NEVER feed your parrots

Avocado:
No one knows why avocado is fatally venomous to parrots. One theory is that toxins in the pit leach out into the body material after the crop is selected. Though some parrots have been observed eating avocados from trees in the untamed, numerous parrot professionals accept as true that the practice of consuming mud from mud licks assists to neutralize the venom, thus enabling them to endure. not ever, ever feed your bird avocado. This includes guacamole!

sweets:
There are enzymes in chocolate that are mortal to birds. The caffeine in sweets can be toxic as well. Which brings us to...

Coffee:
Even de-caffeinated coffee should be bypassed. And not ever feed your birds coffee beans either!

Onions, Garlic and other Alliums:
professionals argue about if it is protected to feed psittacines raw vs. prepared food onions. But onions and other alliums (like chives and leeks) furthermore contain substances that can harshly damage your bird. While you probably don’t need to panic if your parrot sneaks a beak-full of ratatouille that has some garlic and onions in it, it’s likely not a good idea to risk assisting any members of the allium family to your bird.

A exact note about Garlic:
Many persons believe that a very small amount of garlic can be beneficial to your bird. However, at a certain issue, too much garlic can be dangerous. Because birds are relatively little creatures, the line between healthful and toxic is far too narrow to take a chance. As a general rule, we recommend bypassing garlic solely.

Raw Potato:
Raw potatoes are venomous to birds. numerous parrots love ovenovenovenbaked or mashed potatoes -- just make certain they’ve chilled down sufficient not to set alight your bird’s tongue or crop! Even a single french pan-cooked one time in a while as a treat is okay. But not ever feed potatoes raw.

Cheese:
Birds are not mammals and do not doctor when young. Their schemes cannot handle most milk goods. dairy cheese won’t be digested and may turn rancid and origin diseases. There are couple of things poorer than observing your vet while s/he cuts into out glops of old, disgusting cheese from your bird’s crop. Yogurt, on the other hand, can be very wholesome for birds – just make certain it’s genuine yogurt and not one of those sugary concoctions with tons of sweeteners and chemicals. persons furthermore often ask us about feeding ice elite. While we absolutely don’t suggest it, we don’t believe there’s any thing incorrect with giving your parrot a tiny bit – perhaps a half teaspoon, counting on the dimensions of the bird – one time every so often. (Make sure it’s not sweets though!)

Canned Vegetables:
nearly all canned vegetables comprise far too much sodium for birds. As little as one assisting can origin kidney impairment. Even a “low sodium” emblem can be unsafe so, don’t risk it. Frozen vegetables are much healthier for your bird. Just ascertain the label to make certain no saline or preservatives have been added. If you wholeheartedly should use canned vegetables, rinse them repeatedly with coolinginging running water to eliminate as much of the salt as likely.

Sunflower kernels:
probably one of the lowest culprits leading to parrot death. That’s right. Death. numerous pre-packaged parrot foods comprise large allowances of sunflower kernels and peanuts because they are cheap filler. Parrots can easily become addicted to sunflower kernels and will end up denying to consume any thing else. Sunflower (or “Polly seeds” as they are occasionally called) have nearly NO nutritional worth and are the leading origin of Fatty Liver Disease in favourite birds. Some species, such as Amazons, Cockatoos, Cockatiels, Parakeets and Caiques, are especially susceptible.

apple fruit & Pear kernels, Peach Pits:
whereas they gaze very small, these seeds may comprise sufficient deadly venom to murder your bird. Let your bird relish the crop but make certain to remove the kernels and pits first.

Olives:
While there’s nothing truly wrong with olives in and of themselves, the types that are available in shopping centres usually contain far too much salt and oil for most birds to handle. In some cases, the excess sodium and fat can origin instant and fatal kidney or liver impairment. Don’t take a chance.

Unsafe Foods For Parrots

Blue throated macaw

There are always so many questions about the foods which are, or are not, appropriate in a parrot’s diet. I apologize for repeating this so many times in my posts, but I firmly believe that diet is the most important part of our parrot’s daily care. Everything else you try to accomplish for your bird is lost on an energy-less, ill-feeling bird if you fail in this one area. Without good health, a parrot’s life is, at best, not all it can be, and at worst, a tragedy waiting to happen.
The list of should/can feed items is very long. Fresh fruits and veggies should be the biggest part of the daily diet. Grains (cooked and raw) and legumes (only cooked or sprouted), pastas, nuts and pellets should also be worked into the diet regularly.
More important is the list of foods that are dangerous. It is a short list, but it is imperative that we be aware of those things which are hazardous to our birds.

Camelot macaws

It is incorrect to assume that parrots innately know which foods are dangerous for them. In fact, a parrot learns these things from their parents and flockmates in the wild. Most of our birds have not had that advantage. Even our wild caught birds are being fed a captive bird diet and the foods that we give them are not the same as those they would have been exposed to in their native lands. So any of their acquired wild knowledge, should they retain it, is irrelevant.
To keep things simple, I will address only the foods that are known to be toxic, foods to be avoided (even though many of these are debated), and the parts of acceptable foods that should be removed when you serve them.
Following is the list of foods you must NEVER let your bird eat or drink:

• Avocado – The pit and skin are the most toxic parts of the avocado, but even the flesh can kill a bird within minutes. I know of a few instances where this happened to birds after being fed guacamole by their unaware owners.
• Chocolate – Contains the compound theobromine, which speeds up the metabolism. The darker chocolates containing a higher percentage of cacao, which are also the more pricey chocolates, are the most dangerous. Chocolate toxicity can be fatal.
• Raw honey – This contains fairly high levels of botulism and should not be fed to birds or infants. Used pasteurized honey instead.
• Caffeine – This speeds up the metabolism in an animal with already high metabolic rates. It can bring on cardiac distress and death.
• Alcohol – Alcohol depresses the organ system and can be fatal, even in small amounts.
• Salt/Sugar – Sodium (salt) is a necessity in all living creatures. However, too much salt can bring on dehydration and kidney dysfunction. The different foods we eat contains both salts and sugars naturally. It is unnecessary and unsafe to add these ingredients to our bird’s foods.

Congo african grey

The following is a list of those foods which are considered questionable, and, as I mentioned above, many are debated. I, personally, choose to include some of these foods in my own bird’s diets because I have always offered them and have had no problems with them.  I will give you the pros and cons of each, and let you make your choice:

• Dairy products - Birds are lactose intolerant. This is fact. However, birds do love cheese, and when given in small amounts infrequently, most do not have a problem digesting it. My cockatiels have played “bobbing for Cheerios” in my cereal bowl since I’ve had them.
• Peanuts/peanut butter – Peanuts can contain aflotoxins, a carcinogenic substance, as can tree nuts, grains, cereals and corn. Peanut shells can also harbor fungus, I am more concerned about this factor, so I buy raw peanuts and bake them myself.  Commercial peanut butters have a lower contamination of aflotoxins than do the more natural brands. This is one of the few instances where over-processing is a good thing.  I should also point out that there are rare occasions of peanut allergies in birds. Just like similar allergies in humans, this is only discovered once it has been eaten.
• Onion – Onions can bring on digestive discomforts in both birds and humans, especially when eaten raw. Excessive amounts can also cause anemia. I do use onion in my cooking which I often share with my birds. I steam some vegetables with chopped onion for flavoring and pick out the onion bits before giving it to them. I also use onion powder for flavoring, which is generally considered by all to be safe.
• Garlic – Over indulgence in garlic can cause anemia. Like onion, I use frequently it in my cooking. There are so many health benefits to garlic that I don’t even know where to begin. I will continue to give it to my birds, forever, both raw and cooked. It is an amazing food, but it must be a food that is given in moderation.
• Mushrooms – Mushrooms are a fungus. Some species have toxicity, some more than others. While birds do seem to enjoy the texture, they are worthless nutritionally. I don’t feed them to my birds because there are no benefits to balance out any potential risks.
• Fruit seeds and pits – The seeds and pits from certain fruits: apples, pears, peaches, cherries, apricots, nectarines and plums contain low levels of a cyanide-like compound and if eaten in quantity can be fatal to your bird. Your bird should never have access to these seeds or pits. However, the seeds from the following are safe: grapes, citrus fruits, squashes, pumpkins, tomatoes, melons, pomegranate, mango and berry seeds.
• Cabbage – Cabbage and leafy greens contain oxalic acids which interferes with calcium absorption in the meals that follow. However, kale, for instance, is one of the most nutrient rich foods we can offer to our birds. Unless your bird is producing eggs or molting, both of which require a strong calcium supply in the body, or has a known calcium deficiency for other reasons, these foods should be a big part of the diet. Why some people single out cabbage as an unsuitable food is beyond me.
• Rhubarb – Raw rhubarb has very high levels of oxalic acid, especially in the leaves. It is said that once cooked, it drops to an acceptable level making it a safe food. Other sources say that the levels do not drop acceptably. Because rhubarb is in such debate, and I do not feel I can make an informed decision, I have dropped it off of my “safe” list.
• Asparagus -  Asparagus has been said to cause severe digestive upsets in some birds and humans. I have never seen this in my own birds, a couple of whom just love it. Because the word severe unnerves me, I now only feed it 2 or 3 times a year, still, though, without any problems.
• Eggplant – It is also said that eggplant, due to the solanin it contains, can cause stomach upsets, although I am unaware of any instances of this happening. Most site have eggplant of the safe list. My birds aren’t crazy about it, cooked or raw, and get it occasionally in my effort to vary their diets.

Rgubarb photo by www.chicagoist.com

This list will be ever changing as we learn more about our avian companions, and it will never be complete as new considerations come to light. Most owners fall into two categories: those who will serve certain foods because their experience is that their birds have shown tolerance, and those who refuse because they don’t wish to take the risk. Of the foods listed above, I have never known, or heard of, any bird suffering more than mild stomach upset following consumption. It is up to the individual to determine how well their bird’s tolerate certain aspects of their diet. However, I suspect that a bird would simply, in the future, refuse a food that caused distress.
Moderation is the best way to avoid diet problems. We should do our best to vary our bird’s diets. In doing this, not only do we make eating a more enriching experience for them, but it helps us see that they are getting all that their bodies require nutritionally. In a widely varied diet, all of the foods you offer are given in moderation automatically because there is so much to choose from.

Poisonous Foods For Parrot

Do you know that there are several poisonous foods for parrot that you must avoid?

Chocolate

Chocolate is toxic to birds. It is digested differently in birds than in humans, and the resulting digested products are toxic. Bitter, brown bread and dark chocolate is more toxic than chocolate milk. Chocolate in any form should not be given to the birds. Chocolate toxicosis symptoms such as disorientation, hyperactivity, vomiting, diarrhea, irregular heartbeat, seizures, dark colored droppings and death.

Avocados

Several types of avocados are poisonous to birds. Skin, meat or the seed maybe contain toxins, so it is best to not feed avocados at all.

Caffeine

Caffeine is also are poisonous to birds. Therefore do not give products containing caffeine to birds (including coffee, tea and soft drinks).

Salt

The excessive consumption of salt (sodium chloride) can cause thirst, increased water consumption, increased urination, depression, nervous excitement, tremors, incoordination and death.

Onion

Onions can be toxic to dogs and cats, and even the onion toxicosis is not well documented in birds, probably best to avoid eating onions for birds. In mammals, the onion can cause Heinz-body hemolytic anemia, which causes red blood cells rupture. Birds red blood cells contain a nucleus, and this may provide some protection against cell rupture. But avoid giving onions in birds. A small amount of garlic used in cooking may not be harmful, but keep in mind that there may be a problem that may occur.

Alcohol

Alcoholic beverages can cause loss of control and death. Do not give products containing ethanol (alcohol) for birds.

Fruit seed

Some fruit seed can be poisonous to birds. Apple seeds contain cyanide. So, remove the seeds before giving it to your bird. Cherries, plums, apricots and peaches are safe to be given to the birds, but the seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides. Nuts should not be given to the birds, but if ingested, digestion time is faster than the digestive tract of birds and their stomachs types can protect birds from poisoning.

Hopefully this article can help you to know about some poisonous foods for parrot.

Female Eclectus Parrot, The Polyandry Bird

Eclectus parrotis known as one of the members of the parrot family that hast the most intelligent. Whether because of smart, female parrots parrot also showed unusual behavior for parrots among others. Most parrots are monogamous, but the female eclectus parrot is polyandrous.

The eclectus parrot has several other names in various regions in Indonesia. Sumba society, for example, call it by name or kaka kaka moro wandala. Buru Island resident named karea birds, while in Membramo known as sopies and in Bacan called Ubu. This parrot is also can be found in Papua New Guinea and Australia. The behavior of this parrot has several times been the object of research scientists. In addition to polyandry, the female parrot also been studied have a bad temper when in difficult conditions.

Researchers at the Australian National University  observe the behavior of the eclectus parrot in Cape York, Queensland. This study revealed that the female parent in difficult conditions could kill her male child. This mean that the female eclectus parrot will only take care of the female child only. This is the only species of parrot that kills their offspring by sex. But no one has known why the mother has a gender preference given when they had to kill their own child.

Actually, the  temperament of the female parent who like to kill the male children was caused by nest inadequacy in accommodating the children. The habit is also commonly occur in the wild, when the female parent having trouble finding the holes of trees that can be used as a nest egg-laying, incubating eggs at a time and place for their children.

Pair of eclectus parrot usually find tree holes that are about 25 feet or more from the ground. If the position of the nest is too low, it is feared will fall prey to predators such as snakes and lizards. This is where you can actually see the intelligence of this parrot. But sometimes they do not always get the location of the nest as they wish, so they forced to occupy a nest which is not ideal. This makes the female parent anxiety and worry, thus reducing the comfort in the nest.

In some cases, the stressed or anxious female parent are often break the eggs, even kill her own child, including female parrots. However, the eclectus parrot always make the male child as a victim. Usually, the mother will produce a pair of eggs, and if all of them had hatched normally with different sexes (male and female). In that study also revealed, the female child is more easily treated than the male. In addition, female child is also grow faster than male.

Therefore, it is suspected that the female parrot parent more manly sacrifice the male child, because it is more difficult to treat than the female and also grow faster. Well, this is also shows how intellegence this beautiful bird. But why the male child must be sacrificed? This have something to do with the female parent who concern to the predatory animals. If the female parrent take care of the male child for too long, she will always feel threatened. Many possibilities that make female parrot populations in the wild more than male birds.

The main food of the eclectus parrot is fruit and some kind of flowers. Their favorite fruits are pomegranate and papaya. However, if you are interested to captive this bird, you can also provide some kind of fruit such as mango, guava, banana, melon, grapes, oranges, pears and apples.

Hopefully this article can help you to know more and captivating the eclectus parrot at home.

The Unique And Endangered Ecletus Parrot

There are many kind of parrot, and one of them is the eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus). This bird is a protected species. Is this birds could be bred and traded? It could be, as long as you get permission from the government or licensing body in certain areas. Most birds that bred is the protected bird, but had received official permission from the government or licensing body. If you are interested in breeding the eclectus parrot, then you have to know a lot about this bird first.

Eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus) is a species of parrots that intelligent (as we know, almost all parrots are intelligent). But different from the lovebird who tend to be monogamous, the male and female eclectus parrot does not have a regular partner. Female birds, though it had a partner, it is possible to look for a new partner. Similarly, the male birds who already have a partner.

Another unique thing of this bird is that the mother often kills their male child if it appears certain conditions or trigger factors.

Eclectus parrot has nine subspecies which is scattered in lowland forests, coconut groves and savannah that are in the Moluccas, Bali, Papua, Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Despite its status in the IUCN Red List set to the Least Concern / LC, in fact, the eclectus parrot populations in the wild are running low, mainly due to the rampant poaching and habitat destruction. Therefore, eclectus parrot is in the list of protected birds in all around the world.

Breeding the eclectus parrot is one way to prevent the extinction of this endangered species. Some people have tried to breed this bird, for example such as the Mega Bird and Orchid Farm in Indonesia, in the city of Bogor.

Hopefully this article can help you to know more about the eclectus parrot.

3 Important Factors In Training African Gray Parrot

African gray parrotis famous for its ability to speak. But you should know that there is no guarantee at all that if we buy this bird then it will be part of the family and can talk. Training a parrot to talk requires affection, patience, and consistent. The young birds are generally much easier to train than the old one.

Affection

Almost all pets require attention and affection from their owner. The affection will be rewarded by it as shown at the time the owner will go or go home. Otherwise, if the bird owner does not pay attention or show affection then they also will not care about what is desired by the owner. Thus, they require seriousness to unconditionally accept whatever the result if they will be able to talk or not. Besides smart parrots are also known to be very sensitive. It is said that they can affect you if they have known you.

Patient

As well as training a child to learn to speak, it needs patience. Exercise should be done gradually and do not make the target time will ultimately be a disappointment if the burden of expectations did not materialize. Feeling of disappointment can also override the little bird that has sensitive feelings. Who knows disobedience to orders is a reaction of disappointment on your attitude. It should be remembered however that a bird may not be equated with a child in a certain period of time was able to speak.

Consistent

Training methods should be done consistently and accompanied with sincerity. Each word or phrase that is taught should be supported by the meaning or signs that distinguish it from other words. For example, at the time the sun rises regularly and repeatedly just say "good morning" and the sunset time just say "Good night". From the differences in the morning and evening, the bird will realize the difference to the meaning of the two words. Remember, don’t make the birds confused.

Good luck in training African gray parrot at home.

Tips On Captivating Old Macaw Parrot

Captivating an old macaw parrot is something that memorable for bird enthusiasts. Moreover, if the bird is kept since it was just hatched, or ever achieve a wonderful achievement and made their owners famous, or there could be a special moment when buying or obtaining the bird.

Bird does have its own memory for those who they see every day, such as nurses, owners, and members of the family. If cared properly, correctly and consistently, the bird will continue to feel safe and comfortable look closest people, especially if it’s treated over the years.

Captivating old birds do require some special attentions. Starting from the provision of regular extra food but with smaller portions than the share of young birds to bathe needs are likely to increase (2-3 times daily). The goal is to reduce the excessive lust arise at any time, allowing the birds to be lazy sound. Not to mention the duration of drying also have to be reduced a bit, and so on.

Maintaining old bird is different from the young birds and mature birds. Because of the old age, the birds tend to be in unstable conditions lust. Old bird has a maturity of lust different from adult birds. If not managed properly, it could have led to an explosion of lust.

When the birds do not have a partner, then the lust explosion condition can cause stress to the birds, tend to be more silent, or even suddenly paralyzed. If the old birds are having a lust explosion, the best way is to give them a partner, although the goal is not to breed it.

In the nature, macaw parrot can be found in the tropical rain forest and savanna in central America and South America, especially in Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Panama, and Paraguay.

Hopefully this article can help you in captivating old macaw parrot at home.

The History Of African Grey Parrot

Captivating the African Grey Parrot as pets have been conducted since the early of 1800s where Dr. W.T. Greene in his book in several series including the series with title "The Grey and How to Treat it", 1885. At first, African grey parrots are often called by the name of "Jaco" because the original sounds used by Portuguese sailors in their voyages at sea.

There are several other examples of literature and records of captivating the African grey parrot as pet. The European nobles really liked this bird because of its beauty and the ability to speak. In the early of 1500s, said that England King, King Henry VII had an African Grey Parrot that stored at Hampton Court. Manuscripts by famous German naturalist, Johann Matthäus Bechstein, his classic works written in the bird cage in 1774, describing African Grey Parrots are owned by Cardinal Ascanius.

Today, the bird with latin name Psittacus Erithacus can be found in the rainforests of west and central Africa. African Grey Parrots reach the maturity at the age of 4 or 5 years and have a life span of over 50 years in captivity.

In the wild, male and female African grey parrot start looking for a mate and breed around the age of 7-8 years. It could be said that grey parrot are birds with the latest sexual maturity. But in a breeding cage, the sexual maturity can be accelerated to about 5 years.

If you want to breed this amazing bird, you must provide an ideal breeding cage first. The size of the cage can be adjusted with the available space, but it should be at least 5 meters long, 1.5 meters wide and 2 meters high. This size is not too narrow, but also not too broad, and it is believed will make the birds feel more comfortable living activities, including in terms of reproduction or breed.

Hopefully this article can help you to know more about the amazing African grey parrot.

The Curious African Grey Parrot

African grey parrotis one of the most popular pet birds because of its ability to mimic human speech. This amazing bird is not only beautiful and interesting, but it is also happy to interact and have an inquisitive nature. The personality and curious nature of this bird  will be amazing and encouraging the owners. African Grey Parrot classified in the category of a very wise animals, making them the best pet parrot for bird enthusiasts around the world.

African Grey Parrot is usually chosen as a pet bird because of the appeal and its ability to speak. In addition to speaking, it is also very easy to imitate the sounds around them. This bird can imitate human voice, the sound of other birds, the sound of ringing phones and much more. Although they are good at conversation, African Grey Parrot is not bird species that like to screaming like the other parrot family.

With all the advantages that exist on the African Grey Parrot, makes this bird very popular among bird enthusiasts all over the world, but it requires very high commitment to maintain this bird. African Grey Parrot will quickly get bored if you do not provide a lot of stimulation. It requires much interaction with their owners than the game that exist in in their cage.

Although African Grey Parrot like to be held, it still needs supervision when interacting with humans as essentially a wild animal instincts. This bird has the same ingenuity as children aged 5 years, but have emotions like a 2 years old child.

African Grey Parrots (Psittacus Erithacus) with medium size can be found in the rainforests in the west and central Africa. African grey parrot ready to reproduce at the age of 4 or 5 years and have a life span of more than 50 years in captivity.

Tips On Breeding The Moluccan Parrot

Breeding the moluccan parrot is one way to prevent the extinction of this endangered species. Some people have tried to breed this bird, for example such as the Mega Bird and Orchid Farm in Indonesia, in the city of Bogor. If you want to breed this endangered parrot, you have to know a few things.

Before you start to breed this bird, you must prepare a few things related to the breeding, breeding permit eg, cost, time, easy access to the vet, bird guards and nurses, availability of medicines, cages and special quarantine. First thing, the bird that is ready to mate must be at least 3 years old or more, but not exceeding 8 years. Although the moluccan parrot has an average age of 30 years, certainly birds that are too old not to be a good parent.

When about to start the mate, the male parrot are often frowned their feathers, spread the tail, wings open, rising the cowlick, or such as nodding or bouncing. While the female bird was initially seen to avoid or ignore. But for a few days soon after being reunited, the female will allow the male bird approached.

After they paired, they will be seen preening each other with head and tail comb partner. This shows they have no emotional attachment. After some time, male birds began to perform ritual mating and the female will lay eggs.

Similar to the sex behavior of other parrots, moluccan parrot also faithful to their spouse. If it is paired, they will be loyal until the end, unless we separate them and replace them with a new partner. But it is usually not easy to match again with another partner, because the bird is losing his soul mate long enough to experience depression.

You also have to pay attention to the breeding cage. Breeding cages must be in a quiet environment and protected from the sun heat or rain. Cage size depends on the area of land you have, the important bird can still fly stretch his wings and jumping freely.

Good luck in breeding moluccan parrot at home.

The Endangered Species Of Moluccan Parrot

Moluccan parrot (Cacatua moluccensis) is a native bird species to the island of Seram, Central Maluku. This bird is also called seram parrots. In the international bird literature, this bird is called the salmon crested cockatoo. Currently, the population of moluccan parrot continues to shrink, so that it takes two actions at once. First, stop hunting for these birds in the wild. The second, for those who have this bird are encouraged to breed it.

In the IUCN list, the moluccan parrot specified in vulnerable status. If the population continues to shrink, then the status can be more serious become endangered (threatened with extinction), or even directly to critical. Therefore, conservation efforts are absolutely necessary, and breeding could be one solution to solve this problem.

If you are interested to breed the moluccan parrot, please contact the authorized institution in your areas (Livestock Service Office, Natural Resource Conservation Center, etc.) for the permits to breed it. This method has been done by many endangered bird species breeders in all over the world.

In their natural habitat, the moluccan parrot is common in lowland forests up to 1,000 meters altitude areas above sea level. They are looking for food in the form of grains, nuts, fruits, and coconut. Beak incredible strength, can weigh 2,000 kg, so as to solve the fiber and hard coconut shell.

The main characteristic of this bird is distinctive crest, pink, and can be upheld. So, when you see the moluccan parrot uphelding its cowlick, it is better not approach it, it may be angry. When it’s angry, the risk of being bitten can happen. Hard coconut shells can be crushed easily, imagine if you got bitten. But if the cowlick is lowered, you may as well approach it, or even play with it. Therefore, this shows the friendly emotional state.

Hopefully this article can help you to know more about the endangered moluccan parrot.

Important Components In Parrot Food

You must pay attention at the parrot food problems, because most parrots have high temperament (easily angered) when faced with something unpleasant, including the food problems. To make sure your parrot stay healthy all the time, here are some tips for you:

1. Provide fresh water in the cage

To ensure the cleanliness of drinking water for your parrot, try to always replace the water container every day. You should also use the same container, but must be cleaned every time you want to fill it with water.

Parrot love to ruffle object nearby them, no exception for the drinking water in the container. In fact, some parrot like to dip grains or vegetables that is in their beak into the water, thus making the water dirty very quickly. Not just dirty, the potential for bacteria to enter the water is very high, so it can harm the health of your parrot. The cleanliness of the water container is also important. Even if you regularly change the water into the container, it become useless if the container never replaced or at least washed.

To wash the drinking container, you should start with hot water to remove all the dirt on the surface of the container. Better yet, if you use a non-detergent soap. After that, wash it again with hot water, if necessary, use a disinfectant and let the container to dry. To make it dry faster, you can use a hairdryer. You should boil the water before put it in the container to kill harmful bacteria. It is better if you use waer from a gallon of mineral water.

2. Fresh fruits and vegetables

You should provide fresh food in the cage every day, because it is the important menu that should be given to the parrot. There is no food that can guarantee the balance of nutrients such as vegetables. Fruits are also good, but a few pieces have a very high sugar content with a low nutritional value, so you must be selective in choosing the fruit. For example, grape. This fruit is very popular for parrots. Grape is very sweet and favored by most of the parrots. But the grape is less than helpful in maintaining a healthy parrot compared to other fruits.

Vegetables that good for parrots such as green vegetables (green beans, broccoli, etc.), vegetables with dark green leaf color (radish), and orange vegetables (carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes). This food should be provided every day. As an addition, you can give one or two other types of vegetables or fruits. For example, corn and peas. However, because of the high sugar content, it should not be too frequent.

3. Pellet

Considering that not all parrots have the same tastes, pellets can also given to ensure adequate nutrition. If your parrot does not like vegetables, you can give pellets. Some parrot like to eat pellet instead of fresh food. The good pellet is the one which colorless, because the color usually contain chemicals, and even sugar. Although parrot prefers food color, we can train them to consume natural colored pellets (light brown to dark brown).

4. Mixture of grains

Grains are not always served as the main food for parrots. Most of the large parrots just eat it as a snack. Even if parrots have not consume grains, you should never give it. Most of the small parrots, which naturally often consume grains, you should give it for their food.

Hopefully this article about important components in parrot food is helpful for you and can help you in captivating parrot at home.

Spider Surprise For Parrot

I am trying to be more spider-tolerant. This is not a default reaction for me, but since they are harmless, as long as they aren't on me, I try to let them live. I had a challenging encounter yesterday! After seeing this one on my wall, she found her way here:

I was so careful, going into the kitchen to brush my teeth, and trying to give her enough time to find another place to go.

And then I walked in on Beeps, right after he'd taken a bath in his water dish.  Of course, I had to rinse out and refill his water dish, so I went into the bathroom and flushed out the spider!

She was really wet, but OK.  I managed to get her outside, alive.

I'm not sure that was the right thing to do -- can house spiders survive outside?  At least it is warm out now, and hopefully if she doesn't survive, she was food for someone else.

Tips On Breeding Parrots : How To Reduce The Aggressiveness Of The Male Parrots

It is very important to maintain a comfortable atmosphere in a cage for a couple of breeding parrots, especially for the male parrots. Another thing that suspected to be the trigger of the male parrot aggressiveness is the sexual problems. When males are ready to mate, but the the female does not want to mate with the partner, it can also angered the male parrots.

So, in order to reduce the risk of damage that occurs in captivating parrots, check out some useful tips:

1. Provide a special nest box

Normally, nest boxes for parrots has one hole that is used as an entrance and exit. If you use a nest box with only one hole, then when the male parrot become aggressive, the female can be in danger because it is difficult to get out of the nest, especially if the male parrot covering the exit hole. So, the best way is to provide specially designed nest box that has two holes.

2. Giving wing clipping for the male parrots

Wing clipping is the method of clipping the main flying feather on the wings. It can be applied only for the male parrots. The goal is to slowing down the movement of birds while appearing its aggressive nature. Thus, the female parrot which did not receive wing clipping will have time to escape.

This method does not hurt the birds, because only cutting a partial wing feathers used to fly high. This method is commonly used even a parrot breeder in many countries, in order to tame or train the parrot birds like parakeets, lovebird and others.

3. Provide two feed container in the cage

You should provide more than one feed container, so that female parrot can take the food in another container in case the male parrot prevent it. In some cases, female parrots often die from dehydration and starvation due to blocked by the male parrots when it want to take food and water.

4. Optimizing the reproductive function

As we all know, the male parrots can enraged when they are ready to mate, while the females resist to mate and keep running away from the male. This is usually because the female is not in the mood. In order to make both male and female in the same lust condition, you can give some bird supplement in order to optimize the reproductive function.

In addition to optimizing the lust conditions, some supplement can increase fertility (eggs fertility), hatching rate (the percentage of eggs that hatched), and the chicks that hatch into more healthy and have grow healthfully.

5. Installing cameras in the cage

In order to monitor the behavior of your parrots in the breeding cage, you can not constantly be near the cage. Moreover, if the breeding cages are outdoors. The best solution is to install monitoring cameras to make the breeding behavior always in control. When something happens, you can directly take precautions.

6. Separating the males and females

Once you see the signs of male parrot begin to suppress the female, you must immediately separate them in for a while until the male birds back in calm condition.

7. Choosing the perfect match

Many experienced breeders believe that parrots should be allowed to find their own mate in colony cages, which is filled with some of female and male parrots. Do not match a particular male and a female parrot based on your choice, because it can trigger the aggressive character of the males.

By allowing your parrot to choose their own mate, the male is relatively calm. Pairing in a solitary cage can be done only for experienced breeders only, mainly to produce certain color mutations.

So, good luck in breeding parrots at home.

African Gray Parrot Problem : Male Parrot Attack The Female

African gray parrot is an interesting bird, because it is known smart and have the ability to process the words that taught by their owners. As ornamental birds that can be our friend at home, there are many people around the world who like to captive this bird. If you are interested in breeding african gray parrots, then prepare your knowledge of the problems that can occur at any time, which is when the male parrot often attacked their partner.

Causes of male parrot became aggressive.

Keep in mind, not all male parrot has this kind of behavior. So, there is a trigger factor that makes the males often attack their partner. Effects of the attack depends on the level of aggressiveness of birds. There is a female bird that just hurt, but there is also a physical disability, and the worst is death.

Before attacking, usually a male parrot necessarily preclude the female parrot when they wanted to eat or when they wanted to drink. When the female are weak by the hunger, then the male will attack it. Case like this can happen at the starting of a mating, but it can also occur on the male and female parrot which has paired for years.

In the natural habitat, the female parrot can escape from an angry male, by flying away from it. However, this is difficult to do when the two birds are in a breeding cage. When attacked, the mother had no choice but to surrender and give up.

It is very important to maintain a comfortable atmosphere for a pair parrots, especially the male parrot. Another thing that is suspected to be the trigger of the male parrot aggressiveness is the sexual problems. When males are ready to mate, but the female does not want to mate with the male, it can also angered the male parrot.

Good luck in captive breeding african gray parrot.

Tips On Captive Breeding The Amazon Parrot

In most species of amazon parrot, it is very hard to distinguish between the male with female. This is an impossible thing because they look similar and very difficult to know the difference. And other difficult parts of this bird is a parrot looking bird actually predestined, because that takes a long time for this bird really want to be married before the end could have been domesticated.

Male birds usually are ready to reproduce when they are one year old while for females it takes about 3-5 years, even amazon parrot that had been so tame can become very aggressive during breeding time so be prepared for what will happen next.

In their natural habitat, they use their powerful beak to pierce the trees to serve as nests where they can lay their eggs, so you can use any nest box in the breeding cage similar to those used by other parrots like lovebird just in a larger size .

Female parrots will lay eggs as many as 2-4 white eggs until they hatch and will incubate it for 26-28 days, and after 70-100 days have fur child is already complete and ready to leave the nest to search for their own food. In the natural habitat, amazon parrot like to eat nuts, fruits and leaves, so it is very important to give your bird a varied diet to ensure optimal health for both reared in cages kept or bred for the purpose.

It is very difficult to diagnose the disease being experienced by amazon parrot, so it is better to take them to a bird expert or veterinarian if your bird looks sick.

Hopefully this article can help you to understand more about the amazon parrot, so you become more easy in captive breeding this bird.

Amazon Parrot Caring Tips

Before you buy an amazon parrot, whether you buy it from friends or relatives or in the market, especially with the importing of foreign countries, make sure that you know the first international and national rules and regulations on captive specimens of species of wild animals and birds that you want to maintain.

Amazon parrot species are very intelligent and very gentle, this bird even can mimic human speech with a fluent, easy to train a variety of attractions and can be trained to accurately count and call the names of objects before they are trained to remember what the name of the object. You can say that their ability almost the same with the African grey parrot.

In the treatment, it is important for us to provide some form of wood toy for them to chew, because the parrot likes to chew objects. And to maintain the beak and nails, you should provide mineral block that they can use to hone their beaks and nails in the cage.

Amazon parrot can be washed by spraying it with warm water or a bathtub insert into their cage. Some birds can quickly trained a variety of attractions or certain tricks, such as teaching them to get to the space provided when it want to throw feces.

In the wild natural nature, amazon parrot likes to eat nuts, fruits and leaves, so it is very important to give your bird a varied diet to ensure optimal health for both reared in cages kept or bred for the purpose.

It is very difficult to diagnose the disease being experienced by amazon parrot, so you should take it to a bird expert or veterinarian if your bird looks sick or unwell.

So, good luck in caring amazon parrot at home.

Interesting Facts About Amazon Parrot

Do you know the price of an amazon parrot in the United States could reach 800 - 1600 U.S. Dollar?. For captive breed parrot that has been able to talk, the price could be higher.

Amazon parrot is a bird that need to be always exposed to the sunlight, lack of sunlight itself can be a problem for them such as hypcalcemia. It is something usual for amazon parrot suddenly becomes very noisy at sunrise and sunset. The amazon parrot is not only good at imitating human speech sounds, but also good at imitating other birds. For amazon parrot lifespan, if cared properly, it can reach 40-60 years of age, although it can be a relatively even longer, up to 119 years.

When talking about the amazon parrots healthiness, it is very difficult to diagnose the disease being experienced by amazon parrot so it is advisable to take it to a bird expert or veterinarian if your bird looks sick or unwell.

The signs of amazon parrots are experiencing poor health such as:

•          More or less sleep than usual
•          Loss of appetite
•          Weight loss
•          Too much or less drink than usual
•          Ruffling its own feather
•          Rest with the turned head
•          Sneezing frequently
•          Fluids come out from the nostrils
•          Tears come out from the eyes
•        Changes in the form of the feces

Amazon parrot birds can be infected with psittacosis (fever frequently experienced by quaker parrot), and the disease can be spread to humans.

About the pulling its own feathers, this case is not necessarily because of the poor health, but can also be a sign of boredom or loneliness. In order to solve this problem, you can give them some toys to play with in their cage.

Hopefully this article about interesting facts about amazon parrot can help you in caring your parrot at home.

Signs Of African Grey Parrot Ready To Reproduce

During the mating period, the male and female african grey parrot will lower their wings and began to walk back and forth on the perch. The female parrot will make a little sound like grunting while doing this. In times of mating, female parrots tend to be in control. It will slide to the male parrot and biting the partner's feet to encourage and raise its legs. After that, the male birds begin the ritual to mate the female.

Some signs of african grey parrots that are ready to reproduce/ spawn are:

 

1. Increased appetite.

2. The female parrot make a scent that can be smelled from a distance of several meters. This scent is not come from the feces, but it emerges from the body of the female bird which is ready to spawn.

3. There is a few small clumps of fur from the fine hairs around the cloaca (vent). This is normally done by the mother intentionally pull the feathers, to facilitate the process of laying eggs.

4. Often heard the sound of the male and a female parrot at midnight, with a fairly long duration.

Female grey parrot usually begin laying eggs about 1 month after the mating. After the first egg, then the second egg will come out about 2-3 days later. Nesting interval is much different than chicken or other bird that only takes 25 hours. The number of eggs produced is about 2-4 eggs, it’s white, and will hatch after incubated for 26-28 days. Asynchronous hatching, where the eggs will hatch first issued first. Then followed by the second egg and so on.

Grey parrots are a good parent at treating or caring for their children. That is why, many breeders who success to breed this Africa's clever parrot. However, you still have to be supportive of their reproductive process, with not too often peeking the parent incubating their eggs.

Good luck in breeding african grey parrot at home.

Fact About Parrot : Why Parrots Pull Out Their Feathers

In this opportunity, we will discuss fact about parrot and their pulling feather habit. Birds pulling their own feathers are mostly directly related to the mental and health condition of the bird. This applies to all kinds of birds, including parrot. Especially parrots, there are some exceptions where some species of birds like parrots in a healthy condition still often pull out their feathers before nesting and laying eggs.

There are five causes of parrot pulling out its own feathers. Check out the following information.

1. Skin or fur irritation

Skin or fur irritation is the biggest cause of bird pulling the feathers. It is closely related to mites infection, bacteria, fungi, or viruses. Some mite species is known to live and breed in the skin and fur lining. The mite attack, bacteria, and fungi often cause itching in the affected areas. No wonder the birds that infected often lead their beak to the feathers, or even to the surface of the skin to relieve itching. However, mites, fungi, and bacteria will never disappear by itself if there is no special treatment.

2. Malnutrition

In some cases, the birds do not actually have problems with their fur and skin, but it still often pull out their feathers. If there are no mites, it means the habit of pulling feathers is caused by other factors, one of them is malnutrition.

Try to remember again, have you provide the nutritious and balanced feed for your parrot in the house? Nutritious feed must contain a minimum of energy metabolism (often also interpreted as carbohydrate), protein, fat, crude fiber, and some vitamins and other essential minerals. A proportional feed is the feed with fat content which is not too high, while the protein content adjusted to a period of growth and reproduction (for breeders). The energy metabolism of birds is sufficient to support day-to-day activities.

3. Mental and physical problems

Parrots can also experience some problems related to the mental conditions. If you see some bird owners give special treatment to the birds after the contest, it was all done in order to restore the physical and mental condition of the bird. When the mental condition is drop, parrots are easily to experience stress. If this condition is left untreated, the birds usually get sick.

Some behavior of parrots with wrong mental and stress such as pulling out their own feathers, no longer willing to stand on the stands, anxiety, and so on.

4. Hormonal problems

There are times when a bird pulling its own feathers, and the feathers fall out without a strong beak movement. This is usually caused by hormonal disorders, particularly hyperthyroidism hormone that functions to raise the levels of the thyroid gland. It could also be due to Addison disease, which resulted in decreased levels of the hormone corticosterone in the adrenal glands.

Although both hormonal disorder that is not a direct cause of why the birds pulling their feathers, but when the hormonal disorder occurs, usually parrot feel itching on its body, which it believed coming from the surface of the skin or feathers.

5. Inner diseases

Another possibility of the parrots pulling their feathers although the fur and skin does not itch is the emergence of the disease in its body. For example is the giardia infection (giardiasis) caused by microorganisms in the intestines, and cause itching that comes from suspected bird skin or feathers.

It could also caused by infection of Chlamydophila pneumoniae. Even some liver diseases can cause deposition of bile salts, which impact on skin irritation. Same as the hormonal disorders, the most precise diagnosis can only be made by bringing the parrot to the veterinarian or animal clinic.

Hopefully this article on fact about parrot can help you in caring your beloved parrot.

Macaw Parrot, A Friendly And Intelligent Bird

Macaw parrot are lovely, brightly colored bird which is member of the parrot family. Macaw have a close relationship with parakeets and parrots.

Generally, macaw parrot have bright feathers. Some species can only be distinguished from the color. This coloring makes the macaw contrast with the views of the tropical rain forest with a green canopy of fruits and colorful flowers.

Here are some information about macaw parrot.

Anatomy

Macaw parrot has a large and strong beak, suitable for breaking nuts or seeds. It also has a strong tongue, dry, and rough surface to be an effective tool for picking fruits or hard grains.

Macaws also have gripping toes used to holding on to the branch and to grab, hold, and check the food. It also have a beautiful tail that is usually very long.

Habitat

In the nature, macaw parrot found in the tropical rain forest and savanna (grasslands) in central America and South America, especially in Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Panama, and Paraguay.

Omnivore

Macaw parrot is an omnivore. Omnivore means eating plants and animals. Macaw food such as fruits, nuts, insects, and snails. Some species also eat damp soil, which can help to neutralize chemicals in fruits that they eat.

Intelligent animal

Macaw parrot is an animal with a high intelligence, it is easily taught to perform certain activities so there is rarely a stage animal in a zoo or in a circus. Some species of macaw can be taught to speak even imitate the human voice.

Species

There are 18 species of macaws, and several species are in endangered. This cute bird is a popular pet, so many were captured and traded illegally. Rain forest as the macaw habitat drastically reduced.

Hyacinth macaw, red face macaw and blue neck macaw are critically endangered. Glaucus Macaw and Spix macaw may have become extinct in their natural habitat.

Hopefully this article can help you to know more about macaw parrot.

Tips On Breeding African Gray Parrot

A while ago, we discussed about captivating an african gray parrot, and now we are going to discuss the sequel.

In their natural habitat, males and females gray parrot start looking for a mate and breed around the age of 7-8 years. It could be said that gray parrot are birds with the latest sexual maturity. But in a breeding cage, the sexual maturity can be accelerated to about 5 years. How?

The sexual maturity is very influenced by the nutrients, especially protein. In various studies on birds, individuals that were fed high protein will experience sex mature faster. In humans, it is also beginning to look at the present, where the children (both male and female) experience puberty earlier than previous generations, as well as better nutrition.

If you have a male and female gray parrot, they can be paired at the age of 6 months. This is to familiarize them socialize with potential partners. If you buy a male bird and a female bird which is ready to mate, it is necessary to provide the captivation/breeding cage first.

Breeding cages and accessories

Ideal breeding cage for gray parrot cage is the aviary. Cage size can be adjusted with an area of available space, but it should be at least 5 meters long, 1.5 meters wide and 2 meters high. This size is not too narrow, but also not too broad, and it is believed will make the birds feel more comfortable living activities, including in terms of reproduction or breed.

Provide some perches in the corner of the cage, to make the bird easy to move from one location to another. During breeding, parrot frequently seen perch bite and chew sticks. It is therefore advisable to use a perch with different levels of hardness. For example, some perch is made of wood or branches that are not hard, and some are made of wood or branches that are very hard to make it more durable.

Hopefully this tips can help you in breeding your african gray parrot.

Tips On Captivating African Gray Parrot

One of the parrots species which favored by many people is the african gray parrot (Psittacus Erithacus). Some experts regard african gray parrot birds as the most intelligent species in the parrots family. The following tips is the initial guide for African gray parrot captivity.

The native habitat of gray parrot found only in West Africa and Central Africa. Amazon parrot is known to be intelligent is actually still less intelligent than the gray parrot. This bird has the amazing ability to imitate sounds, so it makes it very popular among bird enthusiasts around the world, US, Europe and Asia.

The price of gray parrot is very high which makes many people anxious to capture it. In the international wildlife trade, gray parrot included in CITES Appendix II list. That means you have to get it from breeding, and should not be obtained from the capture of wild or through the black market.

This thing needs to be a guide for anyone in the world who want to obtain any african gray parrot from abroad. You can also get it from the bird stores or bird importers in your country, especially those that equipped with the certificate.

There are two subspecies of gray parrot :

Congo African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus erithacus)

Timneh African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus timneh)

The original voices of gray parrot such as whistling, clicking sounds and other sounds. But if it is trained, it can imitate a variety of sounds such as birds singing, the human voice, phone voice, sound of an alarm, and the sound of environment around them which often heard.

So, when you cry, do not be surprised if this bird will try to entertain you with the words that have been mastered. There is a dramatic event in the UK, late last year, when a psychologist daughter received the last message from gray parrot 32 years old, which was maintained since the age of 1 year. Before he died, the birds ask her to do not get upset and to keep the spirit of life if it dies. And, finally the bird was dead. This is the proof of gray parrots intelligence.

Hopefully this article can help you in caring your beloved african gray parrot.

5 Important Things About Macaw Parrot

via google image

1. Macaw parrot behavior problems

Macaw parrot are animals that have few problems when compared with other pet birds. Usually these birds are emotionally stable and not too eager to show off its like the other animals. This increases their ability to focus on what they are being taught, enabling them to alter their behavior within a relatively short period.

Macaw parrot also like to be a family member of the owner. This bird is extremely flexible and easy to live with, they are not exempt from becoming spoiled, room mates may lead to biting or squawking for attention or anger. However, their behavior calibrates quickly intervening if the situation is worked with appropriately.

2. Large beak

Macaw parrot has a relatively large beak, making it love to chew. Usually macaw likes to chew wooden objects in the cage, so it is destructive. Therefore, be sure to provide wood to chew and taught some simple behavior rules, most macaws confine acceptable chewing to objects or toys.

3. Sexual behaviour

Sexually mature mawacs usually exhibit less sexually differentiated behavior than many other bird species in a domestic environment. All species can manifest some hormonally influenced behaviors. In general, the manifestation of sexual behavior in macaws is less pronounced than that seen in Amazon parrots and cockatoos.

4. Macaw parrot love to walk on the floor

Macaw parrot usually love to walk on the floor. Therefore, make sure the flooring in your home is safe and not harmful to your pet bird. Macaws are versatile and easy to get along with. They do well in a home with human adults, children and well-behaved pets. They usually entertain themselves well. However, they eagerly join when invited in human activities.

5. The best toy for macaw parrot

Best toys you can give to the macaw parrot is a wooden chew blocks and strong cord. By providing toys  for macaw parrot, chewing behavior can be overcome and does not damage the cage.

African Grey Parrot, Smartest Bird On Earth

Do you know that the African gray parrot are one of the smartest animals in the world? Parrots are known can imitate human speech. Not only that, apparently parrots have another very amazing ability. A research has shown that parrots have cool intelligent reasoning, at the same level as a four-year-old child.

From this study, an African gray parrot was found to be capable of working out the location of hidden food using the kind of deduction and elimination skills previously seen only in Humans and apes. This is why this bird is called "problem solver".

This research was conducted on the seven African gray parrots in a zoo in Austria. These birds aged from seven to 25 years. Two different but Equally preferred food items were hidden in view of the birds under two opaque cups. Then an experimenter secretly removed one food type and Showed it to the birds. The parrots were then put in front of the two cups. Most of them were Unable to work out where the food was. But over the course of the experiment, one bird Showed a statistically significant - or greater than chance - preference for the cup with the food. You need to know that this experiment only ever conducted on apes before.

Here are some interesting facts about african gray parrot.

• African gray parrot can understand the human words and has a sharp memory for shapes, colors and numbers.

• They can also imitate the voice of phones, doorbells, and the voice of the owner.

• Based on a study, African gray parrot are as smart as dolphins and chimpanzees.

• African gray parrot can live up to 60 years.

Hopefully this tips can help you to get know and understand about the African grey parrot.