ParrotScience.com
Learn about your pet parrot!
January 4, 2008 at 4:18 am · Filed under News
Paralyzed on his right side and unable to speak following a car accident, former firefighter Brian Wilson credits his parrots with helping him get back on his feet.
Now, he is returning the favor by caring for birds others no longer want.
“I was supposed to be in a wheelchair, in a nursing home,” Wilson said, recalling how his parrots helped him recover from the brain injury suffered shortly after retiring as a Montgomery County firefighter in 1995.
“They kept repeating one word, and they knew I would say it right,” Wilson said.
“It was like I was a child. But it worked. They taught me how to talk again. Then I had to learn to walk, because I had to let them out and take care of them and clean their cages.”
Now, people bring him birds, often warning he won’t be able to hold them. He often amazes the owners by winning the birds over in minutes.
“Ninety percent of them have been so neglected, they don’t want to come out of their cage because they don’t know what will happen,” Wilson said.
Wilson speaks with a deep voice when he instructs parrots to step up or down, and softly when he tells them he loves them and gives them kisses as rewards. If they don’t respond correctly, he ignores them.
“They need attention all the time,” Wilson said. “I give them everything they want and deserve.”
They also need a balanced diet, Wilson said, noting seeds alone will cut their life span in half. Parrots enjoy fruits, vegetables, and even chicken bones, which they chew to get to the marrow, but can’t have chocolate, caffeine and avocado and apple seeds, which can be fatal. Click here for detailed story.
January 3, 2008 at 6:30 am · Filed under News
Karen Cheek Justice has a passion for birds — particularly those in bad situations.
She accepts them when their owners surrender them, takes them for a vet checkup, then fosters them out for a month or so for the foster family to assess their health and personalities.
She then tries to place them in homes where they will be well cared for.
Justice has bird foster families spread from Pineville to Huntersville, but she always needs more people willing to share their homes and hearts with a needy bird.
People buy birds without any idea of the time, care, and expense involved. They may take care of the bird for a while but then decide they don’t want it anymore when it starts screaming or exhibiting other normal bird behaviors.
“People will hold a grudge against the birds for doing what they do instinctively,” said bird foster mom and Matthews resident Debbie Foster. “Birds are loud and messy, and that’s what they do. But they can be wonderful companions and very loving.”
That’s how Justice developed her love and compassion for birds. Seven years ago she bought a Congo African Gray parrot. The more she was around Cheeko, the more she realized she had no idea what to do with a bird. So she set out to learn.
Justice took Cheeko to an avian vet for a wellness checkup. She enrolled in classes. She read books. She attended seminars across the country and even abroad. Further details visit here.
January 1, 2008 at 8:29 am · Filed under News
ATLANTA, GA (WIS) - Several Georgia pet stores have been quarantined after an outbreak of a bird disease which can be transferred to humans.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture is quarantining PetSmart stores in the state and a Superpetz store in Martinez due to psittacosis, Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin announced Friday.
When WIS News 10 asked PetSmart about its South Carolina stores, they said all stores serviced by Preferred Bird are not selling any birds at this time.
Psittacosis is a bacterial disease that primarily affects parrots, parakeets, other members of the parrot family, and sometimes poultry. It is treatable but can be fatal to the birds. More details here
December 31, 2007 at 6:05 am · Filed under News
A particular parrot and an elephant might look like the rest of their species, but according to their owners the two are the most talented animals on Earth.
‘Griffin’, the parrot is as clever as a three-year-old child, and ‘Hong’, the elephant is a fantastic painter.
The parrot can easily understand abstract concepts such as time, place and matter.
And the elephant is so good at his painting skills, that he once fooled a roomful of art experts into thinking that his daubs were produced by a human.
The duo is featured in a Five documentary series called ‘Extraordinary Animals’. Please visit here for more information.
December 28, 2007 at 4:18 am · Filed under News
The Mexican Red-Headed Amazon Parrot went missing sometime Saturday afternoon from Ewert’s Pets in Niles. Store manager George Blake is offering a reward for the bird’s return and information leading to the conviction of whoever took it.
“We think someone put him under their coat,” Blake tells the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune. “(Floyd is) that nice. It would cuddle with you.” For more information visit here
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