Loving Vi: Health Realities of Parrot Rescue Birds

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.

A Parrot: The Forever Two-Year-Old

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…

Flock of ROCK!

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’!

Achievement Unlocked: Consistent Step Ups

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…

Kindling the Cockatiel’s Affections

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…

Step-Up Progress: Stepping Up for Bread!

…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!…

Go Slow to Go Fast in Step Up Training: No Negative Experiences

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…