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
Hurricane Sandy was a wake up call for people in the northeast and a reminder to everyone that we are not invulnerable. Whether you live in a tornado, earthquake, flood, or other natural disaster prone region, it is important to be prepared. Even if you live in the safest possible region, other unforeseen problems such as fire, electrical outage, or medical emergency can still happen. Therefore we must all make sure that we are able to care for our pets even under extreme circumstances. The number of lost and abandoned pets from the recent hurricane is astounding as much as unacceptable. I would like to go over some things to consider in preparation for unforeseen circumstances and how it pertains to parrots. As difficult as it may be to deal with a disaster, it is even more difficult for us to keep our parrots safe because of their special needs.
I challenge you to consider a few of the following scenarios and play through in your head what you would do to deal with it. Better yet, run through some of the steps with your parrot that may pertain to handling or the bird's reaction. Then I will share what I would do in each case and what you can do with your parrot now to be prepared.
Case 1: Electrical Outage: whether a loss of power specifically in your home or in your entire community, what will you do? What if it's a summer time black out and temps are over 100F? What if this happens in winter and takes your heating system down with it? How will you feed your parrot without fridge or microwave and a week long outage?
Case 2: Pre-Disaster Evacuation: a predicted natural catastrophe in your area mandates urgent evacuation. Are you prepared to bring your pets with you? Where will you go? How will you keep your parrot safe in the new location? What supplies must you bring and what can be left behind? How will you get your parrot out of the cage? What will you transport it in? What will the parrot live in while away?
Case 3: Sans-Civilization Survival: what if you remained through a natural catastrophe or were hit by an unexpected one that leaves you without modern conveniences for weeks? You are stuck in your home without running water, electricity, heating, or cooling. Do you have the supplies on hand to take care of yourself, family, and pets?
Let's consider all of the things our parrots take for granted that require electricity and would be affected if it were cut off. First there's temperature control. In the summer it may be too hot without power for cooling and in the winter too cold without heating. As it turns out, most gas heating systems still require electricity to function. So while a gas outage could be overcome with electric heaters, an electric shortage takes out all stationary heating systems. If electricity is cut off in the entire neighborhood then it may affect access to water (pumping stations) and food (stores closed).
Without electricity, lights would be affected. This may not seem like a terribly big deal (so it gets dark early and the parrot goes to sleep) but it is important to stock up on battery powered flashlights and resist the temptation to light up candles because fumes may be dangerous.
For an electrical outage my first course of action would be to take the birds over to my parents' house, however, if the outage is for the entire region rather than just a single home, no one might have power. In this case I would have to deal from home with it. During a hot summer blackout, I would put my parrots outside to stay cool rather than indoors. I have an outdoor aviary with a roof so with frequent misting they would be cooler there than indoors. If you don't have an aviary, you might consider taking the birds outside in their cages (but only with supervision). Box fans are a good idea but resist the temptation to use ceiling fans.
For an electrical heating outage in winter, things would be a fair bit more complicated. If the situation makes the likelihood of outage to be more than 24 hours, my first solution would be to pack up the birds and drive out of town and find a hotel room someplace. If the situation were so bad that it's impossible to go anywhere or do anything and I were housebound, I would pitch my camping tent indoors and keep the birds in carriers under many blankets with me. Birds wouldn't do well with cold so conserving/sharing heat is the best solution when there is no energy to provide heat with. Burning things would be out of the question because the fumes would likely be toxic to parrots. I have an electrical stove so that would do me little good. However, if you have a gas stove, you can light it with matches and use that to make some heat. Just be sure to keep the parrots caged during this process and in a well ventilated area.
I would be much less concerned about food for birds because luckily their pellets aren't prone to perish and can be kept for months in a dry place. Since I normally keep the bird food in a cooler anyway, that supply should last me through any trouble. I always keep at least a month of bird food ahead in reserve so that would be no factor. As a fallback to pellets, I would feed my birds cereal and bread. Anything that needs cooking would obviously be a problem but luckily this is unimportant for their survival.
When it comes to evacuating with the birds, I couldn't be more prepared. The parrots' carriers are always ready to go (not only in case of a disaster but also medical emergency). Since the parrots are tame, always step up, and used to travel, grabbing them from their cages and sticking them in carriers would literally be a process that would take seconds. Then I'd grab the bag of pellets from the carrier, bird cage cover sheets, and be ready to go. With more time I could pack some toys and other conveniences but in a real emergency, that's all that would be necessary. I can always find bottled water and let the birds drink out of a paper cup. Pellets can be hand fed or placed on the cage bottom if I didn't have the time to grab food bowls.
Just because my parrots are accustomed to travel doesn't mean other peoples parrots are. This is why I always try to tell everyone to travel with your birds now. Get them used to going into the carrier now, not when there is an emergency and no time to work on it. Practice putting your parrot into the travel carrier when things are stress free. Take your bird on car rides and short outings just for the fun of it. By taking this preemptive approach, you can ensure that you will be prepared to evacuate your birds under any circumstances.
During the actual hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or other scenario, use common sense on keeping parrots safe inside the home. Some people lost parrots during the recent hurricane when windows flew open and birds flew away. If things are that bad, then leave the bird in the cage! Keep cages away from windows and consider putting them in the bathroom (often the sturdiest place in a house). It may also help to throw sheets or blankets over the cage to protect from debris. The only event in which the birds would be worse off in a cage is a flood. If you are on a low level and a flood is taking place, the birds could drown right in their cage. Try to get their cages high or let them loose in the house. If the situation is most severe and your birds are flighted, just open their cages and let them fly away and deal with recovering them later. Don't let your birds be trapped in their cages in a flood or fire.
Finally, if I were unexpectedly stranded home with the birds for some time, I would apply the ideas mentioned above for survival. Like I said, I usually order a new bag of pellets when I'm approaching a month reserve so I doubt the birds would go hungry. But even without pellets, I get them used to eating alternate foods. Cereal is not as good as pellets but similar and will ensure that your parrots don't starve. Some parrots are picky and might not immediately want to eat it. Try it now, see if you can feed your parrot several meals of easy to find human food in case you're in a situation where you had to evacuate birds without time to get their food. I always keep some bottled water for convenience which also serves as an emergency supply. When I travel with my birds, I keep one bottle aside just for them to drink from. I pour the water into a cup and let the birds take turns drinking from it. I never give them water from a bottle I drank directly from because of bacteria.
Hopefully this helps you begin to think about dealing with emergencies and how they could affect your parrots. It is better to be prepared and not need to use it than to be caught by surprise. Given that most natural catastrophes are predictable, try to err on the side of caution and move your family/pets to safety beforehand. If hit by something unexpected, be prepared with supplies and plans. Practice the steps that might relate to dealing with an emergency by traveling with your parrots and exposing them to novel situations, foods, people, and places.
This Thanksgiving, let us be thankful for the conveniences and safety we have while making preparations to ensure that we and our pets can be safe under extraordinary circumstances. Have a wonderful holiday.
With all the attention that I have been receiving since Kili's performances on TV, I'd like to take a moment to write about a cause that is very dear to me: parrot rescue. Countless numbers of parrots are being rehomed, released, euthanized, or neglected every year mainly due to the irresponsibility of their owners. Other times it has nothing to do with irresponsibility but unforeseen circumstances. My personal approach is to try to be as responsible of an owner as possible but also to prepare my parrots for unforeseen circumstances so that any changes would be bearable for them.
There is one rescue in particular that I believe deserves special attention and I hope can act as a model for other such organizations. I'm talking about Ginger's Parrot Rescue in Phoenix Arizona which specialized in Senegal Parrot rehabilitation. Ginger takes in unwanted Senegal Parrots and turns their life around. Usually these birds end up in rescue because of problems that irresponsible owners caused such as biting, plucking, or screaming. However, Ginger personally works with each bird and prepares it for a new life in a new home.
Unlike most typical rescues, she does not simply stick the bird in a cage on display until someone willing comes around to adopt it and take on a whole project. Instead, Ginger applies her refined understanding and experience of Senegal Parrots to erase the bird's troubles and present it as a trouble-free and desirable pet. Most rescues operate on the principle of pity. That is the bird has a terrible past and the rescue hopes to find someone compassionate to take on the bird out of pity. The trouble with this approach is that beginner owners that choose a rescue over a baby parrot in this case are often destined for failure because they are not experienced enough to be able to cope with a difficult rescue bird. On the other hand, the more experienced owners end up reaching their capacity of how many parrots they can keep too quickly for the rescue to be able to continue homing the flood of birds coming in. For these reasons, I think Ginger's approach is more sustainable in the long term. She takes in a limited number of parrots and all of the same species. She exposes them to a flock of similar parrots to learn a suitable way of life.
The modeling approach that Ginger employs is very successful. Parrots new to the flock quickly transition to a healthy diet, learn to step up to come out of the cage, and become sociable toward humans. This is a much more effective approach than a person adopting that parrot outright from its originator. You see Ginger has the patience, specific species expertise, and same species flock behind her to ensure success. If someone adopts a problematic rescue parrot directly, the likelihood of failure is substantially higher and only puts the parrot on a tour of rehoming. This type of failure becomes even harder to undo down the line. So by breaking the chain and establishing results with the parrots, Ginger is able to ensure a greater likelihood that the adopters of these parrots will not need to rehome them again due to past problems.
By providing "handfed baby from the pet store" quality parrots (or better), Ginger's parrots are competitive against breeder babies. This is the best part of the approach because it provides a realistic rescue option for less experienced parrot owners. Not only does this approach find a home for a parrot that requires one but it also reduces demand for baby parrots. Another novelty of Ginger's approach to adopting out parrots is that she makes extensive measures to socialize the parrots with potential adopters. Adopters need to visit the parrots at the rescue as well as the parrot visiting the adopter at their home. Ginger helps guide interactions between parrot and potential adopter to ensure that everyone has a good experience. Not only does Ginger work with the parrots but also with adopters when it comes to education. Ginger helps adopters set up a diet, schedule, and daily routine that ensures that parrots remain tame and everyone is happy.
I have personally visited Ginger's rescue twice now. The first time was during my summer stay in Phoenix for the Parrot Wizard Bird Show and Seminar. The second time was recently during my hurricane escape and trip to Chicago. I provided Ginger with a lot of tips and training guidance since my first trip and was thrilled to see a lot of results during the months in between. It was also exciting to see many of the same birds I met last time (although I would prefer if they were already adopted). Neither the first nor second time have I been bit by any of Ginger's parrots. I would just walk into her cage room and take all the birds out one at a time. Almost all of them (except the recently added birds that haven't received enough work yet) would step right up on my hand without biting so I could take them out. I'm not sure if the birds remember me since last time or my approach is successful but I can tell you that it works consistently.
I'd like to end this article by describing 3 ways you can help Gingers Parrots. The best thing you can do is adopt a parrot. Don't adopt a parrot you don't need/want. However, if you are looking for a Senegal Parrot baby, consider adopting a Senegal from Gingers Parrots instead. Her older parrots are as friendly and easy going as a baby except they have these traits long term as opposed to the baby that stays sweet until it matures. If you're not located in the Phoenix area or not in the position to adopt, another great way to help is to donate. The best way to donate is to sponsor a parrot! This is a small monthly amount that will help ensure that an individual parrot can get the best possible food, toys, and supplies at the rescue until it is adopted. You will be kept informed about the bird through photos and videos. Alternately you can make a one time donation of any amount. Every little bit helps. I'm sure the rescue takes cage/supply donations as well (call/email Ginger if you want to send supplies). Finally, there is an easy way that absolutely anyone can help is by spreading the word. The more people that know that this rescue exists, the better the chances that an adopter or donor can participate. So even if you cannot adopt or donate, please share the link to the website and facebook page with all the parrot lovers you know.
My pet Senegal Parrot Kili performed on the Late Show with David Letterman on Tuesday November 13, 2012. She played off her maternal skills by holding her toy baby, pushing her around in a stroller, and then rocking her asleep in her crib. We had a lot of fun and a great time on the show.
Now for my loyal readers I will offer a play by play analysis of how the trick went. Right after coming out I shook Mr Letterman's hand with my right with the bird on it because clicker and treat were tucked in my left hand. I had to keep Kili's foot clamped with my thumb while speaking to the host not because the bird wanted to get loose but because she was dying to do the trick. She was like "would you just shut up already and let me do my thing!? GAH!"
When David brought up the age thing about the bird outliving me, I didn't feel like getting into the specifics about how Senegal lifespans are closer to 30 years so I just left it at "I hope she doesn't outlive me!" for the folks paying attention. So when David brought up quirks/ticks, they showed Kili up close being all jittery, however it had nothing to do with this and all to do with the fact that she could see her props and was trying to rip herself loose from my hands and do the trick already. At one point I had to cup her against me to distract her and get her to stop seeing her trick. It took no effort to get her to do the trick because by the time all talking was done, all I had to do was let go and like a horse at the start gate of the Kentucky Derby she was off!
Few realize this, but Kili picking up the baby with her foot is a whole trick in itself because parrots don't naturally do this. Normally they pick things up with their beak and then transfer them to their foot if they have to. Kili dropped the baby but quickly picked it back up to continue. Getting Kili to stay in the position and show how she holds the baby is also a challenge because she'd prefer to run along and continue the trick. The table top was a bit slippery but Kili managed to get by and push the stroller all the way across. She didn't realize to stop until she hit the crib though. This was mostly the result of an unfamiliar surface that she didn't get to practice the stroller push much on.
Kili was posed with a major dilemma at the finale of the trick because she pushed the stroller up against the crib. She would not be able to put the baby in from the stroller side as she'd normally be accustomed to. But being the brilliant bird that she is, Kili simply walked around the crib and placed it from the other side! She finished off by rocking the crib a few times and waving goodnight to the baby (however, the camera angle doesn't really show this). She ended the whole thing off by flying back to me and got a sizable piece of almond as a reward.
I intentionally stayed back away from the table and had Kili fly to/from to show the lack of involvement on my part, keep my hands off, and let Kili show everyone what she can do! After it ended Kili flew back to the table because she was looking for a comfortable place to chew her almond. I wanted to give her a big reward for doing a big job but later regretted it because it took her too long to eat and it was hard to get her to stay on my hand. Finally there was that awkward moment where Letterman was like "oh you're back? There's always the guy who won't leave." That was really a gaffe on the show's part because I was told to walk off stage after shaking the hosts hand at the end but as I walked off the stage manager told me to go back out to watch the instant replay. Thanks a lot guys for playing me the fool when you can't even keep your procedure straight!
After leaving the stage I got a banana and grape from the salad bar to reward Kili. While she was chowing on those I also threw in a load of pellets. She didn't know what to go at first and was thrilled to have everything. She rolled the banana around in the pellet powder and made her own treat out of it! The look on her beak was hysterical as all the pellet powder was sticking to her banana covered beak! I wanted Kili to celebrate her job well done by feeding her as much as she'd like to eat. So unlike the normally moderated portions, here she could eat as much as she want and she did! I left the carrier open but she wouldn't come out because she was so thrilled at her special meal. She porked up 21 grams (nearly 20% of her empty weight) without blinking an eye and might have kept going if I hadn't eventually taken away the leftovers. She was bloated beyond belief and looked like the slightest squeeze of her belly and she would pop. What I found even more astounding was that when we got home (and I went to train Truman, business as usual...), Kili still wanted to train and did a few flight recalls despite the fact that I didn't expect anything at all from her. She recalled to go back in her cage for one final pellet!
Kili got the greatest meal of her life after nailing her performance on the Late Show
Thanks to everyone for watching and being supportive of the training efforts to date. I hope you enjoyed our performance. If an average guy like me can teach his ordinary parrot all these tricks, then there is little doubt in my mind that any and every parrot owner can develop a simple loving/caring relationship with their parrot. Your parrot doesn't have to be the world champion performer but by applying comparable techniques including positive reinforcement training, taming, socialization, flight, food management, steady schedule, love, and patience you can have the same relationship. The greatest victory of all of this is the relationship that I have with this bird. A few years ago she was becoming a biter and difficult to manage. Now anyone can hold her, I can travel with her, and she is just a wonderful pet. My blog, forum, and store are here to help you so please take advantage. Private consultations are available.
Here is Kili watching herself on TV (we got home in time to see it air):
Kili & Truman received a free copy of the Life With Alex Movie because of their participation and brief guest appearance in it. Having read both of Dr. Pepperberg's books and many articles, I was really excited to get to actually see footage of Alex and the studies. My parrots were envious of the extensive treats and attention that the lab birds were being provided but I had to remind my two braniacs that those birds had to work long hard hours. Kili rebutted that those birds only have to think and not actually do anything strenuous so she still thinks they have it easier. You can never win with these guys.
The movie should appeal to parrot owners more so than scientists because it features many birds and is narrated in simple language. The movie is more about the lives of the parrots and the researchers rather than the intricate details of the studies themselves. I am glad that the movie warns viewers about the difficulties of keeping parrots as pets and not to look at Alex and decide you gotta have a talking bird like that too.
Personally I found the books to be a lot more detailed and meaningful, however, if you haven't read them the movie is a great start. Yet, if you can handle the length and density of the Alex Studies, I highly recommend reading it because you will learn far more than what the DVD can even begin to present about Psittacine Psychology.
The movie is 55 minutes long and features footage old and new. A portion of the proceeds from the film will benefit the Alex Foundation.
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.
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Kili got the greatest meal of her life after nailing her performance on the Late Show
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