PRC May-June Newsletter

Volume 12 May - June 2006

Parrots 2006 Convention ~ New Toys! ~ Canberra Workshop

Parrots 2006 "Raising the Perch in Aviculture"

The 4th Psittaculture Convention
Proudly Presented by the Parrot Society of Australia Inc

Venue:	Acacia Ridge Hotel - Brisbane QLD
Date:	Saturday July 15th - Sunday July 16th
Early Bird Registration Fee:	$195 per person (Money must be received by PSOA by April 12th 2006
Full Registration Fee:	$220 per person

Barbara Heidenrich

Don’t miss this opportunity to see Barbara Heidenrich from the USA who runs Parrot behaviour and Training workshops in the USA and has written many best selling parrot behaviour books, some of her new books are, "Good Bird. The Guide to Solving Parrot Behaviour Problems" and “The Parrot Problem Solver. Finding Solutions to Aggression.” Barbara is also the editor for the new magazine “Good Bird Magazine” which is a great resourceful magazine covering all aspects of training and behaviour for parrots.

Barbara Heidenrich
& Friend

Positive Reward Training - By Verna Shannan

Basic Training - Part 7: Staying Put

The purpose of this lesson for your bird is to teach him to stay on his perch or play gym until he is called. Once a bird has learned to fly this is a must if you don’t want him all over you or your guests all the time so it is best to train this behaviour before teaching him to fly to you. Many people, I hope, after teaching them to stay will gain the confidence to let their bird’s wings grow out and allow them to fly. A trained, controlled and flighted bird, even the size of a large Macaw can be exercised in the house or garage without the risk of damage to either the bird or your property. There is no other exercise which is anything like as beneficial for your bird’s health.

You need to realise, once again, that it is an innate instinct for him to want to remain close to you or ‘the flock,’ as your family is to your bird. We are modifying a normal, natural behaviour and patience is essential.

It is important that we train ourselves not to reward a behaviour that we don’t want even if at times we think it is cute. Remember that a laugh, a squeal or even a few words are all rewards to your bird. You need to be firm and fair by always following through once you begin modifying or teaching a new behaviour.

A bird that doesn't want to come to you for any reason is not a happy bird and you will need to make some changes to the way you are relating to him. Start back at lesson one in order to build confidence and trust.

If you are just beginning to train your bird and haven’t read my articles in the previous issues of Talking Birds, I suggest that you do so before embarking on this month’s lessons. It is important that your bird is eating a healthy diet, is a good weight and has plenty to amuse himself with while he is left alone on his T-stand or play-gym.

The routine should go like this:

The bird is on the T-stand or playgym calmly waiting for his morning lesson to begin. He hasn’t eaten since the evening before and is keen to work for some treats. Say ‘Good,’ and give him a treat.

Hold your hand up in front of him with your open palm facing him, as if you are directing traffic, but close to his face. Say ‘Stay,’ and back away a tiny bit.

Wait for a few seconds, say ‘Good,’ and give him a treat.

Repeat the above gradually moving back a little further and waiting a little longer before rewarding him.

Don’t do too much too soon, your goal should be to have him stay put, not to find out how far you can go on the first day. If he does jump or fly to you, you have failed this lesson, not the bird.

After no more than 10 minutes, no matter how well it is going, end the session and give him his breakfast on his tray along with plenty of praise.

Repeat that evening and every morning and evening from then on until you can leave the room for ten minutes and have him stay put, while playing with his toy or branches.

I would then leave that lesson and start training a new behaviour but at the end of each session leave him alone on his T-stand with his breakfast and a favourite toy for longer and longer periods.

It would be cruel to leave him out on his own for too long as he will remain ‘on guard’ as long as he is in the open. He needs to go into his cage where he can rest while feeling safe and secure.

Sometimes your bird, even after extensive training, will forget his manners and jump off his stand, or fly to you or someone else, without being called. Don’t say ‘No’ or shout or make a big deal about it, as this will only encourage him to do it again. Simply have him step onto your hand, calmly take him to his cage and put him in it for a while.

If he makes a fuss just turn your back on him, this is the only punishment that he will understand. You will see parrots doing this to each other and to you when they are upset with you.

You must remain consistent in all that you do, if you let him fly to you or jump off the stand once because it suits you that day you will be confusing your bird and he will continue to repeat that behaviour to see if he can get away with it.

In brief then: Start before breakfast, hold your hand up and say ‘Stay,’ back off slightly, bridge and reward. Do this for ten minutes twice a day gradually increasing the distance and time before bridging and rewarding. Praise and feed your bird immediately after each session.

My next Pet Parrot Pre-School, one day workshop, will be held on Sunday the 16th of October at the Parrot Rescue Centre on the Gold Coast in Queensland. If you live near or are planning to visit, come along, see and practice all the things that I have written about for the last twelve months. We have tame and not so tame birds at the sanctuary for you to work with in order for you to increase your bird handling skills.

We will also be free flying, outside, some of our trained rescued birds in the afternoon after the workshop.

Please contact me if you need help with your parrot or parrots and I will send you a list of my fees and services.

Birdbrains@bigpond.com Mobile: 0407 911 474

Published in Talking Birds Australian’s Avian Newspaper- May 05

Australia's only newspaper devoted to the care and breeding of birds - including finches, canaries, parrots, cockatoos, budgies, softbills, pheasants and waterfowl. It is full of news, information and feature articles from Australia and around the world. For more information visit: www.talkingbirds.com.au

Companion Parrot Support Network

Who are the `Companion Parrot’ Speakers at the Parrots 2006 Convention and what will they be talking about?

FAQ by Parrot Behaviour & Enrichment Consultations

1.Who are the `Companion Parrot’ Speakers at the Parrots 2006 Convention and what will they be talking about?

The Parrots 2006 Convention will be the first Avicultural convention held in Australia to deliver a dedicated set of lectures and workshop opportunities specifically focused on companion parrot behaviour and care. Given the relative infancy of specialisation in parrot behaviour and care in Australia it’s fair to ask just `who’ will be delivering the lectures and workshop content at Parrots 2006?

The event will be held over two days, Saturday July 15 & Sunday July 16. Special education opportunities for companion parrot owners will be featured on both days. Here’s an overview of the speakers and the presentations on offer…

Saturday July 15th

Speaker: Barbara Heidenreich
Presentation Topic: Training Birds for Medical and Husbandry Behaviours
Presentation Overview:
Birds are relatively easy animals to capture and restrain. Because of this it is often an accepted practice to physically manipulate birds for many husbandry and veterinary procedures. While there will always be procedures that will require physical restraint to best serve the health and welfare of the bird, this paper proposes many husbandry and veterinary medical procedures can be performed with the use of little, if no restraint. This can be accomplished via the use of Operant Conditioning. With an emphasis on positive reinforcement, conditioning, and desensitization, birds can learn to accept a variety of procedures with little or no stress. In facilities around the world, training birds for husbandry and medical behaviours is beginning to emerge. A variety of facilities have provided examples of such training with a wide range of species. These species include parrots (cockatoos, Amazon parrots, macaws, conures, cockatiels and budgerigars), finches, waterfowl, storks, cranes, condors, hornbills, eagles and more. Behaviours trained are as simple as shifting from one enclosure to another to as complex as voluntarily accepting blood draws without restraint. Training examples include birds in large aviaries, birds on exhibit, and birds accustomed to handling, such as those utilized in education programs or kept as companion animals in homes. Showcasing these examples opens the door for further exploration of the training possibilities with birds, which ultimately can lead to improvements in avian care and management.

Speaker Background: Barbara has been a professional in the field of animal training since 1990. She owns and operates a company, Good Bird, Inc., (www.GoodBirdInc.com) that provides behaviour and training products to the companion parrot community. These products include Good Bird Magazine, books, videos, consulting services and training/behaviour workshops. She is the author of “Good Bird! A Guide to Solving Behaviour Problems in Companion Parrots” by Avian Publications and also “The Parrot Problem Solver. Finding Solutions to Aggressive Behaviour” by TFH Publications. She is the president of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators (www.IAATE.org).

Barbara’s experience also includes consulting on animal training in zoos and other animal related facilities. Her specialty is free flight bird training. She has been a part of the development and production of more than 15 different free flight education programs. Barbara continues to provide consulting services to zoos, nature centres and other animal facilities through her other company Animal Training and Consulting Services (www.ATandCS.com). In her career she has trained animals, trained staff, and/or presented shows at facilities around the world, including the U.S.A., Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa, Mexico and Canada.

Speaker: Gary Colvin
Presentation Topic: Training Enrichment for `Flighted’ Companion Parrots
Presentation Overview:
Training enrichment using a positive reinforcement approach to achieve good manners and improved husbandry enhances the human/parrot relationship. In this workshop, an overview and practical analysis will be provided of basic training and enrichment strategies and how developing effective `approximations’ impacts on the learning process. Gary will also be discussing the benefits of flight for companion parrots and how to manage `flightedness’ in the home with the training of effective recall. The use and application of harnesses, as well as pet pack training, will also be covered.

Speaker Background: Gary has been a vet nurse for over 15 years and has a special interest in Companion Animal Behaviour. He is a Delta Accredited CGC Canine Behavioural Trainer and tutors the students doing current courses. Gary is also an Accredited Animal Behavioural Counselor, New York. USA. He has attended Steve Martins `Show Production for Professionals’ workshop in Orlando Florida and lectured at the North American Post Graduate Foundation courses in Veterinary Behavioural Medicine, Orlando Florida. Gary is a regular contributor to the Parrot Society of Australia magazine, writing articles on parrot training and behaviour. He currently holds Parrot Preschool classes and provides private behavioral consults for people with companion animals with problems, including birds.

Speaker: Jim McKendry BAppSc (Wildlife Biology) BTeach
Presentation Topic: Setting Companion Parrots Up For Success
Presentation Overview:
The challenge lies for keepers of parrots as companion animals to facilitate effective learning experiences that will assist their adaptation to captivity. This workshop will focus on a range of issues impacting on the success of the healthy, functional behaviour of parrots kept as companion animals. Jim will discuss major issues relevant to the early development of companion parrots and how to develop `fair expectations’ of different species we keep in captivity. A further focus on behavioural feather picking will be covered and a discussion of potential causes and remedial strategies used to successfully recover Gang-Gang Cockatoos.

Speaker Background: Jim has been intensively keeping parrots for over ten years. During that time, he has focused on developing an understanding of the behavioural dynamics of both wild and captive, companion parrots. As a parrot behaviour and enrichment consultant (www.pbec.com.au), he has provided consultative services to hundreds of parrot owners both within Australia and internationally, as well as contributing articles for numerous pet and avicultural focused publications. Jim has worked professionally as an avian trainer at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and uses an Applied Behaviour Analysis approach to parrot behaviour management. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Teaching (ACU) and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wildlife Biology) (UQ), completing numerous tertiary level coursework programmes on animal behaviour, ecology, physiology, animal nutrition and biology. Jim is an active member of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators and currently presents the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Parrot Workshops.

Sunday July 16th.

Speaker: Barbara Heidenreich
Presentation Topic: Solving Companion Parrot Behaviour Problems
Presentation Overview:
In the past solving a behaviour problem has often relied on punishing techniques and/or the use of aversives to gain cooperation. However science and experience has clearly demonstrated operant conditioning with an emphasis on positive reinforcement can correct problem behaviour, while at the same time enhancing the human animal bond. Behaviour modification strategies that involve the effective use of extinction and positive reinforcement of acceptable behaviour, in conjunction with other applied behaviour analysis principles, are demonstrated for a wide variety of behaviour problems (biting, screaming, territorial behaviour, etc.)

Speaker: Barbara Heidenreich
Presentation Topic: Addressing Aggressive Behaviour in Animals
Presentation Overview:
Behavioural science has categorized aggressive behaviour based on underlying motivations (fear, territoriality, displaced, pain, etc.) Exploring and identifying these categories allows individuals to determine appropriate strategies to modify aggressive behaviour. These strategies for behaviour modification are described and defined. Methods traditionally used, usually unsuccessfully, to address aggression are also explored. These methods usually involve punishment. Video of case studies is presented to allow demonstration of practical application of aggressive behaviour modification strategies.

Speakers: Dr. Bob Doneley, Dr. Adrian Gallagher & Dr. Mike Cannon
Presentation Topic: Avian Health Q&A For Companion Parrot Owners
Presentation Overview:
Three of Australia’s most qualified and experienced avian veterinarians will come together to facilitate a rare opportunity for companion parrot owners to fire away with questions related to the health and well-being of parrots as pets.

As highlighted above, three sessions have been scheduled on each of the convention days, tailored to the needs of companion parrot enthusiasts. Attending both days will offer a comprehensive education opportunity that has not been available in Australia before. Single day registrations are also available at just $125 per day. The challenge is picking which day to attend if you can make only one!

As I noted in the last FAQ, If we want opportunities like this to continue for future conventions then it will depend on how well companion parrot enthusiasts can all get behind this event and show our keen interest by registering as a delegate. Full registration information and forms can be downloaded from the Parrot Society of Australia website via http://www.parrotsociety.org.au or you can give Stewart Williamson a call on 07-3289 2523. General event details are as follows…

Parrots 2006 Two-Day Convention

Venue:	Acacia Ridge Hotel - Brisbane QLD
Date:	Saturday July 15th - Sunday July 16th
Early Bird Registration Fee:	$195 per person (Money must be received by PSOA by April 12th 2006
Full Registration Fee:	$220 per person (Receieved between April 13th and June 30th)
Late Registration Fee:	$250 (Paid anytime after July 1st)
Single Day Registration Fee:	$125 pp ($100 for accompanying spouse)
Saturday night buffet dinner and presentation:	$45 per person
Pensioners and Full-time students:	$20 off all registration prices
Non-PSOA Members:	Add $25 to all registration prices

Note: Accompanying spouse - $125 extra with every full registration fee. No spouse discount for late registration.1 Delegate pack per registered couple.

I sincerely hope to see many of you there. Feel free to send me an e-mail anytime, tell me about your interest in parrots as companion animals and how we can address your questions here via the PRC Newsletter.

For more information about my workshop experience or to receive a pamphlet with information about my consultation services simply contact me via jim@parrot-behaviour.info or via my website at http://www.parrot-behaviour.info

Kind Regards, Jim McKendry
Parrot Behaviour & Enrichment Consultations
http://www.pbec.com.au
jim@pbec.com.au
mobile: 0421 175 841

Do you have a parrot behaviour or care FAQ that you would like me to answer via the PRC Newsletter? If so then e-mail your question to Zarita via zarita@parrotrescuecentre.com

To access information on the Parrot-behviour.info website and the CPSN initiatives please visit:
www.parrot-behaviour.info.com

Parrot Behaviour and Care Workshops at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary- By Jim McKendry

Hi Everyone,

I would like to take this opportunity to let you all know about the new Parrot Behaviour & Care workshops at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary that will be held during 2006.

This year we will be delivering two workshop opportunities – Level 1 and Level 2. These workshops represent Australia’s most in-depth and professionally delivered coverage of all aspects of companion parrot behaviour, training, health care and enrichment. I’m exceptionally pleased to announce that Dr. Bob Doneley, one of Australia’s most qualified and respected avian veterinarians, will be co-presenting the Level 2 workshop with me. The scope of this particular experience is unreal and is appropriate for companion parrot enthusiasts, zoo staff, vet nurses and pet store staff! There are no other workshop opportunities that offer the in-depth coverage of both avian behaviour and avian health that we are providing in 2006. These workshops represent the best education experience available and are incredibly good value for money.

I have attached an overview of both of the workshops that includes full scope details as well as information on times, dates and costs. For those of you who attended the workshop in 2005, you are automatically eligible for the Level 2 Advanced Workshop. In Level 2 we’ll start off where things finished in Level 1 and go from there! I certainly look forward to seeing many of you there again this year. If you would like to attend one of the scheduled workshops this year then please call me on 07-5442 5342 and I will organise your registration to ensure that you do not miss out on one of the limited places available. I will personally contact via phone anyone who e-mails me with their contact details requesting an obligation free opportunity to talk more about the workshop. An information pamphlet and registration form can also be posted to you on request. Please note that registrations for the first Level 1 workshop being held on Sunday April 9th close on April 1st – register a.s.a.p. by calling Jim on 07-5442 5342.

Can all of you who have previously e-mailed about workshop registration please contact me via 07-5442 5342 as there has been a changeover in education staff at CWS and I need to confirm your details and make sure you are still registered.

Just to let you know - The new Parrot Behaviour & Enrichment Consultations website is now online at http://www.pbec.com.au. I am still in the process of completing the `Resources’ and `Partners’ sections of the website but full consultation details are now available. Make sure you check out our phone consultation information as this is proving to be an extremely popular and effective support option for companion parrot owners seeking advice on managing all aspects of parrot behaviour and care. You will also notice an events calendar – don’t miss upcoming events such as the CWS Workshops and the Parrots 2006 Convention in Brisbane.

I sincerely look forward to seeing many of you at the workshops and conventions this year!

ANIMAL INSTINCTS - Healing and Talking with Animals!

Would you like to know how your parrot is feeling?
Do they like their environment?
Is there anything special they need?
Is there a strange, annoying or self destructive behaviour you would like resolved?
Would you like to discover your parrots past history?

Leah Petersen is a gifted animal intuitive and will communicate with all species of animals both living and in spirit.

Leah uses her natural abilities, honesty, compassion, sense of humour and a down to earth communication style to bring animals and their people closer together.

For further information and to arrange for Leah to talk with your companion parrot and other household animals please visit:

WWW.ANIMALINSTINCTS.COM.AU

PRC TIPS - Gum Nut Delight

Medium and Large Parrots love the flavour of fresh Eucalyptus and chewing inside eucalyptus nuts to eat the seed pods within and also eating and chewing on the flesh of the nut. Why not purchase your own eucalyptus tree, so that you have endless amounts of nuts to give your parrot. Small grafted Eucalyptus nut trees are available from nurseries or Bunning’s. The tree is normally sold with developing nuts or flowers.

Canberra Companion Parrot Workshop

Hi Everyone,

I was very happy and exited to read this email which was sent to me by Merran Douglas who is a companion parrot owner from Canberra. All the PRC Representatives hope that we are able to inspire more people to participate and organise these types of workshops around Australia. There is a great need for professional education and support for parrot owners, so as to give people a greater understanding of their parrot’s behaviour and help equip them to provide a happy healthy life for their parrots.

From all of us at the PRC Thankyou Merran for your generous donation. Keep up the great work!

Hello Zarita,

I was able to organize a Companion Parrot Workshop in Canberra, which was held last Sunday afternoon from 2pm - 5pm at the Inner South Veterinary Centre in Narrabundah, ACT. Sandy Hume, an avian veterinarian specialist donated the use of the premises and his time to present, as as did Michelle Banfield (a parrot behaviour consultant). A group of twelve people attended, some beginners, others more advanced in their knowledge. Presentations were given using a digital projector on health & sickness, sign's & symptoms of illness, common diseases, correct housing & feeding, enrichment, toys, interaction and training techniques whilst people took notes. Sandy had several photo illustrations and had made up parrot keeping information files for each participant to take home as a reference. Everybody appeared to enjoy the time asking many questions, there were even a few stories involving several parrot patients of Sandy's which had people laughing.

Michelle Banfield also gave a PowerPoint presentation dealing with behavioural issues, body language, and aviary & cage size. The importance of enrichment, toys, various foods and daily supervised time out of cages. Some great photos were shown of her African Grey, Amazon and cockatiels in flight and whilst enjoying a bath in the shower with a low mist of water.

The only parrot allowed at the workshop was my beautiful HR Sulphur Crested Cockatoo ( Murphy ) who I might add, had people laughing with his various displays ( at least his behaviour was not embarrassing, he was quite content to perch on top of his travel cage ), calling out "Hello", spreading his wings and bobbing his head up and down, seeking attention. There was a couple whom Murphy really took too, particularly the husband (almost giving him the moo moo eye look). I really think the mutual love look throughout the sessions were funny to watch. The lady said she would be happy to take Murphy home (but I could not part with him). I was inspired by all the dedication and hard work that the Parrot Rescue Centre does to get this workshop up and running. Although not a huge amount, I hope you are able to put to good use the money I will be sending up to the centre. I only wish that I lived nearby to volunteered my time to help out in some way with all the beautiful parrots you take into care.

Can you give me some banking details so I can deposit the money into an account to be used for whatever you need to continue the great work.

Keep up the good work!

Kind regards

Merran Douglas

Featured Product of the Month from the PRC Shop

PRC would like to provide you with some resourceful information each month of selected items from the PRC shop. The PRC personally uses all items provided in the Shop to ensure there safety, durability and excitement factor.

Treasure Chest

Size Compatibility: Ringnecks to Macaws will enjoy this product.

Safety Rate: 100% Safe bullet proof plastic.

Durability: Plastic is 100% Durable.

Tips: Rotate toys regularly to prevent bordem.

Excitement Factor:Great toy for hiding treats and toys. This toy will keep your parrot busy for hours.

Treasure Chest Now available in Small and Large
Treasure chest has been one of the most poplar toys sold by the PRC.

This product is available from the PRC shop, price includes delivery.

All profits from the PRC Shop go directly into helping the daily operations of the PRC.

Thankyou for your support

PRC Shop - May - June Special Offer

Buy any 3 Products and receive an adjustable perch for free!

When placing your on-line order "Please specify your bird size in the Comments section of your Paypal payment" One adjustable perch per order.

Paypal now takes bank card payments, so if you do not own a credit card or don’t like using online Credit facilities, you will be happy to know you can now make payment with you bank account details.

New PRC Toy Range

This year the PRC will undergo small initiatives to help support the PRC financially. One of these initiatives is making a PRC toy range. The PRC toy range will be made with the best quality material and with your bird’s safety in mind. A lot of the products are imported from Overseas, where they have been tested by parrots for many years. We hope that you find our toys exiting and fun for your parrot, and help support us by purchasing them.


Can-O-Nuts Now Available in Small and Large		Natural Boing

Small Natural Swing	Spaghetti Legs		Industructabell Now available in Small and Large

Treasure Chest Now Available in Small and Large		McFeast Spiral


Tasty Delight		Missy

And lots more………. Please visit the PRC Shop to see our full list of new products.

“Also keep tuned for even more PRC made toys”

NEW FOOD PRODUCT

Tropimix Large Parrot Mix
Tropican food stick-based formula with a natural blend of human-grade palatable grains, legumes, nuts, fruits and vegetables, as super premium food, 100% edible, no wasteful shells, for all macaws, cockatoos, African Grey.
CONTAINS: Fruits: papaya, pineapple, banana, coconut, raisins Nuts: Brazil nut, almond, walnut Seeds: flaked corn, whole corn, milo, wheat, sunflower kernel, dehulled pumpkin seed Vegetables: carrot, potato Legumes: cooked soybean, cooked chickpea, cooked green split peas, peanut kernel Others: Tropican sticks which contain 8 grains and nuts with vitamins and minerals.

Protein: 12.5%, Fat: 12.0%, Fiber: 3.2%
Item: 80660, 860g (1.9 lbs); 80662, 2 kg (4.4 lbs); 80664, 9.07 kg (20 lbs)

Tropimix Small Parrot Mix
Tropican food granule-based formula with a natural blend of favorite grains, legumes, nuts, fruits and vegetables. As super premium food, 100% edible, no wasteful shells. For all conures, caiques, quakers.
CONTAINS: Fruits: papaya, pineapple, banana, coconut, raisins Nuts: walnut Seeds: Flaked corn, whole corn, milo, oat groats, buckwheat groats, wheat, sunflower kernel Vegetables: carrot Legumes: cooked soybean, cooked chickpea, cooked green split pea, red split lentils, peanut kernel Others: Tropican granules which contains 8 grains and nuts with vitamins and minerals.

Protein: 12.5%, Fat: 9.0%, Fiber: 2.2%
Item: 80640, 860g (1.9 lbs); 80642, 2.0 kg (4.4 lbs); 80644, 9.07 kg (20 lbs)

Please help us to help the Parrots

The Parrot Rescue Centre spends a lot of time and resources in doing what is best for the parrots by ensuring the birds are regularly vet checked, given fresh food, enrichment, clean aviaries and cages, providing natural habitats and by building larger enclosures.

We need your help and support to continue to provide a high standard of care to the PRC parrots.

How you can help:

Purchase toys and accessories from the PRC shop click here.
Make a monetary donation click here.

Please help us help the parrots.

Alternatively contact me directly on 0755692840 to discuss
how you would like to give your support

Thankyou for your kindness.

Yours truly,

Zarita Garozzo
PRC Director

Member Moments - Story of the month

"Jasper"
Pam McNally has won best story for the month of May!

Jaspers story

Jasper, a Blue & Gold Macaw, became part of our family nearly a year ago when he was six months old. Our two small (quite spoilt) dogs were not overjoyed at our choice of pet, as birds were only for chasing out in the yard, not sharing their home, let alone affection with. Jasper was fascinated by the ‘boys’ from the beginning & a year later they’re all used to (even quite keen on) each other. I’m sure Jasper will learn to bark in time. He is slowly picking up a few words & we always get a lovely clear Hello when we come home from anywhere. He has taken to calling us all Mum but I often get Hey Mum during the day. In fact he can make it sound a lot like our son. Jasper can also say his name & breaks into sentences of jumble at random. We hope one day it will become clear.

Jasper spends his days between his large cage on our high veranda, (talking to crows & fellow friends of the parrot world) & inside on one of his play stands. Anywhere he is, he is busy playing, swinging from his ropes, clowning around hanging off the cage by one toe- nail, shredding paper or reducing wood to matchsticks. His extensive range of toys are constantly being repaired as ‘The Beak’ wreaks havoc on everything. The favourite toys always have wood on them but often don’t last the day. The screws on his cage are a constant source of amusement, a lot of which he has removed and food bowls have to be screwed in from the outside of the cage as a favourite game in the past has been to empty the contents rather than eat or drink them. Apart from the bowls being screwed in, they also have to be secured from being opened outwards as twice I have caught Jasper on the outside of the cage, sitting like the king on top. Fortunately he’ll do anything for a peanut so came straight away to me instead of taking off. He is so smart so we have learnt the trick to owning a Macaw is we have to be smarter, which is sometimes quite hard. They see & take in the tiniest of details.

Buttons spring to mind. They are snapped in split seconds. By the time he has latched on they are gone. Jewellery is another favourite & easy to forget until too late. In fact I can only recall one non-smart thing Jasper has done & that was to leap off the outside table & land in the pool. That was a shock to the system as he floated spread eagle on the water. Of course I panicked & leapt in clothes & all & fished him out. He was a very quiet boy as we hosed off the salt water. He hasn’t done it since & is still happy to sit out there with us.

Jasper is a constant source of pleasure to us & we feel so lucky to have such a great little guy in our lives. There is so much joy in owning a parrot….a very special parrot!

Pam McNally

How to Enter Your Member Story:

How to enter the monthly draw to win a PRC recommended parrot toy and have your birdies picture and story part of the PRC Newsletter.
· Fill out the Parrot Rescue Centre Membership Form
· Write a story about your feathered friends, weather emotional, funny or silly
· Send it to zarita@parrotrescuecentre.com
· Include a photo of your bird as an attachment on the email.

It’s that easy! We look forward to hearing your stories!

“From the Avian Vets Desk” - Do's and Don'ts For Owning a Pet Parrot

Owning a pet parrot can be a very rewarding and positive experience. Conversely, if a pet bird is purchased for the wrong reasons and without adequate research into its needs, it can be heart-breaking and disastrous undertaking both for the owner and the bird. Pet birds are intelligent and complex creatures and they require owners who are willing to understand them and meet their needs. Gone are the days when you buy a pet bird and put it into a cage with some seed and water, clean it out once a week and forget it. The hand reared pet parrots of today’s markets require the same time, understanding and commitment that are needed for raising a child. In fact, buying a pet parrot is similar to adopting a child. Consequently, a prospective pet parrot owner needs to be aware of their own lifestyle and personality requirements before they can begin to nurture the psychological and physical well-being of their newly acquired pet.

Hopefully, the following lists of some simple “do’s” and “don’ts”, should help to make life simpler for parrot owners and their pets.

Peter Wilson
BVSc MACVSc
Avian and Reptile Practitioner

Do some research on different types of parrots in order to find a pet that will suit your needs and expectations. (E.g., if you live in a small home unit and work long hours don’t buy a large parrot life a sulphur crest or a macaw. Don’t buy a bird because it looks colourful, find out about its habits and personality). It is important to consider size, personality, noise and mess factors when purchasing a pet parrot. Once you think you have chosen the species for you, talk to some people who actually own this type of parrot. Join parrot societies, surf the net, talk to an avian veterinarian, read relevant books.
Do be prepared to tolerate noise and mess when you own a parrot. If you want a quiet, non-messy, non-interactive pet, buy a pet rock.
Do find out the correct dietary requirements of your parrot. Food requirements of a parrot are dependant of the geographic origin and species of bird. Consult an accredited avian veterinarian for the dietary needs of your pet bird. The basis of a healthy diet consists of commercial pelleted foods or alternatively a good quality seed mix with a vitamin supplementation. All parrots should be given fresh fruits and vegetables in accordance with their specialized needs. Seed and water diets are completely inadequate and result in nutritional deficiencies and related health problems. (Three-quarters of all bird health problems presented at my avian practice are related to poor nutrition and dietary imbalance.)
Do have your new parrot health checked by an accredited avian veterinarian. A physical examination and some simple tests will confirm or eliminate basic health or disease problems. The avian veterinarian will also be able to give correct advice on diet and husbandry of your parrot.
Do buy a suitable cage for your bird. Width is more important than height as a consideration for choosing a cage. Long tall cages are entirely unsuitable. The bigger the cage the better. Powder coated metal cages are more suitable than untreated galvanized or wooden cages. Untreated galvanized wire causes metal poisoning. Choose cages that have adequate room and are easy to clean.
Do provide adequate perches for your bird. Rough Barked, natural branches from Australian native trees are the best. (Paper bark, bottle brush, wattle etc.) Perches should be thick enough for the bird’s foot to spread comfortably on top of the perch. Throw out narrow, doweling and plastic perches. Avoid sandpaper perches, they graze the feet and cause infections.
Do provide fresh, green, leafy branches form Australian native treats for the bird to chew on. Parrots need to chew in order to keep their beak in good condition. Chewing on fresh, leafy branches also provides occupational therapy for them during the day. Pine cones and gum nuts are also healthy sources of chewing therapy.
Don try and provide natural, wild food sources for your parrot. Eg. Fresh green seeding grass in season for seed eating parrots and fresh blossoms for nectar eating lorikeets. Tropical chick weed, dock, clover and milk thistle are also some nutritional and interesting wild foods for your bird.
Do consult your avian veterinarian or a bird behavioural specialist in order to understand the psychological requirements of you bird. Correct knowledge of training and behaviour and socialization of your pet will eliminate future behaviour problems. Remember that your bird is a flock animal and it will treat the human family as its flock. Pet bird owners must have an understanding of bird psychology in order to raise a happy and well-adjusted bird. ( just as it is important to take your pet dog to obedience training, it is just as important to take your pet parrot to parrot pre-school)
Do get advice in wing clipping from your avian veterinarian. Remember that the purpose of win clip is not to prevent your bird from flying away outdoors. An appropriate wing clip allows a bird to fly downwards indoors and keeps him out of trouble in a home environment.
Do get a friend for your pet parrot. Like children, pet parrots grow and mature sexually. If they don’t have a natural bird outlet for their sexuality, many mental and physical health problems can develop as a result of sexual frustration. It is recommended to introduce a mate of the opposite sex. Then, instead of have one tame pet bird, you have two (provided you follow the correct training and behaviour procedures.)

Now some don’ts

Don’t introduce new birds to your home without a period of quarantine. A period of quarantine will help eliminate the possibility of introducing infectious diseases to your existing birds. Your avian veterinarian will be able to advise you about quarantine during the new birds health check.
Don’t allow birds on your shoulder. This allows the bird to believe that it is the “bossy cocky”. Consult with an accredited bird behaviouralist to find out more on this matter.
Don’t allow birds to free range within the home environment. They are like young children and require close supervision when they are indoors. The unsupervised home environment is a dangerous place for birds. They can chew on metal objects, drown in open toilets. Fly into spinning fans, dang on hot stoves, fall behind fridges ect. Only allow a bird to come out of the cage when you can actively supervise it.
Don’t think of the bird’s cage as a prison. Think of it as a refuge and a shelter. Make the cage clean, attractive and interesting for the bird. The cage should be cleaned daily with fresh food. Water and browse. Newspaper is the best cage substrate. It is inexpensive and can be easily removed and replaced.
Don’t situate the cage in an exposed, high traffic area. Birds are prey animals and their instinct is to be constantly vigilant for danger. Part cover the cage during the day or place it in a corner location so the birds don’t constantly have “Watch their backs”
Don’t feed your bird unsuitable “human” food. Eg. Tea, coffee, alcohol, dairy products, fatty, salty processed foods. Birds don’t have the metabolism to cope with these types of foods. Always be guided by what they would have access to in the wild. Birds will always want to eat what the flock is eating. In the home the flock is the human family. Put your bird back in the cage during mealtimes.
Don’t smoke around your bird. Nicotine is just as toxic to birds as it is to humans, other environmental toxins to avoid around birds are “plug-in” air fresheners and Teflon cooking fumes
Don’t kiss or feed your bird from your mouth. As well as being unhygienic, this type of behaviour is inappropriate and is a “sexual turn-on” for the bird. It will encourage inappropriate bonding to a human family member.
Don’t feed sunflower seed to Australian parrots that originate from dry inland Australia Eg. Cockatiels, sulphur crested cockatoos, galahs and corellas. These birds have a metabolism suited to low fat foods. Excess consumption of sunflower seeds causes obesity related health problems.

These “do’s” and “Don’ts” are not a comprehensive list by any means. However, I hope they get you thinking about some of the responsibilities and requirements necessary for maintaining a happy, healthy and well-adjusted parrot. Please consult your avian veterinarian if you want to pursue any of these suggestions on greater detail.

Written by Peter Wilson
BVSc MACVSc
Avian and Reptile Practitioner

To contact Peter Wilson Click Here

Bird Boarding

Do you need a guilt-free holiday?

Leave your precious birds with understanding and knowledgeable parrot carers.

We provide quality care for your pet birds including clean housing, healthy diet, enrichment, interaction and training (extra fee).

Your bird will not have time to be bored or sad, so stress and frustration will be less likely.

All funds made from bird boarding are directly used by the Parrot Rescue Centre to help with caring and maintaining the sanctuary birds environment.

Bird Boarding Health Check Requirement

All Boarding Parrots are required to undergo a health check by a qualified Veterinarian preferably an avian specialist or vet that has a special interest in birds, please Click Here to find your nearest suitable vet.

Health check should include:

Tested negative to Psittacosis
Tested negative to PBFD
Faeces Tested negative for worms and bacteria
Examination suggests that the bird is clinically free of illness or infection and is considered in sound physical health by the examining veterinarian

For more information please contact:

Zarita Garozzo

Parrot Rescue Centre Co-coordinator on:

Ph: 07 5569 2840

Email: zarita@parrotrescuecentre.com

Meet some of the family

Species: Galah

Name: Gazza

Age: Unknown

Sex: Male

About Gazza:

Brian the owner of Gazza had a wonderful loving relationship with his pet bird, until one day he came home from a trip away and Gazza was suddenly terrified of him and anything that moved. After months of trying to better his relationship with Gazza he finally decided to seek help from a parrot behaviour consultant.

Brian with Gazza

Brian followed all the instructions he was given, but after a year the relationship had not improved and Gazza seemed to worsen in his fear of everything and everyone. Brian decided to hand Gazza over to the Parrot Rescue Centre to see if they could make his life better again.

After over 18months of being at the PRC, Gazza is finally no longer scared of humans and has found a mate with another Galah named Helmet which whom he digs holes and plays games with through out the day. He also loves to talk to people that visit his aviary. Brian came to visit Gazza and was amazed with his transformation. His email to the consultant who originally helped him is below.

Brians Email:

Well I have just had a most rewarding experience.

Over the Easter weekend, I went down to visit Zarita at the parrot rescue centre and of course, my old mate Gazza.

What a change in the little man – for the first time in ages he was happy to step up on to my finger, take some seed from me accept a scratch or two on the neck and then as he always used to, ran up my arm to perch on my shoulder. He sat there for a little while and then flew back to a perch. Prior to this, he was muttering his name to us while we were outside the cage feeding him.

To me it is clear he is now very happy and in an environment that is absolutely right for him. I really appreciate your recommendation to get Gazza to Zarita; she has certainly worked wonders with him.

What a great outcome!

Best regards

Brian

PS a couple of pictures attached!

The PRC receives many birds that are found or lost. Please Click here to read the PRC May Volume 3 Newsletter for more information on Lost and Found contact information.

Can I Adopt a Parrot?

Yes, if you pass the essential assessment process.

It is vital that the PRC have a assessment process for people wanting to adopt a parrot, as many of the parrots that have been surrendered to the PRC have been given away because of behavioral issues.

The PRC does the best they can through the rehabilitation process to ensure that these behaviors are controlled although when re homing these birds we need to ensure the parrot owner has a good understanding of parrot needs and requirements.

These birds do not deserve to be moved from home to home anymore, so if you are adopting a bird from the PRC it is going to be a life long commitment.

Click here for more information and to apply

Next Month Highlights:

If you have received this mailing in error, or if you no longer wish to receive email from
Parrot Rescue Centre, please send a blank email, with:

Remove from Mailing List in the subject line, to zarita@parrotrescuecentre.com

You will be excluded from future mailings