Why Do African Grey Parrots Pluck Their Feathers?

Zeus, My African Grey, The (Chest)-Featherless King of the Gods

Meet Zeus, who loves to meow, before or after I say, “What sound does a kitty make?”

Yes, Zeus is a plucker. I adopted him this way, so I don’t know his history, what he was fed or how long he’s plucked. What I do know is that plucking is common in African Grey (AG) parrots. In an attempt to help Zeus, I’ve researched- and I’m finding that feather plucking in any parrot comes down to 3 basic causes: 1) medical reasons, 2) psychological reasons or 3) environmental causes. In English, 1) causes only the avian vet will find/address, 2) they are unhappy/emotionally imbalanced or 3) their food/cage is missing something.

So Your AG Plucks – What To Do?

Since Tony Silva says in his book (Psittaculture) that 50% of parrots that pluck do so as a result of psychological or environmental causes, the first thing to do is double check your AG’s environment:

🥗 DIET
One significant cause of any health problem for any parrot is a poor diet. In the wild, parrots will eat up to 100 different things in a year (as per Psittaculture). Hopefully you know that feeding your parrot a seed-based diet is terrible for them – and can cause several deficiencies; a pellet diet is better, but it is 1 flavor. They are accustomed to hundreds. And micro-nutrients do not live in pellets, so vegetables are a must for a healthy diet. A lack of calcium can occur in AGs, and can cause the feather plucking.
NO SMOKE🚬 🚫
Make sure there is no one smoking in the home -and- that smoker’s hands aren’t in proximity of your AG. Yes, it stays on your hand and apparently affects’m.
NO SCENT💨
Make sure no scents are present in your home: no scented candles, air fresheners… parrots are very sensitive to scents. They are accustomed to the cleanest air high up in trees or flying in the sky.
🏡CAGE COMFORT
Check their happiness state in their cage. A lot of people think it is inhumane to keep a parrot caged all of the time – but it depends on the parrot. Some WANT to be in the comfort of their own safe space. Their home is clean, has fresh food, water and entertainment (hopefully!) Who wouldn’t want that? Others want to explore and want OUT of their cage during the day. If your AG wants out, then you may need to asses his/her cage/home. Make sure your AG has something to stimulate and entertain his/her super-intelligent mind. AGs are as smart as apes – they can use tools, they are multilingual and they can figure out puzzles. A bored parrot, especially an AG, with nothing to chew, nothing to watch or do can turn to their own feathers. Parrots need wood to destroy. I’ve seen videos of them digging in dirt, they can be active! I believe they are nature’s gardeners, preening wood, leaves… It keeps them engaged and entertained. It’s not easy, because you can’t give them a wood that is too hard to chew. Or one that is poisonous. Or has pesticides. I also wouldn’t do one with mold.
So, they constantly need new toys, training (engagement) …. If your AG is plucking, up your game in your offerings and see if that helps.
🎵A CALM ENVIRONMENT
One of the greatest things about AGs, in my opinion, is that they sing, whistle and engage you – but they don’t scream all day long. They are calm and pensive parrots. Make sure they aren’t near loud birds, like Macaws or Conures. See that there is no construction close by or a dog barking at them. Eliminate anything that might be making them feel nervous or uneasy. I always give all of my parrots a nesting box or a ‘hidden space,’ like a cozy, for them to sleep in or get away in. Like us, sometimes they want a little peace and quiet in their bedroom, undisturbed. I even try to cover some of the entrance to their box so that they feel they have privacy.
💛 Love
Don’t forget, parrots are emotionally intelligent and extremely social. This means that they require social companionship; they require a bonded pair. In my flock, I have very few single parrots. I like for our parrots to always have at least one housemate, another parrot they can bond with, or several. If you have just one AG, he or she may not have enough of your time and attention to be in balance. It is almost impossible for us, as humans, to be with them all of the time; it is even hard for us to spend several hours a day with our parrots. Experts say that an AG keeper should spend 3, 4 or more hours a day with their parrot! Consider a mate. Sometimes this alone will stop the plucking.
🌧️ OFFER RAIN
Another common cause – a lack of rain in their cage! Parrots can get dry skin, which can lead to medical issues, but can also just make them itchy and cause them to pluck out their feathers. Offer mist. Parrots love water, so place a bowl at the bottom of their cage they can bathe in – and, yes, it will make a mess for you to clean- or mist them, offering them a shower at least 3 times a week, preferably daily.

TAKE’M TO THE VET

I’m not a fan of taking my parrots to the vet every time they sneeze because the stress of going to the vet could be worse than my trying to help my parrots at home. However, if your African Grey or Cockatoo (or any other parrot) is plucking out it’s feathers, the cause may be something that only your avian veterinarian can identify and treat. Work with your veterinarian to try to improve the issue. So, here are some causes (as per my research) and then some corrections you or you and your avian vet can look to try:

HARI’s (Hagen Aviacultural Research Institue) checklist:

Diet evaluation and details of your AG’s history (health, lifestyle, behavior, feather condition, etc.) is the primary objective to explore
Possible compromised feather structure could trigger the damaging behavior
Preening education and skill level
Obesity can trigger feather damaging behavior
Health of the feet: Sore feet due to arthritis, pododermatitis, etc. may make it difficult to preen efficiently
Parasites: May cause disease and discomfort, pruritus.
Toxins: Water, cage metal, and toy quality should be taken into consideration as these can also lead to feather damaging behaviorGenetic predispositions
Nutritional deficiencies
Feather hygiene, frequent misting or bathing is imperative
Environmental factors such as indoor heating (dry skin), cigarette smoke, cooking oils, etc.
Viral diseases
Hormones should be monitored and managed

The question to ask: Is the feather-damaging behavior self-induced or from another source?

As per Tony Silva in “Psittaculture,” 50% of plucking parrots (not just AGs) show no discernible medical cause.

Psychological issues include things like boredom, anxiety/stress, jealousy, frustration, exaggerated preening, lack or loss of a mate, inability to adapt to a new cage. It is believed that the most common causes of plucking are diet or a lack of bathing/humidity.

For African Greys a low blood calcium level can be the dietary lack, coupled with cage boredom. In general AG’s are prone to a vitamin A deficiency, so if you have AG’s be sure to give them a lot of calcium and orange veggies, like carrots or sweet potatoes. Calcium can be easy – take your breakfast eggshells, wash them and then bake them for 20 minutes at 200 degrees (so that they are clean of any bacteria). They will be dry and ‘crispy’ – break them up (I have a mortar and pestal for this) and place them in a separate bowl in your cage or sprinkle them on their morning veggies.

What Are We Doing For Zeus?

Truth is AGs need lots of vitamin A and calcium. So, I’m going to try to SHOVE carrots and eggshells down his throat! Just kidding, but seriously, I am going to try to make some birdie-bread with carrots and/or sweet potato and finely-ground eggshells in them.

I also plan to up my game – even tho I haven’t had him for a long time, and I am guessing he’s been plucking his feathers for some time, I am going to increase the toys in his cage. Since Zeus’s chest is naked but the rest of him is not, I’m guessing he doesn’t have a medical issue. And, Hera is on eggs, so a trip to the vet is out of the question right now. The most likely cause is psychological, dietary or sanitary. He’s bored, needs vitamin A and needs daily misting – or all of the above.

Zeus is amazing! At night he says “Night-night!” and he dances when I sing to him or play music. He also clicks along to music – so he needs engagement. He likes my husband and nipped at me… so I’m cautious. Still, I’ll plan on trying to spend more time with him when I don’t feel it will take away from Hera’s safety.

One of the challenges with Zeus is that I won’t know what is working, if his feathers improve, for a long time, since their feathers don’t always grow out right away. Until this improves, I will take comfort in thinking that, if I improve his diet and engagement, missing feathers doesn’t have to compromise him in any way; I don’t see that he is vulnerable. Note: there is no smoke, scents or other threats of any kind in the house, so these I’ve already taken off my list. If it is just a habit at this point, there may be nothing I can do.

Wish Zeus, the King of the Parrot-Gods (at least in his mind) luck!

Kalyn

Author, The Parrot Bliss Bond, available on Amazon Books & Kindle

Join Us on FB at https://www.facebook.com/ParrotBliss/
Or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFYH9z5cP9XXOta6m1KNRA

Research sources:https://hari.ca/parrots-with-feather-damaging-behavior/
Tony Silva, Psittaculture, A Manual for the Care and Breeding of Parrots

Parrot Tarot

Life Is A Mystery: Let’s Have Some Parrot Fun!

Life is a mystery. People have used things like Tarot cards to try to understand what they are experiencing within that mystery.

I’m playing around today- a lot of our lives are based on Symbolism, a meaning behind a meaning, which the Tarot card utilize. I don’t think Parrot Symbolism or Tarot exists – but, I’m imagining and having fun with the question what if your parrot evoked a certain energy and meaning into your life?

You parrot is, like everything else, energy first (scientific fact). So, what energetic frequency does your parrot vibrate at? Each frequency resonates an energy, energies such as love, chance, perseverance, creativity, flock/family, ownership (of their territory) and so on-

So, for fun, I’m going to make up a symbol for different parrots over the next weeks. You are welcome to let me know if your parrot matches the symbolism!

This week’s Parrot 🦜 Tarot Symbol: Amazon, Parrotlet & African Grey

💜 AMAZON TAROT

Bonded Performers

Characteristics: Bonded, Protective. Emotionally Intelligent.

Behavior: Curious, developing emotional connectivity. Heart-oriented. They sing, learn tricks well and want to form a strong bond with their one mate.

If you have an Amazon parrot, you have Communication and Relationship energies in your life with them. You may be looking for a deeper or more connected relationship in your life or you may be enjoying one. Since Amazon parrots connect a lot by singing, learning tricks and talking, you have the energy of Self Development too. This means that you may have self-development as a strength or something you are looking to improve, and your Amazon can help spark your talents, your heart and ability to connect with others.

💪PARROTLET TAROT

Little Package, Big Punch

Characteristics: Feisty, energetic. Protective and unafraid.

Behavior: Parrotlets are certain as they jump or fly around. They are active, quick to bite, but also very dedicated and loving with their mate.

If you have a Parrotlet parrot, you have unforeseeable power present. Parrotets are the second smallest parrot (out of 402 species of parrot), but related to Amazons. This seems to be evidenced in their fierce attitude. They fear nothing, are intelligent and know what they want. This means you have certainty in you life, a great strength, or you want to develop it. You are probably also family-oriented too and taking care of your family is important to you. You may also be underestimated, a Parrotlet has more punch than their size should allow. A force to be reckoned with!

AFRICAN GREY TAROT

🗡️ A Sharp Wit

Characteristics: Humorous, intelligent and observant. Can also be aloof.

Behavior: Quiet, steady. African Greys move with intent, strike when they’ve asked for a pet and are keep observers and sound-producers. Truly multilingual birds.

African Greys are amazing! In addition to being the best talkers in the psittacine family, they are also multilingual. If then spend time around different langauges they can learn both. They will also know which language you speak, and communicate in that language for you. If you have an African Grey, you probably enjoy comedy, because they have a true sense of humor. You likely know that life can be grand, or it can turn around and bite you, so you have the energy of wisdom and awareness in you home. Intelligence too.

I hope you are having fun reading these! Comment or make a suggestion for a parrat tarot you’d like me to conjure up!

Fatty Liver Disease In My Yellow-Naped Amazon

This is Lorenza, my Yellow-naped Amazon. I adopted her in the fall of 2018 – we had never had such a big parrot, so we didn’t know what to expect with her behavior. She never stretched her wings and other than grousing, she never made “Amazon” sounds. Still, her poops, by our accounts from searching online, were off – her urine was colored. In the month we had her, she seemed to be less lethargic and her plumage started looking better. We weren’t able to weigh her initially, which we like to do with new birds, because we weren’t comfortable enough to try to get her on the scale. So, we weren’t sure, but felt she looked thinner.

A month later we took her to the vet – where she was diagnosed with FLD (Fatty Liver Disease). The vet prescribed milk thistle and a calcium supplement (because FLD often causes a lack of calcium).

I suspect that Lorenza did lose weight her first moth because I gave her a seed-free diet, which was probably a drastic change for her body. I’ve learned since that parrots are supposed to be weened off a seed diet so that you give them less seeds every day and slowly transition them. I’m lucky that Lorenza got through this period- I don’t know what can happen if a parrot isn’t transitioned, but parrots can be creatures of habit and stubborn – I wonder if some just won’t eat if they aren’t given seeds.

Lorenza wanted to be with me. Amazon parrots are often one-person birds, meaning that they choose the person they bond to; everyone else is ignored or sometimes attacked! She wanted to be with me, so I think her will got her through this period – which included adjusting to a new home and adjusting to a new pellet-based diet.

In the video you can see that Lorenza is acting more like a normal parrot. She’s walking around, chewing on a cat scratcher and looking to see what other trouble she can create!

I am still stingy with seeds when it comes to Lorenza since I can see, by her poops, that her liver has not fully recovered. The vet gave me the impression that this is a permanent diagnosis, but I’ve heard people say that the liver can heal itself and recover from FLD. Some probably depends on how damaged the liver was before a diet correction.

Unfortunately, most exotic bird stores feed their parrots a pellet and seed mix, as do a lot of people. Parrots sift through and choose what they want to eat, ignoring the pellets and choosing only the fatty seeds. Some parrots are more prone to FLD than others, like Amazons and Quakers. A baby parrot that is fed a mix is unlikely to have liver damage, but it can be challenging to transition them to pellets and vegetables because they are already accustomed to seeds. Every expert I’ve run into personally and online has said that vegetables are a must for parrots because these offer phytonutrients, which only come from vegetables. I am not a nutritionist, but I understand that a human or parrot body absorbs phytonutrients from vegetables- which some nutritionists say is not the same as taking vitamin supplements. Simply put, vegetables are a must for health.

I still have a hard time getting Lorenza to eat greens! They say parrots are social eaters, if you eat it, they are more likely too. Yeah, sometimes, but not much. Best option is to start a parrot on a healthy diet. If not, as in my case, correct their diet and maintain a proper diet. This way FLD is a condition that can be lived worked with and your parrot can be a happy and pretty-healthy fid!

Giving Tink, Our Green Cheek Conure, CBD Oil

🍶A Special Needs Gift: Tink

We know people in the parrot world, and one gave us a 🦜 Green Cheek Conure (GCC) because he couldn’t sell her. He explained that she probably had been learning to fly and hit a wall, causing some neurological damage. The affect is that she has a hard time controlling her feet, so she often falls in her cage. She can’t perch, and her modified cage has no perch, but she climbs the walls. She likes to go up as high as she can, as do all parrots, so we gave her a wired-platform she could rest on. She also started having seizures – which were hard to watch. I didn’t know if she was dying… she would turn her head — or maybe it was involuntary — and cause her body to flip over. She was unstable, to say the least. She also began fluttering her wings uncontrollably, even though she seems to know that she can’t fly. Bottom line, she has seizures and can’t control her body well.

Socializing A Special Needs Counure

One of the most important things any parrot owner needs to know is that they are highly social animals; in nature, depending on the species, they all live in flocks of 4 or 5 up to hundreds (maybe more). Even though they pick their bonded mate, they still rely on and are a part of a flock. It gives them their security and a place to belong. Umbrella cockatoos, for example, are so compassionate and flock-oriented, that they will not abandon a dying member, but rather stay with it until it is gone.

If you spend time with your parrot, you can easily give them a buddy, because they are accustomed to spending 24/7 with flock mates, or at least their bonded mate. So, what to do with Tink? Because conures don’t seem to share the compassion. We tried having her spend time with a new baby GCC, Markle, which was great– at first. Putting new parrots together always requires a watchful eye until you are certain that they will get along. People often put them in cages side by side first, so that they can safely get to know each other.

You can see that we only put these two together in our presence.

At first it was so sweet: Tink was preening Markley, which means that she was helping remove the shafts from her new feathers. It’s a grooming, loving thing that they do for one another.

Unfortunately, the next time we put them together, Markle started biting at Tink. Now this is tricky, you want to watch that no harm is done but you also want to allow any natural ‘pecking order’ that is being established. It’s a bird-peck-bird world with these guys!

Another attempt to put them together a couple of days gave us similar results. In any case, Markle’s mate has been picked out, because of her coloring. So, she’s not Tink’s ultimate bond, and we just didn’t see bonding happening anyway.

How Do You Handle A Problem Parrot?

Parrots are amazing. My mom went to a new doctor, said she was snow-birding down here in Florida to be close to us– and she mentioned we have parrots. The doctor gave her a funny look, saying, ‘But, they aren’t good pets. They don’t cuddle.”

“You’d be surprised!” my mom answered, raising her eyebrows. “They do. Maybe more than cats!”

Parrots are highly intelligent, which you probably know. That can be amazing, allow you to develop an amazing bond with them– and it also seems to mean that they can have complex issues as well. Like Tink.

I’ve heard of parrots that scream or bite a lot; or parrots that pluck their feathers. You don’t hear much about other pets being nervous, depressed or anxious- but, unfortunately, it’s not uncommon with parrots. They require specialized 🥝 diets, specific minimum size cages, wooden perches that vary in size (the list goes on), — and — a lot of time and attention.

Anxiety and feather-plucking are bad enough, but what to do in a situation like Tink’s? In nature, she’d probably wound’t have survived one day. How do I help her, keep her happy and healthy — and from flipping violently?

Then my husband found CBD Oil

We started to research and have been finding that CBD oil has many benefits and could help Tink. CBD, cannabidiol is derived from the cannabis plant but lacks THC, the psychoactive component. Among other benefits, CBD seems to have neuroprotective properties, meaning that it helps the signaling systems in the brain, which help reduce seizures.

Sure enough, since Tink is young, we guess that she’s less than six months old, she seems to be doing well with the oil so far. Her seizures have greatly minimized and she seems “More aware and more conure-like. She sounds more like a conure,” my conure-crazed daughter said. I agree, Tink seems to be able to hold herself better, she is falling a lot less in her cage and she’s no longer freaking me out by turning her head 180 degrees, followed by a body flip-seizure!

Next I plan on trying the CBD with an African Grey who I adopted and who is plucked or has been plucked and an Orange-winged Amazon that is anxious.

CBD- Yes!

Like so many people, I strongly believe in more natural-based medicine. I also believe that food is our best medicine, and I like that help oil provides omega oils, which are needed to balance the ‘bad’ oils we eat. Same for parrots, seeds provide them with too many ‘bad’ oils, which can greatly affect their health.

In doing research for Tink, I was surprised to learn that seizures are common in parrots:

Seizures are reasonably common in birds and often observed in Amazon parrots, African grey parrots, budgies, canaries, finches and lovebirds. A seizure may result from any disorder in the brain that causes spontaneous electrical discharge in the nervous system. This electrical discharge causes a variety of involuntary body responses or alterations in behavior. A seizure is also referred to as a fit or convulsion.

Source

No doubt a proper diet can help minimize health problems, but they still occur. I have also learned that head trauma is a cause for neurological problems in birds — although it seems obvious, logical.

In our family, we love parrots, so we are developed a CBD oil formulated for parrots because of Tink. We call it Tink’s CBD Oil. It feel so good to see her doing better, not swaying like she had been, and to see her get a sparkle in her eye! We want to be able to help other bird owners who’s bird may be having similar problems or having difficulties adjusting to a new home, going to the vet or plucking.

Happiness is having a happy parrot!

What Are Macaw Parrots Like As Pets?

🦜The Largest Parrot

My favorite thing about macaws- I feel like they are soulful birds. Whether it is in a photo or in person, looking into their eyes you can sense a depth; and it feels like they can look straight into you, into your soul. Their plumage is striking, both in it’s colors and the length of their feathers – amazing, mesmerizing. Until they scream 📣 – yikes!

They are the ‘giant parrots,’ of the Psittaciformes, or parrot family. This makes them more poised, more like a person. My macaw wants to relate to me – sure, in some inappropriate ways… but also, he wants to be a part of the flock. He wants me to know that he is bonded with me (we’d say he ‘loves’ me). He wants to feed me!

💸 Cuanto? How Much Mula?

Of course, macaws are EXPENSIVE to buy and keep. I need to get mine a 🌳forrest to chew on… plus expensive nuts🌰! Their dietary requirements include nuts, like walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios – and it gets pricey. They are worth it, of course!

If you are considering a macaw, I think the things you want to consider are:

💩 Their cages need to be cleaned every day. They are the parrot-elephant poopers, meaning that their poops are significant. So, the grate at the bottom of the cage and the pan at the bottom need regular cleaning. With smaller birds you can get away with less frequent cleaning. With macaws you need to clean daily.

🌳 Toys – Macaws go through a walnut quickly. 🌰 crack!
So, you can imagine that a $50 toy lasts them a day, maybe two. These birds need their own budget! We buy raw wood to cut for them and place on their cage- It takes a little time, but it’s far less expensive. It’s not easy keeping up with their chewing needs, which are a need. Chewing wood keeps them happy, calm. It is a must.

🍎 Diet – Macaws require a higher-fat diet than most other parrots. They need to eat some nuts every day, like walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts- and they require some fruits and vegetables daily, in addition to their pellets. You have to grocery shop, just for them!

❤️ Big, Feathered Love

Parrot-pets are often called fids – feathered kids. I don’t think they’ll want to borrow the car when they are teenagers, but they do require the time, care and attention that a young child would require. In return, you’ll have a true feathered companion who will be affectionate, talk a bit — as macaws do learn a some words when they are taught at a young age — and be a true part of your family.

Hand-Feeding Parrots – 101!

The Joys & Jolts Of Hand-Feeding: Let’s Get The 101 Lesson

Frankly, I’ve been successful hand-feeding, but I’m always looking to improve. I also notice little things, like our GCC who cries out between feedings. I checked her, and sure-enough, two hours after being fed, her crop was empty.

Baby, what did you do with the food? Your crop was so engorged, what the *** happened?

Seriously, it’s all good, but now I know. Need to give her a little PB (no J) – or fat. Ahhhh… that’ll do it!

Feeding babies can be tricky. Each bird is DIFFERENT, so just as you think you have figured out how to feed… But it is also THE COOLEST when they fly to you and coo as you feed them!

Where did I learn this? it’s hard to find good info — and I’ve searched and looked. Or maybe there are sooooo many parrots 🦜 that there has been a LOT for me to learn (402 psittaciformes, or parrot species) in the world.

Thank goodness for Tony’s posts! From FB:

Hand-rearing: Some simple basics by Tony Silva

Source: Tony Silva’s FB Page (with some highlights/edits by me, to make it easier for me to find key elements to refer back to)

The breeding season has started. For some it is early; for others it is late. This is evident by the number of messages that I receive each week discussing issues that are being faced by individuals hand-rearing young parrots. This quest for information is the subject of this article.
Hand-rearing is a rewarding, challenging, time consuming and frustrating affair. No one can ever claim that they never face issues in hand-rearing, but it is possible to significantly diminish the problems if some very basic provisos are followed. On the other hand, if the breeder attempts to cut corners, the flow of problems will be incessant. They breeder can then expect a continuous chain of events that will severely affect the health of the chicks being reared.

So how can a hand-rearer achieve greater success and reduce the presence of problems? The answer consists of two words: hygiene and providing a proper diet

Hygiene encompasses keeping the chicks on a clean substrate, keeping the brooder immaculately clean, thoroughly washing the feeding instruments and then disinfecting them and continuously applying a disinfection policy—wiping surfaces down continuously, reducing dust, washing hands and then disinfecting them and reducing the contact the young have with outsiders.

Proper diet means understanding the importance of the appropriate water:solids ratio and the dietary needs of the young, feeding the young according to a strict schedule, feeding the formula at the proper temperature and insuring that the formula is made fresh each time. I must state that I do not recommend attempting to mix various ingredients to produce a formula in order to economize. When I get messages regarding this subject, my ire escalates and my response is short and to the point: If you cannot purchase one of the countless formulas available on the market worldwide why did you venture into breeding? The commercial formulations are not optimum, but they produce results far better than someone wanting to rear young on mashed banana and oatmeal cereal, which are woefully deficient in minerals and calcium.

Points mentioned above in greater detail:

Newly hatched chicks have an undeveloped immune system. This makes them especially vulnerable to infection. This is why strict hygiene is important. This is also why chicks that are incubator hatched should be kept separate from those removed from the nest, which have often been fed by the parents and have a different bacterial platform. Ideally incubator hatched and parent started chicks should be kept in separate rooms, but if this is not possible use separate incubators and always feed the parent started chicks last.

INCUBATOR: USE SHAVINGS & CHANGE 3 TIMES/DAY

With incubator hatched chicks, I start them on tissue but quickly transfer them to shavings, which are absorbent and prevents them from sitting on their feces. In over 40 years of hand-rearing I have only ever experienced a handful of chicks that have swallowed the shavings. I have such a low incidence of this because I keep the chicks satiated; they are never—and note that the word never is stressed—allowed to empty during the day. When breeders tell me that they must allow the chicks to empty before the next feeding to avoid crop stasis, I always state that the problem is one related to management and not digestion. In the wild and in the nest the chicks are kept fed at all times. I follow this dictum. Visitors to my home, who have entered the nursery invariably make a comment as to how quiet it is. This is because the chicks are kept fed; they do not have to frantically vocalize or move to capture my attention to let me know that they are hungry. This is also why beak deformities are so few in the young I produce; macaws will pump insatiably, even the edge of the tub they are held in, when hungry and this is one of the causes of a deviated upper mandible.

When chicks are allowed to empty between feedings, they must often be kept singly, or they will grasp and pump each other, this in an attempt to obtain a feed. In the process they often damage the tender bill. Raising the chicks alone is unnatural and often produces behavioral issues that become evident much later in life.

KEEP BABIES TOGETHER BY NEST: By rearing chicks together they display a natural behavior and can learn from opening their eyes that contact is pleasurable—they seek warmth from each other, often play preen or mouth each other´s feet. I have observed these same behaviors in nests in which I have placed a video camera.

To maintain the level of hygiene, we change the bedding three times daily; the soiled shavings are used as ground cover for the trees in the yard. The chicks are transferred to clean tubs and the used tubs are washed in soapy water first and then in a disinfectant solution. This means of cleaning must be understood, as most disinfectant lose their properties in the presence of organic matter. By neutralizing the organics, the disinfectant can play its role. We use this same principal of cleaning for all instruments used for feeding, the nursery walls and floor, feeding surfaces and brooders. This task is performed daily.

The disinfected tubs are allowed to dry (INCUBATOR) in the sun, which provides ever additional disinfection.

Parrot-Baby FORMULA

Keep It Clean

Because all commercial formulas contain some fat, the tools used for feeding chicks will need to be washed with soap and water to eliminate the greasy residue. Syringes are soaked in soapy water. They are scrubbed with a baby bottle brush. Alternately hot soapy water can be drawn into the syringe, which is then vigorously agitated. All feeding tools are rinsed well with copious amounts of water and then they are allowed to air dry.

Feeding syringes are assigned to specific brooders. They are kept in plastic cups that bear a number that corresponds to a brooder. This deters cross contamination. The formula, once made, is poured into the respective plastic cup and from there the chicks are fed.

Chicks tend to be kept in the same group as they move from brooder to brooder and then into tubs. Daily the brooders they are housed in are cleaned thoroughly and then wiped with a disinfectant.
Visitors are not normally allowed to enter the hand-rearing rooms, but if they are they must wear a smock, sandals that we provide and they are not allowed to touch or handle the chicks. This is important because diseases such as polyomavirus and psittacine beak and feather disease can easily be transported and transmitted to the chicks through contact.

Add FAT

Commercial formulas are the best product for feeding chicks. They are not excellent, but they are good. I state this because all formulations are based on poultry science and do not take into account the different needs of the different parrot species. What the breeder can do is to incorporate other ingredients to make these formulas much more suitable. These include pureed vegetables for Eclectus Parrots, fat in the form of nut butters for macaws, conures, amazons and African Greys Psittacus erithacus and fruits and vegetables for lories. We always have on hand steamed carrot, broccoli and sweet potatoes that is liquefied and poured into ice cube trays. This facilities their use when needed. Fruit is always cut fresh. I prefer tropical fruits over temperate fruits, which are less nutritious. The tropical fruits we use are papaya, guava and mango. Papaya is the staple but the others are also employed if in season.

HOW MUCH: For fat, we employ natural peanut butter that does not contain hydrogenated fat or sugar. We boost the fat in the formula for all species, but especially for those requiring fat. This means that 250 ml of formula contains a teaspoon of peanut butter for the non fat requiring species and a tablespoon for species requiring fat. I started this decades ago after having examined the crop contents of many wild chicks, which are invariably fed by their parents the foods with the highest fat content. The fat satiates hunger and deters the desperate agitation seen in hungry chicks.

BROODER & FORMULA TEMP:

Areas of important and not related to hygiene and diet are brooder and formula temperature. Newly hatched chicks cannot thermoregulate. They must therefore be kept warm. We start at 32-33 (91 DEGREES FARENHEIGHT) degrees Celcius and slowly drop this as the chicks feather. Unless they are kept sufficiently warmed, the chicks will become listless or hyperactive as they move incessantly to try and warm themselves, injuring the toes and wing tips in the process. Chicks that are cold also display a slow digestion.

Formula temperature is also important, as cool food will be rejected; hot food on the other hand may cause severe burning to the tender crop walls. We feed formula at 40 deg Celsius (104 FARENHEIGHT) . We heat the water in the microwave with the peanut butter or pureed vegetables (fruit are added afterwards) and vigorously stir this before adding the powdered formula. This is then stirred again until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and all hot spots have been eliminated. This also gives the microwave heated water the opportunity to reach its temperature (which invariably increases after microwaving) and thus prevent burned crops.

If you have issues with a chick not digesting

Please do not utilize tonics (which are not intended for birds and often contain high amounts of iron and occasionally arsenic and lead). You can use tea, cumin water (produced by boiling a spoonful of cumin seeds in 500 ml of water) or what I refer to as papaya cream, which is made by adding the seeds and some of the flesh of a ripe papaya to a blender, liquidizing this with some Pedialyte (an oral electrolyte solution) and then passing this through a fine colander to remove any large seed particles. This is warmed and fed to the chicks.

The unused portion should be refrigerated, where it will set like jelly. Once warmed it reverts to a liquid. This works far better in starting crop motility than any other product I have used. Once digestion has resumed, you can slowly start incorporating formula into the papaya cream.
When crop stasis occurs, it is important to consider the cause: bacteria, fungus or the ingestion of the substrate on which the chick are maintained. These are management issues that must be addressed along with stimulating the crop back into movement.

If you adhere to strict hygiene and feed a good diet, hand-rearing will be a pleasing experience that will teach you much about neonatal development.

Finally, if you enjoy aviculture, please Do NOT support the World Parrot Trust. They are a menace to bird keeping and aviculture. I ask you to spread the word to others who may be unaware of this. This is why the STOP the World Parrot Trust logo appears on my page. Harrison´s Bird Foods and formula have spoken up negatively against hand-reared. Do not use their products. There are also far better formulations available that in my opinion yield superior results. We as a community need to support organizations and manufacturers that support aviculture. It is time to stand up and defend our hobby. Without our money these business and organizations would not exist.

Taming Your Parrot

🦜 First Encounters With Your Parrot

This is Toby, who I have had for a couple weeks-

Toby is friendly, but shy. I’m excited to connect with him too, but daunted by his big beak! He hasn’t wanted to come out of his cage, this is only his second time out. I’ve let him stay in his cage to get comfortable.

Would You Ever Force A Parrot To Come Out?

This timid Severe macaw needs time to adjust

Reading a parrot can be easy – look for the obvious signs. If they are scurrying to the back of their cage and trying to avoid your seeing them, they need time to relax and adjust. On the other hand, if your new parrot stays by the front of his or her cage and watches you, they want to engage. Some birds are in the middle, they seem shy and curious. A parrot who is a little shy and that we can safely handle (a small or medium-sized parrot), we would feel comfortable taking them out. A parrot that is scared I would not push, as this can be too much for them.

I find that the best way to start to tame any parrot is by giving them time and space in their cage. This is their home, their bedroom and their personal space. They know it too, which is why many parrots are defensive of your finger or hand when they are in their cage. This should be honored so that your parrot knows that you are also aware of them and what they want or need.

Coming Closer

From inside their cage you can start to build your relationship. Talk and sing to your bird – a lot of parrots greatly enjoy being sung to, some even dance along! They are curious about our whistling and signing, providing something fascinating about you. At the same time, it also switches their mode out of fear or discomfort.

I strongly recommend a pellet diet for your parrot (with additional veggies). A healthy diet means a happier bird, who is more likely to foster a good emotional bond with you. Pellet and seed mixes allow the parrot to only eat the seeds, wasting the pellets which costs you more money. Another advantage to you giving out the seeds only is that it gives you a way to positively connect with your parrot, since he or she will associate you with the treat.

The barrier of the cage is a great way to start to let your parrot approach you for a seed. Your fingers can remain safe from bites on the outside of the cage and the parrot can feel more comfortable approaching you for a positive experience of taking a treat from you. Let your parrot put their beak at the bars or outside the cage so that your fingers remain safe. If your parrot doesn’t feel comfortable taking the treat from you, be sure to have him or her see you placing the seed on a ledge for them to take when you step away.

Your next step may be to begin to pet your parrot’s head- if he wants to do so, she’ll bow her head for you to begin to pet her behind her neck. Be careful though, African Grey parrots are known for bowing their heads and then biting you! Keep your finger close to the bars of the cage, even when your parrot is out of reach. They are smart and they will figure out that they need to come closer to the bars.

Patience is required!

Monitor Your Feedback

A lot of people don’t talk about bird body language because a lot of their behaviors can be inviting or asking you to stay away. For example, when a parrot fluffs all of his feathers, it can mean that they are happy, excited. It can also be a warning that they are big and bad, so get back!

There are some behaviors that are obvious though. Children (and adults) share these too, in case that gives you something to relate to. When a parrot (or person) steps away from you, they don’t want to engage. When they step towards you, they want to more engagement, take a next step so that you slowly get closer and closer. They can get scared if you feel they are coming towards you, so you get too close, so they’ll bite. Go slow. The photo of a Galah here shows him wanting to engage!

Watch their beaks. A parrot’s beak isn’t just for eating. It’s another hand for them to hold and touch the world; it’s also a weapon used to defend or fight. It can also be a way to connect when they feed or preen you or another parrot. This means that a beak on your finger could be dangerous, because a macaw can do damage! Or, it can mean that you are “in,” because you are being cared for, kissed, loved.

Parrot beaks have many uses – here they are preening feathers, grooming

Watch how your parrot uses their beak. Sometimes they open their beak, like they are on the ready, should you step out of line! 🧛 They can also raise their beak, like raising a sword, ready to bite! If you raise your hand to pet them and see this, it’s your warning. This is a no petting time!

It is possible not to be bitten by a parrot, it just requires staying aware of their body language, because most parrots will warn before they’ll bite.

Petting a parrot is exhilarating, and if you’ve got your parrot perched on your finger, hand or palm (depending on the size of the bird), you’re doing great! As you raise your hand, watch to see what direction her beak goes. Not all parrots like to be pet. You may need to spend more time connecting with your parrot, singing to them, starting to teach them tricks and so on, before they may or may never want to be pet.

Toby & Me

In the video, you can see that I try to stay calm, quiet and keep my movements slow with Toby so that I don’t take him by surprise. A parrot that is not accustomed to an environment or a new person can get scared and react easily, so try to keep things calm, especially at first. Don’t let your dog or cat run around or come up to you at this time. 🐈

Toby lets me pet his head, though he keeps trying to feed me. I’m “in” but I’m also seen as a mate. This will lead to frustration for him, since I can’t meet the qualifications of a mate ☺️ I’m working on changing his mode so that we can foster a bond without the birdie love 🧡.

You’ll find that a lot of people, rightfully so, say that you have to be able to dedicate hours to a parrot every day. When you are first bonding and getting to know each other, this isn’t true. It would be great to have their cage in the same room you are in, but you want them to have their space and get comfortable. I only spend a few minutes with Toby, especially outside of his cage, every day so that I don’t overwhelm him. I’ll increase the time as he is comfortable and as I see that we are creating a bond based on tricks, singing, pets or even him relaxing and taking a nap on his perch.

If you found this helpful, let me know! Post pictures of your parrot and their babies! Or visit us on FB at https://www.facebook.com/ParrotBliss/

Have a question or a topic? Let me know here or on FB!

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Do Parrots Lay Eggs? A Parrot Breeding Guide

Short answer: yes. A female parrot can lay eggs completely on her own – no male required, no fertility needed. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong with her, and most of the time it isn’t an emergency. There’s one situation that IS, though: if she’s straining and nothing’s coming, that’s egg binding, and it needs a vet, not a wait-and-see (jump to that section below). Otherwise, here’s everything I’ve learned raising parrots through egg season – when to relax, when to help, and how eggs and breeding actually work.

Is It Parrot-Egg Time?

Is your bird acting funny? Mine is. This is Lorenza, a Yellow-naped Amazon. She walks around the house and finds empty nesting boxes lately- sometimes she bites the wood, other times she tries to go in, even if they are too small. In Lorenza’s case, I don’t want her to lay eggs! She has no male Amazon to fertilize them and Amazons are aggressive breeders. Not sure I want that for her. So, she has no bed or box in her cage, where she sleeps at night (she’s out most of the day).

If you have outdoor birds, spring may bring a change in your bird, making him or her unrecognizable! Males get super defensive, females too, and the hens start to hide out in their nesting box or cozy. Both are busy and no longer have time for you, because they are playing house 🏠!

Is A Male Parrot Required?

Female parrots do not need a male to lay eggs, but they generally do require a good diet and a space to nest. Some birds will use their food bowl if they have nothing else. Generally speaking, if you don’t want them to lay eggs, because it taxes their body, (since it takes energy and a lot of vitamins and minerals from them) and stresses them out, there are a couple things to do.

🚨 When It’s An Emergency: Egg Binding

Most of the time, egg-laying is just egg-laying – she squats, strains a little, an egg shows up, done. Egg binding is different: that’s when a hen can’t pass the egg and gets stuck – straining or contracting with nothing coming, going on for more than a few hours. Signs to watch for: sitting fluffed up and lethargic, tail bobbing with her breathing, straining without producing an egg, or a visibly swollen vent.

If you see this, don’t wait it out – egg binding can be fatal within a day or two if it isn’t treated. Get her to an avian vet immediately. While you’re getting her there, keep her warm (a heating pad on low under half the cage, so she can move off it if she gets too warm) and don’t try to help the egg out yourself – that can tear something and make it worse.

Calcium deficiency is the most common cause, which is also why it tends to show up first as soft-shelled or broken eggs (more on that further down) before it ever gets to a full binding. Keep a cuttlebone or mineral block in the cage year-round, not just during breeding season.

No Expectations: 🥚 How To Avoid Eggs

You can remove eggs as they are laid, which is a little sad. They look surprised, frantic when the eggs disappear (if you do this, I recommend making sure they don’t see you doing so). People sometimes replace the eggs with plastic or wood eggs, so that they don’t hatch. This way the hen gets to sit on her clutch of eggs, and eventually she’ll give up because they didn’t hatch.

You can also provide no nesting box, though our budgie simply flew to another parrot’s cage and claimed the cozy (a fabric ‘tent’ for them to sleep in) and cage for herself; when I gave her the cage, because she kept insisting, she laid her eggs. So, some birds just want to be parents.

Seeing the eggs and then seeing tiny, naked dinosaurs is amazing! Parrots are born naked (people keep offering to knit sweaters for the babies – LOL!) It provides a unique perspective on the miracle of life, except there’s no expensive human-hospital bill, no crying in the middle of the night and no diapers to change! The mom-parrot handles it all, generally with the support of her mate.

🐣 Do I Recommend Breeding?

If you are comfortable and you find that you are living the Parrot Life, then you may love breeding parrots. There are certain animals that are more than a pet, they are a lifestyle, and having parrots means you take on a Parrot Life. Farm animals, like horses, and parrots, take a lot of time and dedication to care for physically (food, cleaning) and emotionally (bonding, mentally stimulating/training and engaging them).

To give you a good idea of what it’s like:

Breeding birds means you have to understand the additional dietary needs for breeding; you also have to be ready to help a parrot hen who is egg-bound (means that she can’t get the egg out of her vent, it’s stuck). You also want to learn about the babies so that you recognize signs of abandonment by the parents, which means you may need to take over and offer heat and round-the ⏰ clock feedings!

Breeding parrots can be a spectator sport or a rather involved chore. So, if you enjoy your Parrot Life and want more of it, try breeding. If not, I’d avoid it. Keep your males and females separate.

Opinion Note: Budgies are awesome. I think they are under-valued. They are a lot smarter than people recognize, a lot easier to take care of (compared to most parrots) and they are some of the best talkers. However, they are too inexpensive in a pet store. I do not recommend breeding them, there is not enough demand for these. People can make an inexpensive purchase ($20 to $100) and then don’t always take care of a budgie the way they would if the had paid $3,000 or more for a Golden Conure or an African Grey. Even a Green-cheek counure at $200 to $500 means people are more invested financially and personally.

If you are going to breed parrots, breed parrots that will help you pay for all the bird toys, cage and food you are spending money on; a bird that is exotic, not just by definition, buy also by price tag. Unfortunately, price tag produces a perceived value and greater caring for a parrot. Our budgie is determined, but we are limiting her.

How Many Eggs In A Parrot’s Nest?

Eggs can have different shapes – they can be more oval or tear-drop shaped. Depending on the kind of parrot you have, 3 to 6 eggs is a ‘normal’ clutch size. A rule of thumb is that the smaller the bird, the more often they breed and the more they tend to have larger clutches. Larger birds tend to lay less often and lay less eggs. For example, finches (which are not hook bills) tend to lay eggs one clutch right after another with 4 to 6 or more eggs. If you let them, they will produce several clutches per year – easily over 20 babies. Palm cockatoos, as a sharp contrast, only produce a clutch every couple of years – usually with only one egg.

Again, these are the ‘extremes’ just to give you an idea of how many eggs and how often a parrot produces. Most parrots produce twice a year only, since they are not as small as finches.

How Long & How Do I Know?

Most parrots eggs incubate for 22 to 28 days, once the hen has begun incubating her eggs. A hen will often wait until she has 2 eggs to start to sit on them, incubating them.

At 7 days of incubation (we always give it a couple more days) you can start to “candle the eggs” to see if your hen’s eggs are fertile.

Take her eggs out (we like to do it when she’s out of her nest eating) and, using your flashlight on your phone, gently hold the egg up to the light.

The photo shows a ‘clear’ egg, which means that even though she has incubated the egg (it’s warm to the touch because she’s been sitting on it) for over 7 days, it is infertile. If her egg were fertile it would not have a light yellow color. Instead veins start to form, literally lines on the walls. The yellow also gets darker as the days go by. Around 3/4 of the way through incubation, you can start to see a little birdie-body!

Egg Problems

Sometimes you’ll find a broken egg, or part of one, in the nest or in your parrot’s cage. If an egg is too soft, she may lack the minerals and calcium (especially) she needs to make a strong-enough egg. It can also be that the parrot-parents are breaking the eggs, which they do when they do not feel it is safe to have babies. In this case, they are too stressed, you can try moving their cage to a quieter, ‘safer’ space.

Touch the broken egg shell. If it is soft, make sure to provide a mineral block and calcium. This can be as easy as baking your breakfast egg shells. Rinse them and then bake them in an oven until they are dry, then grind them up and add them to your parrot’s veggies (which they tend to eat more of when they are breeding) or in a separate dish by themselves.

You may also notice that part of the shell is gone. This is because hens can eat the shell, re-absorbing the calcium which they will need for themselves or for their next egg.

A Parrot Life

Yes, breeding is a blast! But, it has stress built in. Some babies hatch and then die- this can be due to a lack of food or a problem that you have not caused. Parrots that are breeding and feeding eat triple (or more) and smaller birds need more seeds than they needed in the off season. The same is true for the larger parrots too, but I find that the smaller ones need more all around due to their faster metabolisms. That’s how they out-fly the larger birds, they burn more calories and need more too.

Parrots are amazing animals, some of the most intelligent. Their natural habitats are disappearing; whether it is right or wrong, the fact that people are providing them homes as pets offers a new chance at life. Some are greatly opposed to breeding, others find that it helps the family psittacines keep from going extinct. Some parrots that we think are common, like Amazons, Sun Conures and African Greys, are endangered. When parrots are well-taken care of, they are given the opportunity to live longer than they would in nature, since they have food and a lack of predators; they can keep healthier, because they can be fed a parrot-balanced diet, and can keep more beautiful plumage.

If you found this helpful, let me know! Post pictures of your parrot and their babies! Or visit us on FB at https://www.facebook.com/ParrotBliss/

Have a question or a topic? Let me know here or on FB!

Should Your Parrot Eat & Play With Color?

Do Birds Want Colorful Toys? At What Cost?

Yesterday we went to a bird show (how exciting, my first one!) and bought some toys.

Brought them home and put the colorful wood blocks into a clear container, filled it with water and let the wood soak. That’s what the photo is, all the color that comes off the toys.

Unfortunately, just because someone makes a bird toy, doesn’t mean they worry about what they use to make it.

Even if FD&C (Federal Drug Admin approved Food and Drug approved colorants) colors are used,

THERE’S NO WAY FOR ME.

Not for me, not for my flock.

Like so many of you, I like to make the best, healthiest choices I can for my fids. For me, coloring the inside of my body or my fids – no. I don’t think so.

I don’t like to buy colored food for them either…

Do I think the colorant is going to kill my fids? No, I don’t. Then again, I also don’t know that it won’t cause problems. Bodies weren’t made to be colored on the inside, so can this really be innocuous?

The truth is that we had a company, once upon a time, and worked with food coloring. So, I learned some about it and I avoid it. Colorful, decorated sugar cookies? Sure, since we don’t eat them all the time every day. Even natural food coloring, like tumeric or beet juice, can be fine, but some people have bad reactions to the concentrated color.

And, they are already such beautiful, colorful creatures. Why add artificial anything?

Are Colors Safe When Not Ingested?

I think this is a great question- if a toy is played with and broken-down, but not eaten, then does the color still get into their system?

Unfortunately, the answer is still “Yes.” This is why their cages cannot be made with zinc or other toxic metals. Even though they don’t eat their cages, as they use their beak to grab on as they move around, they do ingest at least some of what their tongue touches. Just like us. So, whether it is colorful food or toys, the long-term affects haven’t been studied – that I know of. Anything within a body system (a bird or ours) has to be ‘dealt’ with by the body.

A Bird’s Life Without Color

I’m not saying that! I find that parrots bring plenty of color forward in life all on their own, but everything in moderation. Maybe choose toys that are natural colors. Offer your parrot a hibiscus flour – isn’t that cool? They can eat them! Offer them colorful veggies and some fruit.

I’ve never heard of death by color, but healthy by wisdom just seems prudent. These exotic birds are expensive and they are meant to live a long time, often as long as you and me – which means that long-term choices for health and well-being may be good all around!

Harvard study shows parrots can pass classic test of intelligence

A new study shows that African grey parrots can perform some cognitive tasks at levels beyond those of 5-year-old humans. The results not only suggest that humans aren’t the only species capable of making complex inferences, but also point to flaws in a widely used test of animal intelligence.

By Peter Reuell Harvard Staff Writer

Usually, calling someone a bird-brain is meant as an insult, but an African grey parrot named Griffin is rewriting the rules when it comes to avian intelligence.

A new study shows the African grey can perform some cognitive tasks at levels beyond that of 5-year-old humans. The results not only suggest that humans aren’t the only species capable of making complex inferences, but also point to flaws in a widely used test of animal intelligence. The study is described in a November paper published online in Behaviour.

The paper arose from a collaboration among cognitive psychologists Irene Pepperberg, a research associate in Harvard’s Psychology Department; Francesca Cornero ’19; Suzanne Gray A.L.B. ’15, now the manager of the Alex Foundation at the Pepperberg Lab; and developmental psychologists Susan Carey, the Henry A. Morss Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Psychology, and Shilpa Mody, Ph.D. ’16.

The classic study uses a two-cup test. A reward is hidden in one of two cups; subjects are then shown that one cup is empty, and those that successfully choose the other cup are thought to employ a process known as “inference by exclusion” — reasoning that the reward is in cup A or B; if it is not in A, it must be in B.

For years, researchers have argued that young children, including infants as young as 17 months, and animals from a wide number of species, including grey parrots, understand this process.

But what’s important about this study is not just that Griffin is, in some ways, as smart as a 5-year-old, but, said Pepperberg, “We also argue that this two-cup task, which has been the gold standard, only tells you about a certain level of ability. If you really want to study inference by exclusion, you have to go to the more complicated three- and four-cup tasks.”

Ultimately, Pepperberg said, tests like these don’t only reveal the intelligence of birds like Griffin, but also help shed light on the roots of human intelligence.

“Birds are separated from us by 300 million years of evolution, and their brains are organized differently than ours,” Pepperberg said. “That’s why this was so exciting — because we were able to show that Griffin was working at the level of a 5-year-old, on a task at which even apes would not likely succeed.”

Researchers’ African grey parrot puts (young) humans to shame in volume-focused tests…