started with the more shy birds that would need more time to establish their territory, let them get situated, then moved on to the Timneh African Greys who had already established their flock. All the while, I routinely weighed each bird to make sure they were maintaining their weight and not losing due to any stress that may be associated with the big changes. My flock personally had no weight concerns during the transition, but better safe than sorry.

[missing image] When choosing your chain, also make sure that it is safe for little birdie feet. There are certain types known to trap toes.

Meanwhile in the Macaw room, I hung all five of their ceiling play stands in the same day and moved the cages out. Shower curtains were also hung on the walls to assist in their giant poops and food flinging. I did this transition more suddenly because everyone was already used to each other; most had been in the same room for over a year. There is one handicapped Green wing Macaw in this flock, Paco, whose feet were so badly injured that they are paralyzed. Even she is cage-free: I made a play stand that works for her from hula-hoops wrapped in fleece fabric. This works wonderfully, since she is unable to climb or perch, she would just sit in the bottom of a cage all day and crawl through any poop. I had to wash her blankets and bathe her daily. Now she just aims her butt off of the play stand and poops on the papers like everyone else, usually with a little happy dance afterwards!

[missing image] Even handicapped birds have the potential to live cage free, like Paco the Green Wing Macaw.

During the transition, only a few problems occurred: My Scarlet Macaw, Booboo, who is normally a high-anxiety bundle of nerves and plucks herself accordingly, did pluck her feathers during the first week of the change. Aside from being more nervous than usual, she otherwise seemed happier than normal and in bright spirits, and even began to play with toys – something I never saw her do before. She has now fully adjusted and stopped plucking (until another hormone season comes around, most likely).

There are four birds who unfortunately can never be cage-free, but I found this out in the very beginning during supervised play times. One is our male Eclectus, who puts a lot of effort into chasing down the Amazons, and in turn his friend Velvet also cannot be cage free, because she will find a dark corner and get “nesty��, which is something that we avoid here. The Eclectus species also has different dietary needs. Another caged bird is Toby, our “hot” yellow-nape Amazon, but that was common sense and expected, as he is highly hormonal to the point of unpredictable attacks. And the fourth is Buddy the Red Lory for obvious reasons: he’s a completely different species with different dietary needs, and he is a little guy that could easily get hurt.

About three-to-four months after switching to cage free, there is one bird in particular, Spooky the Timneh African Grey, who began to claim to entire room as his territory and bully the other birds, so as a precaution he maintains a cage while we are not home, but the door is opened at all times when we are home. His setup may or may not go back to cage free again in the future. This is a great example of how flock dynamic can change over time, and you as the caretaker have to be prepared to make any changes that come with it. For me, that was regretfully adding one more cage to the bird room, making five cages total – not bad at all if you consider the flock of 20.

I often get the question of “what if a bird gets adopted, or needs to join the flock?” Similar steps will be taken if another bird is relinquished to our rescue and has the possibility of going cage free. Of course, we maintain our quarantine procedures; our quarantine room is an entirely separate room from any of the other bird rooms. Then, once we are positive the new bird is healthy, he or she is brought into the bird room in a cage to gage reactions from the flock and the newbie. From there, the new bird can move to an open-cage status, then possibly cage free. It is important to note that the majority of birds that are easily adoptable into approved homes will not transition to our cage-free flock. This will avoid stress on them if they find a new family, and it will prevent stress on our own flock. With every bird that comes and goes, the flock is affected and the dynamic changes. We take the time to get to know each bird before making any decisions – as much time as it takes. It is our responsibility to do what is in the individual’s best interest, and for our existing flock.

As for maintaining the cage free setup, new toys, swings, boings and other perches are hung and changed out regularly to keep everyone busy. Most of the birds are flighted and will explore the room, but they always return to their “safe spot” on their own play stands for food, water or sleep (with the exception of a few that prefer sleeping up on the ropes). 

[missing image] It's important to keep your flock busy by adding random foraging areas and rotating toys.

I wish that I could tell everyone that eliminating cages was all sunshine and rainbows – a piece of cake – but it takes a lot of thought and even more work! It may not be for every flock, and I can’t make that decision for you because only you can truly know your birds. Only you know what your setup is capable of and what is realistic for you.

What I can say is that I have no regrets. I have never seen my birds happier. The sparkle in their eyes shines brighter; they chatter more and interact with each other more, even just vocally from across the room. The vibe in the room is much more lively and happy, and I no longer feel the guilt of seeing so many cages lined up around the walls like little jail cells.  A few birds in particular have completely turned around: for example, Ariel, a bird who was locked in a cage for ten years and very difficult to handle due to her mood swings (I self-diagnosed her as being bipolar with possible depression), now constantly asks for me to hold her and accepts preening, almost to the point of cuddling. The first time she did this is a moment I will never forget; it was the kind of moment that reminds a rescuer why they rescue in the first place. Tears of joy filled my eyes. Another change happened in my African Greys, Shelby and Remy. With the cage-free setup they go wherever they please, and that often involves following me wherever I am in the house, which is something I love. They fly back down to their rooms when they decide it is bedtime. Their confidence has become higher from having that independence.

[missing image] Ariel is a more emotionally stable bird after going cage free.

Another perk for me personally, aside from the happy aura radiating throughout my bird rooms, is that this setup is very low maintenance compared to having cages. I spend less time scrubbing cages bars and bottom grates, which means I can enjoy more time interacting with the flock. What used to take a full day to clean now only takes a couple of hours – and that is a full on OCD bird room scrub down. We have leftover rolls of 48” wide paper donated by our local newspaper distributor. The paper is cut into large sections to completely cover the floors in each room. Smaller sections are laid over the main paper for the extra poopy spots for ease of changing it, and it makes the larger portion last longer. I sweep daily, and I wipe the walls and change papers in their entirety a couple times per week.

[missing image] Be prepared to sacrifice your wood trim... And doors!

I still continue to make changes to the bird rooms, and this will be an ongoing thing. Another large phase that will take place in spring/early summer 2016 is switching out all of the wood trim for tile or stainless – whichever I find the most cost effective (or the least ugly). Lucky for the flock, I didn’t care for the wood trim we had in those rooms, anyway!

[missing image] A glimpse of the mostly cage-free setup. Buddy the Red Lory's cage is to the left, and to the right (not pictured) are the other two cages for Velvet and Shifu, and Toby.

[missing image] Another shot of the same bird room showing the other two cages. An air filter and backup heat (vented to the outside) is also in the photo.

Main Points for going cage free:

Know your birds.

Be patient and observant.

Weigh your birds regularly to make sure they are maintaining weight and health.

Be prepared to make changes as flock dynamics change.

Adjust with the flock; you are part of it.

You better not care about your trim or possible furniture in the room, or have plans to change to un-munchable trim, like tile.

Keep them busy by changing out perches, toys and foraging activities. It’s like having a caged setup, but on a larger scale with no bars, so you have to get creative.

Enjoy watching your flock be a flock, and take pride in being part of it.

[getreadytosmash]

Wing verse bitches

@mistyflame1 tagging u as u wish sire

K for anyone who doesn't know/doesn't remember when I screamed about this verse a few years ago, Wing verses/wing au are typically fics where a character suddenly gains wings and deals with their emotions suddenly being open for anyone to see or a verse where everyone has wings. My favourite is the latter one due to the many different wings people can have and a lot of people often place different meanings to different wings (Like, darker wings are seen as more evil or domestic species of birds are more suited for domestic jobs). Anyway!!

Skaar - Cooper's hawk. A desert associated bird that has a dull plumage yet also has some neat wing patterns that I think fit Skaar really well for him coming from a desert planet and having a more muted colouring compared to the others. I imagine his wings are rather scarred and hang oddly at times from where he had spent plenty of time with his wings being bounded up. He can't fly and a lot of the show I imagine would have features of his relationship with flying or lack of it.

Rick - Hyacinth Macaw. Blue bird!! And Macaws are really clever birds and real well known, even if they aren't as well known as the red/yellow/blue ones. Rick definitely takes care of his wings as human but ends up losing his wings when he becomes A-bomb. It really bothers him, but Rick doesn't want to talk about it with anyone else, especially since they all got to keep their wings. Rick still ducks and shifts as if he has wings though.

Jen - Blue Jay. A really pretty bird that matches Jen's HatAoS colour scheme and it also regarded as a very intelligent bird species! They go well with her character and I imagine her wings stay the same surprisingly, kinda like a calling key for how she’s always Jennifer Walters. Jen really takes a pride in her wings and often keeps them really well groomed. She's made blue wings really popular lately and is careful to not accidentally send a door flying off its hinges...she fails regularly.

Red - African Grey Parrot. A really smart bird that's often kept as a pet but sometimes escapes? It has a muted grey tone that I thinks works well for anyone in the army and they're rather large birds too. It works well for Red and I think he has a lot of pride in his wings for that, especially when they seemed to grow even bigger and gain a undertone of red to his wings. Another rad thing is the fact that Red can set his wings on fire when he flies.

Hulk - Bruce started out as a kingfisher and when turning into Hulk, his wings become that of a peacock. Misty, thank you for this because the idea of someome going to fight Hulk and he just slams open big ass peacock feathers is so funny. I imagine he's a little self conscious over his wings at times, especially as no one expects such a bruiser to have wings like that, but Rick and Jen often want him to try and accept the fact that yes he has the prettiest wings there is.

Samuel - Budgie. Absolutely the funniest thing to me tbh because it fits well as they're relatively smart birds, but also fit the fact that Samuel has always seem himself as entirely ordinary before he became the Leader...and the fact that he's spent almost all of the show in one type of cage or another. I imagine he used to be rather embarrassed of how bright his wings were compared to how...plain he seemed. And then as Leader he had been embarrassed over how sparkly he seemed instead of getting sensible crows' wings. After his mutilation, Samuel tends to strap his wings down for better access to the sockets and has an issue where his wings often snap outwards and hits people in the face. Red swears that he's eaten at least five of Samuel's feathers.

[babyboydbaby]

MEET THE MUSE ! LEGAL NAME: Boyd Drake-Gearloose NICKNAME[S]: None DATE OF BIRTH: Dr. Gearloose says his activation day was September 15th, so he considers that his birthday. AGE: 11 (technically 21, but he was in stasis for that long and also designed as a child so we’re not getting into technicalities here. He’s 11.) GENDER: Male SPECIES: African Grey Parrot PLACE OF BIRTH: Tokyolk, Japan CURRENT LIVING CONDITIONS: With his mother, father and brother; and sometimes he’ll stay with Dr. Gearloose SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English, Japanese, ASL, he could probably pick up a few more with ease if he really wanted to EDUCATION: N/A OCCUPATION: A Definitely Real Boy/Superhero CRIMINAL RECORD: He has done nothing wrong ever, in his life. Of his own accord. DRINK | SMOKE | DRUGS LIKE[S]: Science, Junior Woodchucks, pumpkins, his friends and family, Huey (he gets his own spot), The Wizard of Oz franchise (especially Jack Pumpkinhead and the TinMan, or really any characters who are similar), cherry blossoms, Kirby (or Birby if we want to be cheeky), helping people, Animal Crossing, unapologetically being a Definitely Real Boy DISLIKE[S]: Dr. Akita, losing control, being used to hurt others, Mark Beaks, being insulted by his brother, being treated like a mindless robot and not an actual child, accidentally hurting people he cares about FEAR[S]: See his dislikes, they’re kind of one-in-the-same PERSONALITY TRAITS: Sweet, kind, friendly, caring, imaginative, determined { P H Y S I C A L   I N F O R M A T I O N } FEATHER COLOUR: Light and dark grey, with maybe a little bit of red on his tail. EYE COLOUR: Blue-and-yellow HEIGHT: 3′2′′. He’s wittle. WEIGHT: He has one.  TATTOOS: None, he’s a child. { F A M I L Y   I N F O R M A T I O N } SIBLING[S]: Doofus Drake. And I guess Lil’ Bulb in a way. PARENT[S]: Heidi and Joshua Drake, and Gyro Gearloose CHILDREN: Do plant children count? He has a few in his family’s greenhouse. He likes plants. PET[S]: Again, see above. { R E L A T I O N S H I P   I N F O R M A T I O N } SEXUAL PREFERENCE: Unknown RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single Tagged by: @dollhousemuses​ Tagging: Nah

[tinypigeonlord]

@Petting zoos who think it’s a great idea to get a parrot for the kids to play with: just please do not.

I’ve already had this discussion with one petting zoo manager who thought it would be fun for the kiddies to see an exotic bird from up close, and I heard the story of another petting zoo with an African Grey which ended up dying a miserable death. It spent a couple of years in a tiny round cage which honestly was even too small for a canary, inside the barn where it got zero sunlight. Its legs were horribly deformed from sitting on the same perch 24/7, it had no feathers left from the constant stress and self-mutilation, and it was absolutely terrified of people throughout its short life. It’s heartbreaking honestly.

Not only do they need A LOT of personal attention, toys, space and fuckin’ sunlight, but they are dangerous to kids.

Why am I bringing this up suddenly? My family has an African Grey. Despite having raised him since he was a wee baby birb, and with as much love and affection as I can give him, I was reminded once again today that he’s not tame. One moment he was happily sitting on my forearm, playing and giving me his feetsies the way we had trained him to... the next he’s throwing a temper tantrum, hanging upside down on my arm with his talons digging into my skin, biting me over and over and bruising my indexfinger and thumb because I was going to set him back on his tree and he didn’t feel like it. Today I only got bruised, but he has drawn blood before on really bad days.

What do you think would’ve happened to a little child’s fingers? If a parrot really wants to hurt you, you’ll lose those fingers. What do you think will inevitably happen if little children keep prodding at a stressed parrot? Parrots do not make good petting animals. They’re very specific on where you’re allowed to touch, IF you even have the privilege of touching them in the first place.

And again, they need a lot of personal attention, toys and space. Buying one just to put it in a cage 24/7 to be looked at, is going to stress the poor bird out as well.

Get a low maintenance cuddly animal which can handle the stress of children tugging at it, preferably without the capability to utterly mutilate their little fingers, and then STILL teach the children how to handle such an animal with care and respect. :I

[qnddkfniokdl]

Need to You Get A Bird? 8 things To bear in mind

“Polly want a cracker?”

Many people think that proudly owning a playful, colorful parakeet or parrot can be not anything however fun, but dwelling with one is some distance extraordinary from the assumption that everyone you’ve got to do is fill up their birdseed and water each day.

Even birds as small as parakeets can stay 5 to 8 years, and African grey parrots and Macaws can stay from 35 to 50 years or greater. That’s a large commitment.

Here are eight essential things to take into account before you convey domestic pet chicken.

1. Sensitivity Birds cannot tolerate houseplants, smoke, hairspray, fragrance, air fresheners, scented candles or Teflon-lined cooking pans. The invisible fumes that come from cooking on Teflon-covered pans are deadly to birds. Their breathing systems are extremely touchy and cannot tolerate any of those materials.

2. Disease Birds can transmit airborne sicknesses (such as avian tuberculosis) to humans, and their dander can irritate folks who be afflicted by breathing troubles consisting of allergies, COPD, and emphysema. HEPA air filters can help lessen feather dander, but if all and sundry in your house are sensitive, maybe some other kind of puppy would be a smarter choice.

2. Disorder ought to You Get A puppy chicken? 8 things to keep in mind Life360 tips

Three. Noise Unless you’re happy with small, jumpy finches or canaries who make little peeps all through the day (each of which isn't commonly candy and loving), be organized for quite a few noises. Even parakeets – as small as they are – can cause you ear pain, if now not listening to loss if they determine to chirp to your shoulder for a prolonged amount of time. The only time it’s quiet is at night. Any other component to hold in mind: As with chickens, domesticated birds awaken with the solar. If you can’t take care of that, recollect setting their cages in a windowless room.

Four. Mess Birds devour continuously when it’s mild out of doors. There is no such issue as 3 food a day. Anything seeds they eat are available in parts: the hull and the meat. They get rid of the hulls and devour the beef, and the hulls drop to the floor. You’ll need to vacuum at least once an afternoon. Keep in thoughts, too, that puppy birds will shred paper, wooden, plastic, cords and whatever they can get their beaks around.

Five. Flight Until you want your bird to fly across the residence or maybe getaway via the front door and likely get lost for all time, you ought to clip their wings. Don’t try to try this on your very own without gaining knowledge of a way to clip wings efficiently. Achieved properly, the challenge is as easy as clipping your nails. Accomplished incorrectly and you may completely damage the hen’s capability to fly. In case you’re nervous, you can take the chicken to the vet or to the place you followed him from to have specialists do the activity.

5 must You Get A puppy bird? 8 matters To recollect tips

6. Room Whilst you purchase your fowl, ensure that it lives in a cage big sufficient that it can pass round and flap its wings, or install a few prefab branches (available at your nearby puppy store) somewhere in your private home so it can land there to relaxation. If you don’t want to house your fowl inner your own home, you can build a separate aviary for its comfort.

7. Attention Birds are like human toddlers. They’re social creatures who adore regular interest from their people. And that includes scratching under their wings, rubbing their necks and permitting them to sleep to your blouse pocket (if they’re small enough). In case you’re no longer the cuddly kind, then perhaps are searching for out a puppy that prefers solitude.

8. Biting A parakeet can chunk hard enough to draw blood. A Macaw can take your finger off. By no means taunt a fowl with something you couldn't manage to pay for to lose and be very cautious once they get close to your face. Birds normally received it bite down with all their energy except they experience threatened, but it’s higher to be secure than sorry, even in case your pet has been in your own home for years.

Birds are extremely loving, dependable pets, however proudly owning them is a prime dedication of time and effort. If you determine that they’re right for you and your family, you’ll be rewarded with a lifetime of affection.

[joly-and-the-satellites]

Sometimes I think about the fact that Joly just seems like the kind of person who would own a bird, like a super rad parrot or something, and for some reason Bossuet is convinced that the bird doesn't like him and has it out for him even though Joly keeps trying to explain that it's not true. (I'm sorry you're not doing well. I hope this helps.)

Okay, this was meant to be short, but it got waaaaay out of hand.

Birds of a Different Feather

It was a quiet afternoon when Joly had first brought it up.

“I think I’d like to have a bird,” he had stated, so casually it was almost as if he’d asked about the weather later on in the week. Musichetta, to her credit, did not seem very bothered about it. She simply took a sip of her coffee and nodded, “I think you’d do well with one. Birds can be sweethearts - a lot of them really love their humans.” Bossuet had been a little more perplexed over the sudden admittance; he wasn’t sure where it had come from, or why Joly had wanted a bird, in specific. They seemed loud, and most of them somewhat feisty - he’d been bitten and scratched at before, and he wasn’t entirely keen on the idea. Why not a guinea pig, or a turtle? Hell, why not a cat or a dog?

“A bird?” he had asked, a bit of hesitance in his tone. Joly had looked up, nodding - Bossuet must have had a certain expression on his face, because he had almost immediately backtracked. “Well, yeah, I would like to have a bird - unless you’re afraid of them? I really should have asked that before bringing it up, I’m sorry,” he replied, giving Bossuet that guilty, wide-eyed look, like a puppy who had been caught stealing food.

He wasn’t afraid of them, of course; more so, he was cautious around them, and didn’t really like his odds when it came to one descending from the heavens like a vengeful angel every time he walked into their house. But, he knew how much Joly had wanted a pet; he’d been looking longingly at shelters for months, and was always asking them about different types of animals. He had probably hoped that he was being subtle about it, but Musichetta had caught on almost immediately. Once she had tipped Bossuet off on the hints that he had been dropping, it became hard to ignore them.

If we had a dog, what kind would you want? Do you think we’d ever adopt a cat? Do ferrets actually smell? I’m not convinced that they do. How hard do you think hedgehogs bite? What kind of name would you give a bearded dragon if you had one?

And really, who was he to dash his hopes? If Joly had admit specifically to wanting a bird, who was he to refuse him without even considering it? And he really did have such a hard time saying no to those big brown doe eyes of his…

“No, I’m not afraid of birds,” Bossuet had responded. “I just don’t know much about them as pets. What do you think, ‘Chetta?” Musichetta had given him that sly little smirk over her mug that had told him she was onto him. She had raised her eyebrow subtly at him - You’re really not afraid of them? she was asking. Bossuet shook his head. No, I’m really not, was his silent reply. She had then turned to Joly, that bright smile on her face. “They’re good pets. They can be a little noisy, and sometimes they’re attention hogs; but there are kinds that aren’t too loud or aggressive. We’ll just have to do our research.”

Joly had looked back at Bossuet, his eyes shining with hope.

Bossuet had caved a little too easily.

After about a month of debating the pros and cons of various breeds, they had settled on a cockatiel; not too big that Bossuet would be running for cover, and relatively affectionate. They had gone to a shelter that had a cockatiel, recently surrendered by its owner, with the hopes of adopting it; but when they had entered the corridor where the birds were kept, Joly had zoned in on something else altogether.

An African Grey parrot.

It didn’t look threatening, aside from stature in comparison to the other birds. It was huddled down on a perch, gray feathers messy and unkempt - it seemed that it had been pulling out its own feathers. One leg was tucked up against its stomach as it dozed, eyes closed and body still. Joly instantly gravitated towards it, as easily as a magnet to its opposite pole, making a little sound of distress at the state of the bird. The parrot opened its eyes instantly, and stood back up so quickly it wobbled on the wooden perch - before it could lose its balance entirely, it flapped its wings, catching itself with a bit of effort. It hopped away from Joly on one foot, feathers standing on end in apparent alarm; Joly shuffled back immediately, a guilty look on his face. “What’s happened to this one?” Musichetta asked the volunteer, May, who was acting as their guide. She had paused, turning back to see which animal had caught her eye; her expression fell a bit when she saw Joly peering up at the parrot.

“That’s Charlie,” May answered, her tone becoming a bit more morose out of sympathy. “He’s… been through a lot. His owner didn’t take very good care of him; whoever they were, they abused him. He was left here in a box without a note, and no food or water. His leg was broken, and it was so badly infected that it had to be amputated. That’s why he stumbled a little when you approached him; he’s still a little scared of people.”

As soon as she said it, Joly looked back at his lovers with those big, sad eyes, as if he had been personally injured. Bossuet had to admit that it had gotten to him, as well; it seemed impossible to him that anyone could be capable of being so cruel to any kind of animal, especially one that was meant to be a companion to them. He just couldn’t wrap his head around how heartless one would have to be to intentionally harm their pets; especially to the extent of the animal losing a limb, or losing their trust in humans.

“How long has he been here?” Joly asked in a small voice, staring up at Charlie with his hands clutched together at his chest. It was a familiar action - he did it every time something struck a heartstring, and considering how big of a heart he had, it was fairly often. “Nine years,” May answered solemnly. “no one wants him because they’re afraid he’ll lash out, or that he’s too much of a responsibility. Some people just think he’s too ugly, or they don’t want to adopt a pet that might live as long as they do. They don’t want to make the commitment.”

Bossuet didn’t need to look at either of them to know that the decision had made - because he was already completely on board.

“How much is the adoption fee?” Bossuet asked.

May smiled warmly at that; but not nearly as brightly as Joly had.

Charlie was not entirely accepting at first; but Joly didn’t stop trying to forge a bond with him for a single moment.

The parrot was quiet and almost introverted - he didn’t like being held, and often tried to escape if one of them held their hand out to him, however slow the approach. Joly spent countless hours sitting next to the huge birdcage, talking to Charlie about his day and asking him questions about his as if he would reply; sometimes, when he had run out of things to say, he would pick up one of his favorite books and read to the parrot. He seemed especially fond of reading passages detailing dragons and mythical birds to him.

And bit by bit, Charlie learned to accept his presence. 

He stopped jerking away when Joly walked by, and no longer tried to get to the other side of the room when he heard his voice. He was no longer flinching away from their laughter, and slowly, he stopped pulling out his feathers in favor of curiously picking at the toys and puzzles that they had bought for him. Joly would offer his hand to Charlie at times, hoping that he would hop over from the perch; a few times, he’d been bitten or nipped at, and many of those times, the parrot had drawn blood. Joly was ever-careful that he didn’t react negatively, and instead of jerking his hand away or raising his voice, he would carefully step back and apologize for startling him. When Charlie had finally allowed Joly to gently stroke his feathers, he had the biggest, beaming smile on his face - and from there, things only improved.

Joly was the only one that was allowed to carry him for a long time. Charlie would perch on his shoulder as he sat at his desk, or land in his lap when he sat on the chair next to the birdcage. It took a few weeks and a lot of gentle encouragement, but he finally started showing Musichetta the same trust, hitching rides on her shoulder as she walked about the house. He always went back to Joly, in the end; he was a one-person bird, it seemed, but Musichetta hardly minded. Joly was incredibly cheerful before they had adopted Charlie, of course - but he was so often in high spirits and so often gushing over his new feathered friend, who was the subject of many Instagram posts and Snapchat stories.

Bossuet, on the other hand, hadn’t yet gained Charlie’s trust or affection.

In fact, Charlie often puffed up defensively from Joly’s shoulder whenever Bossuet was near; he wasn’t competing for Joly’s affections, per say, but he was certainly less than excited about Bossuet’s presence in the room. He didn’t squawk or scream at him, though, which he had considered to be a good thing for a while… at least, until Joly had gotten the parrot talking, and he’d told Bossuet with the utmost confidence, feathers fluffed out and chest pushed forward as if trying to intimidate him, ‘scram, punk.’

Musichetta had choked on her tea, and Joly had snorted loudly. Bossuet had heeded the warning and promptly made his exit.

Charlie was absolutely, irrevocably, undeniably out to get him. And Bossuet just wasn’t sure what to do about it.

He looked up from his phone, taking in the scene just across the coffee table. Joly was sitting with his leg pulled up onto the couch, knee bent upward, the other rested out comfortably on the cushions, as he’d taken his prosthetic off once he’d gotten home. Charlie was perched on his bent knee, facing Joly, and leaning down to give him little ‘bird kisses’ - pressing his beak to Joly’s nose and making exaggerated noises to signify a smooch. Joly was petting his feathers lightly, that happy, relaxed smile on his face, watching a cartoon on the television idly when his attention wasn’t on the parrot.

The moment Bossuet reached for his little bag of Goldfish crackers, Charlie was standing upright and watching.

He froze with his hand hovering mid-air.

“I don’t think your bird likes me very much,” he stated.

Joly looked up to glance between the two, eyebrows drawn in confusion. “I’m sure that isn’t true,” he replied, tapping Charlie gently on the end of his beak; the parrot turned his attention back towards him, ‘kissing’ the pad of his finger. “he might not be used to you yet. Isn’t that right, Charlie?” “Right,” the bird answered without missing a beat. Bossuet was a little off-put by how easily he always answered Joly. Did he truly understand what he was saying, or was he guessing…?

“It’s been almost a year, though,” Bossuet responded, a bit poutily. As convinced as he was that Charlie was out for blood, he was a little disheartened that the bird didn’t like him - or even seem to readily tolerate him, really. Joly hummed under his breath, looking back at Charlie almost questioningly. “Maybe it’s only because you don’t talk to him as much as me and ‘Chetta,” Joly concluded. “I’m sure he likes you; he’s just a little nervous. It took him a long time to get used to me, after all.”

Bossuet sighed, popping one of the little crackers into his mouth before he replied. “I don’t think that’s it. I think he wants you to himself, and I’m slowly becoming his enemy.” His boyfriend laughed, shaking his head; Charlie imitated that laugh almost eerily well, and Bossuet found himself gawking for a moment.

“No, that’s not it, either - he wouldn’t like ‘Chetta nearly as much as he does if he wanted all my attention.” He looked back over at Bossuet, as if set to say something else - but his eyes fell to the little bag of Goldfish sitting next to him, and Bossuet could almost hear the gears turning. The moment he had spoken, Bossuet felt his heart plummet:

“I have an idea.”

“Oh, no,” Bossuet started to protest. “whatever it is, I’m not doing it. I love you with all of my heart, but I am not doing it.”

“Just hear me out,” Joly chuckled, shaking his head fondly at him. And really, Bossuet couldn’t deny him that. It didn’t mean he’d go through with this idea of Joly’s, of course; but he could at least listen to it before he took a stance on it. “I can prove to you that Charlie doesn’t dislike you - because I promise, he doesn’t! Give him one of your Goldfish.”

Bossuet looked down almost appraisingly at the bag next to him. He didn’t have the best of luck with birds. They often bit him, screamed at him, pecked him - and if he got in close quarters with a bird as large as Charlie and offered him a tiny cracker just the size of his fingertip, there was no telling what the damage might be.

Joly, as if sensing his thoughts, smiled softly. “Just trust me on this one, alright…? You don’t have to, but I promise you he isn’t going to hurt you, love.”

Bossuet gave a heavy sigh, and plucked a Goldfish from the bag, looking down at it as if his fate was resting upon the tiny cracker. “Do you think Ferre will believe me when I tell him why I’m going in for stitches?”

“Bossuet.”

“It’s a fair question! I need another story ready in case he doesn’t.”

“You won’t need stitches. You don’t have to give him one at all, honest!”

“But I want to,” Bossuet countered stubbornly, getting up from the armchair and going to sit next to Joly on the couch. Charlie watched his every move - but he was not fluffing his feathers out defensively, or trying to get between him and Joly. It didn’t stop him from being a bit apprehensive as he settled down on the sofa, of course.

Slowly, Bossuet situated the Goldfish between his thumb and pointer finger, and held it up as if in offering.

Charlie considered the cracker for a long moment. He leaned down, plucking it gently from his fingers; his beak barely touched his skin, and he was just as careful as Bossuet had been in the exchange. 

Joly grinned, praising the bird for a moment before he leaned over to kiss Bossuet’s cheek. Feeling his smile against his skin was never any less heartwarming to him, and he could feel his own lips curling up in response. “See? He doesn’t dislike you. You just need to get used to each other.”

Bossuet reached up carefully to pet Charlie, who was munching happily on the Goldfish; he didn’t try to duck away from his hand, and he didn’t turn to bite him when he realized who was touching him.

“Maybe you’re right.” He conceded. “But I hope he doesn’t expect me to hand over all of my Goldfish that easily in the future.”

“Greedy,” Joly laughed.

[the-tales-of-horror]

Jeepers

Original Link By DaffodilDayDream

I used to hate my girlfriend’s parrot. He’s a Timneh African Grey, the smaller of the two kinds, a softer shade with a horn-colored bill. He loves Beth and ONLY Beth. To him, I’m competition, so I’ve learned to just keep away from his cage, the various perches throughout her house, and to avoid touching my girlfriend when he’s sitting with her. If I follow these rules, everything is alright. Unless, of course, I want to do something terrible like kiss my girlfriend or something egregious like that.

Beth got Jeepers in middle school. She got sick and missed an entire year and when she got back, the teenage hormones had kicked in and none of her old friends wanted anything to do with her. She was so lonely that her parents picked out a pet for her. They wanted something she could really interact with, and her mother was allergic to fur, so they went down to the pet store and asked for something with feathers.

Beth and Jeepers have been inseparable since the day they brought him home. She was homeschooled during high school and he studied with her. She lived off-campus in college so he could come with her. And now that she has a good job, she bought a cute little house and put perches in nearly every room so that he could join in just about any activity.

Jeepers was never outright mean to me, but he always turned his back to me and occasionally growled if he was sitting on Beth’s shoulder and I reached out to stroke her hair. He didn’t like me, and I didn’t like him. What boyfriend wants to share his girlfriend with a bird, anyway?

But boy can that thing talk. Beth has told me that some parrots never talk, others talk a little, and some, like Jeepers, just talk their heads off. And with the better talkers, it’s not like a pirate movie where they just squawk “Awk, pieces of eight!”, they say things as close as they can get to the voice they originally heard them spoken in. She told me it was difficult to “teach” a bird to say something, as they like to mimic things that excite or interest them, so stuff you say with gusto sounds fun to them. That’s why he swears like a sailor. But he says just a ton of other things too. “Good morning” when she takes the cover off his cage, “No, no, no, no, no!” when he doesn’t want to do something, “Dinner’s ready!” when it’s time to eat, Beth’s name over and over again, cutesy little platitudes he picked up from me (which I find somehow insulting, like he’s deliberately “copying” me to charm my lady or something), “Good night” when he wants Beth to cover him and turn out the lights, and just countless other things. He even mimics sounds, like the door opening and closing, the microwave, radio static, the smoke alarm, it’s like anything he hears, he can reproduce. But only if he wants to.

Beth was wearing that pink and white retro dress I liked with her blue ruffled apron. I hope it’s not chauvinistic to think that she was at her cutest when cooking. We’d met at a cooking class, actually, four years ago. It was a singles’ thing, I’ll admit it, but I was also there to pick up a few tips on how to up my bachelor chow game. Instead, I picked up Beth. We paired up for the rest of the classes and celebrated by making a ridiculously complicated meal when we “graduated”. We’ve been together ever since.

Anyway, Beth was in the kitchen making her spaghetti, which was my favorite dish she made, and I was sitting in the connected living room watching the Steelers lose to the Seahawks and handling a few emails from work.

“Dinner’s ready, dinner’s ready!” Jeepers had already started, excited for his meal. Beth always made sure he had a fresh dinner, just like us. Jeepers didn’t know she was still cooking, he just knew that she was in the kitchen and it was dinner time, so he just wouldn’t shut up.

“Jeepers!” I finally broke. “Knock it off!”

“He’s just excited for dinner.” Beth cooed. “It’s spaghetti, do you blame him?”

“I know.” I sighed. I kept my feelings about Jeepers to myself. She knew my relationship with her bird was strained, but she worked hard to keep the peace. “I’m just stressed over work.” It was a lame lie, but she gave me a sympathetic smile and went back to the stove.

“Knock it off!” I jumped and turned to look at Jeepers who was staring at the kitchen. “Knock it off!” He repeated in my voice nearly perfectly.

“Looks like someone learned a new phrase.” She was giggling. “Thanks for that, Alex.”

“I guess you’re welcome.” I said as she came into the living room to kiss me gently before letting Jeepers out and onto her shoulder. “Come on.” She said, winking at me. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Dinner’s ready!” Jeepers agreed, gleefully, as she set him down on his kitchen perch with a small portion of spaghetti sans cheese. Dairy’s bad for birds, she said.

Dinner was perfect as always. Afterwards, we snuggled on the couch and watched a few episodes of Fargo. We were still catching up. Jeepers spent some time grooming, then playing with his toys, then kind of zoning out like he was watching the show with us. He was thankfully quiet, until he sat up straight and said in a low voice “Wait ‘til tonight.”

“Huh.” Beth mused. “That’s a new one. Must’ve picked it up from you.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked, eying her.

“It’s a man’s voice.” She shrugged. “Although I guess he could just be experimenting with it.”

“Wait ‘til tonight.” Jeepers repeated, his feathers kind of ruffled as he stuck one foot in his mouth.

“Does he seem agitated to you?” She asked, frowning. “He’s been acting kind of weird since I came home from work. I don’t want to overreact, but I want to take him to the vet’s as quick as possible if there’s something wrong…”

“He seems…” I shrugged. “He seems like a parrot.”

She sighed. “I wish you two would become friends.”

“I know.” I hugged her. “Maybe someday.”

We both got fairly tired after another episode and I packed my laptop up. “When are you off tomorrow?” She asked, not letting go of me just yet.

“I’ll be over at about six.” I said, kissing her gently. “You want me to cook?”

“Oooh, mac and cheese.” She smirked. I know it sounds like a joke, but I actually DO make really good mac and cheese. Old family recipe. “Yes, please.”

“Your wish…” I smiled and kissed her again.

“Wait ‘til tonight.” Jeepers said in a sort of hushed whisper.

“He likes that one.” She laughed. “Goofball. He’s pretty awake for this time of night, he’s usually kicking us out of the living room with his “Goodnights”.”

“Maybe he was enjoying the show.” I shrugged. “I better get going.” I said, and she walked me to the door. I kissed her again and she shut and locked the door. I walked down the little pathway to the gate and tripped hard over a rock. I didn’t go down all the way, but I definitely tweaked my knee a little and dropped my laptop bag. I cursed and picked it up, then stared at the rock. It was familiar, definitely one of the rocks she’d chosen for her little garden, but when I went to put it back, I couldn’t remember where it went, even though I felt like I should’ve known somehow. I just scooted it off the pathway and closed the gate, climbed into my car and drove home.

“Wait ‘til tonight.” I scoffed, stopping at a red light. “Fucking bird.” I didn’t remember saying anything like that, but I guess I had to have. It wasn’t the first time he’d picked up something I’d said, and it wouldn’t be the last.

That’s when I remembered where that rock belonged. The realization washed over me like ice and I felt like I was going to vomit. That was the rock that she hid her spare key under.

“Wait ‘til tonight!” I nearly yelled, pulling the most illegal of u-turns and speeding all the way back to Beth’s house, sweating all over and shaking as I parked in the street, pulled my Sig Saur out of its box under the seat and ran up the walkway to the door. I realized the rocks had all been disturbed and cursed myself for not noticing before.

The door was locked and I fumbled with my keys until my shaking hands cooperated and I ran into her home, Jeepers screaming the smoke alarm sound at the top of his lungs and flapping around his cage like a maniac.

I could hear Beth screaming upstairs and I ran the stairs two at a time, kicking her bedroom door in and screaming wordlessly at her attackers.

There was a bear of a man sitting on Beth’s chest and choking her slender neck in his huge hands. She was scratching ragged lines across his knuckles and wrists as he’d let loose just enough to hear her scream before returning to choking the life out of her. His partner, a smaller man, stood next to the bed, telling the other what to do, his hand down his pants.

“Get off her!” I screamed, and before I could really think about it, I shot the man on top of my girlfriend. I caught him in the shoulder, and he jerked and fell off the bed. “Hands!” I screamed at the other. He gave me a twisted smile but obliged. “Beth, are you alright?” I asked, gun trained on the little man.

She was gasping, gagging. “Alex…” She managed. “You…”

“Call the cops!” I said, my arms getting tired.

The cops came and arrested the two men, explained that they’d been looking for men matching their description in connection with four murders. They’d break in, hide in the house, and wait until night to strangle their victims in their own beds. Wait ‘til tonight.

After the hospital, Beth didn’t want to sleep at my house, so I stayed with her instead. We had a fitful night and both called our bosses to explain what had happened and how we needed a few days off to recoup and regroup. I sat on the couch the next morning, sipping my coffee while Beth slept in. I pulled the cover off of Jeepers’ cage for the day and he just stared at me.

“Thanks.” I said, smiling at him. “You’re a good boy, Jeepers.”

“Good boy, Jeepers.” He puffed up and shook his feathers out. “I love you, Beth.” That one was definitely in my voice.

[sindibadstore]

Should You Get A Pet Bird? 8 Things To Consider

“Polly want a cracker?”

Many people think that owning a playful, colorful parakeet or parrot will be nothing but fun, but living with one is far different from the assumption that all you’ve got to do is refill their birdseed and water every day.

Even birds as small as parakeets can live 5 to 8 years, and African grey parrots and Macaws can live from 35 to 50 years or more. That’s a huge commitment.

Here are eight essential things to consider before you bring home a pet bird.

1. Sensitivity

Birds cannot tolerate houseplants, smoke, hairspray, perfume, air fresheners, scented candles or Teflon-coated cooking pans. In fact, the invisible fumes that come from cooking on Teflon-coated pans are fatal to birds. Their respiratory systems are extremely sensitive and cannot tolerate any of these substances.

2. Disease

Birds can transmit airborne diseases (including avian tuberculosis) to humans, and their dander can aggravate those who suffer from breathing problems such as asthma, COPD, and emphysema. HEPA air filters can help reduce feather dander, but if anyone in your home is sensitive, maybe another type of pet would be a wiser choice.

3. Noise

Unless you’re happy with small, jumpy finches or canaries who make little peeps throughout the day (both of which are not generally sweet and loving), be prepared for a lot of noise. Even parakeets – as small as they are – can cause you ear pain, if not hearing loss if they decide to chirp on your shoulder for an extended amount of time. The only time it’s quiet is at night. Another thing to keep in mind: As with chickens, domesticated birds wake up with the sun. If you can’t handle that, consider placing their cages in a windowless room.

4. Mess

Birds eat constantly when it’s light outside. There is no such thing as three meals a day. Whatever seeds they eat come in two parts: the hull and the meat. They remove the hulls and eat the meat, and the hulls drop to the floor. You’ll have to vacuum at least once a day. Keep in mind, too, that pet birds will shred paper, wood, plastic, cords and anything they can get their beaks around.

5. Flight

Unless you want your bird to fly around the house or even escape through the front door and possibly get lost forever, you must clip their wings. Don’t attempt to do this on your own without learning how to clip wings correctly. Done properly, the task is as easy as clipping your nails. Done incorrectly and you could permanently damage the bird’s ability to fly. If you’re nervous, you can take the bird to the vet or to the place you adopted him from to have professionals do the job.

6. Room

When you buy your bird, make sure that it lives in a cage large enough that it can move around and flap its wings, or install some prefab branches (available at your local pet store) somewhere in your home so it can land there to rest. If you don’t want to house your bird inside your home, you can build a separate aviary for its comfort.

7. Attention

Birds are like human toddlers. They’re social creatures who adore constant attention from their humans. And that includes scratching under their wings, rubbing their necks and letting them sleep in your shirt pocket (if they’re small enough). If you’re not the cuddly type, then perhaps seek out a pet that prefers solitude.

8. Biting

A parakeet can bite hard enough to draw blood. A Macaw can take your finger off. Never taunt a bird with anything you can’t afford to lose, and be very careful when they get near your face. Birds usually won’t bite down with all their strength unless they feel threatened, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, even if your pet has been in your home for years.

Birds are extremely loving, loyal pets, but owning them is a major commitment of time and effort. If you determine that they’re right for you and your family, you’ll be rewarded with a lifetime of love.

[windycityparrot]

What Challenges Does Your Bird Face This Spring And Summer?

Linda F asks Hi, As spring approaches we look to protect furry as well as feathered friends. Any suggestions on Frontline and heartguard type products that are safe around parrots and toos (Cockatoos) when used on three little dogs? Are the two above mentioned harmful when used on dog that lives in same house as a bird? Thank you for all help I have received as my CAG (Congo African Grey, goffie (Goffin Cockatoo) learn to share our life together. Would not have made it as smoothly this far without your good advice and Birdy Brunch. Thank you again. Linda, Micha and Stewie   Hi Linda   Thank you for the kind words   In that dogs (mammals) and birds (aves) have different integumentary systems (fins, fur, feathers, scales) treatments should not cross over. Everyone likes to think of themselves as being prepared for disaster and certainly life’s cuts and scrapes.   I’ve personally sutured a dog in a garage (after 5 minutes of training by my vet :-)   I’ve yanked shards of glass out of more than one dogs paw and got them bandaged over the years.   Sutures are easy to come by if your vet is a fellow musher but for the most part many dogs, and I presume cat medical emergencies, can be treated with a human first aid kit.   Removing a little fur on a dog while rapidly getting a wound bandaged, is something a dog will get over pretty quickly.

Mammals are very different than birds.   Unless your birds are exposed to mosquito bites which is unlikely because they are indoors, the chance of incurring heartworm disease is slim to none.   Parasitic roundworms named Dirofilaria immitis affect mostly dogs but may manifest itself in ferrets, cats and other prey animals.   Once the roundworms mature they can be found in the heart, ergo the name heartworm but they can also be found in the lungs and blood vessels between the lungs in the heart.   It can take up to six months for the actual parasite to develop in a dog's heart.   Thus heartguard is certainly not a necessary prophylactic treatment for birds.   There is a topical flea treatment you can get from the vet.   SevenDust sprinkled on the ground helps kill the fleas in the sand.   I've used Adams flea and tick spray with success directly on birds who have fleas, but make sure to avoid their eyes and mouth.   Adams will work for feather mites and lice as well.   You may also try Pest Control Dyna-mite All Natural Mite-lice Repellent 8 Oz (.24 L)   best   mitchr   Migrating from spring to summer   We talk about parrots being equatorial animals and how life in North America, for example screws up their instinctual expectations for things like light cycles and temperature. So you would think with summer here all those problems would go away. Some do, but now we face new challenges. Escape routes Summer is the time of open doors and windows, screens instead of glass and much more in and out traffic typically. Flighted birds pose the risk of escape by flight, and summer increases that risk no doubt. But when your wing clipped 240g feather ball chews through the screen where you left the window open in the guest room on the second floor, your wing clipped bird could easily ride the warm summer thermals (those air things that keep un-motorized gliders afloat) and end up in the next state before you knew she was gone. If you open doors and windows, it’s best to keep your bird in a cage, flighted or not.   Ceiling fans A fan can be a human’s best friend. I’ve seen videos of birds who like to play in the airflow. That said, I’ve also seen birds who were placed under or in front of a fan with every good intention by its keeper. While keeping the air around the bird cool the birds feathers were always getting lifted. A “ruffled” feather needs to be put back in its place, and this is done by preening.   https://youtu.be/sIR-q9GsXcg   With the unceasing airflow from the fan comes when unceasing amount of preening, which has in the past triggered plucking. I advise you to keep your birds out of the path of direct airflow.   Ceiling fans fall under the category of super hazard for flighted birds. Veterinarians call the result “shredded tweet” For more ways on how we kill and injure our pet birds, read this. Shade We discussed the need for full-spectrum lighting on a regular basis. What could be better than the real deal, the sun. You know that thing that can fade paint, burn skin, crinkle car interiors? Yep, that sun.   Sunlight is good, direct sunlight is not - make sure your bird always has access to shade. If your cage is near a window check it throughout the day to make sure there is always a shady spot somewhere in the cage where your bird can seek refuge. Mosquitoes West Nile virus is usually transmitted through mosquito bites and can cause an avian condition resulting in death. Keep your bird protected from mosquitoes If you take him or her outside in a cage outside on an unprotected deck potential exposure you bird to mosquito bites greatly increases. An outdoor aviary may require an additional layer of screening. Burning the burgers Grilled food always taste better, who doesn’t like a good barbecue? Whether the barbecue is at home or your bird travels with you remember the smoke from campfires and barbecues may be toxic to your bird. Check to see that direct inhalation is not occurring through an open window, too.   The Varments For us the circle of life usually starts the supermarket and ends on our kitchen table. For a feral cat, a raccoon a nearby Hawk, the circle of life can be seconds away from your bird’s cage. Please don’t leave your bird alone outside for a moment. The ability to maintain a high and constant body temperature enables birds to exploit a remarkable range of habitats -- tropical, temperate, and polar. This achievement is not without cost, however. The "expense" of metabolic heat production must be repaid by taking in sufficient energy to balance what has been expended, and mechanisms must be available to shed excess heat when necessary. If the environmental temperature falls, birds raise their metabolic rate to prevent their internal temperature from falling as well. In contrast, if the environmental temperature becomes too hot, birds must mobilize water to lose heat through evaporative cooling (as we do when we perspire) and avoid death from overheating. Since birds have no sweat glands, heat must be lost through the respiratory tract by panting, or in non-passerines (birds with zygodactyl feet) by the rapid vibration of the upper throat and thin floor of the mouth ("gular flutter"). To minimize the energy cost of temperature regulation ("thermoregulation"), birds use a variety of morphological and behavioral traits to adjust their rateof heat loss and heat gain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yjBoxDYfv4   Unfeathered (uninsulated) body surfaces serve as important sites for heat exchange with the environment. When heat-stressed, therefore, some birds, such as Black Vultures, excrete onto their unfeathered legs to increase heat loss by evaporation. Emergency liquid foods for caged birds are: sugar water lemonade (noncarbonated) milk and egg yolk pediatric pedialyte To administer: Use a plastic eyedropper or syringe (no glass or needles!). Hold your bird's head back 45 degrees. Do not put pressure on the chest, because doing so may inhibit her breathing. Instead, cradle her body and lightly tilt her head back. Administer one drop at a time to avoid choking your bird. Stroke your bird's throat to help her swallow. Repeat the process, giving up to 7 drops for small birds (canaries), 10 to 15 drops for medium birds (parakeets & small conures) and up to 5 teaspoons for large birds (cockatoos). written by mitch rezman approved by catherine tobsing your zygodactyl footnote   via GIPHY Read the full article

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How do amazon parrots use light to synthesize Vitamin D having no preening gland? and other captive Amazon care questions

How do amazon parrots use light to synthesize Vitamin D having no preening gland? As I was curating this post on Amazon parrot questions it got me thinking about one of my favorite subjects, full spectrum lighting and the synthesis of vitamin D in birds. Amazon parrots are relatively unique having no preening gland (along with doves, pigeons and Hyacinth macaws). The uropygial aka preening gland oozes a slippery goo which a bird rubs its head and beak against. Then spreads this the oil over its feathered body. This oil must find the bird skin under the feathers in order to begin the process of vitamin D synthesis. So how do doves, pigeons, Hyacinth macaws and Amazon parrots syntesize vitamin D (which aids in the absorption of calcium)? Nutrition my friends, nutrition. What they eat. A good pelleted diet will meet the basic nutritional needs of most captive birds. A seed diet may require additional supplementation. If at-the-end-of-the-day in the absence of preening oil to be absorbed through the skin of an Amazon parrot no amount of light is going to act as a catalyst to a process that can't exist - without the oil.

This begs the question as to why does Windy City Parrot offer the largest supply of lighting for birds on the Internet? Two reasons one, many of our lights actually warm birds without light to help him sleep at night. Two more importantly to help keep their circadian rhythms synchronized with their instinctual expectations. More about that here. Next question about Amazon Parrots Hi   Enjoy your Sunday email and look forward to them. I'm not sure if you give out free advice, but thought I'd ask. I recently acquired a 33 year old Double Yellow Amazon.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb2AZun_52A   I am his 4th owner, the latest owner was no longer able to take care of him. He is very cage possessive and can not be handled.   Any idea how to help him trust me? He's in the main living area so we spend a lot of time together.   I'd like to get him eating fresh fruits and veggies. He looks at me and the food like I'm trying to poison him. I did have an African Parrot 15+ years ago so have some experience with large birds.   Thanks for listening. :) Keep up the good work. Ava F.   Thank you for the kind words Ava   Thank you for the kind words - For starters please watch the video in this product listing for $2 training clickers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUaVdivyDsQ I would advocate that you obtain some militant sprigs http://goo.gl/BAx15B - you can offer these through the cage or as you get close to the bird if he or she allows it to benefit is - these are tasty your bird will probably like them in the sprig keeps your hand 6 inches from the bird beak   If he doesn't care for millet, find a favorite treat like a non-shelled sunflower kernel, a raisin or on shelled unsalted peanuts.   Drop them in his food dish every time you go by the cage to find out what he really likes and then when you offer a treat, place it in a food bowl so to speak doesn't have to interact with your fingers.   Once he responds to not aggressively receiving treats from you we can move forward   mitchr   Hi   We've had Olive, our yellow naped amazon, since she was 8 months old. She's now 11 years old. She/he, spends most of her/his day outside her/his cage.   However, lately she's/he's been getting down and walking around the house. We never know where she'll/he'll end up. Fortunately, Someone is home with her/him all day. Would she/he benefit by getting another bird? If so, would she/he be ok with a cockatoo?   Thank you for your time!! Joyce   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD73m_5oIyY   Dear Joyce   Mitch would like to respond to you in depth but he is busy right now.   I will try to get it rolling.   Get your bird sexed. This behavior may be related to a female seeking out a place to build a nest.   Please get bird play stand or two. Having the bird out and about on the floor all the time is not safe.   If some one is not watching and the bird gets into something, destroys a treasured family album, chews an electrical cord, etc. Not good for bir or human   Getting a second bird will only double your work, will take away from your special time with your bird, or worse, they will hate each other.   Please look into the top two for starts.   "Olive" is only out of the cage when she can be supervised. She is covered at night as well.   I refer to her as a girl, as that is what we were told when we bought her at a pet shop. A veterinarian told me recently she is probably not female, or she would have laid by now, seeing as she is 11 years old.   Dear Joyce   Considering that Amazons do live a very long time, their reproductive cycle is not even slightly over at 11.   If conditions were not right for her previously, they may be now.   Editor's note: The vet was not an avian vet. Birds can lose eggs in folds of body fat so not seeing an egg is no confirmation of sex type   Yes  Catherine, its difficult to break the habit of referring to her as a female after all these years.   Again, thank you for taking time to respond!   Joyce   Enjoy Your Journey!   Hello,   We live in southern TX, and would like to take our Amazon outside since the weather is so nice this time of year.   I will purchase a cage of course, but my concerns are what types of bugs and disease am I potentially going to expose her to? She will also be in a covered patio. How do I keep her safe? Thank You, Joyce https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_R7g4lAuZc Hi Joyce,   Thanks for your questions and your sincere concern for your Amazon's safety.   I have had companion parrots for 30+  years and for 7 years had an outdoor breeder aviary.   I currently happily share my life with a single Timneh African Grey, Timmy, who is a rescue from a bad home but tame and loving even after what he has been through (including being batted against a wall, losing consciousness).   I do clip wings slightly to prevent upward flight, unlike Mitch and Catherine.   But that is a personal choice and I love to hear of flighted birds. So I am not truly an advocate of clipping, it's just best in my situation.   I live on the east coast of Central Florida, just south of Kennedy Space Center and only 4 blocks from the ocean.   This area is sub-tropical, just as your weather is right now in Texas. We also have summers much like yours (hot, hot, hot and often dry), though you probably have colder winters than we do.   The only concerns you should have about your bird outdoors as long as it is safely caged or in a harness or flight suit is it consuming standing water or any grasses that could have been sprayed with pesticides and the ambient temperature.   Cool strong breezes can cause respiratory infections or "colds". Overheating can kill quickly if not recognized and controlled. Consuming or chewing on items that may not be bird safe such as metals, pressure treated wood, and similar items could cause poisoning that could kill the bird.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Waf2e3rAGHg   While we humans are plagued by concerns such as West Nile Virus, Zika Virus, Malaria and other maladies due to insect bites from mosquitoes and are plagued by other stinging insects, my research and personal experience have revealed no diseases transmitted to parrots via bug bites.   Consider this: our parrots evolved to live in pest-infested jungles with insects we've never encountered, yet they remain healthy.   On good weather days, my Timmy and I go outside in the unfiltered sunlight for at least 20 minutes to help both our bodies produce needed Vitamin D naturally. It also helps us absorb the vitamins we consume in food.   While I get bug bites if I do not protect against it, Timmy never is bothered.   Perhaps it is the way parrot feathers  create a tight, thick layer of protection between the environment and their skin so that biting pests can't penetrate the feathers.   The only pest I am aware of that you should worry about is mites. The only way your Amazon would get these is if you allowed him to play extensively in outdoor trees where these pests live.   Wild birds live with them but you don't want to bring them inside your house as they do cause itching in birds. This is why you should wash and bake at low temperature for 20-30 minutes any branches brought indoors for perches. This ensures any mites present are killed.   When outdoors, use the temperature rule that if you are hot and perspiring, the bird is also getting too hot, and if you feel chilly, so does your bird.   Also, during hot weather if the bird opens its beak as if panting, go into a cool area or spray water on the bird because that is a sign of overheating which can kill quickly. Parrots have no sweat glands to control body temperature.   When you are outdoors, you experience pests, so I'd like to refer you to a blog post about bird-safe insect repellents, Mitch and Catherine use these and so do I, they are all natural and keep pests away from you and the parrot.   Visit 6 Bird Safe All Natural Home Made Mosquito Repellants....... I know you will find it useful. You can make a batch and use it for the rest of the season. It has been bird-tested with Mitch and Catherine's birds and mine.The repellents really do work well and are safe with the single exception that you might have an allergy to an ingredient.   To test for that, drop one drop of the oil on a  cotton ball and quickly touch it to your skin. If no reaction appears (redness, itching, burning, discomfort of any kind) then you are not allergic to the ingredients. Most people are not allergic to any of the ingredients but there are rare exceptions.   If you read the ingredients and the essential oil is made from a plant or flower you know you are allergic to, then you are allergic to the essential oil. If that is the case, choose one of the mixtures that do not contain that specific ingredient or simply leave it out of the mixture.   For indoor pest control, I recommend Mango Pest Control Aviary Bug Spray for general pest control and if you have any concerns regarding mites, use Mango DynaMyte Mite/Lice Pest Control.     Both products are totally bird safe and very effective. You might even want to spray around the cage outside with these products. Do allow them to dry before permitting your bird to enter the area and, of course, do not spray directly on the bird.   They have residual effects for up to one week if the area remains dry, although outdoors it might be less, especially if rain gets the area wet. But they dry quickly so it is not a long wait to spray again around the outdoor cage after dampness or rain.   I hope these helps. If you have further questions or concerns, please contact me.   Nora Caterino we_speak_bird@windycityparrot.com Curated and edited by mitch rezman approved by catherine your zygodactyl footnote Read the full article

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How can you compare the personalities of an African grey and a macaw?

That is not really a fair question. The personality of a captive bird is determined by many factors and the environment that humans provide for them. The bigger question is are we seeing the paratroop personality or does being a captain of bird change everything? In other words would a bird be different in the wild than in captivity? There is no single event, procedure or training apparatus that will cause a bird to act like this or that, be an uncontrollable screamer, feather self mutilator or toe tapper (a neurological issue in some eclectus parrots). Most people fail in raising captive birds because they don't "speak bird". It is essential to look at a pet bird holistically because every component of their life impacts their behavior. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwnpf-a6Dq0 editors note: The questions on this page are from  https://www.quora.com where I "try to set the record straight". They tend to have a different "flavor" than the ones we get via email and help scout. We post to more social media sites (including https://www.quora.com) than you may be aware of. Here's our weekly post to list. https://www.facebook.com/WindCityParrot https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchrezman/ https://www.instagram.com/windycityparrot/?hl=en https://plus.google.com/u/0/+windycityparrot https://www.pinterest.com/windycityparrot/ http://windycityparrot.tumblr.com/ https://www.xing.com/en https://medium.com/ https://www.torial.com/en/start https://www.flickr.com/ https://www.diigo.com/ https://del.icio.us/ https://www.reddit.com/ Now you know where to find me Not only is the cage set up important but what happens once the bird is out of the cage is very important - to the bird. Diet and nutrition have a major impact on a bird but so does the fact that the bird has clipped wings or is flighted. Having full-spectrum light on a timer 12 hours a day and 12 hours of darkness during the night. Females parrots react differently than males especially when they are in their brooding mode. Then you'll find different personalities based upon the sex of a given species. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jo1XYeTW4c How much foraging and enrichment is available for any particular bird is a huge factor in determining their overall personality - happy bird or sad bird. Birds are flock animals. When you bring them into your home you (and all other household members) will become their flock. If you want to see a personality change in a parrot, add a second parrot into the mix which is what many people do thinking that they will solve the first parrots behavioral problems. What ends up happening is that the two birds end up cutting you, the human out of the deal changing the dynamic from pet bird companion to zookeeper and the bird's personalities change. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WyAe5Vx-sQ I can't get my macaw to eat any vegetables, what should I do? I’d start with cooked peas as they have twice as much protein than broccoli. The higher sugar content makes peas more palatable. Our Senegal is very active so I don’t worry about the dextrose/sucrose (good sugar). She gets a base diet of Hagen Tropimix or Higgins Safflower Gold most of which is foraged in enrichment boxes spread about our home. Most cage bird-keepers trying to sustain their birds on a “fresh diet” are actually creating malnutrition in their birds - I have the data if anyone is interested. Why does an African Senegal Parrot attempt to go into the mouth of a human? To be clear human saliva is bad for birds. Birds should not be allowed near a humans mouth not only for sanitary reasons but there's always the potential of the bird biting your sensitive lip area be it accidental or on purpose. Whether it be a Senegal (which we are companion to) or any bird for that matter another reason for them wanting to enter your mouth is to regurgitate into your mouth as a mating ritual. What's so important about  a bird's claws? It's not so much just the claw or talons. It's important to understand that birds have no muscles and their feet. Each leg has two tendons called flexor tendons that are an exquisite pulley system. When a bird flexes its ankle it forces its feet to come together enabling birds to both sleep standing up on one leg and using their feet to finish the kill of prey while in flight. What is a simple yet well rounded diet for a parrot? Many bird owners cook regular meals for their birds on a daily basis, while others swear by a nutritionally complete mix or pellet. What is a happy medium for someone with a little extra time but who can't cook full meals for their bird on a regular basis? I know I'm biased because I make my living selling bird food but I’ve researched this extensively. I've even calculated ingredient by ingredient the nutritional value of a complicated bird chop. Humans tend to manipulate an animals world by imposing its thoughts and ideas on the animal regardless of species. If you look at a caged bird from a cockatiel to a macaw you will see anywhere from 5000 to 7000 feathers. Feathers are made from one thing - amino acids and amino acids come from protein. The caloric need for protein increases if your hen is brooding or your bird is molting forcing the production of 5000 to 7000 new feathers - twice a year. So every time I look at a chop recipe (as the sole nutrition for a bird) my first question is where is the protein coming from? If this is the only protein source (this chop) what is the amount of protein you are supplying to your bird? Somebody mentioned they make a recipe with vegetables and eggs. A single large egg weighs 50 g and has about 6 1/2 g of protein. But that's half the body weight of a cockatiel so what if the bird only eats five bites? Again I ask where is the protein coming from? Commercial bird food manufacturers have spent a combined hundreds of years and millions of dollars developing well-balanced foods that offer the proper nutrition based upon species. Unless you are weighing your bird at least twice a month and doing a full blood panel workup annually you really have no idea as to the state of your birds health. The introduction of yogurt is opaque to me in that birds have no enzymes necessary to digest milk products. The flip side to the equation is that you can't answer the question without knowing the bird species, its general daily activities, if it's flighted or clipped and how it likes to eat as in with its beak or his feet so we need to ask many more questions before we can properly answer this one. a follow up question showed up on the radar What to feed my African grey? Hi Susan- It is difficult to recommend a food for any bird with out knowing the sex - Females need more calories if brooding - also more calcium the age - senior birds have unique nutritional needs the molt - twice a year birds lose all their 5000 - 7000 feathers (yes we counted as we poured them out of the vacuum) more calories are needed to replace those feathers which are made from amino acids which comes from the protein in your bird food the eating style - does your bird like to eat with its foot? is it a dunker? the activity - a flighted bird that follows you around the house in the air needs more calories than a clipped bird sitting in a cage 20 hours a day the hormones - the elimination of soy may reduce hormonal activities i birds. yeah we think about this alot getting closer to an answer for you - cooked food found here is a great addition to your grey's regular diet but it does not hold up throughout the day as it becomes a concrete like texture For starters I'm going to recommend Higgins Safflower Gold. It has seeds, nuts, fruit, vegetables as well as Higgins InTune pellets for a well rounded diet. I would advocate providing foraging opportunities to make eating time a fun and enriching event https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCqwIRBpNmw  What was that gold band I saw around an African grey's leg? Bird banding although still around is an outdated practice. Banding has two major drawbacks, the band can be altered and the band can get stuck on a bird toy or bird cage accessory causing a bird to break an ankle or even worse hanging upside down until it dies. Read more about bird banding here The banding databases are also outdated and not synchronized well so even if you have a band number it is not very easy to find the origins of the bird unless you know specifically where to look. Today micro-chipping is far more effective and can be inserted into birds cockatiel size or larger. There are three or four known micro-chipping platforms and you need to ask your veterinarian which microchip reader he uses. Most use at least two to avoid misidentification. Feathered factoid: our Senegal parrot Peaches has a small tattoo, basically a little red dot I think it's over her left elbow indicating she is a female which was determined by surgical sexing. written by mitch rezman approved by catherine tobsing your zygodactyl footnote via GIPHY Read the full article

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How And Some Of The Why's African Greys Molt Differently Than Other Parrots

Your African grey may have upwards of 8000 feathers. Feathers keep a bird warm, dry and enable flight.   For a molt to occur, the old feather must be removed. Before molting begins blood vessels that support the feathers dry up so the attached feather becomes loosened by the surrounding tissue. Thus if a molt is occurring naturally, the feather follicle (bud) will start a new feather before the old one has completely left the bird's body. editors note: When folks walk into the shop and tell me they have  an african grey they are alway taken aback when I ask "what kind"? Actually more like a deer in the headlights.          African greys come in 2 flavors Congo and Timneh. Congos can weigh up to 450 grams, Timnehs - 300 grams (a Pategonian conure is bigger than a Timmy) Thus a Timneh may need a smaller perch, food size - just an fyi. end note In a simplified way yes, the new feathers push out the old feathers.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW-oPni7K8M Usually downy feathers in healthy parrots are used to stay warm in a cool environment. Duster birds like cockatoos, African greys and cockatiels have down that disintegrates.   The resulting dust creates a lubricant and waterproof substance. The dust/powder is spread across the bird's body as the bird preens.   African greys (as well as Amazons and Cockatoos) will first have what's called a baby molt at around eight months old. Smaller birds may start as soon as they are fledged.   Most birds molt once a year.   These cute little soft downy feathers will seem to explode from your bird's body requiring lots of vacuuming.   Then about three months later (11 months old) a grey will start the real molt.   Usually starting with the outer wings, molting is perfectly symmetrical. What is ever lost on the right side of the body is lost on the left side of the bird’s body.   The inner wing feathers will follow. Next the tail feathers onto the contour feathers and so on.   An African grey gets it’s shape and coloring from the contour feathers which are the outermost ones on their bodies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbSKTncrwLE That first molt can take up to three years.   It's important to note here that although feathers seem dead in that you can cut them like a human’s hair and nails As feathers are coming in they will have blood inside the shafts.   A feathers shaft will have a purple blue color when its still alive and if the feather shaft gets cut it will bleed a lot.   The feather shafts starts as a hollow base which is named a quill or calamus. The rest of the feather shaft is called a rachis.   Small barbules on top of individual barbs which are the feathery side or vane of the feather keep the feathers "zipped”.   If a feather breaks during that growth, it usually should be removed either by you or your veterinarian but it needs to be done sooner or later because of bird can easily bleed out and die - yes from blood loss of a single feather.   This is why it's a good idea should you elect to clip your bird, never do it during the molt because you may be cutting into feathers whose shafts are filled with blood.   After the baby molt all the feathers basically come out on the second molt which will occur at about 18 months of age.   During the secondary molt all the baby feathers are replaced by adult feathers.   If you take a look at your African grey's tail after the molt you’ll see that end of baby tail feathers kind of almost look smudged or black.   If your bird is healthy he or she will only lose a couple of feathers from each side of the body at a time.   The secondary molt comes on quicker than the first molt but will be ongoing for several months during which time all the feathers will be replaced.   Diet plays an important part in the molting process as a bird's metabolism increases up to 30%.   Pellets are recommended to be introduced but if your bird is on a seed diet a full range supplement should be introduced to ensure proper nutrition.   Light cycles play a huge part in signaling birds when to molt. Unless you have full spectrum lighting over the cage on a timer with lights coming on and off every 12 hours your bird is relying on ever changing North American lighting cycles.   The circadian clock, located in the pineal gland containing a group of cells that chemically isolate, which is their way of "ticking" much like musicians use metronomes.   This can be very confusing to a bird and is one of the leading causes of screaming, plucking and other hormonal behavior.   Many chemicals affect the molt. Cytokine (chemokines) - is used in cellular communication and it's been noted that this signaling chemical increases at the beginning of a molt.   Melatonin is the actual chemical that signals the bird when to molt but it has nothing to do with feather loss or growth. It's a hormone and it is found in the pineal gland. Melatonin is considered the timekeeper hormone.   LH (Luteinizing Hormone aka Interstitial Cell Stimulating Hormone or ICSH) is the hormone that gets ovulation started in female birds and in male birds it triggers testosterone production.   Progesterone is created in the ovaries of birds during their reproductive cycle.   Thyroxin (thyroid hormone) is given to chickens in a near toxic level in order to trigger their molt but we are not sure if this hormone triggers a pet bird's molt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpVo4TB6Phw   If your bird is exhibiting brooding behavior like crawling under the couch or looking for boxes (nests) to crawl into or being extraordinarily snuggly with one person they may be going through a reproductive cycle.   Nutrition plays an even more critical role because nutrients are being depleted by the calorie burn from both the molt and the reproductive cycle.   As I stated before if your artificial lighting is not synchronized with normal sunrise and sunsets bird might experience abnormal molt cycles.   If you're observing abnormal feather formation, that usually points to a poor diet and/or the bird is under stress.   Birds can be stressed by the simple moving of a piece of furniture or piece of artwork on the wall so it's important to pay attention to your birds demeanor.   If you haven't been weighing your bird on a regular basis and your bird has been experiencing health problems that you've not noticed, a molt can often bring these health problems to the surface.   You may want to bring your bird in for a checkup during a severe molt to avoid making the problems worse than they already are.   You'll also want to look for things called stress bars on your birds feathers and insure the feathers are getting a constant blood level of nutrients. If the bird is too warm or too cold or other environmental issues, all can all lead to feather stress bars.   Molting can also be a gateway to feather plucking as the bird tries to remove the annoying pending feathers coming into its body.   Rub your bird’s head in the middle of a molt and you'll feel hundreds of tiny needles coming out of their scalp - please be extra kind during "the molt". written by mitch rezman approved by catherine tobsing your zygodactyl footnote via GIPHY Read the full article

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My birds don't diminish my air quality - doc.

Water Wind & Stars replied  - Oct 4, 10:12pm After writing my first message I took a big pile of towels and curtains from the bathroom where my birds' cage had been located and carried them to the basement to wash the bird dander out; the pile was big enough to cover my nose and mouth. Not more than 5 minutes after I came back upstairs, I started to cough in the breathless, slightly spasming way that has been the main symptom of my lung issue. The coughing didn't last for more than a few minutes -- then it calmed down and was over -- but there was the proof in the pudding! The big pile of towels from the birds' room had set off the response. The woman who adopted the birds today on a trial basis is very willing to keep the birds if I can't take them back, which I now know I cannot, and they will be in a very good home, I made very sure of that. My first symptoms started within a month of bringing the birds home and continued to worsen in the coming months. So yes, I realize now that different species affect different people differently and in my case, sadly the beautiful little parrotlet and lovebird did set off an allergic reaction. The good news is that the adopter, who has years of experience with birds, already has a pair of bonded lovebirds and she wrote me this evening that already the two little outposts of bonded birdies within visual and hearing range of each other were singing back and forth! That was balm to my hurting heart. She lives only 5 minutes away so I can visit them now and then. I can't tell you how terribly it hurt when I first heard that the cause of my lung issues was Lulu and Louie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iigxJXFJF4U   It seems to be working out for the best for all of us. Thank you for listening and I hope my set of messages may be useful to you as one person's experience with this difficult topic. Sonia Kovitz Water Wind & Stars replied - Oct 4, 4:54pm Are you aware of significant differences between one species and another re: causing allergic reactions in the lungs of humans? I have had cockatiels, a conure, and a quaker parrot over the years-- have had the quaker for a full decade with nary a lung problem and I have no other allergies.  In May I bought a bonded pair, Parrotlet and Lovebird, and starting in June began having strange and unprecedented cough, breathing and lung symptoms plus inexplicable weight loss. In Sept I had XRay, then CT-scan and lungs show allergic inflammation. Yesterday a specialist evaluated all this and his primary hypothesis in view of all other factors is that the two birds I got in May are the cause. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsRD2RMzBOU I am lucky enough to have someone willing to keep them for a month (permanently only if necessary) while I get more tests. What is your general (not medical) reaction to this scenario? Please excuse me if this is not an appropriate question to ask but you have a lot of bird-human experience. I plan also to contact some local avian vets and run this past them. In a nutshell, I am heartbroken and wonder whether there is any real chance the doctor's hypothesis will turn out to be wrong. Just want to hear more opinions. Thank you, Sonia Kovitz and Hi Sonia It is not dander that you're reacting to, it's environmental dust and allergens. Let's first talk about bird's/parrot's and dander a.k.a. dust. Feathers that have the most contact to a bird's skin produce the white powder known as bird dust. It's the shredded ends of the feathers that are the actual dust. You can thank that remarkably soft feel of your birds feathers - to the dust. Known bird dust species are African Greys Cockatoos Cockatiels Amazons Amazons by the way, have a darker dust so it's usually less noticeable Hypoallergenic parrot species are Electus Parakeets (or Budgies).  Pionus Toucans Love birds and parrotlets produce no noticeable dander -  We believe everything that comes out of doctor's mouths - why? They can't be knowledgeable about everything - right? Birds can't afford to have their tiny air passages that drive a super efficient respiratory system, clog up. If a bird's air passages are blocked because of too much dander and dust, the bird will get sick and have a shortened lifespan. If you clean your cages regularly, that will go a long way to all but eliminate and the possibility of fecal particulate. Bathing your birds regularly will go miles to keep dander at a minimum We live in the geographical center of Chicago, use air-conditioning very little, Unless we stand top of just dusting,  the dust on our furniture can become, well a nuisance and health problem.  editors note: How much dander can a 100 g animal make? Is it enough to trigger an asthma episode in a human? Let's first talk about bird's/parrot's and dander a.k.a. dust. Feathers that have the most contact to a bird's skin produce the white powder known as bird dust. BTW - I think your doctor is way off base and absolutely dead wrong. He is saying you have birds thus the birds are making you sick BUT Correlation does not necessarily imply causation no more than ice cream triggers polio (watch the quick video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbODqslc4Tg If the air quality was that bad all your birds would be lying on the bottom of their cages. Birds are first responders for air quality. This is because their lungs are far more sensitive than yours - think canary in a coal mine. All you need is a $800 HEPA air purifier. Don't have 800 bucks to blow? How about if you can duplicate the effect of an $800 Hepa air purifier for about 25 bucks? Watch this video and your problems you can be breathing clean air tomorrow. What do you have to lose?  - please don't give up the birds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH5APw_SLUU best mitchr more on the subject of air quality doctors and bird can be found here Click to Post

[windycityparrot]

Poicephalus - 9 African Parrot Species not Ending in Grey

Editor's note: this post was written almost 4 years ago to the day. I'm using it in an answer on Quora regarding how to quiet birds. There was no way to have predicted at the writing of this article that we would become companion to a Senegal (poicephalus) parrot. The universe is too complicated to be arbitrary. Thank you to Ann K. one of our Facebook fans. She's planning on getting a Cape Parrot soon and was unable to find a lot of information on this particular species. She requested that we provide some information on this little-known type of bird. So we will start with the Cape Parrot but we are going to cover all the Poicephalus Parrots species.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga7ewZfekKQ Poicephalus Parrots are African Parrots including - Senegal Parrots, Meyer's Parrots, Jardine's Parrots, Rueppell's Parrots, Red-bellied Parrots, Yellow-faced Parrots, Brown-headed Parrots, Niam Niam AND Cape Parrots (South African Cape Parrots, Brown-necked Parrots & Grey-headed Parrots - technically speaking)   Because we're focused on Poicephalus Parrots, the other African bird species including Vasa Parrots, Lovebirds and African Ringnecks will be covered in other articles. According to Thor's Cape Parrot Site, "In captivity Cape Parrots (aka Levaillant's Parrot) are often referred to as the 'gentle giants'......" They are the largest of the Poicephalus family and have a relatively large head and beak. They're typically 13 to 14 inches long and weigh anywhere from approximately 200 - 400+ grams with most Cape Parrots being in the 300 g weight range. They can live 30 years but usually live 15 to 20 and sexually mature in 3 to 5 years. They're shy birds and don't demand a lot of attention reaching independence once hitting sexual maturity. They are playful and full of energy but not necessarily great talkers according to Susanclubb.com. Cape Parrots come in three flavors, South African Cape Parrots, Brown-necked Parrots & Grey-headed Parrots - South African Cape Parrots are the species primarily found here in the US as pets.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEZfOc03dwA Senegal Parrots are medium-sized parrots about 10 inches long, and weigh about 100 - 170 g ( between 4 and 6 ounces) and can live up to 50 years in captivity. They make great pets, are a lot of fun and actually a lot quieter than other types of parrots. In a family situation, it's important that all the family members socialize with the young bird on a regular basis otherwise Senegal Parrots can become a "one person" bird. Although Senegal Parrots are not sexually dimorphic, the C-shape of the chest is usually longer on the females and the green area generally extends over the chest down between the legs while male Senegal parrots generally have the green area that ends halfway or at the middle of the chest.Usually a females beak as well as their head are a smidge smaller than the males and lastly male Senegal Parrots are usually although not always bigger than their female counterparts overall.   Meyer's Parrots are felt by some to be the prettiest among the African Parrots with their iridescent turquoise feathers. They are fun, playful, love to swing and dangle and will lie on their back and do silly things with their feet while playing with toys. They are a good choice for a family with children as they can maintain relationships with several people and they're not necessarily biters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mbmUqnKdoM They are small, about 11 - 12 inches long and only weigh 90 - 130 g. They're notable for yellow markings on their wings and turquoise markings on their abdomen and rear end. They are not great talkers. It's said that their voices are similar to those of Parakeets (Budgies). Jardine's Parrots make great pets too. Their bodies are bright green with red rings around the bottoms of the leg feathers. They're generally a darker green in color and a bit more robust in size than the other Poicephalus Parrots. They are very sweet natured and intermingle well with the entire family. They are one of the largest of the Poicephalus species measuring an average of 11 inches long and weighing up to 8 ounces. They make good pets if you live in an apartment or condo although they can get vocal early in the morning and the early evening. Jardine's have a lot of energy and need a lot of exercise, mental stimulation in a roomy cage. They generally live to be about 30 years old but there are records of Jardine's living past 60. Rueppell's Parrots (not to be confused with Rueppell's Vultures know to fly at altitudes exceeding 35,000 feet) are a small species and as adults they are sexually dimorphic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31-n0KudVnc Adult female Rueppell's have blue feathers along the lower portion of their back and rear end whereas the male Rueppell's lose the blue feathers. Both male and female Rueppell parrots have deep yellow marking on the epaulets of their wings. The average Rueppell's is about 9 inches long and weighs between 120 and 160 g. Red-bellied Parrots are small like Rueppell's Parrots. They are only about 9 inches long and are sexually dimorphic with the male Red-bellied Parrots having a bright orange lower chest and tummy while the adult females are green on the lower frontal area. Red-bellied Parrots are probably the best talkers of the Poicephalus family because they speak clearly and with real understanding and in many cases exhibit more than a single voice. Some owners say that they can call people by name and can speak in the voices of the people are that are speaking to them. If you're looking for a small bird that has the ability to talk, Red-bellied parrots maybe the choice for you as a pet. Red-bellied males have an orange tummy, female's tummies are green. Yellow-front Poicephalus aka Yellow-faced Parrots are not to be confused with Yellow Front Amazons of South America are medium-size - about 11 inches long. They're loud with shrill whistles and screeches. They have a shape similar to Jardine Parrots but their green is a paler green and they have no red nor orange/red markings on their body or head. As its name suggests they're notable for a big area of yellow around their face extending down onto the crown and around their eyes.  Don't expect to find them as pets anywhere because they're not found in captivity - but reside exclusively in the African country of Ethiopia. Brown-headed Parrots are popular as pets and make a good choice if you live in a condo or apartment because they're quiet and have a very nice temperament. Similar to Senegal parrots but lacking in the bright yellow or orange belly and have a whitish beak whereas Senegal's beaks are mostly all dark gray or almost black. They are small - about the same size as a Senegal or Meyers about 9 inches long and weigh about 120 g. They're a bit bigger than Cockatiels and much chunkier. Although they look very similar to Senegal parrots they are almost identical to the Niam Niam Parrots (top). They can learn to speak a few words and phrases but many do not, so if you are looking for bird who can definitely speak the Brown-headed Parrot would not be the choice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCxNFRSvVe4 Overall we like to recommend as large a bird cage as possible for most parrots but it's our understanding that for some of the smaller African Parrots, like the Brown-headed Parrot, an 18" to 20" wide and a 20" to 24" tall bird cage works well. Niam Niam parrots (not known in captivity) are about 10 inches long with both male and female adults having brown heads and necks with a bit of olive/yellow, olive/brown around their throats and breasts, silver gray around their ears and olive/brown tipped tails with a dull green. The red under its wing coverts distinguishes it from the Brown headed parrot's yellow under their wing coverts. They have very sharp voices which can be heard from far away and become even more high-pitched when sounding a danger alert.  written by Mitch Rezman CMO Windy City Parrot, Inc Simply Everything for Exotic Birds - Since 1993   Click to Post