Airplane Travel with Parrots, Part One: In-Cabin Pet

Once upon a time, a crazy parrot lady (me) thought it’d be a good idea to take her parrots a-traveling with her on an airplane. One would fly with her in the cabin, and one would fly via United’s Former Pet Safe Program (recently no longer accepts parrots), or as I’ll refer to it, in “steerage”. Because…

Broken Blood Feathers: What To Do

If your parrot is bleeding, that’s a bit of an emergency. Yes, even if it’s just from a tiny little feather. Think about how tiny a parakeet is; now think about how much blood a single droplet is in relation to how big that bird is, and how much that would equal if it were…

“OMG, I want a parrot!”

Do you? Do you really? They are unpredictable; they bite often, and bite hard. They are far, far from kid-friendly. So let’s face it; most birds, were they dogs, would be put down. Louie’s grandfather (or at least great-grandfather) likely flew the canopies of the Solomon Islands. And Ozone’s father is probably still terrorizing some…

“I am a little bird.”

There is nothing I agree more with than the following sentiment: Every little bird I’ve ever met has had his or her own BIG personality–they are at least as individual as cats and dogs, unique as snowflakes. <3 Re-blogged from: http://avianawareness.tumblr.com/

Bird People, man.

View this post on Instagram My "Read" poster from my job! Picked my favorite #book about #writing to promote #reading in school while simultaneously reinforcing my status as the resident #crazybirdlady Now, I'm off to work on a #shittyfirstdraft #birdbybird #annelamott #teacher #teachinglife #birdsofinstagram #birdpeople A post shared by Snowpack Deactivated (@the.snow.pack) on Apr 15,…

Step Up Training: One Full Step Up (The First Time!)

A leap of faith takes at LEAST the Holy Grail… of toast! More progress today! …But at what cost? I think this is a mistake that a lot of novice bird trainers (i.e. me) make–we don’t provide a reluctant feathered friend with enough incentive to take a biiiiiig leap of faith. Sure, Wa-Wa-Waddles adores toast… but…

Training Rescued Parrots: Setting Goals

Well, we’ve had Vi for a little over three and a half weeks now–things are going well. Slow, but well. Man oh man, unless your rehomed parrot is super well-socialized (which many aren’t–probably why she’s a rehome), this task is not for the impatient. I’m following my mantra of “every experience a positive one” and it seems…

Rehomes – The Way to Go

Many people often ask the question: Should we go with a baby bird, or look for an older bird who needs a new home? Hubby and I have done both; each experience was fulfilling in its own way. The biggest benefit to a baby bird is that it allows you to learn to handle your parrot without…

Day Four: Free-Falling, but Forward!

Today, hubby came a little too fast down the stairs and startled the daylights out of Miss Vi–or, “Viola Valkyrie Waddlesworth”, as we’re now calling her. Pretty sure her being dubbed with three names means we’re keeping her… But I digress. Miss Vi went FLYING across the room (note to self: get wings clipped PRONTO),…