October / November 2007
Texas State School Fun Run Fundraiser, Successful Adoption Placement & Importance of Foraging
 
"Many have forgotten this truth but you must not forget it.
We remain responsible forever for what we have tamed"
(Antoine de Saint-Exupeny)
       
Texas School FUN RUN Fundraiser
 
Texas State Primary School in QLD have proudly participated in a Fun Run to help the PRC. With the money they raised they have virtually adopted birds from the PRC.
 
Thank you to Natasha Vought (bellow) who is the Year 7 teacher from Texas State Primary School who continues to support and help the PRC birds, with her fundraising and Paintings. If you are interested in purchasing her paintings please contact us. All profits are donated to the PRC to help with the up keeping of the rescued birds.
 
(Photos by Natasha Vought)
Adoption Placement

Patricia Larsen first adopted two Galahs from the PRC in August 2006, she owned a sunconure named Sunny and Jedi an indian ringneck and decided to increase her flock to help the PRC. She passed the PRC Adoption Process with flying colours and before she new it she was the proud mum of Birdie and Gilbert. I have personally been very impressed with Trisha's dedication to the two galahs. She has come across behaviour challenges with the birds and has seeked advice and worked through the issues successfully.

In July this year Trisha asked me if there where any more birds that I need adopted out, because she was now living on acreage and had aviaries set up for her conure and ringneck and wanted some friends for them. The PRC had a few conures that were surrendered due to noise. They where all originally individually surrendered at the beginning of 2007 and where housed all together at the PRC in a large aviary, they all loved each others company, so the ideal home was to be someone that would want a flock of conures rather than just a single pet owner. Trisha was excited about this idea, as she already had a conure named Sunny and knew the demanding calls and noise that conures can make. So the birds where moved to their new home and are all very happy.

Trisha is very happy with her new family and continues to keep us updated on the birds progress.

 
All the conures together in their new aviary
 
Tango
 
Margo
 
Sunny 2
 
Birdie
 
Gilbert
 
  Birdie and Giberts Aviary
(Photos By Patricia Larsen)
Importance of Foraging and Toys- By Zarita Garozzo
Have you seen the word foraging around and not understood what this has to do with parrots in a cage or in captivity? Pet Parrots are not domesticated animals. They are wild by instinct therefore will respond to things in their environment based on what their instincts tell them. In the wild parrots spend most of their day looking for their food, foraging around the grass and tree tops. Their day consists of finding food to survive, so they fly for miles a day to find food, they spend most of their time moving from one tree to another chewing through gumnuts to get their seed, eating and ripping up bark and finding bugs to munch on and eating leaves, seed pods or running around on the ground fossicking for grass seed.

When we look at parrots in captivity we see them locked in a cage with a food bowl at one end and water at another and wonder why our parrots have fatty tumours, become screamers, pluckers or even aggressive. Their natural instinct is to move (flap those wings) to explore and find food instead we turn them into couch potatoes who slowly go mentally mad! Parrots have a brain just like humans, so just like humans without stimulation our minds start to deteriorate and we slowly go mad.

 

Charlie adopted by Lindsay and Kym Addison of Victoria.

 

It is easy to help stimulate your parrot’s life by providing foraging toys and activities. There are many foraging toys available for parrots today or there are easy cheap ways of making toys that do the same thing as bought foraging toys. Some examples of cheap home made foraging toys are:
• Toilet rolls after the toilet paper has been used can be filled with treats, wood bits and food and then raped in newspaper like a lolly, your parrot will rip, chew and have a great time trying to get to the hidden treats.
• You can drill some large holes into a wood log that is about 10cm thick at all different angles and then hide nuts, vegetables etc in the holes.
• Roll up an old magazine and put some treats in the middle, then tie the magazine up with natural sisal rope and tie to the cage, your parrot will throw the magazine around like a bell.
• Open Pine cones can be filled with treats and then wet the pine cone and it will close with all the treats inside, your parrot will chew the pine cone up to shreds to get the treats.
• Spreading some safe natural dirt on the bottom of the cage and sprinkling budgie seed down, so your parrot has to go to the ground and fossick for their food.
• Providing a large ceramic dish filled with rocks, grass, sticks etc and hiding treats and food amongst it, so that your parrot gets in and empties everything out to get to his food.
• Covering your parrot’s food bowl with paper, so they have to rip through the paper to get to the food- you may have to demonstrate it to them to get them started.

A basket filled with native nuts and flowers is a great way to stimulate your parrots foraging instincts!

(Photo by Nicky Munro)

Some examples of retailed foraging toys that the PRC stock are:
• Treasure Chest
• Turning Learn Logs
• Rings of Fortune
• Barrel of Fun
• Parrot Treasure
• Holey Roller
• Nut Case
• Bird Bopper
• Stainless Steel Treat Holders
• Mazey Munch
• Carousels
• Hide a Treat cups
And the list goes on, so please visit www.parrotrescuecentre.com for the full range of foraging toys.

Variety is the key! Parrots in the wild do not eat in one spot everyday and do not eat the same thing day in day out. You need to get your parrot used to lots of different toys and foods.

Foraging toys and interactive activities are great but need to be rotated on a regular basis as your parrot will become bored with the same old toys. Once you start to expand your parrots mind you will have lots of fun trying to out smart them- it is really hard to do! Some of the foraging toys that we sell at the PRC take me a few minutes to work out and sometimes it only takes about that for the parrot to work out too! They are quiet amazingly intelligent. So now you know this why keep your feathered friend bored and unstimulated any longer!

Recent studies have suggested that Parrots enjoy a challenge. They like the feeling of working for their food rather then just easily getting it out of a bowl. I have put this to the test with the PRC boarding parrots. My tests have shown this to be true, especially with some of the larger parrots (Macaws and Cockatoo species). I have put nuts and vegetables in their bowls and nuts and vegetables in their treasure chests and Stainless steel treat holders and to my surprise every time they go for the ones in the holders rather than the bowl. I have also found that cockatiels like their vegetables wedged in the bars of the cage, between branches or on fruit kabobs rather than in their bowls.

Foraging toys are not the only toys that should be provided, soft and hard wood hanging and foot toys, with natural leather, hard plastic, chain and beads strung from them should be included in your parrot’s toy mix, which allow them to chew and also keep their beaks busy and stimulated. Parrots love to CHEW and DESTROY, so do not limit buying them products that are not destructible as they do love to destroy. A toy destroyed is a toy ENJOYED! A variety of at least five to ten toys should be provided in your parrot’s cage. The cage layout should be big enough for your parrot to move around comfortably amongst their toys and still be able to flap their wings, as flapping their wings is an important daily routine that parrots do to stimulate their muscles and release excess energy.

No parrot toy is 100% safe. Therefore it important to check and monitor the toys on a regular basis for general deterioration. Please always monitor your parrot when given new toys, to ensure there are not dangerous parts. Old toys can be a hazard, so remove toys that have frayed cotton as this can cause strangulation or your parrot could be eating the fibre. Toys with sharp edges and toys that are rusty should be removed as the loose particles of the metal if digested by your parrot will cause death from metal toxicity.

Be careful that you do not purchase cheap imitation parrot toys that are made from treated timber, brittle fine metal parts and which are not suitable for the size of your parrots beak and strength. If you are unsure if the toy is suitable get the advice of a Parrot Behaviour consultant or Avian vet, who are your best options for correct educated advice, as some retailers may be uneducated and not provide the correct information. Toys made out of predominantly rope are not recommended as parrots cannot digest rope fibres, so if the fibres are eaten they literally sit in your parrot’s stomach until it begins to make them sick and can eventually cause death. If your parrot has a tendency to chew rope and you have noticed with some of your toys that rope is missing or frayed, then please REMOVE the toy, I can not express enough how detrimental rope fibre is to your parrots life. This is also the case with parrot toys that are made from fine and zinc plated metal, many parrots die due to metal toxicity because they find a fascination with the shinny metal parts, if the metal is rusty or very fine and zinc plated and you are noticing your parrot has a fascination with chewing or licking the metal, please REMOVE the toy. Try to only purchase toys that are Nickel plated or Stainless steel rings, heavy duty chain, bells and links.

For more information on parrot toy safety or to check out the Parrot Rescue Centre’s large range of safe parrot toy’s and accessories visit www.parrotrescuecentre.com or please feel free to contact me for advice on toys on 0755692840.

References:

Dr. M. Scott Echols, 2006. Captive Foraging: The Next Best Thing to Being Free, DVD.

Michelle Karras, 2003. The Importance of Toys: Positive Parrot Behaviour Series Volume 1, pp. 10-13

Carol S. D’Arezzo & Lauren Shannon-Nunn, 2000. A Practical Parrot Guide Parrot –Toys and Play Areas: How to put some fun into your parrot’s life.


This article was published in Talking Birds Newspaper September 2007
ANIMAL COMMUNICATION- By Leah Peterson
Interactive Energy…..How & why our companion Parrots react to our own moods!

A few weeks ago I was doing some on-line research on Parrots, when I came across an article written by an American Avian Vet. What I found most interesting about this article was that the vet mentioned the possibility that birds can physically see & sense the energy fields that surround all living things – including us!

Besides the red, blue and green cones humans use to view colours, some birds studied possess extra colour-specific cones that allow them to see into the shorter wavelengths of the violet and ultra-violet end of the spectrum. These wavelengths are invisible to the human eye. By altering the wavelengths of light in the birds’ environment, scientists have been able to influence decisions about which mates are selected when breeding, and which foods are eaten.

Many fruit, flowers, and seeds contrast with their background much more strongly in Ultra violet light than in human-visible wavelengths. Furthermore, and of particular interest to research on sexual selection and mate choice, so do many species of birds' plumage. For example, some male and female birds look similar to us, but there is a significant sex difference in the colour of several plumage regions (e.g. the crest, tail etc) under Ultra violet reflection.

Part of this same range into the ultraviolet was used to produce the ‘kirilian photography’ so popular a few decades ago and today it is used in the taking of “Aura Photos”, when it was discovered that these wavelengths, although invisible to the human eye, could be captured on film. These photos showed a distinct ‘glow’ around living or recently living plants and animals, and none whatsoever around inert materials. Anyone who has had an “Aura Photo” taken will understand what this “glow” may look like. Now imagine how your companion parrot must feel – if they see this (frequently changing) colourful glow around us all the time!!!

One of the theories is that the birds can visually read the energy field around a food source, naturally the plant, seed or vegetation which is healthy and fresh would have a remarkably more vibrant colour/glow than something which is a day or two old!

This research clearly boosts my own experiences and observations on birds reactions to certain people, objects and food!

It is my belief that this is a primary method for our parrot companions to “pick up on” our very own moods. It is believed that when we are angry, tense, sick, happy, calm etc our Aura or “ultra violet” energetic field will change in colour and size to reflect the exact mood & state of health we are in.

There are countless stories where our birds react in fear when approached by one stranger, only to treat another like a long-lost friend? The stranger who the bird fears may be having a bad day and be displaying a large glowing dark red energy field which represents anger and hostility; whereas the stranger favoured may have a much more pleasant array of colours in their energy field that the bird is attracted to.

This theory may also explain why when we get angry and irritated by a screaming bird – the bird tends to scream louder and harder. The more irritated we get, the bigger and darker our energy field glows and since the birds can see this growing, glowing mass of colour, it is only natural the bird would become more fearful and frightened – thus more screaming. This is why it is usually recommended to walk away…..calm your own energy (thus allowing the bird to calm down also) for as long as you need.


It is great to keep a diary or journal. On a daily basis write down how you are feeling and any significant events that occurred. Also write down your birds behaviour for the day. After you have done this for a few weeks, you will probably notice a pattern emerging where your birds behaviour correlates to how you were feeling or what you were experiencing at that time. One good example is a client of mine was concerned that her bird started to avoid her over a two – three week period. Interestingly enough at the time of our reading the client was terribly ill. I suggested that the client not be too concerned as I discovered that the bird had simply been avoiding her knowing that an illness was in the process of presenting itself. Our energetic bodies will always display disease and sickness long before we have the physical symptoms. My client confirmed that toward the end of her sickness the bird began behaving “normally” like a button had been switched back on!! And just to solidify the message…..the bird re-enacted the same pattern of behaviour 8 months later, when the client came down with a severe bronchial infection!!

The complexities and intricacies of how our animals perceive us and their environment are endless….I believe the are many more miracles that we humans can not even conceive of. The best thing we can do is to remain open to all possibilities and not be so quick to assume what seems to be a logical answer to a perplexing problem.

Leah Petersen is a well respected Animal Intuitive with a client base from around the world. She has successfully facilitated Animal Communication readings for many pets and their people. Her unique gift provides you with a glimpse into the sacred innermost thoughts and feelings of your beloved animal companions.

Consultations are conducted in person or via telephone.
Phone: (07) 5556-0335 or Mobile: 0427-157-156

If you believe your parrot has a physical ailment or illness please see a qualified Avian Veterinarian before seeking an Animal Communication session.
Investigate the physical, then explore the spiritual!
For On-Line bookings & further information please visit my web site at;

www.animalinstincts.com.au

 

 

 

New PRC Toys and Accessories

Some of the new Parrot Toys and Accessories are listed below, there are heaps more so please check out the PRC Shop.

Please Click here for our full product range.

 

Spheres covered in colourful wooden disc and blocks which are wrapped in bright neon paper. Vegetable dyed leather and cotton rope accent. This toy intrigues every bird by enticing them to shred the colourful paper, exposing the wooden blocks for more chewing fun. Connects easily to the top of any cage. Available in Medium and large sizes. Shredmaster bird toy is a perfect foraging toy from Lucky Bird for your parrots. The Shredmaster bird toys are bird safe paper dispensers that allows parrots to tear off and shred . And, we all know what a favourite past time that is for parrots! The Shred Master is loaded with 100 feet of shreddable paper. Your bird will love to pull and pull and chew and shred on the paper. This bird toy is refillable, and durable.
 
And Lots Lots more...........Click here
Monthly Special! FREE TOY

The PRC would like to offer your Companion Parrot a special gift

 

This is a multi coloured, Nobbly Wobbly tangled teaser which creates a fascinating Automic twist. It twists and turns yet rolls like a ball. Made of durable 100% safe rubber.

Spend a minimum of $50 and recieve a free Nobbly Wobbly Automic Ball for your parrots toy collection. One ball with each purchase. Available in small and medium. Please select your free ball under the Special section of the PRC shop both sizes will be listed. There are only a limited amount of balls available, they will be removed when stock runs out.

  • Small is 5cm round and has a bell inside
  • Medium is 7cm round with no bell.

 

Parrots Convention 2008 - By Jim McKendry

G’day Parrot Enthusiasts!

As some of you may already be aware, the Parrot Society of Australia Inc will be holding its bienniel `Parrots’ convention next year from July 5th to 7th 2008. This is set to be the best avicultural convention experience ever held in Australia and I’d like to make some of my fellow companion parrot enthusiasts aware of what we have planned for you...

Those of you who attended Parrots 2006 will remember the brilliant workshops delivered by Barbaara Heidenreich of Good Bird Inc from the US. I’m pleased to inform you all that we have invited Barbara back for Parrots 2008. Barbara will deliver three separate workshops over the weekend, including sessions on training and managing a `flighted’ parrot and a special demonstration session with live parrots.

We are also very excited to be bringing out the world’s leading avian behaviourist, Dr. Susan Friedman. Susan will be educating us all on the benefits and application of behaviour analysis when working on behaviour management and creating learning experiences with our parrots.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg! We have a total of 8 workshop sessions locked in for companion parrot enthusiasts to engage in. On top of this will be presentations from two of the world’s leading avian biologists bringing us insights into the wild lives of South American parrots, Palm Cockatoos and Eclectus!

Every dedicated parrot enthusiast has a serious obligation to attend this event, support the initiative of the Parrot Society of Australia, enagage in the most progressive avian education in the world and learn more about care, behaviour and training of these wonderful creatures.

Registrations have opened. A special `Super Early Bird’ rate is currently on offer at just $235 (for PSOA members – non-members +$25) for the two days – a discount of $64 on the final registration fee! Only 4 more Super Early Bird registrations are available as these have been limited to the first 24 registrants. If you would like to secure one of these final 4 special registrations then please call Stewart Williamson a.s.a.p. On 07-3289 2523.

If you have any questions about the weekend then feel free to call me on 07-5442 5342. I’m anticipating a huge level of support from the companion parrot owning community for this event! Look forward to seeing you all there :-)

Jim will be doing a full coverage article of the Parrots 2008 Convention in the December / January PRC Newsletter.

To download the full program of Parrots 2008 please visit www.parrotsociety.org.au

Parrot Behaviour & Enrichment Consultations
   


Hi Folks,
In this issue of the PRC Newsletter I thought I would share a response to a question I received via my association with the World Parrot Trust `Ask The Experts’ service. This is a great service for members of the World Parrot Trust. If you are unfamiliar with the work of this leading parrot conservation organization then I would highly recommend that you take the time to visit their new website at www.parrots.org. As parrot owners, we all have a major obligation to contribute to the continued conservation efforts of organizations and individuals working to ensure that the group of birds that we are dedicated to remain viable in their natural state. Become a member of the World Parrot Trust today and help support the many projects coordinated by this wonderful organization.

If anyone has a question – no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, please e-mail Zarita and I’ll do what I can to help you out via this newsletter service.

QUESTION?

How can I stop my African Grey viciously biting whenever I go near him? He is hand reared but has become very nasty. Asked by Liz.

 

(Photo By Ann Hoyte)

ANSWER!


G’day Liz,

Your question represents a real challenge – for both of us! While I haven’t got a lot of information to work with, it’s a great opportunity to highlight some key concepts that any parrot owner in your situation can apply.

Let’s start with what’s actually missing from your question. When managing encounters that result in an aggressive behavioural response towards us, we really need to carefully analyse the `context’. For behaviour as overt as aggression or biting, there is always a context that we can observe and identify. Being able to describe this context is going to be the first stage in developing some strategies to improve your relationship with your African Grey. So, how do we go about identifying the context for the biting behaviour?

Using a `behaviour analysis’ approach (sounds technical – but stick with me), we can easily identify what might be stimulating the behaviour and how your interactions with your African Grey may also be influencing the behaviour. This approach challenges us to focus specifically on what we can observe. The next time that you encounter aggressive behaviour from your African Grey, try describing the following...

A: The `antecedent’ – the stimulus in the environment that sets the behaviour up to occur. Ask yourself - `What happens immediately before you observe aggression or receive a bite from your African Grey?’
B: The `behaviour’ – what we observe in direct response to the antecedent stimulus. Ask yourself - `What does the aggressive behaviour look like? What are the visual and verbal indicators that you can observe that help you describe and label the behaviour as aggression?’
C: The `consequence’ – what occurs in the environment immediately after the behaviour. Ask yourself - `What has happened as a result of aggressive encounters with your African Grey in the past?’

Put those three together - `antecedent’, `behaviour’ and `consequence’ and you’ll be well on your way to understanding a context for the aggressive behaviour. Aggressive behaviour always serves a functional purpose, so writing down some information following the A-B-C guide described above will help you to clarify the function that the behaviour is serving. The physical act of biting is usually the end stage of a set of preceding communication cues that we have failed to respond to. As an example, if the body language of your African Grey didn’t achieve the function of removing you from its environment, then the next stage along that continuum is progressing to a bite. Challenging yourself to analyse the behaviour from an observable context will help you to identify the key visual cues that suggest the approach you are taking, and the expectations you have, may need reworking.

Judging from your question, it seems like you might be experiencing the behaviour at most times that you try to interact with your African Grey. This is a situation where a wonderful analogy, that I first heard used by avian trainer Steve Martin, applies itself beautifully. Steve refers to a `trust account’ that we build up with our birds. Deposits are made via interactions with our birds that are positively reinforcing and build strong associations between the delivery of reinforcers and ourselves. The more opportunities we encounter where rewards and interactions that are valued by our parrot are delivered, the more deposits we can make into that trust account. The flip side of course is that withdrawals can also be made. With pet parrots and aggressive behaviour, this often occurs when we fail to sensitively respond to the visual cues, that we should know from past experiences, indicate that our feathered friend isn’t likely to be receptive to stepping onto our hand or interacting with us. The challenge for you at this initial stage in your work with your African Grey is to start making some deposits into that trust account.

Traditional approaches to managing aggression and biting behaviour relied on attempting to dominate the parrot. Choosing a dominance approach is not an effective behaviour management solution for working with aggressive parrots. Attempting to force handling interactions with an aggressive parrot can result in effectively teaching your parrot that it needs to bite harder to get the aversive stimulus (your hand) away from it. In combination with this will be a breakdown in the relationship between you and your bird. This represents a major withdrawal from the trust account and can result in many consequences, the most common being the establishment of either fear responses, or a further escalation in aggression by your parrot towards you when you initiate interactions with it. If you have reached the point where your parrot has inflicted a bite then you need to take responsibility for the bite and start focusing on developing your awareness of what you can change in your behaviour and how you can rearrange the environment to avoid a bite in the first place.

Where aggressive behaviours get out of control and become a serious issue is when we have failed to maintain positive reinforcement based training with the parrot. Consistently implemented positive reinforcement based interactions help to establish an environment that increases the potential for the human carer to be viewed as stimuli in the environment that offers highly valued resources. Achieving this shift in stimuli association provides an alternative influence on the behaviour of our pet parrot. As an example, responding to handling cues such as `step up’, ultimately needs to have a greater consequential reinforcement value to the parrot than standing on top of a cage and biting a presented hand. The learning environment for our parrot needs to be set up to provide clear behavioural alternatives, so that;
? Our parrot has choice, and therefore is an active participant in the decision making processes occurring in its environment;
? It develops a relationship between the behavioural choice it makes and the consequential reinforcement it receives for that behaviour and;
? We respect the choice that our parrot makes and resist the temptation to enforce handling when it is obvious that our parrot is not receptive to us.

If the choices that your parrot is making are not achieving a behavioural goal that you have set then it is up to you to re-evaluate your expectations, improve your reinforcement schedule for the desired behaviour and perhaps most importantly, re-think how you have arranged the environment to set your parrot up to succeed with the highest potential to present the behaviours you seek. Managing the feeding schedules of our parrots obviously provides opportunities to deliver highly valued primary reinforcers that can often help to redirect the behaviour of a parrot that has started to display aggression in specific contexts within the home environment. Rather than providing all free feed opportunities at one time, or within a single enclosure, it may be more effective to deliver different food types, at different times of the day, in different contexts, and to reinforce different behavioural goals. This may help to improve the level of motivation required to interact with you and help you to capture and positively reinforce behaviours that are alternative to or incompatible with biting.

In general, avoiding and managing aggression can be achieved via the following...
• Developing a sensitive awareness of non-verbal, visual cues that may indicate that it is time to step back and away from a potential confrontation.
• Appreciating that an individual may not be receptive to the sort of social interactions that we expect from `pets’. Therefore we may be challenged to help them learn that social interactions with us can be valued via the delivery of positively reinforcing consequences for desirable behaviour.
• Minimising handling and preening interactions that promote the sexual bonding of the parrot with one individual in the household.
• Establishing feeding and enrichment schedules that provide opportunities for the parrot to present behaviours that are an alternative to or incompatible with biting and territorial aggression.
• Continually re-evaluating how you have arranged the environment of the bird so that it is best set up to succeed with behavioural choices that you desire.

The above only touches on some key behaviour management principles that might need more elaboration for you to start really applying well. Check out the incredible articles that the World Parrot Trust has collated in their Reference Library at www.parrots.org. If you’re an `armchair’ learner then I would highly recommend that anyone managing aggression and biting from their pet parrot purchase `The Parrot Problem Solver: Finding Solutions to Aggressive Behaviour’ by Barbara Heidenreich. This is an excellent starting point for learning all about recovering relationships with aggressive parrots and can be purchased online from the Parrot Rescue Centre Store!

 

Kind Regards, Jim McKendry BAppSc BTeach
Parrot Behaviour & Enrichment Consultations
http://www.pbec.com.au
E-mail: jim@pbec.com.au
Phone Consultations | Online Support Packages | Professional Development
Parrot Behaviour Workshops at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
Call 0421 175 841 to receive a free information pamphlet pack!!!

 

Support the Parrot Rescue Centre

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.

The PRC is not a large organisation, it is privately owned and managed by Zarita, a couple of volunteers and Family. To help fund the PRC Zarita has created the PRC shop and bird boarding services and also relies on the generosity of the public. The PRC does not receive any financial assistance from the government or other large organisations.

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

 

Thankyou for your support.

Thankyou to Birdkeeper Magazine for publishing a help wanted advertisment in the October/November issue of their Magazine

 

Thankyou to Talking Birds Newspaper for publishing a help wanted article in their November Newspaper
PLEASE HELP NOW
How you can help:
1. Purchase TOYS and ACCESSORIES from the PRC shop click here.
2. Make a MONETARY donation click here.
3. SPONSER a PRC Parrot through Virtual Adoption click here

 

Alternatively contact Zarita directly by mail or phone on 0755692840 to discuss
how you would like to give your support

Parrot Rescue Centre

Po Box 797

Mudgeeraba, QLD 4213

Thankyou for your kindness.

Yours truly,

Zarita Garozzo

Story of the month - My Story of Valentino by Harvey Anderssen

 

Valentino is the winner for the story of the month for OCTOBER/NOVEMBER.

 

Valentino loves to play on his basket and swing on his rope perch!

Hi,
My story is about a Little Corella, named Valentino. We, the “foster parents” , first saw this eager little fellow on Valentine’s day 2004, hence the name. Valentino grew up eager for engagement, loving rough and tumble play, always extremely extrovert, curious, and not at all timid. So it came as a huge surprise to his wide circle of admirers, especially his foster parents, to learn, a few months ago, that our beloved Valentino was a girl.

Valentino is very self assured. She’s rather spoilt, and knows she’ll be quickly forgiven when is deliberately naughty by, for example chewing orchids or the skylight frame. I shout, she flies to me, sits on my shoulder and says “hello darling” in a sweet corella voice, confident of immediate forgiveness. Maybe that explains her “attitude” problem.

We’d wanted a bird that could help outside in the garden. And so eventually, when she was about 18 months, we introduced her to the freedom of the outdoors. She came on my shoulder outside to the exposed back porch one cold wet miserable Canberra winter night. As always, was interested and curious in the new environment, but also very happy to come back inside to warmth and companionship. I believe however success at “free flying” stemmed from the relationship, and mutual confidence in each other, rather than any training regime. Indeed, the trainers who taught her to return to us were the currawongs. They didn’t want her shouting her territorial rights as she flew over the house. She returned to us for safety when chased.

Her free-flying “lessons” taught us, the foster parents, much, and were not with angst. Nevertheless, we persevered. A lesson was held every morning and evening from Winter to Summer. She quickly learnt the outdoor environment, the big garden with willow and oak trees, and oval at the back and side also bordered by trees. As time went on, she’d go further and further afield, sometimes flying with the galahs, sometimes the king parrots and sometimes the sulphur-crested cockatoos. We learned many ways to retrieve a wilful corella who wanted to explore outdoors when we wanted her back inside. We never dared leave her outside on her own.

Then, on Saturday, 16th December 2006, at 9 o’clock, Valentino flew off with a group of cockatoos and galahs but this time did not return. A response to our lost Ad placed her a couple of kilometres away participating in a kid’s birthday party shortly after she’d disappeared. – she was always very social and liked people and parties. But we couldn’t find her – she didn’t answer our call. By Sunday we’d missed her so much that we bought another.

However, we kept looking – hoping to find her, and on Monday at 4:30pm, finally did. We were calling near where she’d been seen at the children’s party. We heard her full-throated corella call, and set up a back and forth shouting match. This way we tracked her to a house where she’d been put in a cage. The house owner had not yet taken her to the RSPCA, and returned her to us – we clearly belonged together.

Living with Valentino has been, and continues to be, an emotional experience. We now change routines to minimise risk of further traumatic episodes, not always succeeding, and knowing some risk is always present. We are lucky in where we live, and in having neighbours who know and look out for our corella. In talking to people about lost corellas, we found they were once more common as children’s pets, but today parrot people often warn against Corellas as pets – they are just too bitey, too energetic, and too needing of interaction in busy lives.

Corella’s are energetic and extremely hardy, able to thrive in Australia’s harsh outback. But above all they are social, playing together, working together at chewing trees and crops, watching out for dangerous wedgetails and farmers, and fighting each other and rival species for habitat. Such social behaviour is, on reflection, almost human, and perhaps corellas can be forgiven their vices. One thing’s for sure, owning a corella can sure be a life-changing experience.

Harvey



Nice and WET!
 
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, whether 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"


Problems Associated with Toys and Cage Accoutrements for Pet Parrots.

 

There are a wide variety of toys and cage furnishings available for pet birds. However, not all of them are appropriate or suitable for parrots and many of them can be dangerous and life-threatening. In my surgery, I have a bag full of inappropriate toys and cage accessories that have killed parrots. The birds died simply because they were fulfilling their natural instinct to chew. Unfortunately, they chewed on the toxic metal, fibre, soft and brittle plastics of their inappropriate, commercially manufactured toys and cage accoutrements.

 

Parrots are “hard-wired” to chew. When foraging for food in the wild, they chew nuts, seeds, pods, grasses and fruits. They also chew to keep their beak in top condition. In captivity, they need appropriate, safe and healthy materials to chew on such as rough bark perches, green leafy branches, seed pods and fresh, green, seeding grasses. However, many owners provide instead poorly constructed and inappropriate, commercially produced toys and rope perches. I have had many birds presented suffering from fibre impaction as a result of chewing on tasselly, rope toys and woven rope perches that have been sold as “bird friendly”. Birds suffering from fibre impaction show signs of persistent vomiting and chronic weight loss. Some birds are close to death when presented and the fibre blockages of the bowel and stomach are discovered on post mortem examination. Sometimes fibres can be removed from the crop without surgical intervention. However, the veterinary costs and suffering to the bird can be averted by avoiding toys and perches that have the potential for causing fatal fibre impactions.

Just as pet bird owners need to be aware of the potential danger from toys containing fibres, they also need to be aware of the dangers posed by cheap metal and plastic toys. Plastics are manufactured from many toxic substances and petrochemicals. Any soft or brittle plactics that can be chewed by birds can cause serious problems such as blockages, penetrating wounds and poisoning. A little budgie was presented to me, suffering from apparent central nervous problems. He was “spaced out” and suffering from loss of balance. An X-ray revealed numerous, small, semi-circular shapes in his stomach. On questioning his owner, it was discovered that these shapes corresponded to “bite marks” in a new plastic toy she had added to his cage. The toy was removed from the cage and the bird made an uneventful recovery. Safe plastics should be “bullet proof” polycarbonate that can withstand the toughest punishment from any parrot. Metal toys are another common cause of toxicity in pet parrots. Copper and chrome bells, lead clappers, rusty metal chains and toys can be the cause of metal toxicity in pet birds. Stainless steel is the preferred metal used in the manufacture of “bird safe” toys. However, it is not just toxic metals in toys that can cause health problems in pet parrots, any toys with metal hooks or protruding or sharp angular metal can also be dangerous for your bird. I remember another case where a sulphur crested cockatoo had a dangling metal toy with a hook that became skewered through his lower beak and under his tongue. He was left caught for several hours before his owner came home and discovered him. He required extensive surgery to repair the damage caused by his entanglement.

Even something as seemingly harmless as a tennis ball caused an Alexandrine parrot to come to grief. His owners gave him the tennis ball to keep him amused. However, he peeled some of the felt from the surface of the ball and got his head caught between the peeled felt and the ball. He was almost strangled by his entanglement and it was several hours before his plight was discovered. By that time he was suffering from a severe exertional myopathy and he took several months of intensive nursing and treatment before he slowly recovered.

To avoid these types of problems, it is necessary to choose your bird’s toys and cage furnishings very carefully. Toys made from natural wood, gum nuts and bark provide safe and healthy chewing opportunities for your bird. Just like rough bark perches, these toys can be regarded as disposable. When they are chewed up, replace them. There are many other safe, interesting and interactive toys available that are made from tried and tested “bird safe” polycarbonates, stainless steel, naturally tanned leather and pauli rope. A range of “foraging” toys are also available that stimulate birds to “problem solve” in order to find the “treat” hidden within the toy.

Toys can be beneficial and enrich the life of a caged bird. However, make sure that you are aware of the dangers that can occur from the use of poorly constructed toys from inappropriate materials.

Written by Peter Wilson
BVSc MACVSc
Avian and Reptile Practitioner

To contact Peter Wilson Click Here

This article will be published in Paws and Claws Journal September/October 2007

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

Ph: 07 5569 2840

Email: zarita@parrotrescuecentre.com

Please check out our new Bird Boarding Directory Click here
Parrot Rescue Centre Special Supporters

This advertising section is for Businesses who directly support the PRC in some way, either through free or discounted magazine advertising, services and donations etc.

The PRC is very grateful for your support. THANKYOU

 
Paws & Claws is your online resource for everything Pet or Wildlife related. We are dedicated to bringing you the most informative and comprehensive editorial in our quarterly Magazine available free on the Gold Coast or right across Australia 7 days a week on our web site. We have a wide range of Products & Services available and our supplier directory continues to grow more interesting by the day. To date, we have donated over $100,000 of advertising and article space in Paws & Claws Journal & Online to non-profit animal organisations. We donate a further 10% of our profits to the Animal Welfare League of Qld and the RSPCA Qld. Visit us at www.pawsandclawsjournal.com.au .
 
Is Australias 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.
 

Visit BREEDERS CHOICE SEEDS at 3/5 Cahill Court, Andrews on the Gold Coast and see the Parrot Rescue Centres TOY and ACCESSORIES stand. Breeders Choice proudly support the PRC by providing a space in their show room to display and sell our products. Breeders Choice stock a large array of seed mixes, nuts- shelled and in the shell, dried fruit mixes, Lorikeet dry and wet mixes, HAGEN TROPICAN food in bulk quantities for breeders and KAYTEE Pellets and handrearing formulas in bulk for breeders. Bulk quantities are sold at wholesale rates to make it more affordable.

CONTACT them today on 1800 637 039.

 
Pet directory is available online and in book format all over Australia who links us to every pet industry available from wholesalers, breeders, pet shops, trainers and more. Please visit www.petdirectory.com.au.
 

 

Profits made from Ruby Jam jewellery that has been referred from the PRC website is donated to the PRC, to help cover transport costs, vet bills and associated adoption costs. www.rubyjam.com
 
Leah Petersen is a well respected Animal Intuitive with a client base from around the world. She has successfully facilitated Animal Communication readings for many pets and their people. Her unique gift provides you with a glimpse into the sacred innermost thoughts and feelings of your beloved animal companions.
 
Endsearch is the creator of the PRC website and helps maintain the PRC website. EndSearch offers a one stop shop. All creative development including Digital Photography and Print Media inclusive of Brochures and Business Cards are developed in house. Of course we can maintain your custom web site and help with your online marketing. EndSearch creates consistency across your Corporate Identity. It will all flow together unifying the power of your message.
 
Support those who support PARROTS!

The World Parrot Trust work to achieve the survival of parrot species in the wild, and the welfare of captive birds everywhere.

THE CHARITY FUNDING PROJECTS AND PROMOTING
EXCELLENCE IN PARROT CONSERVATION AND WELFARE

For more information please CLICK HERE

 

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