By: Marguerite Floyd

I love my parrots. A lot. I bet you love yours, too. I spend a significant amount of time each week watching my parrots, reading about parrots, talking to other parrot parents, cruising social media for news and pictures of parrots, and watching videos of parrots. Anywhere there’s a parrot involved, I’m right on it.

I learned early on that loving my parrots wasn’t the most important thing to do to keep them healthy and happy. It wasn’t even in the top three things. I also had to learn to respect them, continually educate myself, and learn to let go of preconceived ideas.

Let’s go through these together. (I know much of this will be “oh, sooo boring” to experienced parrot parents, but I also know some of these things will be news to others and may shine a light on something someone doesn’t yet understand.)

Respect. 

Your parrot is, generally speaking, a wild creature, ruled by instinct far beyond human capacity. Your parrot is a prey animal, which means bigger animals eat them for lunch.

Parrotly instincts tell your budgie to be watchful, to not let down her guard, and to never appear so weak a hawk thinks she’s a free hors d'oeuvre. Parrots can see the approach of a hawk half a mile away, long before you notice anything. Parrots know to be wary of new things since new things can be dangerous or deadly.

Parrots are flock animals. There is safety in numbers. Starlings gather in astonishing murmurations, which ornithologists believe is a way to confuse a winged predator. One or two birds in a flock can keep an eye out for danger and alert the others. Flock dynamics is why your bird insists on eating from your plate and can get highly indignant when you refuse access.

Speaking of food (and we are always talking about food and parrots), your parrot takes a nibble of food and then crumbles or shreds the rest and drops it. Messy? You bet. Aggravating in our home? Yep. But in the wild dropped food rots and fertilizes the ground to produce more food – at least that’s the theory. Kinda like creating your own smorgasbord. Your parrot probably believes she’s helping you always have good things to eat – you’re one of her flock mates, after all – and can’t figure out why you get so irritated.

Interactions.

Respect also comes into play in our interactions with our parrots. I am sick to the death of hearing well-meaning parrot parents assure me that their bird loves them so much he would never, ever fly off her shoulder while outside. Until he does because he saw something dangerous she didn’t see or recognize as dangerous. 

Never, never ever take your bird outside without him being in a secured cage or on a correctly fitted leash or flight suit (practice inside first), and never let go of that leash or cord. Don’t leave your bird alone outside for even a minute. Let the machine get the phone call, let the visitor come back later, leave the TV off, and bring drinks and snacks outside before bringing out your bird.

Am I being too paranoid? Probably, but I plan to remain that way.

Respect your bird’s health. As mentioned earlier, a parrot will try to hide any injury or illness so as to avoid that Evil Predator that is lurking around. This means your bird acts normal until she’s so sick she can’t pretend anymore.

Do you know what signs to routinely look for that indicate your bird isn’t feeling good?

 Parrots do not, generally, get “depressed,” so if your parrot is napping more than normal and seems “sad,” there’s a good chance she might be sick. You won’t always know because he’s not going to wave a sign around. If his poop looks weird and has looked weird for 24 hours, that’s another sign something unhealthy is going on.

Get thee to an avian vet. You already have one on speed dial, right? No? Well, I suggest you find a reputable avian vet now – not next week, but put down the computer and do it now. Otherwise you’ll forget until your bird gets sick or injured, and you may not have time to do a state-wide search. Do it now.

And yes, overheated non-stick surfaces made with PFOS and PFOA will kill your parrot, and you can never be fast enough to save her. You can attempt to argue with me over the definition of “overheated,” but I refuse to risk my birds’ lives with it (and if it kills birds just imagine what it’s doing to you).

PFOS and PFOA are everywhere. Parrotforum.com says they are used on:

• Microwave popcorn bags.

• Heating elements in a wide array of products, like hair dryers, crock pots, coffee makers, etc. They are used to provide corrosion protection to the metal element.

• Stain resistant/proof clothing, fabrics used on furniture, even a spray-on version you can apply.

• Oven coatings, triggered by the “self-cleaning cycle,” which goes to crazy high temperatures to burn off crud.

• And the list goes on.

Use all ceramic pots and pans. You’ll sleep easier.

Curiosity.

Let me ask you these questions: How do we determine what is a bird and what is not a bird? 

No, I’m not going to give you a handy website to look it up – there is joy in learning and I won’t take that joy from you. Go down that rabbit hole and behold wonders you can only imagine.

Other questions: Have you ever looked at a parrot’s feather under a microscope? Did it look like what you imagined? How?

How many feathers does a medium size parrot have? What types of feathers do they have, or do they have only one type?

Why do birds preen all the time? Are they that vain? (yes, but still)

Where do birds fit into the evolutionary scheme of things?

What does the latest research say about psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD)?

Adaptability.

As you continue to learn about parrots you’ll need to keep an open mind and be willing to let go of cherished beliefs you’ve held for years because someone told you to believe them. New research is going on all the time and will certainly refute many things we now assume are true.

We know animals adapt to their environment and continue to learn. So should we. How else can we keep up with our feathered companions?