Posts tagged "parrot"

Just because you're from a tropical climate doesn't mean you can't celebrate the winter solstice. Thanks to the knitting squad over at Daily Squee HQ, this little parrot is getting into the spirit of the season.

We love all pets at Paw Nation, not just cats and dogs. Still, some of you are a little restless. "More birds!" the avian fans cry. And we've heard you. That's why today we're featuring all bird videos, just for you (and for anyone else to).

We're kicking things off with perhaps the quintessential home bird: the parakeet. And no offense, but we're willing to be that this budgie is more talented than yours. Can your budgie balance on a tennis ball? We've never seen it.

"I'm not impressed," says Grumpy Old Cat. "I accomplished much more elaborate feats in my day. Any cat could." We tried to explain to Grumpy Old Cat that the comparison isn't really fair, that as a mammal he has more brain power, not to mention four legs and a tail. "Phooey! Don't gimme any excuses. I can do anything that stupid bird can do and more besides."

"O rly, Grumpy Old Cat? Can you fly?"

That's when Grumpy Old Cat ran away crying.

Here at Paw Nation we're always amazed at stories in which a missing pet is found weeks or months later, but usually these incredible stories are about a found dog or cat -- not a more exotic pet, like, say, a parrot. But that's what happened in Liverpool, England, when Jack, an Amazon parrot, flew away from his home and ended up spending the freezing winter in a chicken coop.

The Herald Sun reports that Jack went missing in late November when his owner, Jerry Williams, forgot the parrot was on his shoulder and Jack flew out an open door. Williams and his wife, Irene, told the Herald Sun that they frantically searched for Jack, distributing hundreds of missing parrot posters and even contacting several radio stations, vets and local newspapers for help finding their 12-year-old feathered friend. After a particularly bitter winter in England, the couple was convinced that Jack was gone for good.

That was until they got a call from the Chester Zoo in England, which is 15 miles away from the Williams' home. Zookeeper Andy Woolham called with the good news that he found Jack -- clucking like a chicken in one of the zoo's poultry sheds.

"During his time on the loose he must have taken shelter and obtained food in poultry sheds. Parrots mimic the sounds they hear," Woolham told the Herald Sun. "I could tell he was ravenously hungry, so I enticed him down with a grape. No parrot can resist a black grape."

"I thought I'd never see him again," Jerry Williams told the Herald Sun. "I've had him for almost 10 years, so I was devastated when he vanished. It's just wonderful to have him back."

Here are four parrot chicks, who make up a delightful rainbow while seated happily in tiny kitchenware. Look at the colors: greens, pinks, browns, yellows -- and when one squawks they all do! Indeed, they're so young, we're not even sure they've developed the instinctive ability to ask for a cracker, but their day will come.

"Who me, depressed? Never! Sure, I may look all blue on the outside but I'm happy on the inside! I swear."

Shelter: Mollywood, a not-for-profit, no-kill avian sanctuary

Location: Bellingham, Wash.

Founded in 2002 by Betsy Lott, Mollywood operates on an eight-acre farm and serves as home to abandoned, injured and ill parrots, cockatoos, cockatiels, parakeets, macaws, amazons and conures. Lott's love for these kinds of birds grew slowly over many years. She used to run an ad hoc rescue shelter out of her house before officially forming Mollywood. Unlike many small shelter organizations, Mollywood focuses on providing lifetime care for health-impaired birds. "We are able to make the birds happy on a different level," Lott says. "For a lot of them, it really is just about being in a flock."

How many birds do you take in a year?
Oh, there's never a consistent or set number. In one four-month stretch, we took in 27 cockatiels, 32 parakeets, six finches, three conures, two Amazons, two cockatoos and a macaw.

How do most of your rescues find their way to Mollywood?
The Humane Society has my name, so I'm there every single week without fail. Sometimes two or three times a week. Occasionally birds are flown in from other parts of the country.

"Happy happy joy joy!"

Karaoke song of choice? "Endless Love," of course.

Name: African Grey Parrot

Personality: Intelligent (some say African greys are the smartest of the parrot species), affectionate, emotional, and very social, but prone to depression if not properly entertained or attended to. Like many large birds, they are sensitive and can develop neurotic behaviors and depression if left alone, according to About.com.

Common Health Issues: Health problems typically found in African greys are respiratory disease, weight loss, seizures, tumors, and self-mutilating behaviors (like feather picking) due to depression says AvianWeb. With proper care, though, these birds can live 50 to 75 years according to About.com.

Name: Macaw

Description: In addition to being possibly the most beautiful bird on the planet, macaws are also active, affectionate, playful, intelligent and engaging. There are many varieties of macaws, including scarlet macaws, blue and gold macaws, military macaws, and hyacinth macaws, according to exoticbird.com. Additionally, you can choose the rarer mini macaws, with species like Hahn's, noble, and yellow-collared, according to About.com.

Grooming: There are three primary types of grooming for which a macaw owner is responsible, according to PetPlace.com. First, bathing or showering can be done indoors by misting the bird with warm water and allowing them to dry in a warm area, or, on a warm day, by sprinkling them inside their cage with the hose and letting the sun dry them.

Clipping a macaw's wings will keep them calmer and easier to take outdoors. Make sure you know what you're doing before beginning to clip; clipping a blood feather can cause serious blood loss, while clipping too much, too little, or unevenly can also be major problems.

Finally, routine nail clipping is necessary.

Parrots are the most colorful of house pets, literally and figuratively. A lively, happy parrot can add plenty of fun to your home. The problem is, your home is far, far away from your parrot's natural environment. Patient and persistent training is crucial to ensure that both you and your pet are comfortable cohabiting with one another.

Parrots are renowned for their amusing antics, like talking, but are equally infamous for exhibiting "bad" behaviors such as squawking, biting, and errant pooping. When you train your parrot, you must remember that a parrot isn't a toy; you can't just teach it the "fun" stuff and hope that the other behaviors will fix themselves. Parrots are also not dogs; they do not respond to punishment as a training method. In fact, parrots are even more attention-hungry than most dogs, so if you punish a parrot, it will likely see that interaction between you two as a desirable outcome and repeat whatever "bad" behavior you are trying to correct.

Before you begin, take the time to create a safe training environment for your parrot. Aim to do all of the bird's training in the same room -- one that is clean, closed off (no open windows!) and quiet. If possible, train daily, and at the same time every day, and not in the same room as your parrot's cage. Make sure to always have treats like cut-up fruits and vegetables on hand during a training session to reward the bird when it successfully learns or carries out a new command. Lastly, always approach and interact with your parrot in a calm and confident manner. Parrots can sense tension and anxiety and will react to it with biting and squawking, so even if your parrot upsets you or snaps at your during a training session, do not act out on the parrot.

So, what are the most common steps to training a parrot? Read on to get started training your parrot into becoming a well-adjusted pet!

Not since Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin shook hands, or that crow started taking care of that cat, has there been a relationship like this one. Watch Coco the parrot huggin' on his buddy, Lucky the kitty. These bizarre BFFs are BFFAE (Best Friends Forever And Ever). Eat your heart out, Paris Hilton.

If you like this video, you'll find a goldmine of Coco/Lucky loving from the YouTuber who originally posted the clip.

Ava and Mio are double trouble. The blue-and-yellow macaws have become local celebrities in their hometown of Hamburg, Germany, thanks to the games they play with their four-legged friends, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The two-year-old birds love to chase their owner's seven-year-old mutt, Flitzer. Sometimes the mischievous birds instigate a romp with Flitzer, and other times Flitzer is the one trying to ruffle his friends' feathers. "It's an interactive game between the birds and our dog," said the animals' owner, Julian Knott.

Knott lets the birds out each morning, where they head straight for an apple tree for breakfast. After spending most of the day lounging among the leaves, the parrots wake up for evening playtime. But Flitzer isn't the parrots' only playmate: Ava and Mio also spend time carousing with a neighbor's 15-year-old horse.

Macaws are large, intelligent birds with a knack for mimicking human speech and forming close bonds with their owners. Despite their impish ways, Ava and Mio don't stray too far from home, Knott reported. They always return every evening -- after playtime is over, of course.

Source

Michael Jackson's death last week has left fans with questions regarding all aspects of the singer's life. Pet lovers in particular may wonder about the fate of Jackson's menagerie of exotic animals, especially the most famous of them all: Bubbles the chimp.

Bubbles, of all of Jackson's pets, was probably the closest to Jackson. His 1985 adoption of the chimp from a Texas research facility, and the subsequent bond between man and ape became a key part of the singer's eccentric persona. Bubbles often was seen at Jackson's side as a member of Jackson's entourage during the peak of the entertainer's fame in the 1980s. He attended concerts, album recording sessions, and tea parties at Elizabeth Taylor's house. That is, when he wasn't kicking it in high style at Jackson's Neverland ranch, practicing his moonwalk.

Now in his mid-twenties, Bubbles still lives a stylish life, although much less in the blinding spotlight of his glitzy early years. As he matured, Bubbles became too aggressive for domestic life with the Jackson family and was given to a California-based animal trainer who later entrusted the chimp's care to the Center for Great Apes, a sanctuary for "retired" apes in Wauchula, Florida, where he resides today.