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

The seven top dangers to pet parrots.

The top 7 killers of pet parrots according to avian veterinarians include the following:

1. Other animals. Parrots can sustain fatal injuries by being bitten, clawed, pounced on, shaken, or chased by your faithful pooch, or cuddly kitten. Dogs and cats and other animals can kill your bird either by the bacteria in their saliva, or by causing severe injuries that result in toxic shock. Avian vets recommend that if your bird has been attacked or teased by another animal, always assume that your pet has been bitten and seek veterinary assistance immediately!

2. Unclipped wings. If you don't have your birds wings properly clipped, it can end up flying out of an open door or window and be lost forever. Or it can fly into glass windows, ceiling fans, into the fireplace, onto hot stove-tops, into the toilet, or aquarium and drown. Be extra cautious with small streamlined birds, like cockatiels and budgies. It often only takes one or two long flight feathers for them to be able to gain altitude.

3. Toxic fumes. Non-stick cookware is one of the biggest culprits here. The PTFE or polytetraflouroethylene in Teflon or non-stick cookware can be released as a gas while cooking, causing death. (By the way, does anyone remember the use of canaries in mine shafts to detect deadly gases? If this stuff can kill our birds just like that do we really want to be using it in our home around our precious families?) Many household aerosol products, such as hairspray, deodorant, and perfume can also cause respiratory problems.

4. Secondhand smoke. By inhaling smoke from a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, your bird (and/or dog and cat) just like people, can develop eye problems, skin irritation and respiratory disease.

5. Trauma. If your parrot is out of his cage unsupervised, he is in grave danger of being stepped on, sat on, crushed in a closing door, or rolled over on. He even runs the risk of being sucked up into the vacuum! For some reason conures and caiques seem especially prone to being stepped on, maybe because of their natural curiosity, and love of exploring new places (like under the sofa or reclining chair).

6. Toxic food or plants. There are several foods that are known toxins for birds, chocolate, caffeine, avocado, and onions are all things that should be avoided at all costs! There are also many toxic houseplants that you should keep out of your house or at least away from your birds. I will include a list of known plants to avoid and those that are safe in my next post.

7. Water. Your parrot can die of water deprivation due to a malfunctioning water bottle. For this reason, water cup that is tip proof is a better choice for birds. Even though it will need to be cleaned much more frequently. Be sure that if he is able to bathe in his bowl, that all the water isn't splashed out in the process. Budgies (parakeets) and lovebirds are particularly enthusiastic bathers!

My Peachface Mystery Baby

Click on to these pictures to see larger version! I was recently given a pair of Peachface lovebirds. I have no idea what their genetic make-up is . The folks who gave them to me had no information other than they "thought they were fairly young breeders, but had never laid eggs" for them. (I don't know if the pair is related in any way)

The male "looks" like a normal peachface, and the female "looks" like a normal colored pied. Within 45 days of getting them home, they were hatching their first clutch.

That first clutch of 3 turned out to be 2 dutch blue babies and one dutch blue pied.

Now the same pair has hatched out three more babies. I just pulled them today to start handfeeding. the oldest is about 2 weeks and the youngest is about 11 days old. Since he hatched the youngest has been covered over his entire body by bright orange down!
I have never seen another peachface baby that color. The middle chick has mostly normal color (yellowish-white) down, with a few strands of orange. The oldest (who is getting enough pin feathers to tell me he will be pied) has mostly normal colored down but, on his head is the same bright tangerine color!

Feel free to post a comment if you want to venture an (educated) guess as to what color-mutation might develop!

P.S. I was recently asked if the parent birds could have been feeding them something that might cause this color to develop, or if their bedding could have possibly "stained" them. No to both! They hatched that way! And the parent's diet pre-mating, during egg laying, and after chick's hatch, doesn't include that much beta carotene etc. to affect a color change.

Bird Bread "Secret Recipe"

This recipe was given to me by a gentleman who has been successfully breeding birds for over 50 years. I have tried it on my own flock and it really works! They love it! I have used it for several years now in addition to their regular diets to help bring them into breeding condition as well as once the babies hatch the parents love this to feed the nestlings! They seem to prefer this over pellets, millet sprays, or even seed mixtures to feed their babies. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

• 2 cups cornmeal


• 2 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned kind)


• 1 cup cooked brown rice


• 1 can pumpkin puree (100% pumpkin, not pie filling)


• 1 cup apple sauce


• 1 cup dandelion greens (or kale, not spinach it inhibits calcium absorption)


• 1 cup cooked red beans


• 4 eggs with shells


• 1/2 cup oil


• 1/2 cup hemp seeds


• 1/2 cup Niger seeds


• 1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder (I use Rumford brand in the USA)

Place everything in a food processor or blender and mix until egg shells are well chopped and everything looks well blended. Bake at 350* about 45 minutes or so until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. I bake this in a 13"x 9"x 2" glass cake pan. You can then cut it into 12 equal pieces and each of those pieces into 6 equal pieces. (see illustration below)

I find that each set of 6 small pieces fits nicely inside a sandwich baggy with a zip top. I can then stack the baggies neatly in my freezer and only take out as much as I need each day.

Clipping Cockatiel Wings, Nails and Beaks

I was looking for something the other day and I came across this article on the National Cockatiel Society's website. I had just recieved a question about this very topic so instead of re-inventing the wheel I just got permission to post it here! By the way NCS is a great place for finding information on all things Cockatiel! Here is the link:



http://www.cockatiels.org/index.htm



Clipping Cockatiel Wings, Nails and Beaks
Written by Nancy Kizuka for the NCS Magazine and © 1997 by NCS


Clipping Wings
Nothing is more beautiful than watching your cockatiel fly. Nothing is more heartbreaking than watching it fly outside.

I hope that most of us clip wings. I know that some do not. It doesn't hurt, nor is it cruel. I feel it is more cruel for a predator to end up with a 'tiel snack.

I do however, let my babies (of all species) learn to fly and land safely. Once they have mastered that, their wings are clipped. Now, before you show members start getting the feathers raised, remember, we are talking about pet cockatiels.

I prefer to clip evenly on both sides; that way the bird can control its descent. Try clipping the first 5 flight feathers. You don't want the bird to drop - just glide gently to the floor. Continue one feather at a time, until the bird cannot gain altitude.

Your bird will need to be clipped again after the next molt. Be careful, sometimes those feathers can sneak up on you. All it takes is 1 feather on each wing for a cockatiel to be able to fly.

(Permission to use photos from Kaytee, September 27, 2006.)

When clipping these flight feathers, be careful not to clip any growing feathers. You will recognizethese blood feathers from the others since you can see the dark blood area in the shaft.

If you are not quite sure you can be your bird's barber, contact your avian veterinarian or local pet shop. Most will do this grooming for you for a nominal charge. Many will give you hands-on experience.

Clipping Nails
Nails need to be clipped when they are becoming snagged on toys, cage covers or clothes. I use a human nail clipper or baby nail scissors, and take off just the tippy-tips.

All nails have a blood supply. If you nick into this blood supply or quick, have some Quik-Stop or Stay on hand. If you do not have these commercial products on hand, flour or corn starch will work. Apply this with gentle pressure until the bleeding stops. Occasionally the nail gets cut too short and these products don't work. I like to use silver nitrate sticks to stop any bleeding. They are available from your avian veterinarian.

The proper size perch can help keep nails at the correct length. The tips of the nails should touch the perch. You can also use concrete perches, pedi-perches, sandy perches, hard wood perches or any of the other conditioning perches available today. Using a variety of perches also helps the bird stay comfortable since they are on their feet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It also helps to prevent early onset arthritis.

Keeping Beaks Trimmed
Beaks do not need to be trimmed under normal circumstances. Birds that are have a chronic illness, a previously injury to the beak or a nutritional deficiency may occasionally need their beak trimmed by an avian veterinarian.

I had only one cockatiel that ever needed her beak trimmed on a regular basis. She was an older bird with liver disease. Her upper beak was trimmed every other week or so.

Keeping a cuttlebone, a mineral block or small bird lava stone in the cage will assist in keeping the cockatiel's beak at the proper size and shape. Toys and other bird-safe objects to chew on also help with this condition as well as prevents boredom.

If you think your bird's beak may need to be trimmed, please check with your avian veterinarian. I'm sure they will be happy to do this for you and teach you how to keep your bird's beak in shape.

Editor's Note: A bird's beak contains a blood supply as well as a sensory organ at the tip. This tells the bird whether what he has in his beak is hot or cold, and basically whether it is food or not. To damage this sensory organ would mean that the beak will not regrow normally and could pose a threat to the bird's ability to eat normally. Please do not ever try trimming your bird's beak yourself. Take it to your trusted avian vet first for an evaluation.

Now What? My bird just laid an egg!

This is a question I hear via email and through the forums all the time! Most owners are surprised to learn that their sweet little "Sunshine" (often believed to be a male!) can lay an egg often without the benefit of a mate in the same cage! But single parrots, large and small, can indeed lay an egg or two (or 6!)

This is more common in some species of birds than others. For example, cockatiels and lovebirds seem particularly prone to chronic egg laying. Smaller birds tend to do this more often than the larger parrot species, maybe because they have grown more accustomed to breeding in captivity.

As the owner of a single bird that just laid an egg you have every reason to be a bit worried. For one thing, continual egg laying can sometimes lead to calcium deficiency and/or egg binding (that is when the hen can't lay the egg because the shell is malformed or too soft from lack of calcium.) . Either one can be really dangerous for the her and can even lead to her death in some cases. That is why bird breeders always supplement their birds with calcium during the breeding season.

The other thing that happens during egg laying is that hens will often become aggressive when the hormones that trigger breeding kick in, and they become overly protective of their eggs. ( Think feathered piranha!) Fortunately, Your sweet "Sunshine" usually reappears once her egg laying cycle is over.

In order to try and stop your bird from laying eggs, it helps to understand what can trigger it! There are certain things that help bring a bird into "breeding condition" so that she begins producing eggs. In the wild these things include the lengthening of days, the rainy season, and the availability of certain foods with which to feed their young. Breeders often work very hard to get these conditions just right to help their birds begin producing eggs. When a bird goes into breeding condition, hormones are released that start the cycle of producing and laying eggs.

So when breeders want their birds to start laying, they gradually increase the number of hours that the birds have light, increase the availability of fresh foods and increase the amount of rainfall (or baths). I've found that if a pet owner does just the opposite, it usually stops the egg laying cycle or prevents it from starting altogether.

For owners who want to be try and stop it before it starts, or at least decrease the chances of their single bird ever laying eggs, I recommend no more than 10-12 hours of light each day. In all but the most stubborn birds, this will be sufficient to prevent the onset of egg laying.

To try and stop egg production that has already begun, I would suggest immediately making her days shorter by turning out the lights after a 8 to 10 hour day. Also, I would stop giving daily baths (try to use a drinking fountain instead of a water bowl as most small parrots will happily bath in their water bowls) and cut back on fresh foods. I would also immediately begin adding a calcium supplement to the bird's diet. Once the egg laying has stopped, regular bathing and fresh foods can resume, and you can slowly increase the amount of light to 10-12 hours a day. But keep a close eye on things and switch back to shorter days and fewer baths if needed.

Special note about lovebirds: Lovebirds actually line their nests with bark and leaves in the wild. In captivity they happily make do with their paper cage liners. Try switching to some sort of particulate bedding on the cage bottom to prevent her wanting to tear strips of paper and tuck them under her wings to carry back to her nest. Aspen shavings, or corn cob bedding work nicely. What ever you do don't let her near the phone book!!!

Also try to totally change up the layout of your bird's home. Redecorate by moving the perches around, or even better replace them with new different styles of perches. It helps to have a couple of different sets of perches in a case like this. Then you can switch things out every week or so, to keep her guessing! Try the calcium perches, rope perches, manzanita perches, regular dowel perches of different diameters, check out your local bird store or even places online that carry a good supply of bird products (like drsfosterandsmith.com) Try to have a variety to switch in between. Also keep her toys on a constant rotation, and always in a different place within the cage. The idea is to keep her so busy exploring all of the new fun stuff that she doesn't have time to concentrate on wanting to breed!
Every once in a while, a hen will continue to lay egg after egg even when the above steps are taken. If this happens with your bird, you should discuss the situation with a good avian vet. It's possible that the vet will suggest a hormone shot to get the egg laying stopped.

Finally I am always asked "but what about the eggs?". Everybody has their own ideas about this, but I would probably throw the eggs away, and try the things I suggested above. However if you choose to leave them and allow your hen to incubate, after a few weeks to a months she'll usually loose interest in them and go one with her life as normal. But be sure to change things up some or she'll just assume that batch was full of "duds" and start laying all over again! One more thing to consider, if you do remove her eggs and leave everything else the same, often instinct kicks in to replace her lost egg, which can only make the problem worse. Some people recommend taking the eggs as soon as they are laid and then following the advice given above to try to stop the egg laying cycle. Some feel that removing the eggs upsets the bird, but I have never noticed that to be the case when I've removed eggs in the past. However, you should listen to both sides and do what you feel makes the most sense for your parrot, just like anything else the choice is yours to make.

I hope that helps some of you! I'd love to hear your comments with your experiences in this matter.

Cockatiel Body Language

Have you ever wondered what you cockatiel was trying to tell you with her body language? Here is a list of the most common things she may be "saying"

• Has crest all the way up = Usually means scared or surprised. It can also mean she is excited
• Has crest is flattened against the head = Usually means she is angry, if she tries to bite or hiss at the same time, definitely angry. Sometimes sucks feathers in and looks skinny.
• Suddenly stands really tall and "skinny" with crest raised= surprised/startled.
• Bobs her head = in a recently weaned bird, it usually means she's hungry. In older birds, it might mean that they want attention or are trying to feed you as a sign of affection.
• Holding wings away from chest slightly raised.= They usually do this when they're showing off and bragging. Usually accompanied by whistling and singing. Generally a male behavior
• Panting while holding wings away from body= Bird is overheated. Provide a cooler environment immediately. A bath or shower helps too!
• Bows head and keeps it down= She is asking to have her head scratched
• Leans forward with wings held slightly out = Usually it means she wants to fly somewhere (often towards you) but isn't confident enough to take off. An un-clipped bird would usually fly without hesitation, you see this more often in pets with their wings clipped
• Holds her wings outstretched all the way when standing on top of the cage/gym or your shoulder = Claiming territory, stating "this is all mine!"
• Bird pecks or bangs beak on perch, table or you= similar to the point above. Mostly seen in male cockatiels. Don't challenge him by tapping finger in front of him unless you want a full scale confrontation!
• Steps back and forth (dances) very quickly often chirping = bird is very eager. Often done inside the cage when the bird wants to come out.
• She puts her beak on your finger before stepping on = this might look like she is going in for a bite, but she's actually just testing the your finger to make sure it's sturdy, or she's using it for balance while climbing on.
• Grinding beak = content and relaxed. Often heard while bird is sleeping or resting
• Sticks her chest or beak into your face = she wants to cuddle.
• Turns her head sideways and tilts it up or down = looking at something above or below them
• "Wags her tail" when you pet her back = this is more common with mature female birds. She is ready to breed, it might be a good idea to get her a mate, or she might start laying eggs on her own (unfertilized)
• Closes eyes often with head turned back over shoulder = sleeping, often stands on one foot
• Stays puffed up for long periods of time (often in cage or in corner) = Probably feeling sick, needs to see a vet
• Yawns several times in a row = often done after preening, possibly readjusting her crop or "clearing her throat". Either way, it's normal.
• Shakes head rapidly = if done while eating, it could mean that the food has a surprising taste, temperature, or moisture level. If done when listening to the sound, it could mean that it's a tad too loud or sharp or high-pitched, or just that it's an interesting sound.
• Wipes or rubs head on back = it's a normal part of preening. Feel that part of their back, and your fingers will get very powdery. They're distributing that stuff to their head.
• Stoops down low and often gets a bit puffy = this is a sign that your bird is about to go to the bathroom.
• During a bath, gets very puffy and holds his wings out, shakes head etc. = she is enjoying her bath!
• During a shower, she looks like she's falling asleep = again, she's enjoying herself!
• Sticks her toe in nose, then sneezes = She is just scratching face, this is normal
• Has slightly puffy face/ears when listening to something = bird likes what she's hearing! Will often learn to repeat these things
• Raises both wings above back = Just stretching/exercising
• Holds out one wing and one foot behind him = stretching

My Feather-Brained Idea!

Welcome to my new blog! I would like to provide a highly educational site where everyone from the newbies to the vetrans of the hobby can find something that sparks their interests. I hope you visit often and that you find something new every time you stop by!
Rachel!