Staring at Birds - Socialization

I've been lucky over the years.  Every employer I've ever had has been okay with me bringing babies to work for handfeeding.  I've always had office jobs.  Co-workers and clients get a kick out of seeing the babies being fed and developing.  The babies get super socialized through the daily car rides and meeting all the new people.  

So, take your bird out and about with you when you can!  Don't forget to clip, harness and have a carrier when you do.

Staring at Birds - TOYS!!

My friend Margaret's new bird toy store offering FREE SHIPPING in March:
http://www.luckybirdtoyscompany.com/

Join Parrot Paradise Forum to receive an additional 10% in Margaret's bird store:
http://www.parrotparadiseforum.com/

Staring at Birds - Thrifty Fun 2

Yesterday's thrift store haul for $2:

Remember - you don't need to go broke to keep your birds entertained and swimming in new toys!

Staring at Birds - "New" Playstand

My husband, the bestest husband EVER made this for me:

 No, I do not own a normal vacuum.

 

Bird Thought - What I feed

I feed a quality seed base with pellets free fed to some pairs.  Pellets are my "vitamin supplement".  Some pairs don't get pellets (or get limited amounts of pellets) as pellets have been linked to health problems in some birds such a eclectus and mutation parrotlets.

I also feed the following "mash" every day.  In addition to the "mash", seed, and pellets I feed as treats and enrichment whatever interesting thing happens to be at the store at the time - grapes, cantaloupes, strawberries, cactus pads, etc.  Try your ethnic food store for some REALLY interesting fresh produce.

This "mash" is what I feed my birds.  If you only have one or a few pet birds, this is probably too time consuming and a hassle to deal with.  With only a few birds it would work better for you to integrate the bird diet into your routine:  Integrate him into YOUR lifestyle

Small Birds:
(Finches, Bourke Parakeets, Cockatiels, Parrotlets, White-Winged Parakeets)

 

Broccoli

 

Carrots

 

Apples

  

Cook Mix - Raw

 

Cook Mix - After Cooking

  

Cook Mix

 

Sprouts

How to sprout: Sprouting

 

Sprouts

  

Complete and ready to feed.

Large Birds:
(African Greys, Eclectus, Rosellas, Conures, Indian Ringnecks) 

 

Broccoli - Coarse Chopped

  

Carrots - Coarse Chopped

  

Apples - Coarse Chopped

 

Cooked Mix

  

Cooked Mix

  

Fruit Cocktail - No Sugar Added

**This is occasionally used.  The eclectus like it. 

 

Sprouts

How to Sprout: Sprouting

  

Sprouts

 

Complete and Ready to Feed

Bird Tip - Join Me!

Learn more about birds.  Join me in taking this course:

Fundamentals of Aviculture   Level II, Intermediate Aviculture

Fundamentals of Aviculture is written for: pet bird owners, bird breeders, veterinarians and their staff, zoo employees, bird-related commercial establishments and everyone associated with birds. The course provides a foundation for the emerging science of aviculture. The Fundamentals of Aviculture, Level 1, must be completed before enrollment in Level 2. The Level 2 course, Intermediate Aviculture, is presented in 15 chapters covering conservation, avian genetics, color mutations, nesting, courtship, incubation, hand-rearing, basic microbiology, disease, emergency care, enrichment and much more.

Visit the Fundamentals of Aviculture for more information.

Status of the Organization: The American Federation of Aviculture, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) Not-For-Profit Corporation, established in 1974. Supporters: Development of Fundamentals of Aviculture is made possible by a grant from Pet Care Trust, and by funding and other support from the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center, and the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University.

Enroll today to take Intermediate Aviculture at the introductory rate of $75.

©2011 American Federation of Aviculture, Inc.  All rights reserved.

Bird Tip - Sprouting Revisited

For the truly HARD CORE seed junkie you can sprout spray millet:

 

Entire spray millet

 

Cover with water.  Soak about 8 hours or overnight.

Entire spray millet is a little tricky to get thoroughly soaked.  

Push the top ones to the bottom about 4 hours into the soaking session.

After soaking, pour through sieve and rinse thoroughly. Set sieve on top of sprouting container to drain.  Make sure the sieve holes are small enough so the millet seeds don't fall through. 

Rinse at least twice a day.  I leave this next to the kitchen sink so when I pass by 

I give it a rinse. Smell it after each rinse.  It should smell fresh and "earthy", never moldy.  Discard if moldy or smells yucky.

Sprouts are ready to serve when it grows "hair" (make sure it's not mold!).

Depending on the temperature, the sprouts will be ready in 24 - 36 hours. 

I don't know how long the sprouts will keep.  If I do spray millet, I just make enough for what gets consumed in 1 day. So if you want to feed over consecutive days, you'll need to have several going at a time made a day apart.

Bird Tip - The "S" Word!

SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE!

Ducky and the latest batch of babies performing community service.

My daughter and I volunteer with a local cat shelter, Friends of Cats - FOC.

We take Ducky and any babies to events to socialize.

This picture was taken at a Farmer's Market.

Hopefully, you have gotten your bird from a source that's already socialized your new bird very well.  Regardless, you must socialize the bird or continue to give the bird new experiences.  A little fear is not a bad thing.  Don't be over protective; but keep in mind - don't terrify the bird.

I know you think you're doing what's best for your bird by removing him from the scary experience - "Oh, it scares Polly! Poor Polly! I don't want Polly to be scared!"

In the bird's mind it's, "Oh! That's scary! Oh! My owner says we need to hurry away from the scary thing; therefore, this scary thing must be dangerous!"

Lesson learned is next time the scary thing is encountered, the bird will react with more fear because you've taught it that the thing was dangerous.

On the other hand, if we do not remove them from the scary thing:
Human - "Oh, it scares Polly! Well, it's just a stuffed animal that's not harmful to Polly. No reason to remove Polly away from the toy." Human to bird - "It's ok Polly, it's just a toy." And we help the bird understand it's not a dangerous thing, and we expose the bird until it relaxes.
Bird - "Oh! That's scary! Hmm. . . But my owner doesn't seem scared. Hmm . . . my owner's being very calm about all of this. Hmm . . . my owner not afraid of this thing. Hmm. . . I think I'll touch it with my beak and see for myself. Oh! Hey! It's kinda squishy. I guess it's nothing to be afraid of!"

Lesson learned is next time I see this thing it's not scary and might be in need of further exploration.

I'm a strong believer that the animal takes cues from us as to how it should react to its environment and new things. I notice in both my horses and my birds, the more I help them overcome a scary experience, the more trusting the animal is of me. When I first got my grey arab, he really had a hard time listening to me - he was a very reactionary horse. I discovered that when I helped him overcome something scary, his behavior immediately changed afterwards and he was much more compliant when being ridden.

For birds, the amount of fear I like to see is when the bird stands really tall slightly leaning away from the object, looks concerned, may be moving its head around to see where it can flee to, wings may be flicking like it wants to get away; but there is no actual movement to get away from the object. Any actual movement away from the scary object is too scary.

It's about nuance and a "feel" for the animal. SOCIALIZE, BUT DON'T TERRIFY YOUR BIRD. 

Bird Tip - Teach Independence to Reduce Screaming

With a sweet new bird, your inclination is to cuddle it and have it stuck to your body when it's not in its cage.  Well DON'T!

Paulie doesn't need to be held or on someone constantly.  It's good for him to spend some time on top of a cage, or on a play stand by himself for a while each day.  Teaches independence and so he won't learn to scream for attention.  Do this "independence time" after you  have spent some time cuddling and playing with him.  Helps a lot to have special goodies on the cage/play stand - table foods, water, wad of paper to chew up, new toy, etc.

If he won't stay on the cage/play stand or won't stop screeching for you (give him at least 5-10 minutes to stop screeching or jumping off, keep putting him back on the cage/stand) quietly pick him up and lock him in his cage until he calms down.  Leave the room if you have to.  You can play with him again after he's calmed down and quiet for 15 minutes or so.  He'll hear you walking around and whatever and he'll scream.  Don't go to him, don't let him out, don't "poor baby" him through the bars.  Just ignore him.

You also need to be realistic as to how often a bird vocalizes.  Birds are not quiet animals (Then again, humans aren't either.  When was the last time you went 15 minutes without opening your trap?) .

Understand when it's normal for them to be vocalizing:
- Dusk: 15-20 minutes
- Dawn: 15-20 minutes.  15-20 minutes seems absolute FOREVER if you can't stand the noise.  Find some noise that really grates on your nerves and see if you can stand it before you get yourself a bird.
- When you leave the house.  He should settle down w/in 10-15 minutes after you leave.  Reduce screaming in this instance by giving the bird super special items right before you step out the door - favorite toy, favorite food, etc.  Save certain special items for this use.  Your bird will look forward to your departure in anticipation of his bonus goodies. 
- Even when you leave the room it's not odd for him to beep once or twice - more persistent than that and you need to put him in his cage and/or leave the room until he quiets down.

Understand "contact calls":
- When you return home and he's screaming, he's contact calling you.  When you come home, go briefly say "hi" to the bird, let him out on top of his cage, go do something like bathroom/change clothes whatever until he's quiet for a few minutes; then pick him up and play with him.

Read more about contact calls:  Contact Calls

Bird Tip - Frugal Fun

I'm frugal, not cheap. . . Um, no.  I'm cheap. I rarely buy expensive bird toys anymore.  Recently I bought Ducky a $15 wood and rope bird toy I thought fer sure he would LOVE.  He doesn't love it or hate it.  He pretty much ignores it.  I don't know about you, but $15 down the drain annoys the snot outa me.

Your local 99 cent store is a treasure trove!  Hey!  For 99 cents, if Ducky doesn't play with something - WHATEVER!

What I picked up yesterday at the 99 cent store:

 

Great foot toy, or attached to something.

 

This was pretty cool.  Instead of a twist mechanism, it's a pull-down lever.

Ok - This is how frugal I am:  The box is going in my aviary for a finch nesting site.

 

These had little holes at the ends so they can be attached to something.

 

What became of the stuff:

 

The candy/toy vending machines are always best with variety.

There's seed, pellets, plastic beads, and other little toys in there.

The gumball machine's been hot gluegunned to a plastic container lid I had around.

All the other stuff's been left loose.

 

I'm not very craft or creative, but you can imagine the potential for decorating up this swing.

Bird Tip-The Cage is His Room, not Jail

Does your bird scream or otherwise fuss when you put him back in his cage?

When putting your bird back in his cage put something special in there first - favorite food, toy, etc.  Let him see the special item, then put him in the cage.  From my experience this teaches them that the cage is a wonderful place and they'll start to go into their cage by themselves. 

Leave the cage door open when you have the bird out.  When he's tired, thirsty, hungry, whatever, he can go back into the cage himself.  He learns the cage is not a prison, it's his room.  A couple of days ago my daughter told me Ducky (her sun conure) got tired of playing with her and walked back to his cage for a bath.  Then he took a nap in his cage.

Skittles

(Jenday Conure)

Partied too hard the night before and crashed in the food bowl.

Seriously - this IS about birds and goats. . . and my other kritters

  

(Patrick, a baby pygmy goat with a baby Jenday Conure)

So, this is going to be a blog with pictures of the animals I keep 

and my thoughts on keeping them.

Thank you Holly for the suggestion!