Saturday, December 31, 2005

Knowledge Through Reading


The Parrot Problem Solver
Finding Solutions to Aggressive Behavior
by Barbara Heidenreich

Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: TFH Publications (June 30, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN: 0793805627

When not properly trained and socialized, parrots are prone to developing a number of behavioral problems, including aggression and self-mutilation. Many owners face these problems and the frustrations that come along with them, and find themselves desperately in need of expert advice. Barbara Heidenreich arms her readers with the information they need to turn their pugilistic parrot into a feathered friend. Some of the topics include:

  • Wild bird behavior and how it affects the bird/owner relationship.
  • The best and worst ways to modify pet bird behavior.
  • Understanding bird body language.
  • Sidebars on the myths and misconceptions of keeping pet parrots.
  • The Parrot Problem Solver: Finding Solutions to Aggressive Behavior is a one-stop resource for bird owners frustrated by problem behavior. By following the author's tips and techniques, any owner can learn how to keep a companion parrot from biting, screaming, or lunging, and turn a beastly bird into an avian angel.

    About the Author Barbara Heidenreich is a professional animal trainer and founder of Animal Training and Consulting Services, which provides animal training workshops to zoos and other wildlife facilities. She has written and lectured extensively on the training of parrots. Heidenreich is the president elect of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators.

    Good Bird
    A Guide to Solving Behavioral Problems in Companion Parrots
    by Barbara Heidenreich

    Paperback: 80 pages
    Publisher: Avian Publications (April, 2004)
    Language: English
    ISBN: 1895270278

    Help is here if you are having a problem with Screaming, Biting, Bonding, Cage Bound, even Feather Picking. Training is a form of teaching. The subject learns when the trainer positively reinforces or rewards each small step the subject takes towards the desired behavior. In this book the author describes some typical problem behavior scenarios then offers a step-by-step explanation of how to address these problem behaviors using training techniques based on positive reinforcement.

    Parrot Life Magazine Issue 2, 05

    Avid parrot enthusiast and the novice companion parrot apprentice alike will gain insight on these wonderful yet complex exotic creatures.

    After months of incubation and nurturing, the first issue of Parrot Life is finally taking flight. The next few months and subsequent issues will be our fledgling period. Communication and interaction of the flock will be essential to the success of our magazine so we will rely on the guidance from our readers, collaborators, fellow aviculturists and parrot enthusiasts around the world to help us progress towards maturity. For those who have chosen to be guardians to these wonderful feathered creatures, we will thrive to provide you with the most accurate and updated facts & recommend-ations on responsible parrot care and husbandry. Parrot Life will dedicate quality reports, reviews & valuable chronicles on topics such as psittacine behaviour, nutrition, health, safe idealistic cage and environment requirements, trends & advancements in aviculture and endangered parrot species restoration programs. In the embryonic stages of development, we realized the need to create a truly interactive magazine. We’ve included detachable charts (Your Parrot Profile) and resourceful materials such as the Trouble Shooting Infertility Work Sheet for the aviculturist. Bird Flash, Plume of a Feather, Birds on a Wire, Parrot Trivia and other regular columns will require participation from our readers. We will thrive to remain truthful to the ideals we aspire to, promote all parrot life, whether it be in captivity or in it’s natural habitat. Our incessant efforts to raise awareness for the plight of Parrots will be featured throughout our magazine. Emphasis will be made on the essential collaboration needed to interlink aviculture, conservation, field research, avian medicine, behaviourists, ornithologists as well as the companion parrot owners.We hope to bridge the communication gap between parrot lovers and conservation fundament alists. All must become integral advocates to this plight.

    I also believe it is essential to promote responsible environmental attitudes. Captive breeding efforts are futile without the parallel success to protect natural habitat for future reintroduction and survival of these wild species. Sustainable harvesting, ecotourism, education & global awareness are also fundamental. Although Canada has decreased significantly the incidence of wild caught birds in the pet market, there are some who are still tempted by this trade. We will without doubt unveil controversial debates and issues, although we vow to remain equitable. We hope Parrot Life will create a forum to discuss current issues regarding CITES, future laws and recommendations such as the MAP (model aviculture program). We hope you will enjoy reading this first issue and look forward to receiving the next one at the beginning of the new year. Conserve it for future reference, share it throughout your bird community and feel free to express your thoughts and concerns, by contacting us either by mail or via e-mail.

    Josee Bermingham
    Editor

    If you wish to order any of the above books or magazine, please visit Bird Buffet N Things at http://www.birdbuffetnthings.com.

    Saturday, December 24, 2005

    Teach Your Bird Tricks

    Hi there,

    I just wanted to take the time and write you a quick note letting you know that I found a website where you can get a free parrot training 3 Day E-course and training video, just by visiting http://www.birdtricks.com/cmd.php?af=273798.

    When you get there just sign up on one of the signup forms on their site, and they will send you their training course immediatly.

    The course will teach your parrot to:

    -Stop Biting

    -Perform Tricks &

    -Tame ANY SIZE bird you could possibly own

    Chet Womach, who owns the site, also has an advanced course that you can read about at his site, and I must say, I have bought, and own all the parrot training products out there. And Chet's training course is heads and shoulders above all the other training courses or videos you will EVER find.

    -SPECIAL NOTE: His course is so good, that I called him up on the phone, and begged him to give some of my customers a special deal on his course.

    So after a whole lot of arm twisting, I convinced him to throw in a 2 hour interview he did with a parrot behavior specialist, where they do nothing but cover exactly how to cure MAJOR biting and fear problems in parrots, by using very clever clicker training techniques.

    All you have to do to get this special interview, is go to http://www.birdtricks.com/cmd.php?af=273798 and on the order form, write that you heard about his website from me, Michael Camire, so he knows to send you the extra 2 hour interview.

    But Remember, he is only offering this deal until this upcoming Friday. So if you try to order after Friday, he won't throw in this extra audio bonus for you.

    Either way, at least go to his website to get the 3 Day E-Course and video.

    Hope you'll like his course as much as I did.

    Sincerely,

    Michael Camire
    Bird Buffet N Things

    p.s. In order to get this free two hour interview you must click on this link:

    http://www.birdtricks.com/cmd.php?af=273798

    Wednesday, December 21, 2005

    NEW 22 lb. Bonus Bags of ZuPreem® AvianMaintenance™ Diets




    There’s no getting around it—birds and humans don’t always choose a healthy diet. What we like is not always what is good for us. Many birds, if given a choice, will select a diet high in fat like seeds, just as we might choose high-calorie snacks. Both taste good. Seeds lack many important vitamins, minerals and amino acids. In addition to high levels of fat, seed diets are deficient in important nutrients such as lysine, calcium, available phosphorus, sodium, manganese, zinc, iron, iodine, selenium, vitamins A, D, E and K, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, available niacin, vitamin B12 and choline1. Even if bird owners supplement a seed diet with a nutritionally complete extruded diet, birds will often choose seeds, leaving behind the more nutritious foods.

    A seed diet may pose health risks for your bird. A nutritionally deficient seed diet can result in obesity, other nutritionally related diseases, and a lower immune response to infections and even premature death. Such a diet can also adversely affect reproduction in breeder birds. What about “fortified” seed mixtures? Some manufacturers have attempted to correct the nutritional imitations of seeds by coating the hulls with vitamins and minerals.

    When birds eat the seed, they discard the hulls, and the nutrients may end up as waste. “Fortified” can also mean the seeds are mixed with vitamin and mineral nuggets—nuggets that birds may not eat.

    What about vitamin and mineral supplements? Commercially available supplements vary greatly, making it difficult to determine if your bird is getting too much or too little of the desired vitamins and minerals. Additionally, powdered supplements separate from the food and are usually not consumed. If you add vitamin supplements to your bird’s water, you can never be sure how much is being consumed, because you are changing the water frequently to avoid bacterial contamination.

    What about fruits and vegetables?
    Although most fruits and vegetables are considered healthy additions to a bird’s diet, they should not make up more than 15% of the daily diet. Some are high in sugar and carbohydrates, some lack important nutrients, and because they add bulk and fiber, the bird will feel satisfied and not eat the more nutritious food.

    What kind of diet will give your bird everything he needs?,br>A nutritionally balanced extruded diet can offer your bird everything he needs for a long and healthy life. Extrusion manufacturing assures nutrients are not lost in the processing. This means your bird consumes more of the original wholesome ingredients—better nutrition, better digestibility and better taste. Not all extruded diets are the same, however. ZuPreem® Avian Diets have balanced vitamins, minerals, fat, carbohydrates and protein in every bite.

    Ask your avian veterinarian for advice.
    Now that you’re convinced of the importance in converting your bird to a more balanced diet, you need a plan to support your decision. Make an appointment with your veterinarian for a general health exam to be sure your bird is free from underlying disease before undergoing a dietary change. At this time, you and your veterinarian can agree on how to proceed.

    These tips may help you and your bird

  • Initially your bird may throw the new food out of the cage and exhibit tantrum-like behavior in an effort to get your attention.
  • Your bird may not recognize the new diet as food, and may need to touch and play with it at first.
  • Capitalize on your bird’s natural curiosity by placing the new food below a mirror or adjacent to a favorite toy in the cage.
  • Trick your bird into eating some of the new food by mixing a favorite treat with the new diet.
  • Try putting the new diet in the bowl near the highest perch—most birds will eat from the highest bowl first.
  • Some medium to large-sized birds are more willing to accept new foods if fed outside their cage in a favorite area.
  • Your bird may benefit from seeing you or another bird eating the food.
  • Your bird will watch your expressions—if you’re positive about the new diet, there is a good chance your bird will be too.
  • A lifetime of good nutrition starts with feeding your bird a balanced diet with all the essential nutrients he needs every day. Right from the start, you’ll see that good nutrition really works. See the other side of this brochure for information about all ZuPreem Life-stage Avian Diets.

    Here’s why ZuPreem AvianMaintenance Diets are the top-selling brand of extruded avian diets.

    FruitBlend Flavor Diets
  • Fun, fruit shapes* in vibrant fruit colors birds find appealing.
  • Nuggets contain ground fresh fruit for a real fruity flavor birds love.
  • Premium balanced nutrition birds need everyday.
  • Natural Diets
  • Natural tan, oval-shaped nuggets* with no colors appeal to the growing number of bird owners and breeders who want to feed a more natural diet.
  • Nuggets contain wholesome, fresh ground vegetables in every nugget for a great veggie taste.* Available where nugget size allows
  • ZuPreem Products are available at Bird Buffet N Things' web site, www.birdbuffetnthings.com.
    The new 22Lb Bonus Bags are $28.00 for the FruitBlend Diets and $28.00 for the Natural Diets. Hurry on over, as the quantites are limited and this is a one time offer.

    Tuesday, December 20, 2005

    Toys for Your Pet Bird

    Birds are playful and fun loving by nature. Even birds kept in cages like moving around and exercising their natural instinct to play. In addition, birds can strengthen their bills and test their agility on our numerous rope-basted products.

    Toys like our Junglewood rope of blocks and beads will give any bird hours of enjoyment. Made of durable nylon or cotton rope as well as wooden or hard plastic beads, our toys are safe and won't injure your bird in any way. Birds don't generally swallow toys or bite off pieces of them. If they do manage to accidentally ingest a small piece of a toy, it won't normally harm them. It takes 400 degrees of heat to melt plastic, so any pieces ingested would simply pass through the bird as waste.

    Some owners are concerned about using plastic toys, since some plastic food bowls in the past have been suspected of being harmful to birds. Our products, however, are made with plastics approved for use with birds and are guaranteed to be completely harmless.

    Bird rope ladders available at Bird Buffet N Things are excellent examples of other durable and fun toys for birds of all shapes and sizes. They are attached with a hanging clip (small, medium and large sizes) to the top of your bird's cage. Depending on the size of the cage, your bird can swing around on the ladder, perch on the wooden rod, or test beak skills by pulling the rope in different directions. Any way your bird finds to have fun with the toy, it is certain to become a favorite way to pass the time.

    Check out Bird Buffet N Things' website for many different styles of fun bird toys at reasonable prices.

    Thursday, December 15, 2005

    Spray Millet For Your Pet Bird

    Millet is a cereal crop grown as a food source. At Bird Buffet N Things, they offer several sources of delicious millet for your hook billed birds like finches, canaries,parrots, parakeets, macaws, and others. Birds must find their own food in the wild, often consisting of fruits, nuts, or berries. Spray millet is a great product to help give your pet bird the feeling of gathering his or her own food. The "spray" is the stalk of dried millet, which contains clusters of seeds. The bird's food (the seed) is contained inside these outside husks.


    Mega Millet products feed the bird's wild instinct to forage. Mega Millet comes in sprays and looks like the foods your bird would find in the wild--it makes them work to get each large kernel from the spray. Mega Millet requires the bird to sift through the dried plant and crack the husk to retrieve the food, just like they would in a native environment.


    Bird Buffet N Things' staff are very knowledgeable about this and other millet products and encourage our customers to try this product for most kept birds. It can be introduced in the food bowl with just a few clusters, and then a whole spray can be tied to the cage. Your bird will love the process of gathering food in this natural way.


    Bird Buffet N Things also offer Canadian Golden spray millet and Rainbow Delight millet. The Rainbow Delight comes in a variety of flavors like orange, banana, and strawberry. It contains the same amount of nutrients as the other millets, it just has added flavor to satisfy your bird's taste buds.