I must say, “small” parrots often get forgotten for larger ones because larger parrots have a larger presence and talk more clearly, generally speaking. I would even say that my larger parrots are more easily felt and heard when they are asking for or demanding our attention!
Does Size Matter For A Parrot’s Brain?
I can’t say it does. Yes, certain species are remarkably smart, but sometimes I feel like “they’re very intelligent!” is used to describe every species that’s talked about…
However, a parrot’s cleverness is pronounced at any size and, a 🦜 personality is going to be more enjoyable and noticeable when you dedicate time to them, regardless of their size. This applies to anything in life, like a hobby, a relationship or a job…
In this light, smaller parrots can be a lot easier to live with and take care of. The mess they make is so much less noticeable and they literally, of course, take less space. My Macaws practically take the living room whereas my smaller lovebird doesn’t even have cage! He thinks he is an old, free soul who can’t be contained!
Poop Size Matters; Actually, It Really Matters
In case you aren’t familiar with parrots, a smaller parrot’s poop isn’t something you want on your shirt or on your couch, but a Budgie’s poop or a Parrotlet’s can be flicked off. It’s really not a big deal; you may not even notice it. A Macaw’s poop, on the other hand… it’s about the size of a Budgie or Parrotlet! It might splatter some and it can’t be ignored – at all.
Similar to many other large species, Macaws are messy. Really messy. Sure, all parrots are – by nature’s design. Parrots are programmed to drop half the food they are eating, thereby spreading food and growing their natural environments. It’s like they are nature’s farmers, seeding the ground. Again size dictates the amount of mess that gets ‘farmed.’ Small parrots can make a mess of their food, but larger parrots can make a significant mess of their food, of their destroyed toys and any wood they encounter.
Plus larger parrots crave more attention.
Now don’t get me wrong, large parrots have amazing personalities- and it is easier to hug them than it a three-inch tall parrot. But a large parrot requires you embrace a certain life-style that includes noise, constant cleaning and loving. A small or even medium-sized parrot leaves room for you. For you to enjoy your life, to pursue interests other than cleaning and they allow you to enjoy a more peaceful home (if you love a little bit of bird sounds, but don’t like parrot quaking)!
The argument can be made that a smaller parrot is easier to keep healthy and happy, therefore giving you more time to enjoy their incredible personalities.
Parrots come in a variety of sizes from a couple inches to several feet long (including their tails); but the magical gift of a companion that is keenly personable and loving comes with all of their feathers.
Have a questions about parrots?
As the author of “The Parrot Bliss Bond,” I love and welcome questions about having a parrot and creating one of the best experiences of your life!
No – because, in their “Budgy” voice, they can be great talkers!
No, no… it must be there size!
The Perfect First Parrot Pet
When I first hear that it was best to get a smaller parrot, I didn’t understand why. What I now understand is that parrots aren’t like cats and dogs in their care or in how we relate to them. Parrots aren’t nearly as clean as cats and dogs and it seems like they are better at getting themselves into trouble!
A Parrot Is Messy By Nature:
As they eat, they drop half their food and manage to spread plenty far beyond their reach. I often joke and say that Kailani, our Catalina Macaw, is feeding the floor… They also poop -everywhere-. Being accustomed to flying and living up in trees, parrots just poop in nature, never having to see their poop again because it falls to the ground, which they don’t see, care about or perhaps aren’t even aware of! Like other creatures, they do try to keep their nests clean, pooping outside their nest, but otherwise, anywhere goes! And they go often!
A Parrot Requires A Cook:
Cats and dogs are fantastic! You can put a bowl of fresh food and water out daily and be worry-free! Not so with parrots! Parrots require fresh foods, vegetables mostly. This means that carrots, broccoli or string peas should be prepared daily. Sure, that doesn’t sound too bad, but they are finicky. In nature they run into different foods all of the time, so you must vary their diet. Sweet potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage and spinach may be on the menu next time. Unless they are accustomed to eating fresh veggies, they need to be trained to eat them and variety must be offered to keep their pallet from getting bored!
Did that sound crazy or contradictory? Well, they are crazy and contradictory! On the one hand, you have to teach them to eat healthy vegetables, on the other hand they want variety! It’s like a lose-lose situation because they reject foods they aren’t familiar or accustomed to and they reject foods that they see to often. This means you have to get them used to vegetables, be patient, and provide different choices.
Better still, feed baby parrots vegetables (along with their pelleted diet). Baby parrots take to vegetables like ducks to water!
A Parrot Is Super-social, More So Than Your Dog!
Yes, dog’s are a man or woman’s best friend; a loyal companion. Parrots are similar, but they need your company even more than a dog does! Parrots are highly social and often live in big flocks. They don’t just crave companionship, they require it as a par to their health and well-being. A single parrot runs the risk of being a lonely or even depressed parrot; such a parrot needs a dedicated human companion who has a lot of time to dedicate to their parrot or they need another parrot’s company.
In A Nutshell? Parrots Are High-Maintenance!
But Budgerigars are much less-so. They do make a mess, but they are one of the smallest parrots and therefore their poops and their mess are no where near that of a middle or large-sized parrot. Budgies are smart as whips, can develop great talking vocabularies (in their Budgie-voice) and be true companions.
They come in almost all the colors of the rainbow and a cage their size doesn’t take a lot of space. Of course the larger the cage, the better; but then again, a lot of parrot owners have learned to open their parrot’s door in the morning and close it at night, giving them free, safe range of the home during the day. No doubt, after all, your parrot will quickly become a key part of the family.
Now, Let’s Hear What Tony Silva Says About Budgies!
Project Parrot Care: The combined efforts of Tony Silva & ParrotBliss.com; Setting Parrot Breeding & Keeping Practices
Reading Basic Body Language In Parrots: Harry, Senegal Parrot
“Is that a happy fluff or an angry fluff? Can I pet him or not?”
Your Parrot Communicates Whether He Talks Or Not
That’s right, Harry my male Senegal parrot, communicates with me even though he doesn’t use English words.
All parrots tell you when they are angry, getting ready to bite and even hungry. The problem is that a beak, not hard enough to be a bite, can be “I’m hungry, give me seeds!” or it can be “Get away!”
How can you tell the difference? I got tired of asking my daughter, who is a natural parrot whisperer, and then having her say, “I knew he was going to bite you. He was fluffed up.”
Ugh!
Basic Red Light, Green Light
Humans are very complicated beings and can be complex in their communication. Its not to say that parrots are simple in comparison, but think of it that way. Generally speaking, you’ll have an easier time understanding what your parrot is communicating if you don’t think of their communication as complex, but simple.
Just think of them as giving you a red light or a green light.
They are either warning you, being defensive and trying to remove themselves from your immediate space or they are engaging you, approaching you and seeking your affection and attention.
Red Light Means “No”
I don’t know Harry’s history, but I’m guessing that he was hand-fed but never really handled. He doesn’t know how to step up and tends to want to be left alone. Harry is untame.
Harry’s red lights are obvious: tonight he furrowed his brow and the feathers on his head were standing up!
As if Harry were in the army and standing at attention to salute his captain, when he is showing me a red light, he’s at attention! His chin is elevated, his shoulders are stiff and he looks like he’s standing straight up.
Any parrot will also communicate a lot to you by their position in their cage. When they are as close to you as they can get from within their cage, they want come to you – and have come as close as they can. Green light.
When they are in the back of their cage almost trying to be invisible, they don’t want to engage; sometimes they don’t want to be seen! Red light.
And, in case some of their posturing or positioning isn’t clear enough, parrots will also start to communicate a red or green light with their beak. A beak aimed up at you and open is ready, like an alligator, to chomp down! Bloody-red light!
On the other hand, a relaxed beak looks like a hook in the sense that your parrot’s beak will likely be curving down – since it’s not in a defensive position. Their body may be relaxed, not perfectly upright, and their wings may ‘rest’ a little lower.
Watch Harry Tell Me How I Can Connect
In the video I tell you about how I approach a parrot I’m working to tame. I also point out the body language that Harry is teaching us and, best of all, I show you how Harry lets me know that I have permission, and he wants me to, pet his beak – but really nothing more!
I hope Harry helps you understand your parrot’s body language better so that you have a more positive experience taming your parrot.
After all, one of life’s greatest gifts is bliss, parrot bliss! There is nothing better than having a BFF – a best-feathered-friend. Parrots are companions: they share our meals, they talk to us and can even cuddle — and talk!
Have a questions about parrots?
As the author of “The Parrot Bliss Bond,” I love and welcome questions about having a parrot and creating one of the best experiences of your life!
I took my cat to my mom’s so that she could have a pet while she snow-birds in Florida. The cat FREAKED out! He spent the first day under her hutch and the first night yowling. The second day was spent in her dark closet… a parrot would never behave this way.
Parrots are vastly different as pets. Actually, I think they need to be thought of as a different category than “pet” because they become family members more so than most other pets; demanding family members! They become companions and best-feathered-friends which require a special diet, naturally make HUGE messes and are LOUD.
I Love Amazons!
Amazons are one of my favorite parrot genus-
When I take my Mexican red-headed parrot, Amazona viridigenalis, or my Yellow-naped Amazon, Amazona auropalliata, to my mom’s they are uncomfortable and quiet, but they stay with me. They don’t hide and when they see lunch being served, they quickly shift out of being nervous and into being hungry for my lunch.
Sure, a dog would accompany me to my mom’s for lunch too, and she does, but my Amazons stay on me. My dog abandons me for the kitchen the minute she’s in the door! My parrots are interested in being with me because I’m ‘in the flock.’ I may even be their BFF too, their best-feathered-friend. They are more interested in being with me than chasing a rabbit or eating treats that my mom is handing out.
Amazons, like most parrots, are first and foremost, social and dedicated to their companion.
Unlike a dog, once Ursulus (in the pic) feels comfortable with my food, he helps himself. A true gentleman, he used a spoon to feed himself at lunch. No, pets don’t do this, but a parrot who have zygodactyl feet can hold things. With his foot Ursulus raised the spoon to his mouth, making it easier to eat the quinoa in my salad. No other birds can do this, only parrots, psittacines.
Amazons Talk & Cuddle
The next amazing Amazon characteristic is that they cuddle. In this picture Lorenza is cuddling with me. She can be quite tender and loving with me. She talks to me when she wants attention or when she wants something. If I’m eating, she is often heard saying “Want some?” meaning that she wants me to share. No, she’s not parroting because she ONLY says this when she wants some. She doesn’t say so when there is no food around or when I’m eating something healthy…
The downside to the Amazon genus is that these parrots can be one-person birds, meaning that they can choose their BFF and no one else is even allow around them and their person. Unfortunately, Lorenza is like this, although Ursulus is not. Lorenza, who I adopted as an adult, is possessive or highly protective – depending on how you see things. She knows my daughter is important to me, so she is particularly intolerant of my daughter. This means that Lorenza will try to lunge at, attack or bully my daughter. Fortunately, my daughter is a parrot whisperer, so she doesn’t scare at all. She handles all our parrots with grace, elegance and without hurting them or without getting hurt, so she knows how to stand up to Lorenza and get her to back down.
Still, this is a down-side. It’s something we have to be careful and aware of because Lorenza’s logic is simply to be aggressive when my daughter is around or anyone else she doesn’t want around us. She bites, trying to show everyone how things should be, and I tend to be the closest to her beak…
Having your parrot be a one-person parrot (African Greys and Macaws can be like this too) can be avoided when multiple family members handle them on a regular basis. Urusul is not like this, on the contrary, he’s friendly with everyone he knows. He is young and this is the time to socialize him with ‘all of the flock.’
Low Fat Zone For The Zons
As much as Polly may want a cracker, and I have it on excellent authority that processed wheat is not beneficial for parrots, nuts and seeds are also important to avoid if you have an Amazon. There is something fascinating about feeding a walnut in it’s shell to a Macaw and watching her hold the walnut, crack it open -in to time at all- and happily eat away at it, as she should.
How Bad Could It Possibly Be To Feed An Amazon Parrot Nuts Or Seeds?
I’m in South Florida and the parrot life here is fantastic. We have exotic bird stores around and avian vets. I know that some states don’t have an avian veterinarian in-state. I have compassion for people who don’t have a avian vet close by because at times taking your parrot to the vet is critical-
One of the veterinarians that I go to told me, when she saw Lorenza on my shoulder, that she’s had people come in with their Amazon and she’s had to explain to them that holding the parrot might crush it’s bones! Yes, that is how frail their bones can become due to a high-fat seed diet. Their beaks and nails also grow irregularly in unhealthy ways. My vet even said that their nails grow long and get caught on their cages so that when the parrot pulls their foot, they break bones! Yikes!
How The Hell Could That Be?
Does that sound crazy-ridiculous to you? Me too, let me tell you. However, you are what you and so is your parrot. One problem with feeding any parrot a seed-based diet (or giving them too many seeds) is that seeds prevent the absorption of calcium. If a parrot is eating seeds daily, how is his body going to get the calcium it needs for ALL his systems in addition to his bones, nails and feathers?
What a grim picture…
Yes, parrots use calcium in all their body’s systems. Seeds are never so readily available to them in nature. On the contrary, seeds are only available once a year, at best; the rest of the time parrots have to eat the plants, vegetables and un-ripe fruit that they find through foraging. That means that they expend a lot more energy flying and searching for food in nature. In our homes they tend to be less active, burn less calories and should have a lot less fat in their diets.
Amazons, like several other parrots, need a strict diet made up of pellets with fresh foods (vegetables and greens mostly) and treats that are things like carrots, dry papaya pieces, dry spicy chili peppers… in other words, ‘treats’ that are beneficial to their health.
(picture is of an Orange-winged Amazon, Amazona amazonica)
Amazons Are Performers
Maybe Amazons are like Hollywood stars, they need to exercise and eat a super healthy diet to keep themselves in a prime physical condition in order to sing and talk for their captive audience!
I don’t know of any others parrots that can sing the way some Amazons can – I once was in one of my favorite exotic bird stores. I greeted an Amazon parrot who was boarding, and in return he started singing “Happy birthday” to me! Have you ever heard an Amazon sing? They can belt out a song! My African Grey will sing a line, but Amazons can sing a full song!
So, you can’t let them eat seeds because it will clog their arteries and -break- their bones (not right away, but by the time the damage shows, it’s too late so it’s easy to be tricked into thinking that seeds or fat are innocuous…)
Cuddling Is Fat-Free
Keeping a loving, affectionate Amazon happens more-so when you keep them healthy. An unhealthy parrot gets moody and grumpy and isn’t as much fun. A happy, bright and healthy Amazon will dedicate her life to you. She’ll love you, talk to you and stay on your shoulder (which vets don’t recommend, you have to make sure you trust your parrot not to bite you) for decades, a true companion.
Have a questions about parrots?
As the author of “The Parrot Bliss Bond,” I love and welcome questions about having a parrot and creating one of the best experiences of your life!
A Project Parrot Care Video on Enrichment Featuring Tony Silva
Enrichment-
The dictionary definition is “the action of improving or enhancing the quality or value of something.”
However, when it comes to parrots, enrichment is something that fulfills a need for them that allows their well-being. Here’s a good way to think about it:
I lost our original budgie and her mate- which made us blue. So, we went to one of our favorite restaurants on the beach for breakfast. We walked along the water, felt the sun kissing our skin, smelled the fresh ocean air, delighted our taste buds and felt the cool ocean water on our feet.
It enriched my soul.
In captivity parrots miss out some essential communing with their environment. Being in a cage certainly doesn’t compare to flying free, seeing plants all around them and eating, biting and nesting in them. Parrots in the wild rely on plants and trees for every aspect of their lives: food, a home, a place to live and make a family.
Enrichment, “You Have To Get Creative”
In the video you’ll see Tony Silva talking about enrichment and showing you some enrichment at his farm (which I call the Silva Parrot Center).
Tony tells me that parrots need to be fed an appropriate diet, and yet, a parrot that has enrichment or access to some natural plant-life, will do better than a parrot that is fed a perfect diet but is kept in a cage with no enrichment?
Why is that?
Enrichment offers more than food or something to entertain their beaks; it can provide benefits like bark, which naturally binds to any toxins they may have eaten. Enrichment can offer something natural that a parrot is meant to use to grind their beak down or use to make a nest. In other words, enrichment enhances the quality of a parrot’s life, but it also provides necessary materials parrots require for their physical, emotional and psychological well-being.
What’s That? A Parrots Have A Psychological Need For Enrichment?
Yes, yes they do. As much as you might need to cut loose and have fun or blow off some steam, or even just go for a walk or a run, parrots need to exercise too. Along with literal fresh air, enrichment provides them a breath of emotional and psychological fresh air.
You and I need more than just food and shelter to enjoy well-being and your parrot does too.
Clip Or Pick Enrichment
If you are fortunate enough to have a fruit tree (please research to make sure that your enrichment offering is non-toxic to parrots) or a palms, then you’ve got your enrichment. Trim your tree, pick a fruit, nut or flower and place these in, on or around your parrot’s cage.
Or, if you don’t have much around, pick something up at the grocery store. No, it’s not quite the same, but you can easily plan your dinner’s vegetables and give a little to your parrot. Pick a piece of your broccoli head, some carrots or a coconut from your grocery store to offer your parrot. The floral department there might even have pussy willows, which parrots love and are a great enrichment offering.
Keep your parrot happy, healthy and blissful; enrich their beaks and souls by offering enrichment a couple times a week.
Have a questions about parrots?
As the author of “The Parrot Bliss Bond,” I love and welcome questions about having a parrot and creating one of the best experiences of your life!
How my Yellow-naped Amazon chose me turns into proof that I’m having Macaw issues! LOL!
Have you had a parrot choose you?
If you are getting a new fid, meaning a new feathered-kid/family member, it’s exciting! Frankly though, you look at the parrots and you probably wonder, which one?
Lorenza made it easy for me. She talked to me! Oh, and my daughter pointed out that she was watching me, talking to me and following me with her body as I walked around the store!
Yes, parrots sometimes choose their keepers – I don’t know if I would have believed it if I hadn’t experienced it myself…
Lorenza has been my BFF – best feathered friend. From day one she has talked with me, preened me, been gentle with me and been a sheer joy. I have other parrots that are fabulous, amazing and wonderful. Many! I love them all, but Lorenza and I like to take it easy together, go on walks together and share a salad. No, she still won’t eat spinach or anything else that’s green on my plate, but she’s starting to eat more carrots, so we’re making progress.
—
Have a questions about parrots?
As the author of “The Parrot Bliss Bond,” I love and welcome questions about having a parrot and creating one of the best experiences of your life!
BOOK
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What To Consider If You Are Thinking About Getting A Parrot
Consider The Smartest Animal
All creatures are unique no matter what. But parrots solve problems, use tools – basic markers for high intelligence – AND they can speak
Perhaps you’ve had a cat, dog or hamster- parrots are different! There are some things you should take into account if you are thinking about getting a parrot as a pet.
Parrots Have Needs
Parrots are intelligent! My Mexican Amazon saw us using our utensils at the table, so he picked up my spoon and brought it closer to his mouth to eat my quinoa!
I was just thinking about the fact that my cats are (cuddly and sweet) strictly indoor cats. We walk our dog, but none of our pets have ever required sunshine before. Similar to reptiles, parrots MUST have sunshine daily or a UV full-spectrum light – which should be close to their cage but can burn their cornea! Ah! How do you give them light close to their cage and not hurt their eyes? Sigh! I’ll let you know if I figure it out. In the meantime, I’m putting them outside for at least an hour or so at least twice a week. Their feathers MUST have this sun shine – it is vital to their health. Talk about high maintenance… but there’s more!
Can you imagine taking care of a parrot- with a big hookbeak that can seriously injure you – who is like a toddler? A hookbill-macaw or Cockatoo toddler who will never grow past the toddler stage!
Parrots Are Naturally Loud
Did I say loud? Make that VERY loud. I can’t think of another pet that compares. The noise level and screech does depend on the parrot’s species and size. Small Parrotlets aren’t bad, they are at the bottom of the “Parrot Sound Level’ scale; Macaws and Cocktoos, on the other hand, can burst the sound chart!
What parrots make good apartment parrots? Check out this vid:
Parrots Need Special Diets
In addition to their pellets (as parrots become ill when fed a seed or seed-mix diet), parrots need fresh foods daily (vegetables, green leaves and veggies with beta carotene mostly)-
Parrots Are Messy & Poop Anywhere
Yes, parrots can be trained to poop in a certain place, and they prefer not to get their ‘space’ dirty, but unless you take the time to train them, their food and poop (and their parrot dust/feathers) can make a tidy home a messy home!
Parrots Are Amazing
Yes, they take time, attention – just like a young child – and great care/cleaning, but they are also amazing! Few other pets will talk to you, “Hi Ursulus,” says one Amazon and “Night, night, night!” says the African Grey when it’s dark out, hang out ON your shoulder and share your meals at the table with a spoon in hand!
Have a questions about parrots?
As the author of “The Parrot Bliss Bond,” I love and welcome questions about having a parrot and creating one of the best experiences of your life!
BOOK
Get my book Parrot Bliss Bond at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0998010065?ref=ppx_pt2_dt_b_prod_image
FACEBOOK
Join Parrot Bliss on FB at https://www.facebook.com/ParrotBliss
Join the flock on FB! https://www.facebook.com/groups/pbflock/
WEBSITE
Visit my site at https://parrotbliss.com/
YOUTUBE
https://www.youtube.com/parrotbliss
A Lorenza & Heromione Update (Amazon & Senegal Parrots)
Parrots are like people!
They can be trouble, fun, and worrisome!
Cats and dogs are wonderful, easy pets (we have 3). I don’t worry about these four-legged critters. They cuddle, keep us company and are wonderful members of the family.
Our parrots are similar, but…
Heromione never wants to get off of me. She stays on, swings and goes upside-down as move my body through my yoga routine. Lorenza tells me she loves me, fiercely tries to keep people away from me (because she thinks I belong to her) and preens me. She’s probably twice the age of any dog and could have another ten plus years in her.
Yes, parrots are a different kind of pet- more like companions who you have to take care of. Clean, boiled water, freshly chopped daily vegetables and plenty of love and attention are required for a parrot’s well being. These feathered creatures are anything but easy!
🦜Lorenza’s Fatty Liver Disease
I took Lorenza to the vet recently. Lorenza hadn’t been feeling well and I thought I’d heard her breathing heavily. Even though her gram stein test showed nothing, my vet agreed that her breathing was labored, so she fortunately prescribed an antibiotic, which changed her behavior and breathing for the better – yay!
Unfortunately, the vet found that Lorenza’s X-rays show that she is older, which we suspected. She lacks calcium and her bones are weak; her veins also have fat built up in them. It was a sad confirmation of what I really already knew 😥
Lorenza will be on supplements for the rest of her life – liquid calcium and Glucosamine for her bones.
🐦 Heromione’s Bloody Toe
Heromione is a sweetheart. She’s really taken with people and she will spend time on most anyone’s shoulder. So, I was surprised to find blood dripping from her foot when I came to her cage several days ago. Her cage mate, likely, hurt her. We had seen them quarreling some, but it didn’t look bad or serious and parrots do bicker. Now that Heroione’s foot was cut and bleeding, I no longer trust them together.
They immediately got separate cages. Her mate will go to a friend who has more space for his cages and has a female. My male isn’t tame, so I think this will suit him best, as well as Heromione.
To clean Heromione’s foot up, we sprayed Chlorhexidine to disinfect. Next we gave her some of our CBD for Parrots oil because parrots tend to pick at and make their injuries worse. To protect her toe temporarily, we wrapped vet tape around it. Then we put her in a carrier cage to limit her mobility and put her in a dark room (with food and water, of course) so that she’d relax and sleep.
Heromione was fine, but looking a little under the weather. So, I visited a new vet with Heromione, which was great. This vet was super-helpful. She told me that Heromione had lost enough blood for her tongue to change colors, to be lighter than usual. I didn’t know that happened! She also reported that Heromione’s crop was empty, and fortunately she then started to eat some of her pellets in the carrier. The doctor also found a small crack in her cere and a little cut at the corner of her mouth, probably from the altercation with her cage mate!
She gave Heromione an antibiotic and pain medication – and my little African Senegal is doing much better!
🩺 Yes, Parrots Are Problematic & Charismatic Like People!
Have a questions about parrots?
As the author of “The Parrot Bliss Bond,” I love and welcome questions about having a parrot and creating one of the best experiences of your life!
The Story Of How Annie (Parrotlet Parrot) Found Her Home
Parrotlets
Parrotlets are adorable! They are only about 30 grams and a couple inches tall. They are active, friendly and curious!
Annie
I do a little Parrotlet breeding – well with Annie’s parents, I didn’t know that the parents should have some seeds in their diet, but not when they are feeding babies. This is because they regurgitate the seeds to the babies and the seeds can get stuck in their crop (an upper part of their neck where they store food).
So, when Annie was just 5 grams and only a couple days old, I had to take her out of her nest box and try to get her crop working again, try to get the seeds to pass so that her digestive system could go back to working unimpared.
A Lot Of Handling
I generally let parents raise the babies until they are around 10 to 14 days. I take them out and hand-feed so that the parrots become used to people; I want the babies to be friendly and loving so that people have an easy time falling in love and connecting with them because this increases the chances of people taking the best care possible of them.
Annie (and her brother Bun, who became a pet) was handled quite a bit. I also kept her in the nursery for the next nest of babies. In this role, an older ‘sibling’ helps me take care of the babies, shows them how to start to eat on their own and also shows them that I’m trustworthy. And Annie did a great job!
Annie Needed A Friend
One thing I love about parrots is that they tend to be good, loving and caring toward their flock. Whether they have one other parrot or several, they form a bond. Some parrots have a call that is unique to their flock, similar to a ‘secret handshake.’ They preen each other, feed each other and play together, especially with their best-feathered-friend, which can be a mate.
Annie took to me and is more oriented towards me than the other Parrotlets. This means that no matter who we put her with, she didn’t seem to ‘click’ well or be too happy. I thought she’d been happy with Chickoraffe, who grew up around the same time as she did, but my daughter thought Annie had attacked this sweet boy’s toes!
This morning Xelha, my daughter, brought Annie to me and said that Annie seemed unhappy in the aviary. We agreed to just let her be loose in the house for a while. When she is, she flies to my shoulder, hangs out on a perch or goes an eats – she gets free-reign.
I had placed Chickoraffe in the nursery, because he also doesn’t seem to belong anywhere. So, I decided to let him out.
Sure enough, a little later I found that Annie and Chickoraffe were with each other on a light. An empty cage happened to be available and open. A little later where I walked into the bird room, Annie and Chickoraffe were in the cage, next to each other, happily preening as if to say, “Yes, thanks, we’ll take this!”
Parrots (that are not emotionally scarred) tend to be loving first. There is nothing to forgive in their world. They find their buddy or mate and then they wouldn’t dream of doing anything other than loving each other and taking care of one-another.
Have a questions about parrots?
As the author of “The Parrot Bliss Bond,” I love and welcome questions about having a parrot and creating one of the best experiences of your life!
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Do Parrots Like To Bathe?
Who Doesn’t Like To Get Clean?
Yes, parrots like to be misted or jump into a tropical kitchen sink-shower!
Parrots need to get clean, just like any other creature. It is important in order to maintain healthy feathers and to keep their skin clean of their dust (parrot dander) – clean skin also helps abate mites.
Giving your parrot a shower is easy. You can either use bottled or boiled water in a mister to spray them with a fine mist. You can also invite them into your shower by offering them a shower perch. Parrots don’t always jump into the water stream, but that’s ok. Keep your bathroom door closed and let your parrot relax and enjoy the moisture in the air.
You may also find your parrot jumping into your kitchen sink to compete with the dishes for the faucet’s water! In this video, Kami, our Harlequin Macaw, jumped right in and drenched herself in the kitchen sink, which she’s really too big for!
What If My Parrot Doesn’t Want To Bathe?
When parrots are enjoying a shower they look blissful, open their wings and close their eyes, soaking in their shower. On the other hand, a parrot that steps away and doesn’t open her wings, doesn’t want a shower!
If your parrot is not accustomed to a shower once or twice a week (you can take your parrot into your bathroom’s moisture daily with no worries), you may have to accustom her to bathing.
Start slowly just by misting her feet and work your way up her body over the next week or two. Your parrot will re-learn to love a natural behavior that helps keep her healthy.
How Does A Parrot Dry Off After A Shower?
Make sure that your parrot isn’t cold or in a draft afterwards.
Frankly, I’ve seen videos of people blow-drying their parrots – and I can’t speak to this.
If you don’t force your parrot to get drenched, then your parrot should be able to monitor how wet and cold they can get. In nature they often bath and ‘air’ dry with no problems because they control when they shower and how wet they get and where they dry off. A parrot shouldn’t need to get drenched weekly; let your parrot show you how much water they want. For example, if you take your parrot into your bathroom to enjoy your shower’s mist a couple times a week, you are doing well. Be sure to mist your parrot too.
My parrots go into my shower’s humidity all of the time. It is relaxing (they always close their eyes) and comfortable to receive the sounds and moisture of the shower. When it comes to misting them, sometimes they walk into the mist and keep their wings open, even after I think they are done. So, I keep going. Other times they step away from the mist, making it clear that it is not a shower day.
As long as you offer a misting several times a week and take them into your humid bathroom a couple times a week, you should be fine. Monitor their feathers and the shine, the pearlescent glow their feathers have. When you see your avian vet for your parrot’s yearly appointment, ask your vet how your parrot’s skin and feathers are doing and if you are giving enough showers based on their condition.
Parrots Share Your Life With You
This is why I say that parrots are companions, not pets. You can share your life and your life activities with your parrot from eating healthy foods to watching TV and sharing your shower with your parrot. No other pet will hold their food and eat by your side as they speak to you, sometimes using English words!
Have a questions about parrots?
As the author of “The Parrot Bliss Bond,” I love and welcome questions about having a parrot and creating one of the best experiences of your life!
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Parrots Are Amazing