Video of Sun Conure and His Ball Trick

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.)

Is a Parrot the Right Pet for You?

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 Has a Blog!

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.

Now that I’ve pointed out this great website by a parrot training expert, I hope you’ll still continue to drop by my humble little conure blog! (The blog is humble, not my little conure )

Update: Wayne’s Back in Business

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.