Exotic Pet Birds

How to teach your exotic bird some fun tricks.

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 01:10:18 +0000

The first things to have in mind when you are embarking on teaching your pet bird tricks are some basic training techniques and themes common to training any animal. You want to start with things that come naturally to your exotic bird and will be simple to reward and reinforce, so for an example many birds like to flap and stretch their wings. When they exhibit this behavior you label it and reward it with either food or praise or anything your bird likes. You are waiting for the behavior to be performed and then positively marking it with your voice or a treat. With repetition your bird will make the association between these three things and learn to do it when he/she hears the word you have labeled the desired behavior or trick. This simple approach can be used for all sorts of individual behaviors that your bird does in his/her daily life like jumping on and off his perch or picking things up in his mouth and carrying them around.
Once you and your bird have a good working relationship together and he knows a variety of commands for tricks you can start getting creative and stringing behaviors together so they become one seamless trick. An example of this would be teaching the pickup and the drop together in to a little bowl or some cute object like a basketball hoop. Birds are very clever and love the positive interaction training can bring to their lives so with patience and gentleness always at the forefront of your technique you will be amazed at the repertoire of tricks your bird can acquire.

Your exotic bird. Training it not to bite.

admin — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 01:09:53 +0000

The first step in training your exotic bird not to bite is understanding why birds bite. Naturally birds may beak at objects to explore or to hold on to objects and move around. However, every so often birds will bite. A bird owner will know the difference. One is a natural instinct and the other is a quick and sharp bite often out of fear. Fear is the main reason birds bite. They may be bothered by a change in their environment or feel threatened by a stranger.

Another reason a bird bites is to protect its mate. This does not always refer to another bird. Often pet birds will view their owner as their mate. If a stranger is near the ower and the bird preceives this as a threat the bird may bite. The best way to avoid this is to pay close attention to your bird’s body language. Get to know your bird and know how your bird reacts to different situations. Notice the signs before the biting occurs is the best way to prevent the biting.

The best time to teach a bird not to bite is during this younge age. If you dissapprove of the birds behavior do not yell. Instead hold your bird on your hand at eye level and frown at the bird. Talk in a soft yet stern voice. Birds are able to understand facial expressions. Then place your bird on its cage or perch for a few minutes. After these minutes please play with your bird and let it know that everything is now okay. This reinforces good behavior.

About the Cockatoo

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 01:05:54 +0000

The Cockatoo is native to Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, but can now be found in many places. There are over 40 different species which can be divided into the white cockatoos and the black cockatoo groups. Well known species of pets include Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, the Galah, the Major Mitchell and the Red Tail Black Cockatoo. There are various other species that are not typically kept as pets due to the expense associated with the pets. It is obvious that you are in the room with cockatoo when you notice the erectile crest that rises after being alighting and when alarmed and excited. Their beaks are strong and heavy to assist in cracking large seeds, but be careful because their bite is also very powerful and destructive.

Some Cockatoo species can live for as long as 120 years, making them great pets for those who are seeking a lifelong friend. They tend to enjoy physical interactions with their owner but can become loud and develop unwanted behavior if they are deprived of affection. One tip to ensure an enjoyable bird in your home is to provide consistent training from a young age which helps to avoid destructive habits. A Cockatoo will prosper when an owner is able to provide significant and meaningful attention.

These birds can become good talkers but will also make loud screaming noises, which is a challenge that requires a dedicated owner who will not give up on the continued obedience training. Other challenges that can be addressed with the continued obedience training includes biting and excessive chewing, which could include chewing on electric wiring that could lead to house fires.

Tips on Teaching Your Parrot to Talk

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 01:09:29 +0000

To have the most succes in teaching a parrot to talk, one must begin as early as possible. Juat as it is easier for a younger child to learn a language than an adult, so is it for parrots. As young parrots who just left the nest, bonding will be easier, and you need to bond with your bird in order to be able to teach him anything.

Where does one begin? The bird must first feel safe and secure. Once the bonding has occurred, the process may begin. Just remember, patience is of the utmost importance.

It is a good idea to have the bird out of its cage. The parrot should be perched on your arm or hand. Try twice a day at first, with a simple phrase. “Good baby,” “good morning,” “pretty bird,” are just a few ideas. Limit the “lesson” to about 10 minutes. The bird may just make bird noises at first and that is ok. Tell him how good he is. Give him a treat now and then. If you are familiar with birds, you know they make the most noise in the morning, so this would be a good time of day to start.

Make sure there are no distractions…no tv or radio. It should be just you and the bird. Birds listen to how you say words, how expressive you are, so the more expressive, the better. Repeat what you say. Be loud and clear. Repeat and repeat. Identify objects. Show him a peanut and say peanut repetitively. Talk often to your parrot.

It may take some time for the first word or two, but once he gets it, there will be no stopping him.

Proper nutrition for the African Grey parrot

admin — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:38:55 +0000

Feeding African Grey parrot the right food is very important because it can tell their health, stress level and ability to learn how to talk.

African Grey parrot are very different from other bird species because they have their own choice, different diet pattern and eat different kinds of food.

If you want African Grey parrot to eat the type of food you want them to eat then you should consider teaching and giving them food when they are around 12 week old can be great advantage.

Depend on how you teach them, some African Grey parrot only eat soft food while other eat only hard fruit, vegetable etc. So it is your duty as their owner to change their diet and give them wide variation of fruits and vegetables to see what you African Grey parrot like best.

Be aware that most African Grey parrots fell ill and sick because they eat food that contain less calcium so it is very important to give them a good balance of calcium from food such as boiled eggs, spinach, blackberries and yogurt etc.

If your African Grey parrot refuse to eat these food that contain calcium mentioned above then you must try to give them calcium supplements food around two to three time week. One thing that you should becareful is that most of African Grey parrot dont drink water in a day because they had already absorb water into their body by eating fruits.

Calcium diet can make your African Grey parrot healthy, nice feather and can greatly reduce stress which can lead to symptoms such as feather plucking and squeaking etc.

A good health African Grey parrot can learn and respond to speech training quickly and efficiently.

A New Way to Clip Your Pet Bird’s Wings

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 01:08:52 +0000

Exotic birds are one of the most popular exotic pets. Many people have birds and love them but they have questions. A common one is, “Should I clip my exotic birds wings?” The answer to this is a resounding, “Yes!”

For years the only way to clip a bird’s wings was to clip the feathers in half starting at the tip and going along another layer of feathers called the covert feathers. This was accepted and many vets still clip wings this way. However, this often irritates your bird. Birds are fussy creatures and will attempt to groom the clipped shaft to make it softer and less irritating. You can tell because the shaft will have a star-burst shape, almost as if it exploded.

The new way to clip bird wing feathers is completely different. Your vet will gently extend the wing and identify individual feathers. Then he or she will take a pair of rounded tip scissors, most likely bird or cat claw scissors, and cut the feather at the base. This removes the entire feather and your bird will no longer spend hours preening clipped wings. By clipping wings in this manner, your vet will remove fewer feathers and it is a prettier wing clip than the old clip. This type of wing clip also reduces the chance of accidentally clipping a blood feather.

There are many advantages to this new wing clip. When its time for your bird’s next clip, ask for this new way. I’m sure you and your bird will be much happier.

Proper Nutrition is key for your exotic bird

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 01:08:03 +0000

Keeping an exotic bird healthy in captivity is not always an easy thing to do, but knowing your bird’s needs is the first step to having a happy and healthy bird. The most important thing involved in keeping your exotic bird healthy is feeding it a proper diet.
First of all, you need to know what not to ever give your exotic bird, chocolate, apple seeds, avocadoes and sugar are top of the do not feed ever list. Avoid sunflower seeds whenever possible, they are very fatty and some birds are pre disposed to fatty liver syndrome.
A good pellet formula that is size appropriate should be offered daily. If you have a picky eater you can light mist the pellets with apple juice and they will devour them. Some seed can be given, but it should never be the majority of the bird’s diet. Fresh water is a vital part of your bird’s diet; make sure it is always available.
Now what is healthy for your exotic bird? Fresh fruits and vegetables are always welcomed by your bird and very healthy. Some favorites are corn on the cob, carrot sticks, grapes, strawberries, cucumbers, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, and any variety of squash. Peppers are another big favorite, bell peppers, chili peppers, jalapeno peppers most birds love them all.
Dried foods like unsweetened cereals are always a great healthy snack as are wheat crackers and dried fruits like raisins, prunes or banana chips. Your exotic bird can also share some of your foods. They love pasta, both cooked and uncooked and beans same way, both cooked and uncooked.

Exotic Birds – Macaws

admin — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 01:07:19 +0000

Macaws are very unique species of birds. They can range in all different sizes, shapes, and colors. These birds reside in different forest of different regions. They are usually located in the rainforest or murky woods and savannahs. These birds are very rare in nature and have very distinct lifestyles.

Macaws can range in many colors, from bright colors to dark colors. They can also have various beak sizes and beak colors making them very unique. Their beaks can be very dull to very sharp and from long to short in length.

These birds originated in Mexico, The Americas, and the Caribbean. Some species of macaws can also be located over the entire region of the world. Macaws are normally located within warm weather.

Macaws are very intelligent birds. Some species of these birds even have the ability to talk and speak very clearly. Macaws can make very loud or subtle noises with their vocals which lets them communicate with other birds of the same species.

Macaws have a very distinct diet. They usually feed on fruits, berries, and also insects. Some species of macaw often chew on rocks and pebbles to keep their beaks sharp and for calcium. This diet also helps to keep their stunning appearance even more ravishing.

Several of the species of macaw are endangered. Some of these species are also kept as home pets, but they do require a great deal of care. Macaws are sometimes kept in captivity to balance out their number of species. Some species of macaws can live very long lives, while others often have brief lives.

About the African Grey Parrot

admin — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 01:06:57 +0000

African Grey Parrots are known as being the best talkers in the entire parrot kingdom. They are able to mimic human speech to the point that you may assume it is a human talking. Another unique feature of this bird is they are also able to mimic other sounds such as dripping faucets to construction equipment. The will also learn and mimic all of those words and phrases that shouldn’t be repeated. They are not particularly noisy birds, although they can keep on talking for a while. You will know if they become alarmed as they will produce a series of sharp, shrill shrieks.

The African Grey Parrot is extremely intelligent and requires a stimulating environment in order to prosper. It is easy for this bird to become bored which can lead to behavioral problems such as feather mutilation. These birds are also very clumsy which can be combated by properly trimming their wings. If they are trimmed to short though, vet attention may be needed in case of an accident.

An owner with time restraints should not keep an African Grey Parrot as a pet as they require stimulation which often times means not keeping them cage bound. Because they become nervous when there are changes in their environment or if they get frustrated, an owner will want to pay attention to feather plucking problems. Owners will also notice a change in behavior once the bird becomes sexually mature as they will be much more protective of their cage and may shy away from new things.

Exotic Birds

admin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 01:04:50 +0000

Exotic birds can range in many different species. These birds can differ in size and colors. They are also different by the uniqueness in their lifestyle and stunning nature. Exotic birds are very rare in the world and can range in many different regions of the globe.

Some of the Birds Among the Unique

The Blue and Gold Macaw: The blue and gold macaw is one of the medium sized birds in the bird family. Their wings and body are covered in two-tone, blue and gold. Their beaks are short, dull, but sharp at the tip, and strong
African Grey Parrot: This bird is all over gray colored with shades of white, and a bright red tail. These bird are very smart and does sometimes have the ability to learn to talk.
The Canary: These birds are one of the smaller species of birds. They are bright colored and very petite. They interact with one another with their marvelous bird songs.
Great White Heron: These birds are medium to large size and are only the color white. They are usually common all over the world, located in many regions.
Ground Finch Bird: The ground finch bird is one of the smaller birds in the bird family. Their breast are white, while their body and wings are shades of brown and black.
Lovebird: The lovebird is very unique, with its small appearance with green and yellow colored feathers and its bright red beak.

These aren’t the only species of exotic birds in the world. These are only a fraction to the exotic birds that reside on this planet, ranging in different color and size. These birds bring out their uniqueness in nature with their different styles and depth.