German minimum requirements for the keeping of parrots

Report on the minimum requirements for the care of parrots, German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumers – unofficial translation (to original report) 10th January 1995

I. General Information

Parrots (Psittacidae) are social birds that are found on every continent except Europe. They populate different habitats, for example tropical . . . more

Herbs for parrots - an introduction

Long before ready made medicines were available, our ancestors helped themselves with herbs when they were physically or psychologically unwell. Wild animals have also been observed to medicate themselves with nature’s remedies. Unfortunately, much knowledge has been forgotten. This is a shame, as sometimes heavy duty medicines with all their . . . more

ABC-analysis for problem behaviour in parrots

While trying to solve problem behaviors, ABC-analysis is an extremely helpful tool. ABC stands for the three areas that we need to understand, to facilitate a solution to the problem. The A stands for antecedent. This is whatever happened just before the behavior was shown. B stands for behavior. This . . . more

Mr. Darcy plays host

wherein Mr. Darcy greets a visitor …

Video | More scritches

… under the wing …

Video | First scritches

First cautious scritches at back of head and neck. This is the parrot who was said to be so aggressive that one could not give him a treat by hand. Right. 🙁

The arrival

Late last night Mr. Darcy arrived in his new home …

… he is awfully skinny.

today I’ll take him to my trusted avian vet. At the moment, Mr. Darcy is still in his carrier in my bed room. The cage was not brought to me … and he cannot . . . more

Video | mirroring | tapping games

When first establishing contact with a scared bird, mirroring can help make the connection. This video shows how I take cues from Mr. Darcy’s tapping with his beak and copy it. It is remarkable how quickly he catches on and starts to communicate with me. This bird who supposedly was . . . more

Video | Quarantine

At a friend’s place in quarantine, Mr. Darcy could have used the whole aviary. But after all these years of being locked up, he refused to exit his tiny cage, in spite of the entire front having been removed.

At the vets

At the vets with better lighting, the cage dimensions can be seen better.