Posts tagged "birds"

"Sing from your diaphragm! Trust me on this, I've worked with the best."

When you think of a flamingo, there are likely very few things that come to mind: Florida, lawn decor, and real flamingos, duh.

But have you ever seen a baby flamingo? Wouldn't you know it, baby flamingos are some of the cutest baby animals to walk the planet, as illustrated in this video taken at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, in which a young, fine-feathered friend is truly a dwarf among giants -- and it's so cute. Oh, and it squeaks!

Name: Cristoff

Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.

Age: 3

Breed: Blue-and-white budgie.

Favorite Treat: Green romaine lettuce, apples, bagels, pears, oatmeal, strawberries.

Favorite Toy: Shiny sparkly necklaces, or the bells in his cage.

Likes: Singing to music, getting kisses from his mom and dad.

Weird Quirk: He loves to fly around to find his mom and dad and land on their heads.

Congratulations to our submitter, tinkblondegirl. If you'd like to submit your pet, upload your favorite pet photos to our Flickr pool!
More Cute Pets

Name: Bruce

Age: 6

Breed: Parakeet

Location: Euless, Texas

Favorite Treat: honey sticks

Likes: looking at himself in the mirror, swinging, sitting outside

Dislikes: cats looking at him through the mirror

Dating Status: Bruce lives happily in his cage with his girlfriend Bari.

The Next American Idol: Bruce loves to sing along with the oldies station and belt out tunes with other birds.

Congratulations to our submitter, applecorecrafts. If you'd like to submit your pet, upload your favorite pet photos to our Flickr pool!
More Cute Pets

Probably not. Because by "this," we mean "tricks most humans can't do."

Someone call the talent police! This bird needs to be detained!

Name: Finch

Personality: Finches are generally entertaining, social (with other finches, but not so much with humans) and active.

Grooming: Finches are relatively easy to care for, grooming included, according to Pet University. They bathe themselves as long as you provide a water bowl for them to use (separate from their drinking water), and you should let them dry themselves, i.e. no blow dryers. If you give them a rough landing surface, you most likely won't have to trim the nails. Watch while your bird molts, though; this can be uncomfortable or even painful for them, but there are things you can do to help, says Pet University. As with all birds, you will need to be meticulous about cleaning a finch's cage.

Common Health Issues: Finches are hardy birds with a life span ranging from five to 15 years, varying by species, according to Finchworld. A good diet and appropriate cage (width is more important that height) with access to sunlight will help your bird stay healthy, says Aquatic Community. A healthy finch will have well-conditioned feathers, bright eyes, and legs free of scales or masses.

Training Tips: Finches are not as interactive as some pet birds. While it's possible to hand-train them, according to About.com, this isn't terribly common. You'll need to start slowly and work your way toward taming your finch, using soothing voices and plenty of consistency.

Name: Canary

Personality: Canaries are solitary and somewhat aloof. They generally do not bond with their humans.

Grooming: Canaries will groom themselves; just put a bird bath in the cage once a week or so, says asongintheair.com. You'll still need to clip their nails occasionally, and, of course, you must keep the cage clean and sanitary.

Common Health Issues: Canaries are generally healthy, though they are prone to some human illnesses. Cold sores, in particular, can be dangerous, according to asongintheair.com. If your canary seems listless, his feathers seem unusually fluffed, his eyes aren't clear and bright, or his droppings appear abnormal, CanaryAdvisor.com says you should see a veterinarian.

Training Tips: Usually, canaries are kept in cages and enjoyed for their beauty and song. It might be possible to hand-train a canary if you receive it when it's very young, according to Animal-World.

Best For: Canaries are one of the easiest birds to have. They don't take up a great deal of room and don't require interaction, so they're fine being home alone if you're away much of the day (though you might want to leave the radio or TV on for entertainment).

What Canary Owners Say: JP from Callicoon Center, N.Y. tells Paw Nation, "I guess what I loved most was the male singing. I also like the variation in plumage. Most people think of canaries as being yellow but there are differences in color as well as looks. My canary (a crested) looked like he was wearing a bad imitation wig that looked like one of the guys from the Three Stooges. Would I have them again if I had the time to care for them? You bet!"

Name: Lory and Lorikeet

Personality: Curious, playful, active, energetic.

Grooming: Lories and lorikeets love baths and should have clean water available at all times, says Bella Online. They typically enjoy being sprayed with water occasionally, too. Despite their proclivity for bathing, they're very messy. Because lories eat nectar, they have liquid droppings which can make more of a mess than some other parrot species. Cages (and the area around them) need to be properly cleaned on a regular basis, according to Exotic Pet Birds.

Common Health Issues: Given a proper diet of nectar and fruit, lories and lorikeets are very healthy birds with an average lifespan of 10-15 years. The proper diet is trickier for these birds than for many parrots, though, and improper nutrition can lead to health problems. Respiratory issues can occur, as can bad feather/beak condition, a highly contagious airborne disease for which there is no cure, according to Avian Web. As with other parrots, they require regular interaction with their owners and a wide variety of toys to keep your bird healthy and happy.

Training Tips: It's possible to potty-train these birds so you can carry them around the house without making a mess, and larger lories can be good talkers, but will require ongoing obedience training, according to AvianWeb. As with most animals, training requires patience, time, consistency, and plenty of positive reinforcement.

Best For: A high maintenance bird, lories and lorikeets require families that have plenty of space as well as time to spend with them. If you're not fastidious about cleaning, it can be detrimental for yourself and your bird. And they can bite, says Mira Tweti of Playa del Rey, Calif., so they probably aren't the best choice for children.

Name: Budgerigar, aka Budgie or Parakeet

Personality: Parakeets are friendly, active, talkative, intelligent and more independent than many parrots, according to About.com.

Grooming: These birds need to be bathed every couple of days, says Parrot Parrot. If you leave a wide, flat bowl in their cage, they might bathe themselves, but if not, you can spray them down (use fresh water only). Flight feathers should be trimmed, as budgies can fly quite far with just a few flight feathers.

Common Health Issues: Parakeets typically live to be nine or 10 years old. Signs of a healthy bird are bright eyes, shiny feathers, and a consistent weight. Common health problems include mites and upper respiratory issues, according to Pet Info 4 You.

Training Tips: With some patience and the right instructions, you should have no problem training your parakeet, according to lisashea.com. First, you'll want to hand train them. From there, you can train your parakeet to talk!

Best For: It's almost universally agreed that parakeets are a great starter bird. They're less dependent on their owners than other parrots, so they require less interaction. Their diets are fairly straightforward (although a good variety of grain and millet seeds should be made available, according to Animal and Pet Adventures), and it's not difficult to clean up after them. These beautiful birds pack a lot of brains into a small package.

Name: Conure

Personality: Though there are many species of conure, they're generally all social, active, playful, intelligent and always ready to engage, according to Animal-World. Many are also quite cuddly.

Grooming: Nails and beak might need to be trimmed, and you'll need to clip their feathers if you want to discourage flying. Otherwise, conures take care of most grooming themselves. Regardless, they do enjoy a bath, says Animal-World, and will preen and preen and preen when finished.

Common Health Issues: These are hardy birds, resistant to disease, with a lifespan of around 25-30 years, according to About.com. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that they're far more sedentary in captivity than in the wild, so it's important to keep a close eye on their diet. And, like many intelligent birds, they're prone to feather-picking if not given enough attention and socialization, says Animal-World.

Training Tips: Training a conure to talk requires quite a bit of skill, according to Pet-Parrots.com, but teaching them to be handled and do tricks is certainly possible. Minimize distractions, use positive reinforcement, and remain patient and calm.

Best For: Conures will do best if kept in a busy area with lots of interaction, according to About.com; the more that's going on, the more entertained they will be. You'll need to spend a good amount of quality time with your bird to keep it happy and healthy. If the bird is well-trained and children are mature enough to properly handle it, a conure can be a great family pet.

Name: Lovebird

Personality: Fun, playful, inquisitive, social, able to bond deeply and sometimes cuddly. Full of personality, according to About.com

Grooming: Trimming of nails and sometimes the beak is required, and if the lovebird is the only bird in the cage, you'll likely want to clip the wings. However, if there's more than one bird in the cage, you shouldn't clip the wings so they have fuller range of motion and can get away from each other if need be. You'll also need to supply a water source for bathing a few times a week, says Birds N Ways; otherwise, your birds will end up playing in the drinking water.

Common Health Issues: Deficiencies in Vitamin A and calcium are quite common in lovebirds who eat a diet high in seeds, according to AvianWeb. Arthritis occurs often in overweight birds, and they're also prone to depression.

Training Tips: With a little time and patience, you should have no trouble training your lovebird to perch on you, talk, and even do tricks, says Pet-Parrots.com. Or, as the case may be, train them to break bad habits such as biting. Use only positive reinforcement (and no yelling!) and make sure to be consistent in your training.

What Owners Say: Michael Moretsky of Edmonds, Washington, has had a lovebird named Bean for eight years. "I love every fuzzy bit of him. He has a wonderful temperament though he can get in his 'moods' every once in a while ... I love that [birds] have wonderful personalities -- they are very smart, and they are wonderful pets," Moretsky tells Paw Nation, but admits it's challenging keeping them entertained, saying that they need lots of toys and time outside their cage.

Name: Cockatiel

Personality: Cockatiels, the second most popular pet parrot (trailing parakeets), are known for being gentle, playful, sweet and affectionate, says Parrotparrot.com

Grooming: Cockatiels have a powder (or dander) on their feathers that they use to clean themselves. Bathing cockatiels with a mist of plain water is fine, but might not be necessary, according to the National Cockatiel Society. You may need to clip your cockatiel's feathers (to keep it from flying) as well as its nails, but you should not have to do anything with their beaks.

Common Health Issues: Provided with clean air and a comfortable cage away from heat and draft, these birds are generally very healthy and should live for 15-20 years. Cockatiels' most common health problems include viral infections like polyoma and Pacheco's disease; a bacterial disease known as psittacosis; and candidiasis, a type of yeast infection, according to ArticlesBase.com. All of these can mostly be avoided with proper nutrition and care. You can find more information on what symptoms to look for at Cockatiel.com.

Name: Amazon Parrots

Personality: Amazon parrots are intelligent, affectionate, playful and loyal. However, emotionally, they're similar to a two-year-old human for their entire lives, according to Avian Web.

Grooming: Regular showers are required, both for the bird's health and to keep their natural musky smell at bay, according to ParrotParrot.com.

Common Health Issues: These birds are prone to obesity and hardening of the arteries as they age; they're perfectly happy being quite sedentary. While they can live to be anywhere from 40 to 80 years, obesity can reduce the life expectancy by as much as 70 percent, ParrotParrot.com reports.

Training Tips: Amazons, especially hand-reared males, are easy to train, and are great talkers, according to Avian Web. In fact, they crave the interaction and socialization that training brings. If not properly trained, they can become quite aggressive.

Cockatoos are intelligent, inquisitive, playful, loud, and known for being very affectionate -- so much so that they're susceptible to depression if not given proper social interaction. Common varieties of cockatoos found in captivity are Moluccan, Goffin's, umbrella, sulfur crested (greater and lesser), and bare-eyed cockatoos and can range in size from about a foot to just over two feet long, according to About.com. Cockatoos can live 40–80 years with proper care.

Grooming and Care: Cockatoos shouldn't need a great deal of grooming, but some of them love to bathe. You should only use pure water, as anything else can disrupt the pH balance of their feathers. You'll need to clip their nails and wings. If you have just one bird, you will need to help out with preening as well. The size of the cage depends on the size of your bird, though it's generally agreed that the larger the enclosure, the better, and it needs to be placed in an area frequented by people, away from drafts. Food and water should be changed daily, and the cage needs a thorough cleaning a couple of times a week, reports Animal-World.

Common Health Issues: One of the main problems cockatoo owners face is a certain amount of neurotic behavior, generally due to a lack of attention paid to the bird, according to About.com. This can lead the bird to engage in feather-picking and self-mutilation. Otherwise, as long as your cockatoo is well cared for, it should remain healthy.