Pscittacines and other feathered friends

Hi. I am not trying to be gross or funny here, but I have a yellow collared macaw who just crapped and it smelled like rotten eggs. It looked like normal bird crap. I have 7 birds and have had birds most of my life, and have never noticed an odor in their feces. Has anyone else had this happen?

She's on Zupreem pellets and gets nuts, vegetables, fruit, pasta, and bread throughout the week. She stole a Frito from me last night and I'm wondering if that's what did it. She acts like she feels fine.

Crossposted to bird communties.

Swearing parrot fitted with false leg (which he'd rather chew on than wear). :D

Not mine, just adorable:

Georgie the Green-Cheeked Conure dancing to the Chicken Dance.

My boyfriend and I have just started to make our own playstands/gyms for birds. The first model we have out is a hanging orb that has been approved by our picky cockatiel. Each order is custom made to fit you and your bird's needs. It comes in 3 different sizes--small (15inches), medium (18inches), and large(21inches). There is also the option of sisal, hemp, or cotton rope and feeding/drinking cups.

The Hanging Orb that is pictured is a medium with sisal rope.










If you would like something different, or have more specific needs, please comment or e-mail me at flyingfluff AT gmail DOT com and we can work out something together that both fits what you want and is reasonably priced.

NOTE: This business is just starting out, so the product you will receive will be greatly discounted. I have done some math and figured out that I'm just barely covering the material costs at this point. They start out at $35 plus $20* for s&h, but I will only be offering 3 more at this price. It will increase slightly afterwards, so I suggest you hurry if you want to get one while the cost is this low! I only accept PayPal at the moment and my paypal address is flyingfluff@gmail.com

* USPS was the cheapest at $17 + $3 for the box. UPS and FedEx was $21-$22.


x-posted to my personal journal and several other bird communities. Sorry if this shows up more than once on your friends page.

Katie, my new (second hand) African Grey is home. She came to my house on Saturday. She is not a happy camper! She screams and flutters around really clumsily banging into the sides of the cage every time my hand is inside the cage or I come too near. When we keep a safe distance she seems ok though she tends to be fluffed at most times and always on her guard. I have been leaving her cage door open while we are around to watch her (to see if she attempts to come out) however because we're close by she refuses. I have been told by her previous owners that she is "cage aggressive?" so outside the cage she's not AS nervous. We haven't been able to get her out of the cage so I don't really know. I have been inching towards her cage and handing her peanuts (her favorite treat) but most of the time she tends to grab them really fast and throw them as far away as possible. I haven't been able to put the new perch or the new toy i bought in her cage because she freaks everytime my hand is in the cage. The cage is not new to her, it is her home cage she's completely used to it and all the toys/perches that are currently in there.
Should I keep up what I'm doing or is there something more you can suggest? Do you think there's a chance of her warming to me eventually? Advice would be great!

My 6 yo timneh is obsessed with my ficus plant. She spends her day plotting how to get to it. It isn't dangerous to her but I don't want her on it. Is there some plant y'all give your parrots to tear up and eat?

Here's a news clip of an unfortunate incident involving a Long Island pet store owner and his stolen parrots:

http://www.yahoo.com/s/653614

_{"These easter eggs? They're mine. MINE MINE MINE. Not yours. Mine."}

A cockatoo at a wildlife sanctuary has spent two weeks trying to hatch a bowl of chocolate eggs.

Cockatoo Adopts Bowl of Cadbury Creme Eggs. :D

NEWS ADVISORY Seattle Animal Shelter seeks homes for 110 Parakeets  

In case anyone is interested.

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Animal Shelter is seeking homes for 110
parakeets its officers rescued this morning. The birds, officially known
as Budgerigar or "budgies," are now available for adoption at no charge
from the Seattle Animal Shelter.

The birds were surrendered by their owner to the Seattle Animal Shelter
after officers responded to a complaint about the number of birds being
housed in a University District apartment. While the conditions of the
cages were unsanitary at the time of investigation, the shelter will not
file animal cruelty charges against the owner. The birds health history
is unknown.

Prospective adopters must complete an adoption application and arrive
at the shelter with a suitable bird cage. Cages must be at least 20
inches by 12 inches by 18 inches for one bird or 40 inches by 20 inches
by 32 inches for a pair. Prospective adopters will be allowed to adopt
up to two birds.

Budgies typically live 15 to 20 years. Prospective adopters should be
prepared to provide the following supplies to ensure proper care of the
bird(s):

Adequate cage that allows the bird room to flyAdequate water and food
traysVariety of food, including fresh vegetablesSuitable enrichment toys
CuttlebonesBudgie guide related to proper care The Seattle Animal
Shelter is open every day from noon to 6 p.m. For more information, call
(206)386-PETS (7387) or visit www.seattleanimalshelter.org. 


Original post in seattle.
Cross posted to parrot_lovers and pscittacines

Why, why, why, WHY does my Illiger's macaw insist on throwing food (any type I give her! seeds, pellets, fruit, veggies, pasta...) in to her water dish and any other water dish provided? She'll take two bites off of something and then deliberately take it to the water dish and toss it in.

These two have such a twisted relationship. Rosetta has bonded with Kyle more than anyone else in the house. She lurvs him!
She wanted the food in his mouth on this day.

xposted to my journal

This morning, as I was sitting on the bed eating breakfast--occasionally offering Baby a flake--he decided to heck with the handouts, he was going for the source!



(Pardon my lack of shaving and the pile of laundry on top of the dressers. :D)

gekko's Severe macaw, Baby, and my Blue & Gold, Lucy, checking each other out (or at least snacking on treats) on the play gym. :D

Does anyone know if there is a list somewhere of good and bad breeders in Canada?

I’m new to the community and to birds in general. We recently rescued a pair of conures (most of our pets are rescues) and have long term hopes of owning a macaw.

In the delightful vein of Cats In Ur Stuff Doing Things:

Hullo all. In order to raise a bit of money for my upcoming trip, for the next two days (ends Monday at midnight, PST) I'm going to be selling off a few original pieces and a whole lot of a prints. These may interest a few of you - they're all birds. Originals, by the way, are $50 and include mats (with the exception of "For Piper") and prints are $15, are sized 8 x 10, and also include a black mat.

Pieces of interest to the birding community:
For Piper, original size 24x36

Longing, Prints only

Feather Butt, Original 16x12

Poly Parrotlet, 1 inch sculpture, $10

There are more pieces less bird related. Check my Deviantart site for more details. My e-mail is bokkaku@bokkaku.com, if you're interested.

Thanks!

Does anyone have an outside aviary for their parrots? It's actually a lot omre difficult to find information than I thought it would be. It's just a 6.5'x6.5' enclosure- I live on an Air Force base and that's pretty much all I can do unfortunately.

Substrate?

I've seen aviaries with concrete bottoms and some with grass- obviously to have grass there must be soil. Assuming I were to use organic soil for a grass bottom- what are the risks? What precautions should be taken? I'm just concerned with the possibility of maybe bacteria or insects in the soil, I wouldnt be able to hose it down to clean.

Another option I was considering is just a concrete bottom that I can hose off and maybe grow grass in some kind of shallow container so I can keep it inside and bring it out when I bring the birds out.

I'm reluctant to remove grass all together because I've read a lot about the enrichment it can bring to the birds (rolling in it, digging, etc).

Recommendations?

Also, can anyone recommend any websites or books about aviaries? Also feel free to give any other advice- if you know of any precautions I should take it's better to be safe and let me know! :) I may not have thought about it. (My apologies for the ramblings and such. lol)

"Lock Mr. Bond in the aviary."

A rare exotic bird has been given a new lease of life after his beak broke off -- and a metal one was fitted in its place.

Southern ground hornbills are from southern Africa and can live for up to 40 years. In the wild they eat lizards, frogs and birds' eggs but in captivity survive on rats, mice, and crunchy human skulls.

I'm still researching cockatoos because I would like to have one someday (I currently have cockatiels and a mini-macaw). Here's my latest set of questions.

• Are cockatoos just completely out of the question for apartment dwellers due to the screaming?




• What are bare-eyed cockatoos like to live with?




• What are rose-breasted/Galah cockatoos like to live with?