Many people who have never had close contact with birds don’t know that they have ears because they’re normally hidden underfeathers.

Parrot Ear by Amber Lynn Puckett

This photo shows what the ear of a Macaw Parrot looks like without it’s normal feathery covering. It’s pretty strange looking. It’s basically just a hole in the side of the head with no external ear.

Dogs cats and people have big ears that stick out to help guide sound to the inner ear. This works so well for us that  you might think it’s strange that birds don’t have this but there is a reason!

Parrot Flight and Hearing

Birds fly fast. A Peregrine Falcon was once clocked at 202mph during a hunting stoop. Imagine how much wind resistance they’d have if they carried around floppy ears like a dog. Not only would external ears create drag during flight, they’d also cause a lot of wind noise. This noise would make it difficult to hear much of anything while in the air.

The Black feathers on this Lorikeet help deaden the sound wind in flight

To cut down on wind noise, parrots (and most other birds) have special fine feathers that cover their ear holes. These feathers deaden the howl of the wind as it rushes past their ears and allows them to hear other sounds that might be more important. These special feathers work just like the black foam you see covering a microphone. The end result is that Parrots and most other birds can hear just about as well (or even better) than we can.

Pretty cool huh? That’s natural selection at it’s finest!

This is a cuttlebone

In almost every parrot cage at the pet store you will see a cuttlebone (commonly misspelled “cuddle bone”). It’s a little white thing that sort of looks like a mini surf board hanging on the inside of a cage wall. The people at the pet store will all tell you that you must have one for your bird to chew on to keep his beak and nails trim and they will tell you that it’s also needed for your birds health.

What is a Cuttlefish?

Cuttlefish are squid-like animals that fill their porous chalky “cuttlebone” with gasses to help control their buoyancy in the water. Cuttlefish are considered a delicious meal in many cultures throughout the world but the cuttlebone is not usually eaten. Instead its sold to the pet trade and other industries where it can be either ground up to be put in medicine and toothpaste, or it can be kept whole and placed in a bird cage.

Cuttlebone as a nutritional supplement

The cuttlebone is almost pure calcium and also contains large amounts of iodine. Both of these substances are needed for bird health but are rarely found in bird seed that’s purchased at the pet store.

Cuttlebones also contain high amounts of salt which some experts claim can lead to egg-binding in female birds. In spite of this risk, most veterinarians recommend the cuttlebone as an excellent calcium supplement that will help insure that your parakeet has healthy bones, feathers, and eggs.

Wild parakeets never eat cuttlebones of course, but they get calcium and iodine eating grit, dirt, mud, and even bits of shell in the soil where they live. Adding a cuttle bone or some other sort of mineral stone to your birds cage will help him get the nutrients he needs to be healthy.

The cuttlebone as a Parrot Toy

The cuttlebone is also fun for birds to claw at and chew on and helps them keeps their beaks and nails trim. If your bird likes his cuttlebone you will have to replace it every few months with a new one for him to tear to shreds!

If the temperature is decent and your bird has plenty of food in and water in his travel cage than he can last all day on the road.

I spent a week on the road with Apollo. We went from Tennessee to Oregon, zig zagging along the way to see the sights and camping every night. Sometimes we went 14 hours without stopping. He did great.

You may want ear plugs

The first day Apollo wasn’t much of a fan of his little carrying cage. About 4 hours into the drive he got bored and wanted out. He started screaming nonstop. I stopped at a friends in Texas and he gave some ear plugs he used at the shooting range. I also made a toy for Apollo out of cardboard and sunflower seeds.

After the first day he got used to the road and calmed down.

How often do parrots poop? This might sound like a silly question to ask but new bird owners have written in time and time again with this question.

A parrot’s pooping schedule depends on the species, the individual, and what your bird has been eating. In general, parrots poop about every 10-40 minutes. That said, there are some pretty major exceptions.

Parrots don’t poop while sleeping

Wild parrots often sleep in flocks or in nests. It would be gross to soil your own living room and it would be rude poop on a friend. For these reasons (and possibly others) most parrots tend to hold it all in overnight. You may notice that if you wake your parrot up early in the morning and take him  out of the cage, he’ll drop a gigantic bomb for you to clean up.

Parrots poop more when drinking or eating fruit

Parrots don’t have bladders like we do. Instead their urine comes out with their feces. If your parrot has been drinking  a lot of water or juice, or he/she has been eating lots of juicy fruit, he’ll get rid of all that extra water with a squirt about every 3-5 minutes until it’s out of the system.

Watery feces can be a sign of illness if it lasts more than a day or so but it’s nothing to worry about on occasion.

Parrots don’t like to poop where they play

Parrots are instinctively clean animals. Baby birds, even before their eyes are opened will try to hang their little butts out side the nest when pooping.  If you parrot lives in a cage, he most likely hates pooping in it.

Let your parrot out of the cage frequently throughout the day to let him fly, play, and relieve himself. He’ll most likely pick a spot or two in the house to be his toilette. Once you know where those places are, you can prepare for the mess by putting down paper or keeping a clean up towel near by.

My bird likes things that he can easily perch on. Unfortunately this means the curtains and my computer monitor. Fun fun!

In this video series on free flight, parrot trainer Chris Biro explains the basics of outdoor flight along with the importance of flight for parrot health.

Chris Biro has trained well over a dozen birds for outdoor flight and has presented them at state fairs and in online videos such as these shown here

Alabama

*Parrots-R-4Ever Avian Rescue & Sanctuary – AWC Participating Organization

Alaska

Parrot Education & Adoption Center (PEAC)

Arizona

Arizona Exotic Bird Rescue, Inc.
The Oasis Sanctuary
Tucson Avian Rescue & Adoption (TARA)

California

The Association of Parrot C.A.R.E.
Coventry Captive Bird Survival Center
The Lily Sanctuary
Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue
Parrot Education & Adoption Center (PEAC)
*Parrots First – AWC Participating Organization

Colorado

Feathered Family

The Gabriel Foundation

Florida

Parrot Advocacy Group

Lucky Parrot Refuge & Sanctuary
The Shyne Foundation
Ziggys Haven Bird Sanctuary

Georgia

Dee’s Haven

Illinois

A Refuge for Saving the Wildlife

Illinois Parrot Rescue

Ollie’s Parrots Perch

Indiana

CG Bird Rescue

Indiana Large Bird Rescue

Healthipet Network *( New Jersey & New York branches)
Safe haven Parrot Sanctuary
Exotic Parrot Rescue

Kansas

Tall Grass Parrot Sanctuary (sanctuary only)

Maryland

Phoenix Landing Foundation
The Garuda Aviary (Sanctuary only)

Massachusetts

Beaks and Noses

*Foster Parrots, Ltd. – AWC Participating Organization

Minnesota

*Midwest Avian Adoption & Rescue Services (MAARS) – AWC Participating Organization

Parrot Adoption Education Program (PAEP)

Missouri

Perfectly Precious Rescue & Adoption

Montana

Montana’s Parrot & Exotic Bird Sanctuary

New Hampshire

Fauna Rescue

New Jersey

South Jersey Bird Club

Wings of Hope-NJ

New York

Chipper Chirpers Adoption Link

HomeTweetHome

Feathered Friends Parrot Adoption Services, Inc.

The Priceless Parrot Preserve

Second Chance Bird Rescue & Rehabilitation

Sunnyskies Bird & Animal Sanctuary (sanctuary only)

A Helping Wing

North Carolina

Companion Parrots Re-homed
Phoenix Landing Foundation

North Dakota

Center for Avian Adoption, Rescue, and Education (C.A.A.R.E.)

Ohio

A-Parrot to A-Flamingo

North Central Ohio Avian Rescue

Parrot Education & Adoption Center (PEAC)

Oregon

exotic bird rescue of Oregon

Oregon Humane Society

Pennsylvania

Feathered Sanctuary Exotic Bird Rescue

Fresh Start Bird Rescue

Lair Of Dragons Bird Rescue

Jojo the Grey Adoption and Rescue for Birds, Inc.

South Carolina

S.C. C.A.R.E.S (Sanctuary only, no adoptions)
Phoenix Landing Foundation

South Dakota

Black Hills Parrot Welfare & Education Center

Texas

Gulf Coast Exotic Bird Sanctuary

Southeast Texas Avian Rescue (STAR)

Wings of Love Bird Haven

Utah

*Best Friends Animal Society – AWC Participating Organization

Virginia

Central Virginia Parrot Sanctuary/Project Perry – AWC Participating Organization

Phoenix Landing Foundation

Tiny Wings in Need (sanctuary only)

Washington

Eastern Washington Parrot Rescue

Mollywood

Pampered Parrots Avian Rescue

West Virginia

Parrotdise Bird Rescue

Raven’s Haven Exotic Bird Rescue

Wisconsin

Center For Avian Rehabilitation & Education

Australia

Parrot Rescue Centre [QLD]

Canada

Feathered Friends Avian Rescue & Resource Association [AB]

Friends Of Feathers Rescue [BC]

Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary [BC]

Parrot Adopt Southern Ontario [ON]

World Parrot Refuge [BC]
Friends of Feathers Bird Rescue and Sanctuary, British Columbia

Europe

Foundation Dutch Parrot Refuge [Holland]

New Life Parrot Rescue and Helpline Service [UK]

Papageienschutz-Centrum Bremen e. V. [Germany]

Safehaven Parrot Refuge [UK]

Middle East

Kuwait Avian Protection Center (KAPC) [Kuwait]

Other Avian Rescue & Placement Lists

These web sites list a wide variety of organizations and individuals providing bird rescue, adoption, and sanctuary services.

Avian Protection Society: Avian Rescue/Sanctuary/Placement Organizations

ParrotChronicles: Bird Rescue Groups

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA): National Shelter Directory

Petfinder.com

Pets911: Pet Adoption

Adopt an Animal – Canada

You can also check with local bird clubs to see if they have adoption programs:

ParrotChronicles: Bird Clubs

Bird Talk: Bird Clubs

In addition, humane societies, animal shelters, and veterinary clinics can sometimes help you find birds available for adoption in your area. You can find these resources in your Yellow Pages or via these web sites:

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA): National Shelter Directory

Petfinder.com

Pets911: Pet Adoption

Adopt an Animal – Canada

Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV): Find Your Local Avian Veterinarian

American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA): State Veterinary Medical Association

Do not release a captive parrot into the wild! It will most likely die and though this may sound harsh, it can be even worse if it survives. Captive parrots that have been released into the wild can meet up with others, mate, and become invasive species. They can potentially spread foreign diseases to local birds and even take over prime nesting spots in local ecosystems.

Quaker parrots, also called monk parakeets, are among the only parrots that build nests. Their nests are huge and enable them to live in a wide variety of climates. Parrots that were released into the wild have grown in numbers throughout the United States and have caused thousands of dollars of damage to power companies by building nests on power lines. As a result, thousands of birds have been trapped and killed.

It’s sad that power companies have resorted to this sort of behavior but as pet owners we all need to realize that the problem started because of us and that we are the ones with the power to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future.

Instead, if you need to get rid of your parrot, do one of the following:

Give your parrot to a parrot rescue

There are places that take in parrots all across the United States so that they can be re-homed. These organizations typically sell the birds at a low cost to families that have proven them selves capable of parrot keeping. Giving to a trusted bird shelter is the probably the best way to ensure that your parrot will eventually go to a great home. Keep in mind however that many of their birds will never be re-homed. Very few people are willing to take in a second hand bird.

See our list of bird rescues to find a place in your local area.

Sell your parrot through classified ads

You can find people interested in buying your parrot by posting a classified ad in a paper or on a website. You can interview the person and make sure they have a suitable home for the animal.

Keep in mind that it will be hard to get a good price for your bird, especially if the animal has behavior problems. You may be better off giving the bird to a shelter instead.

Give or sell your parrot to a pet shop

Chose a shop that you know takes good care of its animals and that goes out of its way to educate potential buyers.

Negative Reinforcement starts with a negative condition (like pain) that encourages an organism to perform a behavior that will trigger a reward of relief. The pre-existing negative state can be natural or induced by a trainer.

Example of Natural Negative Reinforcement: If a person has a headache, then takes Tylenol and finds relief, the relief from the headache is reinforcement to take more Tylenol in the future if the headache returns. This is negative reinforcement because the person started out in a negative state.

Negative Reinforcement starts with a  negative state and ends with a neutral state.

Positive Reinforcement starts with a neutral state and ends with a positive state.

In a way, you could say that Negative reinforcement involves the use of a pre-punishment.

Many scientists in the field of psychology argue that it is not needed to define the differences between negative and positive reinforcement because they are both so similar. For example, if an animal is hungry so you give it some food, you could say that this was negative reinforcement because he was originally in a negative state of hunger and now he has food which puts him in a neutral state. You could also say that this was positive reinforcement because he got a treat that he loves which probably caused him pleasure.

Example of Positive Reinforcement: You tell your nephew that if he says you’re his favorite uncle you will take him to the Zoo. He then says you are his favorite uncle and you take him to the zoo. He has been positively reinforced.

Example of induced Negative Reinforcement: You put your nephew in a headlock and tell him you will only release if he tells you that you are his favorite uncle. He tells you that you are his favorite uncle and you release.

Which of these two examples do you think will work to better gain your nephew’s trust?

Negative Reinforcement in Parrot Training

In order to use negative reinforcement in parrot training, you would usually have to set up some sort of pre-punishment to induce a negative starting state from which you can then provide relief. If a bird gets thrown into a negative state at the start of each training session then he is essentially being punished for coming out to train. This will teach him to avoid training sessions. That would be bad For this reason, it is recommended that parrot trainers only use positive reinforcement when training parrots when ever possible.

One important exception for parrot trainers

If your parrot is scared of you or hates you, then your presence in a room with him will cause a negative state that can then be relieved by you leaving the room. In this case it would be wise of you to use this to your benefit. Enter the room and approach the birds cage to where you see he starts to get uneasy. Wait for the parrot to calm down and then leave the room. The bird is learning that when he is calm, you do good things. This is a good example of when negative reinforcement is not only the best solution when parrot training, it may be the only solution.

Example of Artificial Punishment: If you yell at your dog for eating from the trash can he may be afraid to eat from the trash can in the future. This punishment is artificial because a human designed it to stop the dogs from eating from the trash.

Example of Natural Punishment: If your dog cuts his mouth on a piece of broken glass while eating from the trash can, then he has been naturally punished by the broken glass. It is natural because no human intended for the glass to punish the dog, it just happened naturally.

Punishment discourages a specific behavior and is the opposite of Reinforcement which promotes a behavior.

Reinforcement has been clinically proven to shape behavior more effectively then punishment on all animals and people who were tested.

Punishment in Parrot Training

Mild forms of Punishment can sometimes be effective in parrot training but all professional parrot trainers prefer to use rewards (or reinforcement) instead when ever possible. The reason is that parrots will quickly lose trust in a trainer that frequently delivers punishment.

Many bird owners have found that covering a bird’s cage with a blanket when the parrot is screaming can cause the parrot to scream less often. Unfortunately this form of punishment has caused some birds to start plucking feathers. It is highly recommended parrot owners reinforce quiet behavior instead of trying to punish screaming.

Example of Artificial Reinforcement: If you tell a child that he can have a tootsie roll if he says “Please” and then you give him the tootsie roll after he says please, then you have Artificially Reinforced the behavior of saying please. It’s artificial because you set the rules your self and determined the consequence.

Example of Natural Reinforcement: If you are cold and wet from being outside in the rain and then you come inside and are rewarded with warmth and dryness, then the behavior of coming inside has been naturally reinforced by the consequence of becoming dry and warm. It was natural because the consequence was set by nature and not invented by another human.

Outside of the scientific community “Reinforcement” is often used interchangeably with “Reward”. You reward (or reinforce) desired behaviors to encourage them to occur again.

Reinforcement promotes a specific behavior and is the opposite of Punishment which discourages a behavior.

Reinforcement in Parrot Training

Reinforcement is the best way to train a parrot because parrots do horrible with most forms of punishment. Unlike dogs, parrots will quickly lose trust in a trainer that frequently delivers punishment. It can take a lot of work to regain a parrot’s trust once trust is lost. If you want a parrot to do anything for you, you better be willing to bribe!