Posts about rehomed, rescue birds: the trials and joys of adopting an older bird.
Sometimes, there just isn’t enough love in the world to undo the damage wrought by former homes. And that is the truly hard part with parrots. Continue reading Loving Vi: Health Realities of Parrot Rescue Birds
When you think about adopting a baby bird, consider this: You are raising a child monster with permanently-affixed pliers, and that child is gonna be a two-year-old for fifty to one hundred years, depending on the species. Every mistake you make in his or her formative years, every bad habit you instill, will be with you for the duration of that parrot’s life. It’s so important … Continue reading A Parrot: The Forever Two-Year-Old
I’m on the writing committee for a local charity, and this is one of the songs we might be using/rewriting for our musical. Tippy clearly likes it as much as I do. XD Click here to watch him rock out and ‘stick it to the man’! Continue reading Flock of ROCK!
It is with a happy heart that I can now say this: Vi CONSISTENTLY steps up! I waited two weeks to make sure, but it’s official: she is cage-bound no more! We made our goal of July! A little late, but better than never! When she’s in her cage, it’s her terms; she’s made it clear that her cage is her safe zone, and I … Continue reading Achievement Unlocked: Consistent Step Ups
Q-Tip: A Man After Someone Else’s Heart Tippy spends most of his days trying to woo Winston, our English budgie. She is a strong, independent woman who needs no man, though, so his efforts fall flat (we were THRILLED when they were sitting side-by-side the other day). Hubby and I have been going back and forth over whether to get him a friend who wants the … Continue reading Kindling the Cockatiel’s Affections
The first time you catch your re-homed parrot dipping her head into her water and sending it flying all over the place is the time you should DEFINITELY give her a spray bath. Continue reading April Showers bring May TBD / Step-Up Progress: Semi-Consistent
…Because I have been busier than any person has a right to be, but we made more progress with Vi! She stepped up for Fletcher last night for a tasty piece of bread. She also let him pet her–exciting, because we were expecting her to be a one-person bird and merely tolerate him. Not so! She stepped up today from her cage to go upstairs. Granted, … Continue reading Step-Up Progress: Stepping Up for Bread!
Vi and I sing the end of “So Long, Farewell!” from The Sound of Music. Yes, we’re goobers. Continue reading And thus, Vi begins her singing career…
“Spare the rod and then spoil the child!” Take that saying as the opposite what is meant by most folks, and you’ve got seriously the best advice you can take if you ever want to win the trust of a rehomed parrot… She needs to be a bit spoiled for a bit. 🙂 Spare that rod–no negative reinforcement; praise for what you want, don’t scold … Continue reading Positive Reinforcement with Parrots: Every Experience a Positive One
In the “a stitch in time saves nine” quotes category, there’s a popular saying in education: “Go slow to go fast.” Essentially, if you don’t want to re-teach a skill multiple times over, it’s worth teaching it well  and thoroughly the first time. Which takes patience. So, so much patience. Shockingly, this is also true for bird training! Vi and I have been going agonizingly slowly in our developing … Continue reading Go Slow to Go Fast in Step Up Training: No Negative Experiences
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