Mating season competition

One picture is worth...

The Roman Has Invaded

Roman came to us as a frightened and reclusive bird. He's now Roamin' around and and active part of the flock!

A wise cockatoo

A sulfur crested cockatoo was hunting around in a courtyard for food. While she could not find any seeds there were a number of tasty looking pellets. She bent down to eat one, stopped, and had to reconsider. Why?

She realized she was in a pellet court.

Dare we hope?

Perhaps Peaches will fly. She's been practicing several times a day.

He likes Marilyn Manson and Elvis Pressley

Trying to take a picture of a bird who likes Marilyn Manson and Elvis Pressley is one tough job. Babalu has more snap and crackle than a downed high tension wire. He turns chunks of 2 x 4 into toothpicks in minutes.

All that said, I trust him more than almost any other bird I know. I know exactly where he stands.

Most people are afraid of him. And in some ways I have to chuckle. Afraid of a bird slightly more than 1 pound in weight? I've never seen him do much more than nip but he sure does manipulate people well.

Happiness is a full stomach

When I was taking anthropology in college I studied a group of people called the Ik. The Kenyan Government had stripped them of their culture and tried to turn them into agriculturalists, an attempt that did more than fail. By the age of six most girls had turn to prostitution and starvation had become mode of life.

What I learned about those people is something that is important to the lives of parrots as well, especially those who are newly brought into sanctuaries. Colin Turnbull, who studied these people firsthand, learned that the word for happiness was exactly the same word word as the word for full stomach. After watching what happened to Sugar when she came here I now understand that: it is terrible to be hungry; it is terrible to be separated from your former life; how much more terrible it is to be hungry and separated from your former life.

The first goal that should be achieved when rehabilitating a new member of the flock should be a full stomach.

Breakfast today

On the left almond mash with noodles. On the right fruit salad and birdie biscuits with bird safe gravy.

Our resident Houdini, thief and burglar

Cecil is amazing. He grew up mistaken for a female and abandoned because he didn't produce eggs. What he does well is Clandestine operations. Perhaps he should've been named James Bond. He doesn't just break out of cages he busts tack welds like they were nothing. He makes his own toys. He breaks into forbidden territory.

Keep your daughter from him. He's a Casanova, too.

Sugar on my shoulder

My mother always stressed that if we spilled salt we had to throw some over our shoulder. Rather than do this, my new method is simply to put sugar on my shoulder. It is somehow much more satisfying.

Cozma at play

Cozma has become much more playful of late. She has overcome that look in her eyes that resembled a doll.

Ah, Peace

With mating season still in full swing peaceful moments like those depicted in this picture are rare. Here is Lauralei taking that rare nap.

Peaches' Diet

Our Peaches, our girl with six fused vertebrae and recently recovered from major surgery, has a wide ranging diet now. Today she ate some of the mash, some banana, and tangerine as well as some of the muffin.

Changing a cockatoo's diet.

When Sugar came to us she was addicted to human food. She liked cookies crackers and chips. I made a mistake of trying to change her diet too quickly. The result was severe emotional stress. Now she is converted to eating our mash but she still likes the occasional snack. One thing I found that she will snack on that is good for her is my muffins. Today's repast is banana nut. As you can see from the picture of wide variety of foods is offered. She also ate some mango.

Coco has a new breakfast food

Coco, one of our long-standing anti-breakfast birds, has decided she likes something new. Potatoes and rice in silk cream sauce.

Peaches Gets Ahead In Life

Peaches has found out how to get ahead in this world. She has found a new lease on life after her surgery. It is obvious now that her cyst was a problem for years.

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