Macaws:
Red Shouldered (Hahn's) Macaw
Severe Macaw
Blue And Gold Macaw
Blue Throated Macaw
Military Macaw
Red Fronted Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Green Winged Macaw
Hyacinth Macaw
Kili and Truman are definitely getting along much better overall. However, it's at the park where they do great together. They can sit side by side with their wings rubbing against each other and not even fight. At home there can be a squabble here and there but nothing too bad.
Parrots playing together on Kili's cage top
Kili dreaming of stealing Truman's toy
Parrots get in fight when Kili tries to steal toy
Taking my parrots to the park
Senegal Parrot and Cape Parrot getting along sitting outside together
Huddled shoulder to shoulder drying from a shower
My parrots and I at the park
Here is a video of my parrots behaving at a family outing I took them to. They say together on the same chair back without the slightest trouble. This is why it's great to take your birds places. They are much less aggressive to each other and to other people and it's a great way to socialize them overall.
For the long term, I wasn't particularly thrilled with the way the carrier Truman came in was set up. So I decided to start over and make a new one specific for him. I started by purchasing a small cat carrier at a typical pet store. Assembly was just the beginning of the makeover this carrier was about to get.
The first step for transforming a carrier into a parrot carrier is to add a perch. I went through some of Kili's old perches and found just the right one for Truman. I measured the best position for the perch and drilled a hole so that I could bolt the perch on to the carrier. Then I drilled additional holes near the top mesh door and front door. I use these holes to add an additional clasp to each door. My parrots are flighted so I take additional precautions in the event the carrier door fails or is coerced (by the parrot). I also use zip ties to secure every carrier clasp shut
I later added a food bowl ring to the carrier for being able to drop a food bowl in. I hung a toy from the cage top mesh and added a paper towel under the perch. The carrier was ready to go for testing. I brought Kili and Truman out for a family event in their respective carriers. I didn't feed them in the morning but instead let them eat in their carriers when I arrived. They were both hungry and ate marvelously. This served as an additional reward for being good in their carriers.
I much prefer the top loaded carriers with a door on the top than the classic side door only ones. Not only do I find it easier to clean the carrier this way, but it is also much easier getting the parrot in and out. By opening the top I can reach the parrot no matter where it is in the carrier and it can step up. Whereas with a side door design, you have to wait for it to come out or reach deep inside for it. Also it is easier to add toys and food bowls through the top down as well. So I definitely recommend spending the little bit extra and getting a top door (or two door) carrier than a side door only design.
Here is a video of the entire assembly process and all of the modifications I made for my parrot's new travel carrier.
After receiving much interest in the stands I use for all my parrot training, I have finally decided to release these on sale to the general public. Originally I designed a simple set of stands for the purpose of teaching Kili to target back and forth between them so that she could learn to fly as I would increase the distance. Since then I have made numerous improvements to the design and have found countless uses for these stands. Just to mention a few:
· Target training · Perch to perch flight training · Recall flight training to your hand · Training parrot tricks such as wave, shake, nod, turn around, wings · Advanced and variable height flight recall · Potty training parrot to poop from stand onto newspaper · Socializing parrots to each other · Place for parrot to hang out and play with toys
They are lightweight and portable so they can easily be moved from place to place. Yet they are heavy enough to be durable and support a small to medium parrot landing on them at speed. Some of mine I keep in a permanent location so the parrots know where they are and can fly there for safety (or toilet). The other stands I move around depending on what I am training. Typically I keep the height a bit below my head but sometimes I raise them for video or special training. If I'd like to sit in a chair, I can bring the training stands down to remain at a convenient height for training.
Parrot training perches eliminate the distraction that colorful play gyms and multi-branched climbing trees can create, keeping your parrot's attention on you for training. Since the two stands are independent, the ways you can line them up are numerous. Set them up parallel to each other to teach the parrot to fly between the two stands. Set the perches up perpendicular to each other to keep two parrots on them but not fight with each other. It is easy to add a newspaper at the base to collect any mess.
One of the simplest and cheapest sources of parrot fun is actually nothing more than clothespins (the wooden ones that you use to hang clothes to dry on a string). Mainly these feathered little devils just need something to keep their beak occupied and it really isn't worth putting out too much money on fancy toys that will be broken in no time.
Clothespins are simply one of the cheapest sources of chewable wood for parrots. Truman's breeder actually suggested this to me and said that she's been serving them to her parrots for many years without issue. I bought a pack of 72 wooden clothespins for just $1 at the 99 cent store. I simply twist the clothespins and pop the springs out and it makes for 2 wooden sticks. That is 144 wooden sticks for $1. That comes out to less than one cent per bundle of fun.
The clothespins sticks can be used as a reward for training. Occasionally I'll give Truman a break from training by rewarding him with a clothespin and he happily chews on it for 10 minutes. Alternatively they can be used to make a toy by drilling holes in the sticks and then hanging them on a stainless steel or aluminum wire.
The newest accomplishment I would like to share is finally putting Kili's cage back to the bird area. For the last month while Truman was here, as well as several months before his arrival, I had Kili's cage in a different area in preparation for quarantining Truman. While the quarantine failed as the result of parrots flying around, I still kept the cages separate for some time to prevent aggression and to prevent Truman from bonding to Kili rather than me. After a month of tremendous progress, bonding, and safe introduction to Kili, I decided that putting their cages together at this point will be just fine. And it certainly has been going just fine. Kili does not make any aggressive advances to Truman when they are in their separate cages and they seem to be getting along just fine. I had them in much closer range when I trained them on a single perch, so the natural unsupervised distance is much greater. The move was gradual but quick. For about two days I moved Kili's cage halfway toward Truman's. For one day I had her cage in the bird area but as far away from Truman as possible (about 3 feet). And then finally I went all the way and brought the cages together to their long term spots.
To even go a step further, I let the two parrots play on top of Kili's cage. I was curious to see if Kili would exhibit territorial aggression or not (as they had been previously introduced on neutral territory). The good news is that for the most part they got along just fine. Truman was more concerned with playing with Kili's toys and Kili just wanted attention and petting. Kili has been molting a lot lately and loves petting like never before. She even bent her head down to Truman invitingly. Truman took up the invitation and walked over to preen her but the moment he got close Kili snapped at him. She's a tricky little devil.
I am glad to have my apartment back in order with the birds a bit away from where I spend my time. They seem to be getting along just fine with only an occasional squabble here and there. I think Kili finally found her match.
Trained Parrot is a blog about how to train tricks to all parrots and parakeets. Read about how I teach tricks to Truman the Brown Necked Cape Parrot including flight recall, shake, wave, nod, turn around, fetch, wings, and play dead. Learn how you can train tricks to your Parrot, Parrotlet, Parakeet, Lovebird, Cockatiel, Conure, African Grey, Amazon, Cockatoo or Macaw. This blog is better than books or DVDs because the information is real, live, and completely free of charge. If you want to know how to teach your parrot tricks then you will enjoy this free parrot training tutorial.
Trained Parrot site content Copyright 2010-2020 Michael Sazhin. Reproduction of text, images, or videos without prior permission prohibited. All rights reserved.
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