Oh, Happy Day!!

Yesterday was the end of my internship, but that didn't stop me from going to visit Parrot Garden today! When I stepped into the cockatoo room, I noticed Houdini staring at me and as he proceeded to climb to his favorite perch that he goes to, to feel safe, so I knew he was aware of my presence. To give him some space, I walked straight over to  Sydney's cage (umbrella cockatoo) and decided to take him out for some one-on-one time. 

As I was making my way across the room with Sydney on my arm, I heard this high-pitched little scream that sounded so unfamiliar. I started looking around and noticed that it was Houdini! He had climbed down from his perch and was hanging on his cage door screaming at me! When people talk about parrots, screaming is a given, but with Houdini, he's always motionless and very quiet. So this surprised me completely, because I've heard him scream only a handful of times. This time, he was staring directly at me and screaming his head off. I walked over to him and said, "SO, you want to come out, don't you?"

After I spent time with Syd, I brought Houdini out and placed him on the stand. Since he has an obsession with moluccan cockatoos, I took Seppi out and put him on my lap. For about 10 minutes straight, Houdini was stretching and flapping his wings like crazy! He kept extending his crest, dancing, and screaming. 

This is the first time in 5 weeks that I've finally noticed him act like a REAL parrot in front of people. He has finally broken out of his protective shell and reconnected with the world and I couldn't be more excited. After watching him exercise his wings for so long, I noticed that he was basically panting, but he looked SO happy. I couldn't help but watch him with a huge smile on my face.

When he finally decided it was time to rest, he flew down to the floor and started walking back and forth along the moluccan cockatoo enclosure, just admiring them. Then he started doing his famous 'Houdini Hop' that melted my heart! Basically, he hops in the air and then lets himself glide down by stretching his wings out. I watched him for almost an hour playing on the floor, just having a blast. He started hopping around in a circle and I couldn't help but laugh at how cute he was acting. 

Stacie came in and watched Houdini for a while with me and he didn't stop playing, but continued to hop around our feet. After some time, Stacie decided to try and step him up and when she asked him, he stepped up on her hand without any hesitation. I started gushing and jumping up and down like a proud mom would after her child accomplished something incredibly amazing.

Houdini proceeded to climb up her arm and sat on her shoulder and since it's a known rule not to let bigger birds on your shoulder, Stacie tried for a while to get him to step up. But, he refused to get off of her and kept sitting right in the middle of her back where she couldn't reach. I literally couldn't stop laughing and taking pictures to capture the moment. 

I am so grateful to have had this opportunity in helping this sweet little parrot rediscover happiness. I am extremely thankful for Jacque trusting me enough to work with him and I know in her care, he will never feel fear and abandonment again. I, also, don't feel as sad to leave him now when I go home in a few days, because I know that Stacie will work with him whenever she can and form an amazing bond with him. She is an incredible parrot caretaker and I know she will help this shy little cockatoo continue on in his search for happiness and trust. 

Don't Shop, ADOPT!!

                             PARROT

Say NO to Puppy ^ Mills!!

'PSSSST! Got any peanuts?'

When most people discuss breeding mills, the first, and usually only thing, that comes to mind are puppy mills. Most of the US is familiar with trying to stop the business of over breeding dogs because of all the birth defects from too 'pure' of breeding and the awful conditions these dogs live under, but what about the parrot mills? Only a select amount of people even know that parrot mills exist and what kinds of treatment and conditions these over bred parrots have to deal with. 

Any kind of animal mill is usually legal if the owner possesses a license. But, how does having a piece of paper give these selfish people the right to force these poor creatures into over breeding? Money. It's always about money. Parrots are over bred and sold around the world like their products, not caring about their overall health and mental stability.

 

Meet Maggie (Left) and Gracie (Right), two umbrella cockatoo's that were once residences at parrot mills. These girls were forced to over breed so much that they both have pro-lapsed cloaca's. Their cloaca is a single opening at the rear where they defecate, copulate, and lay eggs through. So, when they're over bred, their muscles aren't strong enough to stay closed, causing them to leak feces constantly. Parrots with pro-lapsed cloaca's must get shots to reduce hormone levels as well. It is extremely vital to remember that these parrots can not be touched inappropriately on the back and under the wings, but only on the head. If they get over stimulated, they run the risk of loosening their muscles even more, which could cause their intestines to fall out. If this happens, the risk of death is very high if not treated quickly and/or correctly.

Maggie

Gracie

 About a week ago, Gracie became overstimulated when they were moved to a different area, causing her intestines to start coming out. I was actually the one that noticed the incident at first when I went to go talk to the girls. I noticed there was blood coming out of her cloaca and as I looked closer, I noticed something bulging out of her. Instantly, I started to panic, because I was clueless to what was happening. Wendy, the avian vet tech, came and tucked her intestines back inside of her until she could get stitched up the following day.

Her cloaca is bleeding in this picture (Notice the red)

At the clinic, I was allowed to observe Gracie get her intestines readjusted and two sutures put around her cloaca so that her opening wasn't as big. The sutures are made to stay in as long as they can last and when they fall out, she'll have to get stitched back up again. After a few days of getting stitched, we started to notice that she wasn't going to the bathroom. We feared that the sutures made her opening too small and she wasn't able to relieve herself. We then decided to have one of the Veterinarian's come and check her out. She ended up having one suture removed and after the doctor inspected inside her cloaca, she finally started relieving herself. 

 
 
Gracie, pictured above, acting silly after she was finally able to go to the bathroom. Through all the hardships and neglectful situations she's been put through, she still manages to be one of the sweetest birds that that I've ever had the honor of meeting. I hope one day Gracie and Maggie can find a forever home where they don't ever have to remember their painful past. These two parrots are so inspirational and full of life that I can't help but to love them unconditionally. 

Improper Handling

I've loved and owned parrots for around five years and during that time I've done a lot of research on parrot care and handling. Not one article that I've found and read mentioned improper petting of parrots, so I was oblivious of proper petting until the day I stepped into Parrot Garden. 

One of the first things they tell you is to never pet a parrot on its back or on/under its wings. The reason? Their sex organs are located under their wings! Finding out this information blew my mind and I felt kind of embarrassed for not knowing this simple rule. 

So basically, for the past five years, I have been improperly petting my parrots. Finding out this information makes a lot of things more clear to me now. Such as my male Senegal parrots behavior towards me. He seems to think that I am his mate now, so whenever a male person walks in, he instantly turns into an attack bird. I literally just thought he didn't like men, but because of my wrong-doings I have completely confused my parrot.

When your parrot starts to regurgitate for you and/or starts to do a mating dance, the best thing to do is to turn your back to them, or walk away. Allowing your bird to perform this behavior is sending them the wrong signals. 

Though, it is a sign of love, it should only be done for another parrot and/or it's chicks. When I first got my parrots, and noticed them bobbing their heads up and down, I thought it was their way of showing me they were happy, until I did research on this behavior. 

Two more behaviors that must be avoided are when parrots lift their wings up for you to rub underneath and when they try to rub their rear on your hand. When my parrots lifted their wings for me, I thought I was harmlessly petting them, but in reality I was stimulating my parrot. Thinking about this now, it makes me feel like a bad person for not knowing this information in the beginning. Improper petting of parrots is a huge issue that needs to be known. This information is vital when trying to have a normal bond with a parrot without them thinking that they're your mate. 

  Proper Petting:
-Head, neck, and legs 

'Momma, scratch my head?'

'Yep, that's the spot!'

  




 

The staff at Parrot Garden has enriched my knowledge so much about proper handling of parrots. I feel confident enough about going back home to MI to inform others about this issue, and finally handling my parrots with proper care. 

Keeping Your Parrot Healthy

My handsome boy, Sunny, enjoying an almond

My lil' diva, Babygirl, with an almond

I've had the privilege of owning two wonderful small conure Senegal parrots for the last 5 years (Pictured above). While interning at Parrot Garden, I ended up adopting a blue Indian ringneck, adding to my feathered family (Pictured below)! One of the issues that I always run into is what kind of food is best for them? I've tried looking on the internet and most sites usually tell me different things on what is most nutritional for your parrot.

HMM.. Looks like someone decided to help herself :) !

One of the first things I asked when I arrived at Parrot Garden is what do you feed your parrots? Stacie, one of the caretakers, who I LOVE to pick her brain, told me this:

At Best Friends, they have two main pellets they feed to their parrots (Click on the bird food names to learn more information):

  
Roudybush Bird Food is the main brand of pelleted diet given to the parrots, because it's less costly than Harrison's, but still serves as a balanced diet. Typically, only the heavy-set amazons get fed  Harrison's Bird Food, because it's a more monitored diet plan for the parrots who need to lose some weight.

When it comes to fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains, I'm always wondering which are the best to give to my birds. Stacie was kind enough to list a few off for me!

-Anything orange (Preferably cooked):
-Carrots
-Butternut/acorn squash
-Sweet potato/yams
-Pumpkin 
Cooked beans:
-Lima beans
-Kidney beans
-Black beans
-Green beans
-Sweet/snap peas
-Etc
-Lentils
-Broccoli
-Red, green, yellow, orange, and jalapeno peppers
-Any dark, leafy greens (Ie: Kale, dandelion greens, etc) 
-Cooked whole grain brown rice 
-Cooked whole grain wheat pasta

With most of the vegetables, such as the dark leafy greens, make sure to boil them a little bit, because cooking them releases more nutrients. 

To ensure your parrot(s) healthiness, make sure the fresh food is left out for only 3-4 hours. This helps prevent the spread of bacteria. 

Parrot Gardens version of 'chop'

If you're really interested in preparing the best food for your parrot(s), Jacque Johnson, the amazing manager at Parrot Gardens suggested this site to me, and I'll share it with you! If you scroll down on the Parrot Nation website, there is a whole section on how to make 'chop', a mixture of all kinds of vegetables and grains blended together in a food processor. 

Side Note: If you feed your parrot(s) cooked corn, try to limit the amount they eat, because it doesn't have any nutritional value for your bird. If you do plan on adding corn to your chop, add a minimal amount and make sure to blend everything together. By blending the food, it makes it harder for you parrot to pick out only the corn (which they tend to love) and forces him/her to eat the more healthier veggies! This is a great tip for picky parrots!

This website will show you how to make your own chop, separate it into portion-sized zip-lock bags, and freeze them until you need them! A very cost efficient way to make your own parrot food. This is one tip I am definitely using on my parrots when I get back home!

Click Here to Learn About 'Chop'! 

Pictured: The portion-sized amounts of 'chop' for each individual cockatoo

There are a variety of shelled nuts that parrots enjoy, but should only be given as treats. Pistachios and almonds contain less amounts of fat compared to walnuts, pecans, peanuts, and etc.
 

When it comes to feeding your parrot fruits, I was told that fruits should only be given as treats. With fruits such as apples, never give your parrots the core, because the seeds are very toxic for them.

Never feed your parrot avocado. The pit in the middle contains toxins that will kill them very easily, so it's best to avoid the whole fruit in general. 

A tip that I learned here is to feed your parrot unripe fruit. I had no idea it was better for them, because in the wild they tend to eat fruit that isn't ripe.

Here is another link that Jacque shared on Parrot Gardens Facebook page. This website also explains to you what the best foods are for your feathered friends:

Choosing the Right Carbs for Our Companion Birds

Heart Stealers

After interning for 5 weeks at Best Friends, I fell in love with all the parrots. But, there are some that pulled at my heart strings even more. Here are some of the beautiful parrots that I fell in love with and put a big smile on my face every day. 

King O:

When meeting King O, you can't help but fall in love with him. His laughter and comical voice can put a smile on anyone's face. When asked who is the most friendly bird at Parrot Garden, only O's name comes to mind first. His eagerness to entertain and to love people is so incredible that it still baffles me everyday to see him let any person he meets hold him. He is truly one of a kind and would make the bestest friend to someone that has a lot of free time on their hands. He's very high maintenance, but that's a given since he is a KING. 

Click here to adopt King O!  

 

Angel:

 Angel was one of the first parrots I fell in love with on the first day of work, aside from King O. Everyone tells me that he'll either love or hate you when you first meet him. Lucky for me he instantly bonded with me. Every morning when I go to work, he is one of the first parrots I go to right away and socialize with. His tiny little voice is just so adorable to listen to and he loves to snuggle in my arms. It's taking a lot of strength for me not to adopt him, because he's so wonderful, but I must resist, because I already have another parrot in mind :) (If I could, I would be taking a dozen parrots with me back to Michigan!)

Bruce:

Bruce was the first umbrella cockatoo that caught my attention and heart that first week working at Parrot Garden. Over the past few years I haven't had the chance to work with cockatoos, so when I came here, I was blown away! Most cockatoos are so desperate for love and attention that I can't help but spend hours a day socializing with them all. I mean, how can you resist one of these babies sticking their feet out to hold your hand? After working at Parrot Garden, hands down, cockatoos are my favorite species of parrot. Bruce would melt my heart everyday when he would say, "HI BRUCE!!" over and over again and stick out his foot for me to hold. He would snuggle in my arms and go, "OOOHH.. AWWWWEE.... HUH?". I couldn't help falling in love with him. All the gibberish that he would say would just make me laugh and made me forget any worry that I had that day. 

Fred:

How handsome is this double-yellow headed amazon? Fred is the first amazon that melted my heart. He caught my attention as I would enter the amazon room everyday by saying, "I'M FRRRREED," in his sweet little voice. He has some issues with his feet, but it doesn't slow him down one bit. All he needs is a little extra love and attention and he'd be the happiest bird alive.

Click here to adopt Fred! 

Seppi:

This beautiful moluccan cockatoo is named Seppi! At Best Friends, he is the second friendliest parrot that I've met. He steps up for anyone that he meets and loves to talk your ear off. He seems pretty intimidating because of how big he is, but don't let that fool you, he's such a lover. I love to spend my free time holding him and preening his feathers as he chats away. Truly an incredible parrot that could use an amazing home with lots of room and someone to love and play with him constantly.

'Merlin':

The second I laid my eyes on her, I knew she belonged with me. This precious little baby is "Merlin", and after trying to convince myself that I would NOT adopt any animal while interning at Best Friends, my whole perspective changed when I met her. For a while now, I had a great interest in Indian ringnecks, but never had the opportunity to handle them. I've watched multiple YouTube videos of Indian ringnecks and fell in love with their comedic personalities. The second I walked by her cage, she put her head and wings back and started to make kissing sounds. As I peered into her cage, she kept pinning her eyes and made me laugh. I have never seen a parrot act like this in my entire life. She let me pet her right away and would hug her body against the cage so that I could give her the best scratchies. After a few days of socializing with her, she now steps up and loves to ride on my shoulders. I can not wait to take her home and love her to pieces. My little parrot family is growing. I now have three wonderful parrot babies :) 

 

Here are two YouTube videos of some Indian ringnecks that I recommend watching if you want a good "awwwee" moment. These videos melt my heart. Enjoy! :)

Click here to watch Marnie!   

Click here to watch Tajj! 

"Houdini: The Master of Mystery"

Just like the person he's named after, this parrot
seems to share the same characteristic of being somewhat mysterious.

Meet Houdini, a 23 year old goffin's cockatoo.

Houdini's story, before he came to Best Friends, is quite sad. I'll tell you the short version of it since I want to focus on how amazing he is today! Houdini's previous owner owned multiple parrots, but when she became injured and unable to care for them, things turned for the worst. They were moved into her basement where they were cared for once a week by a person she hired. Due to these circumstances, Houdini's mate died. Because of what he went through, I believe, explains why he is so terrified and reserved when interacting with people and even other parrots.

Houdini is my second project parrot that I chose. After hearing his story and seeing how unconnected from the world he actually was, I knew I had to try and help. Over the last few weeks, I worked with him as often as I could. At first, it felt like I would never get through to him. He was so shy and always cowered in the corner when I came near and would climb away when I tried to move closer. For my first session, I spent a lot of time talking/singing/whistling/humming/dancing/reading to him. I attempted to have him come out of his cage by leaving the door open, but he was too scared to move. It was even a struggle to get him to take treats from me. 

'Seriously lady.. I'm not moving!'

'Wait! Did you say peanut?!'

My second session went more smoothly. I opened his cage door and sat in a chair next to him. After socializing with him for a while, he actually came out and climbed to to the top of his cage. I was so proud of him! After letting him come out of his cage for a few more sessions, I still didn't feel like he was connecting with me enough. He spent most of his time away from me when he was out, but would occasionally take treats when I offered. 

The next step I took was more intense. I decided that I would catch him in a towel and see how he reacted. The first time I caught him, I brought him to another room and sat with him. He looked like a little baby wrapped up with only his head poking out. I kept a hand on his chest to monitor his heart rate and at the moment it was racing. I held and socialized with him for about 10 minutes before he got too irritated. During that time, I was able to touch his face with a feather which didn't seem to bother him. Later, when I put him back, he started to dance and bob his head like crazy, with his crest puffed up. He even started to spread his wings, stretch, and flap them. It seemed as though my efforts to connect with him were working. 

After cradling him in my arms day after day, he seemed to get used to me handling him. When I went to take him out of his cage, using a towel over my arm, he seemed to resist me less and actually started stepping up on my arm without me having to catch him. 

 



















The progress that he's made so far just blows my mind, but it gets even better. I recently decided to let him roam around the other enclosed area and he started to enjoy hopping around on the floor and exploring. When I bent over to try and step him up, I decided to use my bare hand, and with the first try, he stepped right up! I let him back down on the ground, and he continued to allow me to pick him up over and over again without hesitation. I was bursting with excitement that I ran over to tell Stacie about my accomplishment with Houdini.

The moment I've been waiting for! SO proud of him for stepping up

After several days of letting him run around and explore, he seemed to become more confident in his actions. When I started bringing him out to play, I would always try and set him down on a wooden stand, but each attempt failed with him flying away. Well, today (02/23/12) when I set him down, he actually stayed in place! I was so proud of how brave he was getting. I sat on the floor and watched him dance on the perch. He then started to flap his wings like crazy and continued to do that for over an hour. He seemed to just come alive and was enjoying his new found freedom. 

From just working with him for a few weeks, the changes in his behavior are monumental. I can only imagine how amazing Houdini would do if he had a forever home. Will you be the one that helps him forget his painful past and and help him to know what real love feels like?     

CLICK HERE TO ADOPT HOUDINI!!

Oh, Romeo

Meet Romeo:

A 27 year old blue-fronted amazon from Germany!

Romeo came to the U.S. with his owner, but she ended up having to get rid of him. You see, he is very picky about who he likes to be around and this handsome boy really digs the ladies. He ended up not liking his owners husband, so Romeo had to go. When thinking about age in, say, a cat or dog, 27 is unthinkable, but with a parrot like Romeo, 27 is just the beginning of his life. The average lifespan for a captive, healthy amazon is 70 years and beyond, so he definitely has a lot of years left in him.

"HEEELLLLOOOO LADIES!"

 I chose Romeo to be one of my project animals, because I've been told that he's becoming more shy as his stay at Parrot Garden grows longer. I feel with my experience working with parrots over the years, I can help him become more social and remember how to trust people again. He has become fairly comfortable with me picking him up with my bare hand/arm and taking treats from me.  

Though, he allows me to step him up on my arm, he is extremely scared to be touched. Over the last few weeks I've tried to pet him on the head with a feather, but he would just move his head and climb away from me. In general, amazons are usually very vocal and comedic, but with Romeo, he is very quiet and reserved. After spending hours upon hours with him, he seems more relaxed with my presence. He seems to inch closer to me as I've been spending my time reading, singing, talking, whistling, humming, and dancing to him. The last few sessions I spent with him, he became very outgoing. He would throw his wings up in the air and go, "WOO!" He has been making a lot of peeping noises as well when I have him out in the free-flight room. 

Romeo has a best friend named Dusty, a mealy amazon. Dusty is much bigger than him and likes to stand between anyone that tries to get near Romeo. It seems that Romeo gets annoyed with Dusty when he does that and I've actually witnessed him pushing away Dusty with his foot so that I could approach him. Since it's hard to socialize Romeo with Dusty there, I have to separate the two when I do my sessions. Romeo isn't as attached to Dusty as Dusty is to him, so he stays calm when they're separated, while Dusty screams from the other room.

Dusty (left) and Romeo (Right) snacking away

When initially observing Dusty's behavior, I was nervous that I would be breaking their bond. But, I was told that Romeo is very independent and it would be best for him to become more social, so that he can get adopted faster. Parrots that are bonded have a much harder time getting adopted since they can't get separated. So, in order to have Romeo be more adoptable, it's best if he doesn't get too bonded with another parrot.

Dusty (Back) watches carefully as I talk to Romeo

All Romeo needs is for one lucky lady to come and fall in love with him. He's very quiet and well-behaved, making him an ideal pet for any woman. Won't you give him a chance to become your best friend? 

Silly boy after a shower and treat

 CLICK HERE TO ADOPT ROMEO!