Best in Flock was included on the Pets page of AllTop.com, Guy Kawasaki’s project to aggregate all the best feeds on particular topics! And if that wasn’t cool enough, Barbara Heidenreich has added us to her blogroll as well. Stewie and I are honored by the attention and recognition! Thanks so much!!
Another attempt to capture Stewie on video. Better than our previous video clip, I think.
The “put the ball in the cup trick” was the first big “stupid parlor trick” this little sun conure learned, but when we started training he was still pretty bitey; in fact, he’d reach around training props just to bite me, so I needed to be careful not to leave my fingers exposed when I gave him the wiffle ball. As you can see in this video (below), it’s a non-issue now, because he’s stopped seeking out biting opportunities. (Personally, “not biting” is my favorite trick 
, but that doesn’t make for very exciting YouTube clips.)
To learn how Stewie learned how to do this particular prop trick, read the previous post about my attempts to teach retrieve.
I was recently invited to write a guest post by the good people at PetKnows, a blog about cats and dogs… and now parrots.
The post is called 5 Things to Consider Before Getting a Bird. and I talk about, you guessed it, things someone should consider if they are thinking of getting a parrot.
Since the blog, like most pet resources, skews so heavily towards cats and dogs, I was happy to contribute. Now I’m encouraging other parrot fan(atic)s to show some support for the avian POV, and comment with your own experiences with bird ownership: how do you feel about being owned by your bird(s)?
Read my post about things potential parrot owners need to consider and let us know if I’ve forgotten anything.
Barbara Heidenreich, author of The Parrot Problem Solver and noted parrot trainer for many years, has a blog. I started this blog because there seemed to be a real dearth of high-quality blogs about parrots (that weren’t just thinly disguised fronts for peddling expensive and questionable parrot training products). Sure, lots of people mentioned their parrots on personal blogs, but I couldn’t find good, current blogs devoted to taking really good care of parrots. It’s great to see that Barbara Heidenreich has jumped into the blogosphere to share her parrot training expertise in easy-to-read blog posts.
Click here to read reviews of her book by other Amazon customers.
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After being MIA for a few weeks, WaynesParrotStuff.com is live on the Web again. Wayne updated his site to let everyone know that he is now working with The Golden Cockatoo to distribute his bottlebrush gyms. This will leave him free just to build his parrot playstands while the Golden Cockatoo deals with taking orders and fulfilling inventory.
Disclaimer: I see that The Golden Cockatoo also sells parrots. I’m really not a fan of pet stores selling any birds larger than cockatiels, so I have mixed feelings about recommending the store. Take that for whatever it’s worth to you. (Please visit Petfinder.com if you’re looking to add a bird to your family.)
See my previous post for my review of Wayne’s bottlebrush parrot stands.
One question that seems to come up a lot (at least based on Google searches that drive traffic to this site), is about pet birds not playing with toys.
Q: Why won’t my parrot play with his toys?
It’s possible your parrot doesn’t know how to play with toys. If he’s never learned, your pet bird may need you to show him. You might want to take a toy and play with it in front of him; it helps if there are a couple people doing this. Don’t give it to him, just demonstrate how much fun you’re having (don’t feel silly about being overly animated). You can even make a show of keeping it away. This should stoke your parrot’s curiosity. Like children, they want to know what the fun is about and have what they think they’re not supposed to.
After a while of having fun with the toy yourself, include your bird. Show him how it’s supposed to be played with and then play with him. Once he understands the concept he will very likely start playing with it by himself.
If you do that a couple of times, he’ll probably have an “ah ha” moment when he realizes that toys are meant to be played with and he’ll start playing with other toys on his own. And “toys” don’t need to be limited to stuff that’s marketed as “bird toys.” Anything made of bird-safe materials can be fun!
Photo of Hector by redvers
If your parrot is afraid of toys or new things in his cage, you can take a similar approach. In this case, you’ll want to keep the objects out of his cage and let him look at them from across the room — allow him to get used to and comfortable with the toys from a distance. After a day, you can bring the object just a little bit closer to his cage and, again, let you watch you play. If he’s fearful, you might need to tone down your enthusiasm and play with the toy gently. Hold it against your face, stroke it, show him that it’s something gentle and nonthreatening.
Do you have the wrong kinds of toys? If you bought lots of acrylic toys because they’re marketed as being “bird proof” and indestructible, you also have toys that aren’t as much fun to play with. Parrots like to… they need to… destroy things. It’s an instinct they need to satisfy.
Sometimes people stop buying wooden toys for the parrots because “my bird only destroyed it.” That’s great! To a bird, that IS playing. The whole purpose of wooden bird toys is for parrots to make toothpicks and sawdust out of them. Indestructible toys just aren’t very satisfying if that’s the only kind of toy your bird has.
Buying new toothpick-making materials on a weekly basis can get pricey, but there are plenty of sites on the web that will show you how to make cheap, fun toys for a fraction of their retail cost.
Photo of Kiwi by The Gut
Some birds, especially larger parrots, are big fans of puzzles and mechanical objects to manipulate (like screws and bolts). I’ve read more than one story about cockatoos and macaws dismantling their own cages. For those kinds of birds, a playstation with bird-safe stuff to manipulate can provide lots of entertainment. Other birds might not be interested at all. I got Stewie a toy with gears and cranks and he couldn’t care any less about it.
You’ll need to experiment to see what tickles your individual bird’s fancy.
Q: What are some of the best toys for conures or other parrots?
The simple answer is: the ones your bird will play with. Like I said earlier, that may require a little bit of experimentation. Just because you bought him a toy once and he didn’t touch it, doesn’t mean that you should stop giving him things to play with.
Photo of Hatch by lkalliance
You also want to provide your bird with a wide variety of toys: toys that birds can manipulate, shredder toys, toys to preen, toys that encourage foraging behavior. (Check out Stuff My Conure Likes for Stewie’s toy and treat recommendations)
I prefer Drs. Foster and Smith for most of my bird supplies. Click on the banner below to support this website.
I thought I’d compile another list of things my conure likes. Mind you, this is only Stewie-approved stuff… it doesn’t include things I think he ought to like, things I’ve purchased for him and he’s not interested in or things I just think you ought to have in case of birdie emergencies.
The list may expand in the future, but without further ado, in no particular order, stuff my conure really digs:
Every bird has its own peculiar likes and habits, so your mileage will vary, but for what it’s worth, these are my bird’s favorite toys and treats.
Think only larger parrots can do cool prop tricks? Think again:
First, the noob: training a cockatiel to step onto a skateboard
Day 3: Cockatiel pushing off on a skateboard
Skateboarding cockatiel catches air
More skateboarding cockatiels
Cute budgies showing off their skateboard moves
Advanced skater budgie (sorry, couldn’t embed)
I’m still a terrible cinematographer, but I figured I’d go ahead and post this anyway. I wheeled Stewie’s playstand in front of the computer (with a built-in camera) and did a couple reps of targeting. Because the target stick is a black chopstick and the background is basically black, you often can’t see it in this video — but he does beak the end of it to earn a “good boy” and a safflower seed each time he does it.
Even if you can’t see the chopstick well in this video, you can definitely see how Stewie will climb all over to touch it. That’s a solidly reinforced behavior.
I’ll post some better YouTube videos of other people training their birds to target in a bit.
Welcome to my parrot blog, where I share insights with other and would-be parrot owners on ways to keep their pet birds happy. These are just my opinions, observations and insights based on my life with Stewie and my efforts to do the very best for him. I also read voraciously and will share other cool stuff I find related to parrot ownership and training.
Enjoy the blog and please leave comments!
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