Baby Parrots For Sale

Well, it has been a long time since my last post on here. That has not been because we retired from bird breeding!!! No, far from it! But life has been so busy for the past 10 months that I have found it difficult to snatch a few minutes to sit down and post here like I know I should. So today I have decided to remedy that situation and introduce you to our newest baby parrot chicks that are for sale!!!

First off we have a gorgeous Silver Indian Ringneck Parrot baby that is already learning to talk! He just started repeating "Hi baby!" We have not had him DNA tested so we do not know the sex. (I just say "him" because that seems much nicer than referring to "him" as an "it") I am including several pictures of him so you can see what I mean about "gorgeous"! He was totally handfed and now that he is weaned he is a little sweetheart, who adores being held and played with! He is 10 weeks old right now and looking for a loving forever home. We are asking $350 for him.

After that beauty I have some little darlings to introduce to you! 3 Fiery Cinnamon Eastern Rosella Chicks that I am currently still handfeeding. Handfed Rosellas make beautiful, elegant pets that are perfect for life in a smaller home. This is because Rosellas have a nice pleasant quiet voice and they don't ever scream or screech like many other birds that are of comparable size. (Unlike most conures for example... while beautiful, personable birds, conures make awful "apartment" type pets due to their extremely loud raucous calls and screams! Which they enjoy doing every morning and evening, in addition to whenever they are happy, or angry, or excited, or playing... which pretty much is most of the day!) These little Fiery Cinnamon Rosella chicks are still being handfed. They should be totally weaned (and fully feathered) in another 5 to 6 weeks! We are going to be asking $350 each for them when they are weaned.

As always if you are interested in any of these sweet parrot chicks you can contact me at the following email address: easttnbirds@yahoo.com

Thanks!

Rachel!

Handfed Rosellas For Sale

Well we have had a wonderful bird breeding season over the summer of 2008. I am happy to announce that we have several new parrots for sale this year! As many of my blog readers know we are a small aviary located just outside of Knoxville, Tennessee in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Our birds are bred in very large custom built flight cages outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. We have had many beautiful baby cockatiels, lovebirds, bourke parakeets and now Eastern Rosellas and Golden Mantled Rosellas hatch out over the past few months.

Currently we have one handfed Golden Mantled Rosella baby left. He (or she) is fully weaned and ready for his new home. He has been DNA tested and we will be getting the results back soon, so then we will know for sure if he is a he... or a she! We are selling "him" for $250





We also have one more Fiery Cinnamon Eastern Rosella left. He has also been DNA tested to determine his sex. We are expecting those results back by the end of October. He is a beautiful little parrot, with the cutest little whistle! We are selling "him" for $350.



These birds make beautiful and quiet pets. They are not screamers like many other parrot species can be. And while they don't learn to talk as well as some larger parrots like amazons and macaws, they are great mimics and can learn to imitate any number of noises, ring-tones and whistle entire songs. The Golden Mantled Rosella and the Eastern Rosella are actually the same species of bird. However the golden mantled rosellas we have are the normal "wild" color, and the Fiery Cinnamon Eastern Rosella is a specially bred for color through genetic mutation, that produces a vibrantly RED bird.

If you would be interested in making one of these gorgeous birds a part of your family, please contact me at easttnbirds@yahoo.com We do provide shipping within the USA. At the new owners expense.
Thanks!
Rachel!

Pictures of lovebird in flight

This morning I was trying to take some pictures of 5 baby lovebirds that are just about ready to go to their new homes. I have been handfeeding them since they were about 10 days old. One little guy just wouldn't hold still for the camera! But I managed to snap a few nice shots of him in mid-air! Enjoy! His little feathers are going to need to be clipped now, because although I think they are gorgeous in flight, I would hate for him to escape, or get hurt in our ceiling fans...

Cockatiels-The perfect pet parrot

One of the most common pet birds, Cockatiels are often overlooked by people looking for a pet parrot. Because of their small size and affordability they are often found in the homes of people who may not even consider themselves "bird people". But don't let their low price tag and commonness fool you into passing up on this marvelous pet! Dollar for Dollar you may just get a better companion pet from a cockatiel than just about any other kind of animal!

Cockatiels are big birds in a little bird's body! They have fun upbeat personalities. They can learn to mimic quiet well, the males are generally better at this than the females. Most cockatiels can learn to whistle a complete song after just a week or so of hearing it repeated. But both males and females can make equally sweet little pet birds.

Cockatiels are native to Australia. They come in a variety of colors. The normal grey (this is the color of wild 'tiels), lutino, pied, pearl, cinnamon, and whiteface. Many cockatiels are a combination of the above varieties. Such as a pearl whiteface. Or a cinnamon pied. The varieties are nearly endless! But most are some variation of grey, white, yellow, and orange.

A handfed cockatiel will usually make the very best pet as they have never developed any fear of people. Most handfed cockatiels thrive on spending time outside of their cages and being held and petted by their owners. 'Tiels love to have their heads scratched and will learn to walk up to your hand and bow, this is their way of asking for a good scratch behind the crest. They love to cuddle on shoulders, chew up the newspaper you are reading and sample your popcorn while you watch a movie. They are just generally so happy to be with their people that they will gladly follow you throughout the house. Unlike many larger birds, cockatiels will often remain friendly with everyone in the family throughout life, as opposed to becoming a one person bird. They also tend to be very steady, personality wise, even after the hormones of sexual maturity have set in.

Cockatiels in captivity enjoy a varied diet, consisting of seed mix, pellets, fruits and veggies, whole grain bread, pasta, and nuts. They also need to have access to a cuttle bone and a mineral block in order to get both the necessary calcium for healthy bones and to keep the growth of their beak in check. It helps keep their beaks in tip top shape! (Most birds beaks grow throughout their lives, just like our fingernails, hard things to chew help keep their beaks filed down just right!

These birds have long tails and need a nice roomy cage in order to keep their feathers beautiful. Besides the fact that since they do spend a large part of their day in their cages they should be big enough for the bird to get some much needed exercise! At a bare minimum cockatiels should be able to stretch out their wings in any direction and not touch the cage bars. A cage 24" x 24" x 24" is just about right. But as with any bird, always try to get the biggest cage you can afford and can fit in your space! They will love having all of that room to climb around in and play with all of their toys!

Speaking of toys... 'tiels love to have lots of toys to play with. They are very curious birds, and love to check out and manipulate new things! Make sure when you are shopping for toys that you buy several that are made of paper, straw, or light-weight wood that can be torn apart and destroyed by your bird! Trust me, they will thank you for it! (Well, they would thank you for it if they knew how!) They also enjoy swings and bells and little toys that they can pick up in their feet and chew on! Just make sure that you buy toys that don't have any sharp edges, or crevices that toes or beaks can get caught in, or with lead weights inside.

Another thing many cockatiel owners decide to invest in is a play gym. These come in many sizes from small table-top models that you can carry with you around the house to larger free standing floor models. This can provide a safe place for your bird to spend time outside of his cage, were he can play without getting into trouble.

Cockatiels make great companions, they are fairly long lived. With an average life span of 15-20 years, with a few reaching 30! They are usually much quieter than large parrots, making them good pets even for people living in apartments. And most people even if they are allergic to other animals never have a problem being around cockatiels. I hope that if you are considering adding a bird to your life you will give the cockatiel some thought. They are

beautiful, friendly, and cheerful.

I would like you to meet POLYGLOT

I would love for you all to meet Polyglot, the newest addition to our home! Polyglot is a Green Naped Lorikeet. She was rescued from a family that fed her birdseed and would only handle her with leather gloves. We decided to name her that because she "speaks" cat, dog, and English, as well as doing a great fire alarm! (Someone who is able to speak, write, or read several languages is a polyglot) We call her Poly for short.

I was just a little wary of her for the first 10 minutes after we brought her home. I ran in the kitchen and whipped her up a 100% fruit and veggie slushy and gave it to her. She promptly dived in and stuffed herself. When she had finished eating I open her cage and offered her my hand (with no glove-of course) She hopped right up...and the rest is history! She adores our family, we all take her out to play. She is very cuddly and likes to have her head and under her wings scratched.

She is doing great on the new diet and is very vocal. We call her a girl, just because! I don't have any plans to breed her, and we don't care, in reality, if she is a boy or a girl. So we are not bothering to have her sexed. I am sure I will post more about her in the future!

Everyone is up for breeding again, and Happy New Year!

Well Christmas is over, the new year is here and I have just replaced all of the nest boxes with our breeders in anticipation of the Spring Breeding Season! I love this time of year! We have several new pairs of Cockatiels set up, And they are already checking out the new boxes! Our gorgeous Cinnamon Redrump Parakeet hen is spending most of her day in her new box, while her male is looking on with interest. Our Bourke Parakeets are actively working the nest boxes and feeding each other. And all of the different Lovebirds are living up to their name! I already have 3 eggs in the blue Blackmask Lovebird nest, and the parents don't seem inclined to stop there!

I have started providing more fresh foods, and am giving daily baths to mimic breeding season's arrival. All of the birds are getting extra birdy bread and veggies twice a day and they are loving it! I will be sure to keep posting as the season gets into full swing! Cheers! Happy New Year! And may fat pink fuzzy babies bless us all!!!

All of our current babies have found new homes!

This is always such a bittersweet time for me! I love my babies and I know I can't keep them all, but this time it wasn't so bad. All 3 of the peachface lovebird babies have found great homes, and so have all 4 blue blackmask lovebirds.

In my last post I only mentioned 3 of the little blackmask babies because I had no intention of selling the fourth baby. He was such a little sweetheart, but he had a problem with one of his legs. His mommy had been extra enthusiastic in cleaning out her nestbox one day and apparently he sat on the slick wood floor with nothing to grip for almost 24 hours. Well as a result one of his little legs is splayed (it pokes out funny to one side.) I took him away from the nestbox for handfeeding as soon as I realized what had happened but we were unable to correct it by use of splints. So I called him Gimpy.

Gimpy didn't seem to be bothered by his slight handicap. He could climb around his cage and perch just fine, but I just didn't think I would ever be able to find just the right home for him. I really grew attached to him and his funny antics. I wanted to be sure that he would be loved and taken care of just like all of his perfect little brothers and sisters. Happily I did find a great home for him with the lady who took home the last of the peachface babies. I really felt good about letting her take him, and I know he will be well cared for.

This is Gimpy.

New baby birds for sale! (Note: These are now all sold)

Great news! We have successfully raised another 2 clutches of baby birds. Our peachface lovebird "mystery babies" (See past blog post for story and earlier pictures) have completely feathered out and have been weened from their handfeeding. These are super sweet, cuddly little clowns! In the picture to the left we have (from the left) a Peachface Pied, Normal Peachface, DutchBlue Pied Peachface lovebirds.



We also have 3 blue blackmask lovebird babies that are just weaned and ready to go! I have found the blackmask lovebirds to be much quieter, and a little more shy at first than the peachface lovebirds. But when these little guys decide to open up, they make the sweetest pets you'll ever find.

(Pictured: Blue Blackmask Babies)

All of our babies are raised "underfoot" around our children, as well as our other animals (we also have 2 dogs and 2 cats) They go to their new homes well socialized and ready to become part of your flock! We abundance wean, this means that all of our parrots are taught to eat everything! They leave our care eating pellets, seeds, sprouts, fruits, veggies, whole grain bread, beans, pasta, etc. You'll never find a picky eater here! I think that diet plays such an important role in avian health, a parrot will never be able to live a long and healthy life on a diet of bird seed alone!
Click on any of the pictures for a larger view.

• 
  
  *Baby Blue Blackmask playing dead. (Picture above left)

*Peachface Pied, and Peachface normal Babies (picture above right)

*Peachface Pied showing tail colors (picture left)

If you are interested in any of these babies please feel free to contact me at miculi100@yahoo.com.
Thanks!

Training your Bird

If the only animal training you have done in the past has been with a dog then you need to stop right now and rethink everything you know about animal training! Dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years. Most birds have never been "domesticated" Dogs are always looking to the leader of the pack, following his or her lead and trying to please them. Parrots on the other hand see themselves as your equal. Their greatest pleasure is not to do exactly what you say when you say it in hopes of pleasing their "pack leader". They are constantly trying to figure out ways to control YOU, through their behaviours and actions. Unlike dogs they don't work to please you, they work to please themselves. SO in order to teach your bird a few desirable behaviours you need to work at being smarted than he is and convincing him that it was his idea in the first place!

Bird trainers use food as a reward, which is one of the things birds care about most. Because of this you should probably schedule training sessions before feeding your feathered friend. That way he will be extra motivated to receive the treat or reward that you give him. I will include a list of training rewards in the next blog post.

Assuming you are starting out with a handfed bird that is already reasonably tame, how can you teach your bird a few tricks? Positive reinforcement is the trick. So long as you are careful never to teach the bird something that could jeopardize his health, tricks can only increase your enjoyment of your bird and the amount of time you spend together.

The first step in teaching any kind of trick is to notice a natural behaviour that can be modified easily into a trick. You may notice that your bird loves to push his food around in his dish before he eats it. If so then your bird has already started doing a fun little trick, it is just up to you to teach him to modify it a bit, and make it more elaborate. You can buy a little wooden parrot wagon (often available at larger pet stores that carry a good selection of bird toys) or you can use a little die-cast hot wheels type car, and teach him to transfer the pushing habit onto the toy by loading it down with a little bit of food. You can offer him a reward or treat (see list of treats as training aids in next article), when he gets the behaviour you want right. And don't forget to name the trick . For example say "Push the wagon (car)" every time he does it. Soon he will learn to do this on command. Remember that treats such as sunflower seeds work great as training rewards but can be very fattening so they should not constitute the basis of your birds diet! After a time your bird will begin to push without the benefit of the wagon or car having any food on it.

In the beginning it might take a while for you and your bird to really learn to communicate. But once your bird learns that acting a certain way both makes brings a reward and gives him extra attention from you, his flock mate, he will get much faster at learning new tricks. Learning to preform tricks can also help chronic pluckers. Sometimes birds that pluck are just plain bored! They often become the best performers, and the plucking is alleviated as a by-product of having something new to do.

Teaching "Stick 'em up" is also quite easy. When you first take your bird out of its cage they will often stretch their wings straight up over their heads. When he does this point your finger at him (like a gun) and say "Stick 'em up" or "Put 'em up". After a week or two of doing this every time you see the bird stretch he will start to do it on command. If you find it helps you can offer a reward, but for a trick this easy to learn it is often not necessary.

Some other tricks that are easy modifications of normal parrot behaviour include:

• Offering a foot to shake hands
  
• Hopping (dancing or pretending to be wind-up toy)


• Bobbing its head(Answering yes)
  
• Raising its crest


• Flapping its wings (soaring like eagle, escaping the police, etc.)


• Swinging head side to side (saying no)


• Stomping feet (dancing)


• Hanging from feet or beak from its perch or your hands. (acrobatics, or swinging upside down)


• Lying on its back (play dead, or roll over)
  

This is not a comprehensive list of tricks that your pet parrot could learn, the sky (and your patience) is the limit. Playing with his natural tendencies and coordinating them with your verbal commands, you can find a virtually limitless repertoire within your bird's natural behaviour. We have all seen macaws dunking basketballs, and cockatoos roller-skating. Be sure to be on the look out, the next time you go shopping for parrot toys, for things to use as props in making your parrot's performance "Star Quality" And don't forget to make it fun! Keep your lessons short 10 to 30 minutes. You can have more than one training session per day, if you would like to reinforce the day's lesson and progress faster. Most importantly always end each session on a positive note. End with a behaviour that your parrot can do well and will earn your praise and a reward.

Food Rewards for Training your Performing Parrot

If you have thought hard and you're not sure what treat your pet bird likes, then you need to create a desire in your parrot to have a certain treat. Start by offering a small amount of the treat food with the parrots regular food each day. When you see the bird beginning to eat the treat before he goes to his regular food you have done it! Now you can stop offering the treat with the bird's regular meals, and only use it as a reward during training sessions.

• Walnuts (halves or pieces)


• unsweetened cereal


• toast cubes


• pepper flakes


• pumpkin seeds


• sunflower seeds


• popcorn (without butter & salt)


• pasta (cooked or raw)


• papaya


• oatmeal


• millet


• hard boiled egg


• peanut halves


• grapes (or half grapes)


• granola


• crackers


• cornflakes


• chopped apple


• cantaloupe


• cabbage


• coleslaw


• carrot (grated or chopped)


• celery


• broccoli


• banana