One of the most common questions asked by new parrot owners is, " What do I do to correct biting?" The very best response to a baby bird testing its beak on flesh is no response at all. A behavior that is not reinforced is less likely to become a habit, and very interactive birds might perceive almost any response to reinforcement. Parrots that get a strong reaction to their bite don't understand and think that this fun reaction is all part of a game. When they hear your scream from the bite and see your hand etc..... pull away. Their excitement level increases and they get over stimulated by the drama. This is FUN for the parrot whether or not it's negative attention. If not they thrive on it and should be avoided.

Lovebirds are a very high energy pet packed with lots of personality. They will entertain for hours by playing with their toys. Lovebirds also have a sweet dispostion and love to spend time with their favorite person snuggling.

Training lovebirds is fairly easy due to them wanting to please their owners willingly. Lovebirds don't realize they are small, they have alot of spunk and won't hestitate to walk right up and bite a larger parrot or even a cat or dog. You will need to keep an eye on your lovebird when let out of the cage for playtime.

A hand fed, well socialized baby bird makes the best pet. When looking for a pet bird there are many things to consider. Find a breeder who spends alot of time socializing the baby birds. The birds should be happy to be handled and picked up by others. Look for a breeder that has healthy, happy babies who are very active and curious about their enviroment. Remember that just like any parrot, lovebirds must be handled consistently and everday in order for them to stay tame.

One of the biggest myths about lovebirds is that they must be kept in pairs to be truly happy. If you are looking for a sweet pet bird that will bond to you, do not keep it in a pair. Lovebirds kept in pairs will bond to each other.

THE SCREAMING PARROT

I often use this old saying "You can take the parrot out of the jungle", " But you can't take the JUNGLE out of the parrot". It is every parrots instinct to do a certain amount of vocalizing. The most typical times are in the early morning at sunrise and in the evening at sunset (calling the flock in to roost, it's getting dark ! ). Some types of parrots have a greater tendancy to more than others. Screaming is a learned behavior. It can be picked up from other screaming birds, crying babies or barking dogs. A parrot can teach itself to scream also and usually this bad behavior is unintentionally reinforced by humans. Never punish you bird for screaming by yelling back at the bird. Or by throwing things at the cage, spraying with a water bottle or hitting the bird.

Screaming by yelling, spraying with a water bottle or throwing things at its cage. The best way to correct this bad behavior is not to react to the parrot at all. This takes alot of patience I know ! Just like a crying abay, if you come running every time it screams for attention it has won the game and will learn that screaming is a way to get attention.

One of the best ways to control and correct a screaming parrot we have found is by distracting it. This takes alot of patience once again, but works ! Try calmly but loudly singing a favorite song of your birds. Like " Row Row your boat " or " How much is that doggie in the window " and with time your bird will start to sing along.

What you should know about Water Bottles

Fresh, clean water should always be available. Each cell in your birds body depends on water to thrive. Other vital functions of water include temperature regulation, production of energy, and transportation of nutrients throughout the body.

Healthy birds generally drink water they need, but ill birds frequently do not. Depending on the weight of your bird, here are some general guidelines for recommended average daily water intake (intake will also depend on the temperature, amount of fresh fruits/veggies and the individual bird).

Type of bird-----------Recommended daily water intake

Canaries: --------------varies widely (from 15% to 50% of body weight).

Budgies-----------------1 teaspoon

Small to med. birds-4 tsps. per 100grams body weight (lovebirds & cockatiels & conures etc...)

Amazons/Macaws/Cockatoos-------Up to 4 tablespoons per 100 grams of body weight.

You may offer water in a dish or a water bottle, which hangs on the side of the cage. Water bottles are excellent for keeping the water clean, especially if you have a messy bird. A water bottle, although a convenience, still needs to be maintained daily. Water bottles must be cleaned daily and the water refilled. Also, check the tip to make sure it works and the ball isn't stuck up in the tube. And it goes without saying make sure your bird is water bottle trained and knows how to use it. Dehydration is a serious problem that can occur within a day or two if water is unavailable. A bird can die if without water for even one day from dehydration. Please remember to always check to make sure the ball isn't lodged up in the tube of the water bottle daily as a routine when feeding. Some bird like to play with the tip of the bottle by wetting there food and shoving it up in the end of there bottle, so checking daily is extremely important!

A water bottle should be cleaned with a bottle brush to scrub away any stuck on particles. Thoroughly rinse out bottle and fill with fresh water daily. Remember to keep the bottle out of direct sunlight because it can promote the growth of harmful bacteria.

Making sure your bird has clean fresh water daily is vital to their health. Also it is a great idea to add vitamins in their drinking water (such as Nekton brand vitamins).

"A Labor of Love"

I still remember the excitement the first time I checked our yellow crown amazons nest box and found a fresh laid egg. I ran into the house screaming like an idiot, jumping up and down with joy and shouting, "we're having a baby."

I waited patiently for something to happen since we had set up 10 pair of different amazons; and finally an egg!

The pair that laid the egg for us was a proven pair of yellow crowns. The previous owner told us they weren't the best parents because they wouldn't feed their babies. This meant we would have to learn how to incubate hatch their eggs and hand feed babies from day one.

We already bought a Lyons Turn-x incubator and set up 4 brooders for the babies to be kept in. Next we had to wait until 3 more eggs were laid in their nest box. It was difficult not to run out in the aviary and keep opening up the door on their box to check for more eggs. We waited about 7 days to check the box and there were 4 eggs total. Now came the hard part of getting the parents out of the box; in order to collect the rest of the eggs. It had to be done very carefully so they wouldn't crack or break the eggs.

We designed our Amazon Aviary so that we could watch the parrots behavior and see when they came out of the nest box from our house. The parrots came out to eat the fresh pasta and beans we put on the bottom of their cage and I made a run for it.

I made a thin shield out of sheet metal with a handle on it to use as a way to block the entrance hole to their box. I reached in carefully and removed all four eggs and put them into a basket lined with a towel. I walked very gently like every step was planned. I felt like I would never get back inside the house without breaking the eggs.

The incubator had been regulated to 99 degrees for about 3 days and the humidity was set at about 55. I placed the eggs in the incubator and we waited patiently for about 20 days until the first yellow crown baby hatched!

We were fortunate enough to share this experience of the hatching process with my 84 year old grandmother who had never seen such an amazing site. We watched together for 2 1/2 hours as the chick pipped its way around the shell and finally hatched. That experience changed our life. I then became a full time parrot breeder. I decided that there was nothing more important in life, than to do what you truly love to do. I thought trying to work a 40 hour plus job wasn't going to work out if I wanted to hand raise, well socialized baby parrots. We went wild and crazy and invested what money we had in excellent breeding stock and built three aviaries to house our new collection of parrots. The bird bug bit us and thankfully it has all worked out over the years with lots of work and love for birds. My friends and family thought I'd lost my mind and wouldn't be able to make a living raising parrots.

Well I must admit raising parrots is super time consuming and alot of hard work. If done right it can pay for itself and be a very rewarding experience. Getting up around the clock to hand feed baby birds every 2 hours is definitely a labor of love.

My advice is to go into it as a hobby and a love for birds. Don't just quit your job unless you have the funds to do so and can afford to invest at least 3-5 years without any income you can rely on. It seems to take most bird breeders I know about 5 years to get established enough to where their breeding stock is starting to pay for themselves and even begin to show a profit. It also takes time to develop a good reputation for selling your baby birds, and for word of mouth to bring you business. Study everything that you can about breeding birds and find a good mentor if you can. It saved us alot of money and time and birds lost by having a great mentor. If your heart is in it you will enjoy every minute of the hard work it takes to raise healthy, happy, and well socialized baby birds.

Articles are written by JAN LEWIS of Parrotdise Aviaries © 2002.