Apparently the animals were owned by an elderly gentleman who was struggling to keep them alive by feeding them dog food.

Full story here: [Exotic birds seized from condemned Colorado home]

Tags: parrot, AP, news, macaw, blogger

Without a doubt, cockatiels are beautiful birds and make for wonderful pets in any home. The biggest issue with this kind of bird will be choosing the right type of cockatiel bird cage. Here are some tips on what to look for.

When you go to pick out any bird cage, whether for a cockatiel, parrot or other exotic bird, be sure you understand the needs of the bird first.

A cockatiel is a pretty small bird relatively speaking, but they like to have a lot of room to move around. This makes getting a large bird cage a must.

As you may already know, a cockatiel is a ground feeder and spends most of its time walking around scouring the ground for food. Therefore, your pet will need to have at least an 18″ x 18″ area. If you can swing it, find an even bigger bird cage. They will be happy with the extra room.

Another important area to be aware of is keeping the cage clean. This is where a grated bottom will work well. It allows bird dropping and used food to fall through to the bottom tray and makes for an overall healthier bird.

The height of a cockatiel bird cage is not so much an important consideration as is the ground size.

Also, the materials that make up the cage are strictly a personal choice. You can find cages made from plastic, iron, wood and many others as well. Just be sure your bird can’t get its head stuck in the cage. Bar spacing is something you will want to watch out for.

Buying your cockatiel a few toys and accessories will also make for a happier bird. Keep these tips in mind when selecting a bird cage and you will not have any problems in keeping your pet happy and healthy.

All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active and do not edit the article in any way.

By the way, you can find out much more about a Cockatiel Bird Cage as well as more information on everything to do with bird cages on our website at http://www.BirdCages.InfoFromA-z.com

First, consider the species of bird you intending to keep. If you want to have any type of parakeet, cockatiel or another long tailed bird species, you will need a long cage so that your bird can get plenty of exercise. Ideally, the cage should be long enough so the bird can actually fly from one side to the other. A bird with a stocky body, such as a lovebird or a Senegal parrot, gets plenty of exercise by climbing around in the cage. These birds do well in a cage that is taller than it is wide.

You should then consider the size of the cage. While usually you should plan to buy the biggest cage you can afford for your bird, a newly weaned handfed baby bird may feel lost and frightened in a large cage. A young bird also may have trouble locating food and water dishes. If you can afford to do so, it is a good idea to buy a small cage for your baby bird’s first few months and switch it to a larger cage when it is older.

Another thing to keep in mind when you are selecting your bird’s cage is the spacing between the cage bars. A great looking £400 cage isn’t very useful if your bird can fit through the bars! If you are thinking about using a cage with wire mesh, you should compare the size of the hole in the mesh with the size of your bird’s head before you make your selection. A cage made with one inch mesh is just the right size for a cockatiel to stick a head through. Instead of pulling their heads back in through the same hole, cockatiels have been known to bend their necks into a ‘U’ shape and stick their heads into a different hole.

Once you have decided on the cage size and bar spacing, you should consider a few other aspects of bird cage design. Take a look at the cage tray. When you pull it out to clean it, is there a grate in the cage to keep the bird from escaping? Is the tray deep enough to catch most of the mess your bird makes? Even if the cage has a deep tray, you still may find that your bird scatters a lot of seed hulls and feathers on the floor if there is no cage apron. While you can place your cage in a plastic apron base or cover the bottom of the cage with a cloth apron, a built in metal apron is a nice feature.

Finally, don’t forget to take a look at the cage cups. There should be a way for you to easily access the cups without reaching into the cage through the main door. If you are buying a cage for a bigger bird, the cups should actually bolt to the cage unless you want to spend every morning and afternoon for the next 50 years reaching for cups that your bird has tossed onto the bottom of the cage.

If you a replacing a cage for an older parrot type bird, some owners have told me it is important to get a cage of a similar colour. They believe that a bird that has been used to a white painted cage, won’t adapt easily to a metal coloured cage.

Terry King runs Parcel Pets, a leading UK pet supplies web site and has had pets all his life. He lives with his wife Louise, dog Sam, Cat Sabrina and 5 fish!

Tags: buying, bird, cage, choosing, bird+cage, bird+cage+shop

Some things to know that not everyone will tell you . . .

. . . about buying Shipped Hatching Eggs

Here are some “everybody knows” type of information in regards to hatching egg auctions and/or shipped hatching eggs. I’m listing these things because everybody does NOT know, and anyone interested in buying/selling eggs this way SHOULD be more in the know. I hope this is helpful, whether you are interested in buying eggs from me or just happen across this in a search.

First, let me state that if you are interested in starting to raise chickens or any other bird, having hatching eggs verses day-old chicks or older birds shipped, is the least expensive and safest way to get the job done. By shipping hatching eggs you will no way endanger a chick that could hatch along the way, the eggs will have to be incubated first before a chick can hatch.

It is typically assumed that a seller has no responsibility for shipped eggs after it leaves their hands. It is also typically assumed that the you are buying the arrival of intact eggs, NOT the guarantee or implied guarantee of any hatch rate.

Some egg terms:
FERTILE – An egg that could develop an embryo is fertile. This does NOT mean it is necessarily an egg that will hatch. Also, it is NOT a safe assumption that because it did not hatch, that it was not fertile.

VIABLE – An egg that is capable of surviving (hatching). Not all fertile eggs are necessarily viable. Some eggs may develop, but the chick may not pip, or the chick may pip but die before hatching. This is an incubation problem, typical of incorrect humidity.

CLEAR EGG – A clear egg is NOT necessarily an infertile egg. A clear egg is one in which no embryonic development is seen. This could be due to improper egg storage, rough handling in shipping, or incubator problems as far as regulation of heat, opening incubator too frequently or for too long a period of time, chilling an egg.

I have seen a lot of terms misused in ads and auction listings for hatching eggs, ie, “my fertility rate is high” yeah, but how about your hatch rate? It is not necessarily the same thing.

“Circumstances beyond my control” are words often used by an egg seller in reference to after the eggs leave their care. This covers: rough= handling by the Post Office or other shipping courier when the package is in route; changes in temperature or the eggs being in direct sunlight, or very near a heater or air conditioner, or out in the cold; eggs being x-rayed. As far as after the eggs are received by a buyer, the seller does not necessarily know or should not be held responsible for “circumstances beyond control” that could have an adverse effect on a buyer’s hatch, such as: not “resting” the eggs properly before setting; not properly disinfecting the incubator (or other equipment) between hatches; incubation equipment failure; power outages; kids or pets disturbing the incubator; incubator having been placed in too warm or too cool an area; incubator being opened too often or for too long a period of time; improper humidity levels; improper turning, etc.

What a seller CAN (and should) do to ensure the safest possible transport of eggs: Ship the freshest eggs available, package eggs securely in new, never re-used cartons and/or shipping material, mark packages of hatching eggs clearly and plainly, use a service such as Track & Confirm to know where a package is, COMMUNICATE with the buyer so they will know when to expect the eggs.

What the BUYER can do to be a helpful business partner: ask any questions about the type of birds or auction/sale terms before bidding; send payment right away along with any shipment instructions and make sure seller has correct shipping address; COMMUNICATE with the seller when the eggs are received, and most sellers are interested in the condition of the eggs on receipt. If you are unsatisfied, take photos to share with the seller and COMMUNICATE with the buyer about it. Try to resolve any potential problem before leaving auction feedback. Leave feedback when eggs are received, you should NOT wait until the hatch to “rate” the seller.

If you should come across hatching egg auctions or sale conditions that seem a little snitty or over-structured….this is most likely a very good and concerned seller who has been burned or who is otherwise especially cautious about his/her hatching egg practices. If you are in doubt, look at a seller’s feedback. Communicate with the seller and ask questions to ease your concerns. Visit a website, if one is listed, and get to “know” the seller through his or her writings.

I will also say that I was caught off guard in avery odd way once, an unidentified email that was not signed with a first and last name and not sent from that person’s account came through, demanding to know the condition of my premises. It did not sound like a typical “I’m interested in learning about the birds you have” or “I’d like to buy from you” type email, it seemed very much like a personal attack – from a complete stranger who seemed to have too detailed of information about me. The same person was appalled that I would look them up online by a simple search of the email address.

From this, I have learned when making inquiries to include my name, some indication of my whereabouts (city, state or the like) and specifically how I would prefer to be reached by an individual or company will help someone a) identify the customer and/or special considerations as to shipping; b) show in good faith that I am worth spending time answering and am not trying to “pull one over” on anybody and it is just plain decent business etiquette.

As for the freshness of eggs and hatchability; I have seen on sources on the internet that you must incubate an egg within 7 days of being laid; THIS IS NOT CORRECT. It is BEST to do this, and the viability or hatchability of the egg may drastically decrease after 7 days, especially if it is not stored under optimal conditions. At CBF Super Quail, however, we have successfully hatched eggs up to 4 weeks old! Yes, the hatch rate did decrease some, but not drastically. These were not shipped eggs but all eggs were treated in like manner and stored in the same place and in the same conditions.

As long as customs will allow it; eggs CAN be shipped to some International destinations, and buyers can get okay (not always “good” but “okay”) hatch rates. Just like eggs shipped within the US, the shipping and handling of the eggs and package cannot be guaranteed, and some packages may arrive in better shape than others, but there is some hope if a reasonable number of fresh eggs are shipped that you may get a good hatch. I hope to be able to report on this soon!

ALSO: Do research as to a seller’s claims if there is anything you question. People may copy wording, themes, or policies from other auction listings or other sellers and may have info that is not necessarily accurate. For example, I have heard mention of insuring hatching eggs USPS. Now, you may find a USPS that will sell you the insurance, but it is not in their policy, to the best of my knowledge, to refund anything in the event of a problem. Under no circumstances will they cover eggs for hatchability; but I just checked with 800-ASK-USPS and the official answer I received was that some POs may sell you insurance, but the USPS will only accept a claim on broken insured eggs if they are sent Registered and Insured, according to a telephone call but an email stated, “Insurance may be purchased for perishable items.

However, the claim will not be paid if the item is spoiled.” My opinion, a big waste of money! Checking on UPS at 800-PICK-UPS, I learned that there is no insurance available there, you ship at your own risk. Fed-Ex claims that they do not offer insurance at all; but they do provide protection for a shipment based on its “declared value”, their maximum liability in the event of damage or loss. That is all of the information that they would provide in an email inquiry. No courier will guarantee hatch rate or the like, only that the egg arrive intact.

From:
To:
Subject: [Americans_Against_NAIS] Recall list of Cat andDog Food
Recalled Cat Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708

1. Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
2. Authority
3. Best Choice
4. Companion
5. Compliments
6. Demoulas Market Basket
7. Fine Feline Cat, Shep Dog
8. Food Lion
9. Foodtown
10. Giant Companion
11. Good n Meaty
12. Hannaford
13. Hill Country Fare
14. Hy-Vee
15. Key Food
16. Laura Lynn
17. Li’l Red
18. Loving Meals
19. Main Choice
20. Nutriplan
21. Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
22. Nutro Natural Choice
23. Paws
24. Presidents Choice
25. Price Chopper
26. Priority
27. Save-A-Lot
28. Schnucks
29. Sophistacat
30. Special Kitty
31. Springfield Pride
32. Sprout
33. Total Pet, My True Friend
34. Wegmans
35. Western Family
36. White Rose
37. Winn Dixie

Recalled Dog Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708

1. Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
2. Authority
3. Award
4. Best Choice
5. Big Bet
6. Big Red
7. Bloom
8. Bruiser
9. Cadillac
10. Companion
11. Demoulas Market Basket
12. Fine Feline Cat, Shep Dog
13. Food Lion
14. Giant Companion
15. Great Choice
16. Hannaford
17. Hill Country Fare
18. Hy-Vee
19. Key Food
20. Laura Lynn
21. Loving Meals
22. Main Choice
23. Mixables
24. Nutriplan
25. Nutro Max
26. Nutro Natural Choice
27. Nutro
28. Ol’Roy
29. Paws
30. Pet Essentials
31. Pet Pride
32. Presidents Choice
33. Price Chopper
34. Priority
35. Publix
36. Roche Bros
37. Save-A-Lot
38. Schnucks
39. Springsfield Pride
40. Sprout
41. Stater Bros
42. Total Pet, My True Friend
43. Western Family
44. White Rose
45. Winn Dixie
46. Your Pet

—– Original Message —–
From:
To:
Subject: Pet deaths prompt recall of pet food

http://www.menufoods.com/recall

WASHINGTON – A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths.

An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected pet food, Menu Foods said in announcing the North American recall. Product testing has not revealed a link explaining the reported cases of illness and death, the company said.

“At this juncture, we’re not 100 percent sure what’s happened,” said Paul Henderson, the company’s president and chief executive officer. However, the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, since dropped for another source, spokeswoman Sarah Tuite said. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.

The recall covers the company’s “cuts and gravy” style food, which consists of chunks of meat in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches between Dec. 3 and March 6 throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

The pet food was sold by stores operated by the Kroger Company, Safeway Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and PetSmart Inc., among others, Henderson said.

Menu Foods did not immediately provide a full list of brand names and lot numbers covered by the recall, saying they would be posted on its Web site � http://www.menufoods.com/recall � early Saturday. Consumers with questions can call (866) 463-6738.

The company said it manufacturers for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers. It is also a contract manufacturer for the top branded pet food companies, including Procter & Gamble Co.

P&G announced Friday the recall of specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz. and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz. and 5.3 oz. foil pouch cat and dog wet food products made by Menu Foods but sold under the Iams and Eukanuba brands. The recalled products bear the code dates of 6339 through 7073 followed by the plant code 4197, P&G said.

Menu Foods’ three U.S. and one Canadian factory produce more than 1 billion containers of wet pet food a year. The recall covers pet food made at company plants in Emporia, Kan., and Pennsauken, N.J., Henderson said.

Henderson said the company received an undisclosed number of owner complaints of vomiting and kidney failure in dogs and cats after they had been fed its products. It has tested its products but not found a cause for the sickness.

“To date, the tests have not indicated any problems with the product,” Henderson said.

The company alerted the Food and Drug Administration, which already has inspectors in one of the two plants, Henderson said. The FDA was working to nail down brand names covered by the recall, agency spokesman Mike Herndon said.

Menu Foods is majority owned by the Menu Foods Income Fund, based in Ontario, Canada.

Henderson said the recall would cost the company the Canadian equivalent of $26 million to $34 million.

Tags: cats, dogs, food, pet+food, recall, walmart, kroger, safeway, petSmart, menu+foods, FDA, canada

Parrots are intelligent animals. Some studies have proven that certain species of parrots have intelligence levels comparable to that of a four year old child! Yet it’s glaringly obvious that people have no idea how to harness a parrot’s ability to learn. So I thought I’d shed a little light on how I’ve adopted some dog training techniques to get parrots to respond to training much quicker than traditional methods.

This technique is called “shaping”. Shaping is a training method that trains parrots to think. It doesn’t lure them with food, or punish parrots for doing a behavior incorrectly. Instead it works on this principal…

“Parrots will continue to do behaviors that bring them pleasure, with greater and greater frequency – and continue to do so until the behavior no longer brings them pleasure”

When I’m training one of my parrots to learn to step up onto my hand, I don’t just shove my hand in front of them and force them off their perch. After all, the parrot might not want to step up. The parrot might be sleepy, upset, not want to be taken away from his food bowl, or a whole host of other reasons.

So instead, I like to reward parrots for coming to me on their own free will. I like to let the parrot train himself that coming to me brings him pleasure. Here’s what I mean…

-Let’s say that our parrot is happily playing on the top of his cage, and you want him to train him to step up onto your hand. To do this place your hand about 12-24 inches from your parrot, and observe what he does. Does he back away even further? If so you should back up also, until you’re far enough away that your parrot is showing relaxed body language.

Then start watching for tiny movements your parrot starts to make towards your hand. At first, parrots will usually do nothing. But be patient and start small. Look for your parrot to look at your hand. When he does say “good”, and reward with a favorite treat of his.

Parrots will catch on pretty quick and realize that all they have to do to get a treat is look at your hand. When your parrot gets to this stage, demand more from your parrot for a treat. Make your parrot take a step towards your hand… even a small step, tell him “good” and reward him again.

Continue to slowly demand your parrot get closer and closer to your hand before giving him his treats, until he’s actually stepping onto your hand. But be careful, parrots can tend to not trust you. So the first time your parrot steps on your hand, don’t think the training is done. Parrots will feel betrayed if you coax them onto your hand and them pick them up fast.

Instead let your parrot step on your hand without picking him up, and gradually work on rewarding your parrot for letting you pick him an inch of the ground, then two, three, four etc. Until every time you walk over to his cage, he’ll run over to you expecting that he can step up onto your hand to get his treat.

Training parrots in this way teaches parrots to problem solve. It teaches them to figure out what you want them to do, and makes training other behaviors in the future much easier.

To discover more parrot training tips and techniques, sign up for Chet Womach’s free parrot training newsletter where you’ll discover how to fix dozens of parrot behavior problems.

Tags: parrot, training, parrots, learn, teach, stop+biting, free+parrot+training, course, lesson

Profiling the Bird Owner

According to the AVMA, in 78.2% of bird owning households females are the primary person responsible for care of the bird. One interesting piece of data is that while 58.7% of bird-households own only one bird, 12.6% of bird-households own four or more bird.

“Families or individuals who lived in mobile homes were more likely to own birds than those who lived in other types of dwellings. In 2001, 6.5% of those living in mobile homes, compared with 4.7% of those living in houses, owned birds. Also, 3.8% of apartment dwellers and 2.4% of condominium dwellers owned birds in 2001″ (AVMA, 2002, p. 62)

In the most recent survey by AVMA (2001 data), it was found that household income levels were not a big determining factor in the ownership of birds. In other words, 4.2% of households with income over $85,000 owned birds and 5.1% of households with income less than $20,000 owned birds.

Some data on the pet related spending habits of the public was obtained from the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association where they state that:

- In 1994, the total industry expenditures were $17 billion, nearly doubling in 2003.

- For 2003, $32.4 billion was spent on our pets in the U.S.

- For 2004, it is estimated that $34.3 billion will be spent on our pets in the U.S.

America’s love affair with pets is indicated by the yearly growth in spending on food, care, and supplies.

Total U.S. Pet Industry Expenditures:

Year Billion

2004 $34.3 est.

2003 $32.4

2002 $29.5

2001 $28.5

According the the APPMA, the greatest expense for pet owners over a 12-month period is veterinary care services, followed by food, then supplies.

According to the APPMA, when it comes to our pets, “We pamper them. We bring them wherever we go. We surprise them with something new on special occasions. They even get holiday presents. They are our pets!”

This idea of parrots being thought of as family members is further supported by findings reported in A Bird in the House: An Anthropological Perspective on Companion Parrots by Patricia Anderson where she states: “The data support the impression that companion parrots increasingly are being considered family members, or “Fids” (“Feathered Kids”), thus following current trends in American society that accord companion animals in general a greater investment in time, money, and emotion.”

For more statistics on bird owners including graphs and charts, visit Parrot Ownership

Larry Swanson is webmaster of several sites including http://www.parrots.com

Tags: Parrots, Birds, Statistics, owners, profile

The macaw parrot is a type of parrot that originates from South America and Africa. There are many different types of macaws and two of the most popular are the Catalina macaw parrot and the blue and yellow macaw parrot. Many people will recognize the macaw from pirate movies as being the parrot that sits on the shoulder of the captain. They were of course used by sailors back in those days for sailors who could not speak. They used to train the macaw parrot to speak for them.

The lifespan of the macaw parrot ranges from 15 to 30 years depending on how well looked after they are. There is lots you can do to make sure your macaw parrot will live for longer and one of the most important things you can do as an owner is to make sure your macaw is consistently being shown attention. Parrots hate nothing more than to be bored and being bored usually decreases their lifespan.

As the macaw parrot is a wild animal that came from the forests of Africa and South America, they must be specially treated. Therefore only trained experts should own a macaw because it takes a lot of effort to maintain these beautiful creatures. One of the things owners use to keep their macaws from boredom is to teach them how to talk. Many people don’t realize that the macaw is an amazing talker. Expert trainers are able to teach their macaw parrot to speak several different phrases and words.

Another thing that trainers like to do to keep their macaw parrots happy is to teach them tricks. These tricks include anything from card tricks to ball games. They are amazing thinkers and have the capacity to solve even the most challenging of problems. Next time you visit the local wildlife reserve and they have a macaw parrot as a part of their wildlife, ask the trainers to show you some of the tricks they have taught their parrots. This will give you a good opportunity to learn many things for when you perhaps decide to get your own macaw parrot one day.

So there it is, the macaw parrot in a nutshell. If you are thinking about getting your own macaw one day than I suggest you spend a lot of time reading and learning all the different training methods involved with this wonderful creatures. There are a myriad of books and resources out there, just make sure you take in the right information and filter out all the jargon.

If you want to know more about Parrots including free information, reviews and much more, or you want to join our FREE Online Parrot Training Course then please visit Parrots (Recommended) or for more free articles all about parrots visit Parrot Training Blog

One of the unique aspects of having a bird for a pet is that this is one of the few pets that may actually be trained to talk.  Many people feel that they’ll be able to communicate and have conversations with their pet birds but this may not be true in all cases.  Even if a bird can talk fluently you must remember that even the smartest birds only have the intelligence of a toddler and therefore may not be able to tell you how they are feeling.

    Whether your bird can talk or not, understanding what your  pet is feeling is important to both you and your bird.  One way to be able to do this is to be able to interpret his body language as this is a sure giveaway to his state of mind.

One good reason for understanding the body language of birds is that you can often avoid being bitten whether by your own pet or another exotic bird if you know when he is scared and when you should back off.  If a bird is very scared, he will often try to make himself as thin as possible you will notice him standing very tall and looking very thin.  His eyes may be dilated but they are not moving back and forth at all.  In a way the bird is trying to make himself invisible – he thinks that if he makes himself as thin as possible and doesn’t move that the creature that is scaring him will overlook him.

If you try to reach into the cage to do pet or pick up a bird that is acting like this he may lash out with you in terror and you may get a nasty peck.  The best thing to do is to squat down so that the bird is higher than you and look right at them with your eyes closed.  Speak to him in a soft soothing tone and slowly open your eyes.  This should help to relax the bird as they feel most comfortable when they higher than anyone else.  The closing of your eyes is important because they consider blinking a sign of trust.  Once you’ve got your pet bird into this state it doesn’t mean that he’s a can automatically let you reach in and pick them up you still want to use caution until you have him fully tamed.

If you bird is angry you will notice that his head is weaving back and forth and his eyes are dilated.  He may be squawking loudly and leaning slightly forward for easy attack.  His feathers will be puffed up.  you might want to try distracting him with a millet sprayers favorite treat but you probably will want to get too close or you may experience a painful bite.  When your bird is angry like this it’s best to let him come down before you try to approach him.  Perhaps you might want to find out what made him angry so you can avoid this next time.

An excited bird might look similar to an angry bird with dilated pupils and he’ll be bobbing (not weaving) his head and have ruffled feathers.  Depending on how excited he has his whole body to be moving around.  He might be squawking and screeching sometimes loudly.  An excited bird, even though he is happy, may also bite you because he’s too excited.  It’s best to let him come down a little bit before handling.

A calm content bird will be sitting on his perch with one leg tucked up under him.  He’ll be easy recognize due to his relaxed posture and he might groom oneself stretch out and even go to sleep.  If you don’t make any sudden moves that startled her you can probably get them pop up when you finger and let you pet him easily when he is in a state of mind.

Knowing how your bird feels is important for training and ongoing companionship.  Once your bird is very tame you probably won’t have to worry too much as he’ll welcome your attention, but in the beginning knowing whether he is frightened, angry or excited can help you gain his trust for easier training.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://pet-birds.pet-breeds.com where you can learn more about choosing, caring  for and training your pet bird.

Do you own a parrot that bites? Would you like me to share some proven principals for getting your parrot to stop biting? If so, you’re about to discover how to get rid of your parrot’s biting, using a strategy I call “Target Training”.

Never heard of target training? I’m not surprised. Most so called parrot behavior “Gurus” have been so busy standing on their soapboxes, preaching to everyone that “if we just loved our parrots more, they’d start to be nice” – what a bunch of garbage! And what they’re preaching couldn’t be further from the truth.

Let’s face it. When most people buy a baby parrot, it’s just been hand fed, it’s still a baby, not yet strong enough to bite, and it’s the cutest, cuddliest little thing in the world. And they actually stay that way, for several months & even years.

But then every parrot eventually comes into what I call their “Teenage Years”. It’s basically puberty for your bird. Its hormones are a wreck, it starts wanting a mate, and just like your teenage kids, parrot’s tend to become a bit troublesome during this time, and there’s no amount of love that can turn their behavior around. Instead the magical fix is to do what every therapist says to their emotionally challenged clients when their relationships are in a mess – “work on strengthening your communication”.

And that’s exactly what “Target Training” does. It develops a level of communication with your bird that both of you can understand.

Here’s how it works. You train your parrot to understand simple commands from you, or cues. Then you teach your parrot that whenever he follows these cues, he gets rewarded – usually with a really tasty treat! The more commands you teach your parrot, the better the level of communication and the more your parrot will trust you, and cease to bite you.

The very first and most basic level of target training is teaching your parrot to touch the end of a small wooden stick, or wooden dowel. You reward your parrot every time he touches the end of the wooden dowel by giving him a treat each time, even if when he touches it, he’s lashing out at the dowel.

And with time, the parrot realizes that you’re calling the shots, and that you’re actually opening up a new level of communication to him that he never knew existed. He’ll start to realize that if he follows your cues, and touches the end of the stick like you’ve asked him to, that you’ll reward him… and reward him well.

Your parrot will start to trust you so much, that a well target trained parrot, can be known to actually be trained to do whatever it takes to touch the end of that stick, even by flying or walking over your entire house, just to obey your cues.

By focusing on training your parrot to “Target” or touch the end of a stick, you’ll open up that level of communication it takes to get your parrot to realize you really are a nice person and that he doesn’t need to bite you to get what he wants after all.

For more information on target training, or other tips and tricks for teaching your parrot to stop biting, sign up for Chet Womach’s “Parrot Training Newsletter” where you’ll get free videos and monthly tips for fixing the behavior problems in your parrot.

parrot+training parrot parrots macaw cockatoo amazon conure grey gray