New "Parront" Information!
If you're taking home a new baby from Feathered Treasures Aviary, this page is here to offer some tips and information for the first few days with your new feathered companion. Please read through this information carefully. I have spent a lot of time making sure that I am providing my customers with as much detail to the most commonly asked questions as possible. If there is something I do not cover, please email me!
Adjusting to a New Home
Most birds will need some degree of an adjustment period in their new homes. This is normal and to be expected. They are entering into a brand new environment with new faces, new sounds, new voices, and new sights. It can potentially be incredibly overwhelming. If your baby is being shipped, this adjustment period may be a little longer or require a little more patience to allow your baby to settle into their new home. I do my best to expose my babies to all sorts of different stimuli and they are accustomed to a fairly busy household, so normally they adjust pretty quickly. While it is common that my babies step up immediately and transition smoothly into their new homes, it isn't guaranteed nor always the case, so I don't want anyone to have unrealistic expectations as far as what they can expect. Every baby is unique - they will all require some degree of patience and adjustment period.
Food & Water
Make sure that food and water is readily and easily accessible. I wean my babies using open food and water dishes close to/on the bottom of the cage. I do not use the rodent water bottles or tubes so if you intend to use these for your birds you need to gradually transition them. The same goes for the products you use for their seed. They need to be safely transitioned to anything if it is not an open access food/water dish otherwise you risk the baby starving if it does not know how to use the feeders/waterers you are providing.
For sprouted seed and raw whole food mash, I typically use shallow terra cotta or ceramic dishes on the cage bottom. You want something that you can easily clean, of course. Below you can see an example of the types of food dishes for raw food that I use for the babies while they are weaning.
For sprouted seed and raw whole food mash, I typically use shallow terra cotta or ceramic dishes on the cage bottom. You want something that you can easily clean, of course. Below you can see an example of the types of food dishes for raw food that I use for the babies while they are weaning.
As far as what you should feed your baby, you need to make sure you are matching a diet similar to the foods I am feeding during this transition period. Stress can kill birds, and babies that have been recently weaned need access to a variety of different food sources. Never restrict the amount of food your baby has available during this critical transition period and never attempt to force a new food on your baby or you risk malnutrition and possibly accidental starvation. All of my birds are fed a 50/50 diet of raw foods and dry seed. With the babies, when I first begin weaning them, they are only offered the raw food blends in addition to their formula feedings. As they begin to eat the raw food, I start to introduce a dry seed blend in the afternoons in addition to any formula feedings they are on. By the time they are weaned, they are okay to have a premium dry food mixture available to them all day long and raw whole food mash in the morning.
Please be sure to read the pages on Nutrition and Sprouting as these will answer a lot of questions as far as how I prepare my raw whole food blends and sprouted seeds.
Please be sure to read the pages on Nutrition and Sprouting as these will answer a lot of questions as far as how I prepare my raw whole food blends and sprouted seeds.
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As far as dry seed is concerned, I feed my babies a custom seed blend I formulated with Dr. Jason Crean and sold through the Biodiversity Bird Blends website. I also create the Freeze Dried Bits and Bites available for sale through his website, as well.
By the time your baby is weaned and ready to come home, he/she will be accustomed to having the raw whole food in the morning and the dry seed blend available 24/7. The only reason the dry seed is limited to the afternoon/evening in the beginning is to encourage the babies to eat the raw food first. Otherwise, it would be like placing french fries and ice cream next to broccoli in front of a toddler and expecting them to go for the broccoli first ;)
By the time your baby is weaned and ready to come home, he/she will be accustomed to having the raw whole food in the morning and the dry seed blend available 24/7. The only reason the dry seed is limited to the afternoon/evening in the beginning is to encourage the babies to eat the raw food first. Otherwise, it would be like placing french fries and ice cream next to broccoli in front of a toddler and expecting them to go for the broccoli first ;)
Bonding & Socialization
In order for your baby to bond, you need to interact with and handle your baby regularly. You are their flock now. There should be no real need to leave your baby in its cage for any period of time before you begin to handle/work with them. Most babies respond favorably to short training sessions especially if you identify a high-value reward and limit when they receive it to when you're training or handling them. You will learn what your bird's high-value reward is based on your interaction. It's different for every bird. For some birds, it's millet spray, for others, it's chia seed - it just depends!
I really enjoy this little "bunny tree" that I purchased from Amazon (click here to view/purchase!) - the babies often spend a lot of time playing and exploring on mine, so if you have one, it will be familiar territory for them. The bunny tree is where I spend a lot of time working with them on stepping up as well as very short recall sessions where I ask the babies to fly to me. You can fill the base of the bunny tree with seeds or treats and toys - it's a great foraging spot! Just make sure to keep it clean by dumping any soiled or uneaten seed and replacing with fresh. I also prefer to avoid any wet/fresh foods/treats in the bunny tree to prevent any spoilage or unnecessary bacterial/fungal growth. What I love about this compared to typical play stands is that the sisal wrapping makes it really easy for clumsy babies to navigate! Typical playstands made with manzanita or other wood are often very slippery and are better suited for older birds who have grown into their acrobatics a little better.
I really enjoy this little "bunny tree" that I purchased from Amazon (click here to view/purchase!) - the babies often spend a lot of time playing and exploring on mine, so if you have one, it will be familiar territory for them. The bunny tree is where I spend a lot of time working with them on stepping up as well as very short recall sessions where I ask the babies to fly to me. You can fill the base of the bunny tree with seeds or treats and toys - it's a great foraging spot! Just make sure to keep it clean by dumping any soiled or uneaten seed and replacing with fresh. I also prefer to avoid any wet/fresh foods/treats in the bunny tree to prevent any spoilage or unnecessary bacterial/fungal growth. What I love about this compared to typical play stands is that the sisal wrapping makes it really easy for clumsy babies to navigate! Typical playstands made with manzanita or other wood are often very slippery and are better suited for older birds who have grown into their acrobatics a little better.
Biting
Okay - let's talk about biting a little bit. This section is really predominantly aimed at Parrotlet owners, but it's really applicable to any pet bird. First and foremost, your bird is a baby. It takes babies anywhere from 6-12 months to grow out of what I call the 'nibbling' stage. Recently weaned babies will gnaw on literally everything - including YOU. They're particularly fond of chewing on clothing (they really seem to like collars/necklines because the fabric is thicker) and will happily chew on your fingernails (and cuticles, ouch!) if you allow this behavior to happen. Why is this a problem? Because in the beginning, it can be perceived as cute (aw, look, he's preening my nails!), but a baby that doesn't understand this is inappropriate will find it difficult to understand why chewing on one part of you is okay but chewing on another part of you is not.
Like puppies, baby birds have to learn that biting hurts - and they will not learn this, or potentially be confused, if it's allowed in the beginning. What starts as cute nibbling behavior can quickly evolve into annoying hard chewing/biting that now is difficult to curb because it's gone unchecked for so long. Just like with puppies, the number one rule over all else is never treat your hands like 'toys.' Don't tease or wiggle your fingers at your birds in an attempt to get them to play with your hands/fingers - just like you wouldn't want to encourage a puppy to bite or chew on people. :)
The best way to deal with nibbling/biting/chewing is redirection, not punishment. What does this mean? It means redirecting the behavior to something that is acceptable to bite/chew/nibble - such as a treat, or a toy, or even something as simple as a cardboard paper towel roll. You can accompany it with a gentle "eh eh eh" but remember - the most effective training technique in birds is positive reinforcement. So as soon as the bird begins to chew on something appropriate, reward! I tend to use chia seeds because the Parrotlets seem to absolutely love them, but any reward you identify as high value is okay as long as the reward is immediate and accepted. You can also practice positive reinforcement by rewarding anytime you're handling the bird and it is not chewing on you. (Remember, it doesn't always have to be treats, some birds enjoy affection as a high value reward - it just depends on the bird). The goal here is just to educate your baby that you're not a chew toy - the goal is not to teach your bird to never bite. Owning a bird means you're going to get bitten, sooner or later. With a Parrotlet, it's honestly just a part of owning these birds - temperamental or territorial bursts can and will occur. I urge anyone looking to own a Parrotlet to really look into this species because they can be quite the handful at times. Learning to read your bird's body language and behavior are the ways to avoid being bitten, there is no way to teach a bird to never bite, unfortunately.
**NOTE - Do not confuse biting/chewing with balance! Birds don't have hands, so they need to use their beak at times for simple locomotion and balance purposes. With babies, this is going to be more common as they haven't necessarily mastered basic locomotion yet.
Like puppies, baby birds have to learn that biting hurts - and they will not learn this, or potentially be confused, if it's allowed in the beginning. What starts as cute nibbling behavior can quickly evolve into annoying hard chewing/biting that now is difficult to curb because it's gone unchecked for so long. Just like with puppies, the number one rule over all else is never treat your hands like 'toys.' Don't tease or wiggle your fingers at your birds in an attempt to get them to play with your hands/fingers - just like you wouldn't want to encourage a puppy to bite or chew on people. :)
The best way to deal with nibbling/biting/chewing is redirection, not punishment. What does this mean? It means redirecting the behavior to something that is acceptable to bite/chew/nibble - such as a treat, or a toy, or even something as simple as a cardboard paper towel roll. You can accompany it with a gentle "eh eh eh" but remember - the most effective training technique in birds is positive reinforcement. So as soon as the bird begins to chew on something appropriate, reward! I tend to use chia seeds because the Parrotlets seem to absolutely love them, but any reward you identify as high value is okay as long as the reward is immediate and accepted. You can also practice positive reinforcement by rewarding anytime you're handling the bird and it is not chewing on you. (Remember, it doesn't always have to be treats, some birds enjoy affection as a high value reward - it just depends on the bird). The goal here is just to educate your baby that you're not a chew toy - the goal is not to teach your bird to never bite. Owning a bird means you're going to get bitten, sooner or later. With a Parrotlet, it's honestly just a part of owning these birds - temperamental or territorial bursts can and will occur. I urge anyone looking to own a Parrotlet to really look into this species because they can be quite the handful at times. Learning to read your bird's body language and behavior are the ways to avoid being bitten, there is no way to teach a bird to never bite, unfortunately.
**NOTE - Do not confuse biting/chewing with balance! Birds don't have hands, so they need to use their beak at times for simple locomotion and balance purposes. With babies, this is going to be more common as they haven't necessarily mastered basic locomotion yet.
Stepping Up
Your baby will already have been trained to step up. When your baby comes home - you may find that he or she moves away from you when you attempt to get them out of their cage. If this happens, open the cage door and allow the baby to come to the door to come out on their own until they are bonded and accustomed to you. Some babies are going to be shyer than others around new people - this is normal and you will need to be patient. Quiet soothing voices, small, SLOW movements, holding a piece of millet spray or a treat to get the baby comfortable in your presence are all ways you can encourage the baby to adapt and become accustomed to you.
*** Some babies simply prefer to be approached for "step up" with an open palm approach as opposed to your fingers!! If you find that your baby is constantly shuffling away from your fingers, try approaching them with an open palm and placing it just in front of them and guide your palm toward their belly to get them to step up.
*** Some babies do best with target training when it comes to stepping up! For this, a chopstick is a great tool! When you're asking the baby to step up - place the chopstick out in front of them just beyond reach (you want it to be beak level). Move the chopstick closer to their beak to get them to touch/grab it and simultaneously place your finger or open palm in front of them to get them to step up on your hand in order to engage the target. When you first start target training, anytime they touch the target with their beak - REWARD THEM. When you're moving from simple target touching to step up - wait to reward them until they have stepped up.
*** Some babies simply prefer to be approached for "step up" with an open palm approach as opposed to your fingers!! If you find that your baby is constantly shuffling away from your fingers, try approaching them with an open palm and placing it just in front of them and guide your palm toward their belly to get them to step up.
*** Some babies do best with target training when it comes to stepping up! For this, a chopstick is a great tool! When you're asking the baby to step up - place the chopstick out in front of them just beyond reach (you want it to be beak level). Move the chopstick closer to their beak to get them to touch/grab it and simultaneously place your finger or open palm in front of them to get them to step up on your hand in order to engage the target. When you first start target training, anytime they touch the target with their beak - REWARD THEM. When you're moving from simple target touching to step up - wait to reward them until they have stepped up.
Recall Training
When I am working with babies during the weaning period, I always begin very basic recall sessions with them. Recall is a way of asking the bird to fly to either your hand or to a station in exchange for a reward (this reward can be a treat, affection, praise, or whatever the bird deems high value as described above).
The purpose of recall training is to initiate a desire for the bird to want to recall to the owner for several reasons - they fly to the top of a cabinet where they can't be reached and need to come down, or worst case scenario, they fly out of an open door. Having a bird that is at least partially recall trained makes it much easier to recover an accidental escapee.
Furthering recall training is up to the individual once the baby leaves my possession and I do not currently have a lot of time to offer as far as mentoring or coaching so if investing time into perfecting recall training is something that interests you, I would highly recommend getting with a recall coach or bird trainer. Several of them offer online coaching so you can do training sessions from the comfort of your own home.
Recall training and stationing, or station training, pretty much go hand in hand and teach the bird appropriate places to station or perch. Of course, if your bird is fully free flighted it's going to often decide it wants to be somewhere other than a station, but teaching a bird to station for treats will almost always guarantee that when you ask the bird to station it's going to do so in order to get that high value reward.
Recall training and station training are obviously functional tasks, but they also serve as enrichment for babies outside of the cage. Parrotlets love learning and love being mentally engaged/stimulated! Once your Parrotlet learns the basic idea of stationing you can use that concept to train your bird to perform certain tricks, like riding a skate board or stationing on a miniature shopping cart, etc.! There are several instagram accounts that depict trick training in Parrotlets (even babies) such as @CharlieTheParrotlet and @LittleWolfieBird. These birds are super intelligent!
The purpose of recall training is to initiate a desire for the bird to want to recall to the owner for several reasons - they fly to the top of a cabinet where they can't be reached and need to come down, or worst case scenario, they fly out of an open door. Having a bird that is at least partially recall trained makes it much easier to recover an accidental escapee.
Furthering recall training is up to the individual once the baby leaves my possession and I do not currently have a lot of time to offer as far as mentoring or coaching so if investing time into perfecting recall training is something that interests you, I would highly recommend getting with a recall coach or bird trainer. Several of them offer online coaching so you can do training sessions from the comfort of your own home.
Recall training and stationing, or station training, pretty much go hand in hand and teach the bird appropriate places to station or perch. Of course, if your bird is fully free flighted it's going to often decide it wants to be somewhere other than a station, but teaching a bird to station for treats will almost always guarantee that when you ask the bird to station it's going to do so in order to get that high value reward.
Recall training and station training are obviously functional tasks, but they also serve as enrichment for babies outside of the cage. Parrotlets love learning and love being mentally engaged/stimulated! Once your Parrotlet learns the basic idea of stationing you can use that concept to train your bird to perform certain tricks, like riding a skate board or stationing on a miniature shopping cart, etc.! There are several instagram accounts that depict trick training in Parrotlets (even babies) such as @CharlieTheParrotlet and @LittleWolfieBird. These birds are super intelligent!
This is an example of what a miniature recall session looks like with a Parrotlet baby.
Wing Clipping
Wing clipping is an incredibly personal decision that I leave up to the individual. If you request your baby to be clipped, my preference is to do a very light clip after they have fully fledged. By light clip, I mean two-three primary feathers.
What I will not do is clip a baby before it has fledged, or clip a baby so aggressively that if they attempt to fly they immediately crash to the ground. This is a SAFETY concern. Birds that crash to the ground due to an aggressive clip can be seriously injured - their keel bone especially. It would be similar to someone belly flopping off the roof of their home onto hard lawn (carpet) or concrete (hard wood). Also - I am never going to encourage you to clip a bird in order to 'teach them a lesson,' to 'force a bond' or to 'put them in their place.' A fully flighted bird that is 'acting out' needs TRAINING and STRUCTURE - clipping a bird that is displaying behavioral issues is not going to mitigate those behavioral issues, and likely will result in further frustration and aggression and possibly self mutilation. Flying is a birds' primary means of locomotion - if we can allow our birds their ability to fly I believe we should.
What I will not do is clip a baby before it has fledged, or clip a baby so aggressively that if they attempt to fly they immediately crash to the ground. This is a SAFETY concern. Birds that crash to the ground due to an aggressive clip can be seriously injured - their keel bone especially. It would be similar to someone belly flopping off the roof of their home onto hard lawn (carpet) or concrete (hard wood). Also - I am never going to encourage you to clip a bird in order to 'teach them a lesson,' to 'force a bond' or to 'put them in their place.' A fully flighted bird that is 'acting out' needs TRAINING and STRUCTURE - clipping a bird that is displaying behavioral issues is not going to mitigate those behavioral issues, and likely will result in further frustration and aggression and possibly self mutilation. Flying is a birds' primary means of locomotion - if we can allow our birds their ability to fly I believe we should.