Peachy!

Sarabi tasting peaches for the very first time. It was a hit!

Portrait of Sarabi, growing her feathers back!

Portrait of Sarabi sitting on her favorite play stand, from the 15th of July. Now she is almost fully feathered again and she hasn't been chewing/plucking any of her new feathers so far! Let's keep all of our fingers crossed that this trend continues! We've beat the plucking issues once before and I'm feeling confident that we can beat them again.  

For more information of how and when Sarabi's feather plucking problems started, read previous post titled feather plucking.

Sarabi's harness training - two steps forward, three steps back... Back to the basics!

When Sarabi was a baby chick I trained her to wear a harness. Unfortunately, I did not keep at it and the harness training was left on the shelf for a couple of years. During this time Sarabi had already forgotten her training and the harness had to be introduced again, as a foreign object. I started by placing the harness (I had also gotten her a new kind of harness, Avian Adventure, instead of the previous Feather Tether) outside of Sarabi's cage. This enabled her to look at the harness, every day, and get accustomed to it. Because parrot's are escape/flight/pray animals new things can take a long time for them to get used to, especially when it comes to the sensitive African Greys, so everything new is often times interpreted as a threat and potential predator.

After a few months of the harness being placed outside of the cage Sarabi started to, on her own initiative, advance the harness. She then started "beaking" it and holding it with her feet. She wasn't very rough with it and more seemed to just get a feel of it, rather than playing with it. When Sarabi had been doing this during a month or so I decided to start introducing it to her, with my hands, placing the harness over her body and head.

When it comes to the pre-training in handling/touching the parrot, this is something I do daily in my handling. Making Sarabi step up on my hand, asking her to stretch her wings, asking her to go upside down on my hand and making sure that she allows me to touch her head and body and to lift her wings with my hands. In other words, the parrot has to be hand tame and accustomed to you handling it in different ways before you start attempting to harness train it.

One day, on the 12th of July (see the pictures in the previous post), I managed to put the entire harness on while I was cuddling Sarabi. She barely noticed it was coming on, at first, but then started to protest. As soon as the harness was on her, on the other hand, she treated it no differently than one of her own feathers. So I decided to first take or out on the balcony. There she started talking, walking around, preening her feathers and scraping her beak (signs of being happy/content/relaxed). Then I took her to the park, for some flying with the harness, and a short walk through town. Sarabi got a bit nervous/scared and I think it was too many new impressions for her at once. So I ended that adventure with some time on the balcony again, where Sarabi feels safe.

When the harness was to be taken off Sarabi started to protest again. And, unfortunately, I'm not skilled/quick enough with taking the harness off as to make it a quick/stress free experience. The next day I, after advice from another grey owner, attempted to put the harness on Sarabi again, as to not let her forget the experience. This time the protests grew larger and I got my fair share of bite marks. So I let the harness come off and Sarabi recooperate from the experience. Here I realized that I had been too impatient and excited, from my luck of getting the harness on the previous day, and that the training had to return to basic level again.

From this day I have now been, every day, introducing the harness to Sarabi. At first she was a bit mad at it but now she doesn't react much. She still intitiates exploring the harness, on her own, and climbs over to beak it.

Our daily routine is now to get the harness loop over her head, to hold it there for three seconds (counting out loud), and then taking it off. At first Sarabi kept trying to evade the loop. Not in a agressive maner or out of fear, just not really wanting it over her head. So I kept advancing, while talking calmly, until the loop came over her head. Then I quickly gave her positive reinforcement by voice and by candy (cracker). Yesterday Sarabi, for the first time, popped her head into the loop as soon as I put it in front of her, while I was saying the command "put it on". She then willingly took the cracker. Today she did the same thing, putting her head into the loop to gain her reward.

This I will now continue with, daily, introducing the steps slowly, one at a time, with tons of positive reinforcement! One day Sarabi will, once again, be ready for the harness. Because she enjoys having it on and the adventures she then can go on, our only real obstacle is the putting on/removing it part without there being any protests!

One day at a time, a few steps forward and a few steps back... That's the challenge of parrot training (and impatient parrot owners)!

Sarabi's Avian Adventure in the sun, 12th of July

Sweden Avian Big Meet, 2013

Me and my mom took Sarabi and Malaika to their very first bird event - Sweden Avian Big Meet, 2013, in Stockholm. At first Sarabi was very insecure, clinging firmly to my arm and shoulder, but after about one hour she started to relax, grind her beak and ruffle her feathers. She met a few avian friends, such as Bosse the male Congo African Grey and Doris the yellow fronted amazon. Sarabi also met a hookbill for the very first time, a toucan, and she stared at it like she couldn't believe her eyes or understand what she was seeing. She also took a few flights with varied results (the first flight being very unoriented). Sarabi let a couple of strangers hold and pet her, without trying to bite or act threatening, so I am very proud of her. Of course, there were too many other sights, smells and sounds to focus on and pay attention to and she was on "neutral" grounds, so she wasn't really thinking of "protecting her territory". Here are some photos from the very fun and eventful day:

"Parrot babies" and parrot breeding

Snuggling with a couple of baby CAG's.

There are different views about parrot breeding - about the purpose of the breeding itself and of the idea of hand feeding a parrot chick or not, amongst other things. I will present some of these ideas, in short:

When it comes to the view of the purpose of breeding, on the one hand breeding in captivity helps keep the wild parrot trade at bay, where the parrots from the wild are not forced into a life of captivity. On the other hand, breeding parrots in captivity easily becomes a money making trade. Breeding lots of parrots and selling them to homes that, all too often, will sell the parrots due to different reasons (for example, not being fully prepared for the responsibility of parrot ownership, leading to different behavioral issues). These highly intelligent creatures, that can have a life span succeeding 60 years, get rehomed often several times. Thus not finding any stability - becoming even more insecure individuals which may result in further issues. Also considering how attached parrots get to their owner/mate parrot it can be extremely emotionally straining for them to be rehomed.

Many new parrot owners also think that it is a good idea to get a "baby parrot" as their first parrot, thinking that they then can shape that individual into the loving feathered companion they are looking for. This unfortunately also means that it is easy to, by lack of knowledge (since it's their very first parrot), to shape that parrot into an individual with different behavioral issues and insecurities. When buying a rehomed parrot it is easier to know, from the beginning, what you are getting yourself into. In fact many parrots can completely change their personality and behavior once they have reached maturity, which is a major factor to why many families rehome their parents - when they realize that it is no longer "a cute little baby bird". Just compare the idea to buying a foal while never having owned a horse before, with the idea to shape it into the ideal horse.

When it comes to hand feeding, from a young age (maybe even straight after hatching), it is a common belief that the parrot will become a tamer, more gentle individual. While others believe that the parrot will become no more or less tame, than if it had been completely parent fed, and that a parrot that has been hand fed from a young age might even become a more insecure individual. This due to not having been taught properly how to "be a parrot" by its parents.

Playing fetch

Playing fetch is a game that many parrots enjoy but it is not the traditional fetch-game that you may recognize from having played with your dog, for instance. No, this is the fetch-game 1.0  parrot-version, that is the game when you do the fetching and not your parrot. You may not notice it but your parrot is, in secret, training you to be just the obedient toy-fetching, cage-cleaning, snacks-giving human your parrot wants you to be. When your parrot plays fetch it is a simple game. The basic point of the game is simply to drop (no, toss across the entire room) the current foot held toy that your parrot is playing with. You, being the good and kind owner that you are, of course say something similar to: "oh, you poor thing, you dropped your toy!" And then you walk across the room, maybe drop to your knees to scout under the sofa and pick up the toy before walking back to your bird just to hand it over. It will not take many seconds before the toy has, once again, flown across the room like a flightless bird and landed with a thud someplace inconvenient. You might think that being a human you would figure out this evil little scheme that your parrot is enacting but no. As the good, kind human you are you once again follow the bidding of your feathered companion. And this may continue as long as your parrot is enjoying the game which, I can tell you, can be quite some time. Even if, and when, you figure out that you are actually being trained by your parrot you will probably just laugh it off and keep fetching. After all, you are the good, kind human and you still love your parrot to bits!

Upside down

Want to teach your bird how to hang upside down from your hand like a bat? The key element of this trick is one simple word - trust. Do not attempt to turn your bird upside down if it does not trust you, as this is a very vulnerable position for your bird to be in. It has to be totally comfortable in your presence and not feel threatened.

First your bird should be comfortable being touched and stroked on its back and wings by you. You should always talk to your bird, telling it what is going on, for example saying "touch" while you stroke the wings. Then, always saying the command (upside down) a few seconds before doing the action, hold your hand on the birds back and carefully "tip" the birds body backward, being careful to notice the bird's reaction. Continue doing this, a little bit more every time during short intervals (always stop the training session when it is going best, so that your bird gets a positive connection to training and only train for a few minutes each time). Finally your bird should be tipped over on its back, still resting in the palm of your hand. When it has been turned on its back and feels comfortable in this position the hand can be removed, your bird now "hanging in mid-air."

The final step, getting the bird to "stretch its body" toward the ground is something that Sarabi started doing by herself (it is a pose that Grey's often do by themselves, hanging upside down from the cage ceiling for instance) but you can try to make your bird "stretch out" by holding a favorite snack just beneath the bird, so that it has to stretch its body to reach the goodie.

Good luck and have fun with all the bat- and monkey-birds out there!

Feather plucking/mutilation

Photos taken with a few months apart, the photo to the right taken the 23rd of August. Her feathers have since then further improved (see the header photo).

The blog hasn't been updated in quite some time and during this time Sarabi has, unfortunately, developed a feather mutilating behavior (starting in January), which is sadly very common especially among the very sensitive African Grey parrot species. The problem was adressed immediately with a visit to the vet, knowing that the behavior can have very various reasons - anything from a physical change in the environment (like a piece of furniture being moved to a new location in the room) to poor diet, lack of stimulation or parasites. The vet took a sample of a flake from Sarabi's skin, to test for parasites, but the test results showed that it was plain dandruff or simply "dry, flaky and sensitive skin." The days before Sarabi started mutilating the feathers on her chest area, nape and partially her wings I had installed a bird bath to her cage, to enable her to bathe at will and add more moisture. This had of course been introduced days ahead and in small steps and Sarabi did take a liking to the bird bath straight away. My thought was though that the bird bath, i.e. change in environment, could have been a cause of stress - even if it seemed to have been positive stress.

The vet recommended a diet change - a transition the the Harrison's pellets (I use High Potency Coarse, which is recommended for African Grey's that have extra nutritional needs, combined with some Power Treats) as a base plus fruits and greens - from a previous diet of other colorful, non-organic, pellets, seeds, fruits and greens and some "table food." The seeds, and the "table foods", have now been completely excluded from the diet and I have added palm nuts, which is a natural food for African Greys and contains a very nutritious "juice", and the occasional cashew nut as a treat. Besides this a UV-light has been added to the cage, a humidifier and air cleanser to the room and I have started spraying Sarabi daily with the AVIx Soother Spray. Her feathers have now almost completely grown back and recovered and she is happier and more content than ever! I think that having gone through this worrying experience together has, in a way, further strengthened our bond. Thanks to quick action the behavior has, seemingly, not developed into a bad habit - which is of course more difficult to break than behavior that is simply the cause of something else which ceases if the cause is dealt with.

This might have been possible to avert, having taken these necessary steps earlier, but at the same time it has been a learning experience for me as a parrot owner and I hope that our experience can help others to avoid a similar one with their birds with proper information and care from the beginning. Many bird food manufacturers promise that their foods will "cover all the bird's nutritional needs" and seeds, for example, are almost taken for granted as "the" food for birds. Yet they contain large amounts of fat and lack of nutrition. Many pellets also contain non-organic ingredients that your bird may be sensitive to or become allergic to. "Table foods" also often contain chemicals, salts, saturated fats etc.

It is important that your bird receives proper nutrition, stimulation (time out of the cage, cuddle time, foraging toys, word games etc.), enough moisture (showers several times a week and possibly some kind of soother spray - aloe vera, for instance), proper sleep (10-12 hours of non interrupted sleep) and a clean and healthy environment. Even with all of these components your bird might still develop a feather plucking or feather mutilation behavior - go straight to an avian veterinarian if your bird starts plucking or mutilating its feathers and, with your vet's help, go through all of these important areas to see if there is anything missing or that can be improved.

Cuddle mood!

Sarabi being cuddled.

How does your parrot let you know when it is in a cuddle mood? Sarabi usually starts by pacing back and forth on her perch, saying "It's Saraaaabi" and "Tiiiickle, tickle, wanna tiiickle!" Then she lowers her head and puffs up her feathers, just waiting to be head scratched and given a hug. When she receives her hug she sometimes makes kissing-sounds, just like I do to her, and if she's really in a cuddle mood she sticks to my hand like a suction cup. It certainly is very difficult to resist her charms, so when she wants a cuddle she gets it!

Competition results!

Sarabi came in 9th place in the Performance, Agility and Obediance class on Interdressage.com, competing against llamas, cats, dogs, pigs, goats... you name it! So she won a gorgeous little pink rosette. The judges loved her, but thought the performance was a bit short - it was as long as Sarabi would agree to, haha! If you own a parrot, especially a grey, you know that they have a mind of their own and can be a bit stubborn. If they do not want to do it, then it can be a real challenge! I was glad we could film a "show" at all. In the Christmas photo competition she came in 10th place of around 60 entries, winning a cute purple rosette, with the photo "Christmas Tree":

So I am a very proud "mommy"; my little ball of feathers winning her first prizes ever and contributing to charity at the same time. Grey't!

Harrison's Bird Bread - your bird will love it!

I made a huge order from www.northernparrots.com the other day where I ordered some Harrison's High Potency Coarse pellets and Harrison's Bird Bread. The Bird Bread was mainly ordered to offer a tasty, and healthy, treat for Sarabi a little now and then (maybe once a week) and also to make the conversion to Harrison's pellets a bit easier. So far she has not taken a liking to the pellets, but she absolutely loved the bread that I baked for her today. She even dug after the crumbs that were left in the bowl with her feet; something that she hasn't done before and shows how much she loved it! I also added some carrot and Parrot Palm Fruit Extract (nutrition from the palm nut, which is a natural diet for African Grey parrots in the wild - Sarabi absolutely loves these nuts aswell!).

If you do not feel like spending the money on Harrison's Bird Bread, since it is kind of pricey, take a look at the Bird Muffin recipe I posted earlier in this blog. A cheaper alternative which your bird will also love (most probably)!

So, what are you waiting for? Heat up the oven and start baking for your bird!

Chatterbox

Filmed and edited a video of Sarabi chattering away, saying some things that are understandable and other things that are... not so much, haha! Enjoy:

Performance, Agility and Obediance competition

I entered Sarabi in a "Christmas Performing Pets" competition on Interdressage.com. It is a charity competition where the entry fee will be donated to two different animal trust funds in the UK, so it's a fun thing and for a good cause! The entry will be judged on performance, agility and obediance. I decided to show the moves, that demonstrate the three mentioned categories: Step Up, Step Down, Upside down, Fly to the cage, Climb, Stretch and Kiss. Unfortunately Sarabi is not the "performance kind of bird", haha, so I had to take countless retakes before she finally - sort of - cooperated. She was reluctant to do the stretch move (which I found quite strange, considering the fact that I tell her that command every day, at least once a day - when she is picked out of the cage). The Upside down move was no problem, even though it is the most recent command I've taught her. Anyway, I am happy that we managed to get some sort of entry program filmed anyway. Grey's sure do have a mind of their own! Maybe I should get myself a caique or some other bird, more willing to be trick trained? No, I think I will stick to my stubborn little CAG, she does have her charm! :)

A Grey on reindeer Christmas!

It's been ages since I posted an entry in Sarabi's blog, so I thought it was time to write an update on Sarabi's progress in speech and training and at the same time wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Sarabi seems to learn something new every day (or so it feels, she is very quick in picking up on new things). Additions to her vocabulary include:
- Open up (When she wants me to open the top of her cage, so that she can come outside).
- There you go! (Praise for when she's told herself to do something and then done it, like Step up).
- Look!
- Let's go in the bag (When she wants to go into her travel bag).
- Let's go in the car (When she wants to go in the car to go visit my parent's house and their CAG Malaika).
- Malaika (The name of my parent's CAG).
- It's bedtime!
- Want some (When she wants something eatable, it can be used for any kind of food that she wants).
- Where's the toy?
- Goodbye!
- Be a good girl!

I've also taught her a new trick that I call: "Upside down". It is simply her hanging upside down from my hand, like a bat. I've told her this before, since I always turn her upside down when I give her a shower (to reach underneath), but I haven't given her the command in other contexts until now. Since she was already familiar with the command and its meaning it took her very little time to catch up on it.

I have also taken a few "Christmas themed" photos, for a pet photo competition on Interdressage.com, so hopefully she will win at least one rosette. One of the photos you can see here in this post - Sarabi riding one of Santa's reindeer.

Bird muffin recipe

While in the States I bought The Healthy Bird Cookbook - A lifesaving nutritional guide and recipe collection by Robin Deutsch and today I decided to give one of the recipes a try. Here is the recipe, with a few moderations:

Broccoli Cheese Muffins

1 cup flour

1 cup multi-grain flour2 tbs. baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup chopped broccoli (use the tops)

1/4 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, in the recipe, but I used Gouda)

1 tsp. ground nutmeg (I lacked this ingredient so did not use it)

1 tbs. salt

1 egg with shell (washed)

1/2 cup yoghurt (I used vanilla flavored yoghurt)

1 cup milk1 tsp lemon juice (lacked this ingredient aswell so I added a few drops of lime juice)

1/4 cup honey

1 cup corn (ingredient that I decided to add into the mix)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (I heated the oven to 175 degrees celcius). Grease or line muffin tins. In a large bowl, mix the flours together. Add the other dry ingredients and mix together. In another bowl, beat together the egg, yoghurt, honey, milk, and lemon (lime) juice. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the broccoli and carrots (and corn), mixing well. Bake for 35-40 minutes (I needed about 20-25 minutes) or until a toothpick, stuck into a muffin and pulled out, comes out clean (Deutsch, 2004).

Result:

When I first introduced a muffin to Sarabi she was extremely suspicious and even tried to attack it, so I put it in her food bowl instead of trying to feed it to her "by hand." After a while I noticed that she had decided to go for it and within a few minutes the muffin was totally devoured. In other words, this first attempt at baking for a bird was a success! I can definately recommend Robin's book for all bird owners out there who want their bird(s) to be healthy, get the varied diet they need and to make it fun, in the process! The book does not only contain recipes but also lots of important information about bird nutrition.

Travel checklist!

Are you thinking of traveling somewhere for the first time since you became an African grey owner? Here is a brief checklist of things that can be good to think about, and prepare, before travel:

- Find a person that you can trust to care for your bird while you are away (in some places they have bird boarding, for example at Omar's Exotic Birds in the U.S., which can be an option). Introduce this person to your bird in advance, before you leave, a few times (if the bird hasn't met this person before it is extra important!). Use these introductions to show the caretaker how you handle your bird, tell him/her what routines are used, if the bird has any special fears or behaviors etcetera.

- Write down instructions of the daily routines, food preparation and such. Also write down your avian veterinarians number and make insurance papers easily accessed (preferably, all bird things and papers should be collected at one place so they are easy for the caretaker to find, if neccessary).

- If your bird will be staying at the caretaker's home, and not your home, make sure that your birds favorite toys are in the cage and that the bird can be introduced to the new home a few days before you travel, in your company, so that everything won't be completely new once you've left (African greys can be very easily stressed, especially when facing new objects and situations).

- Record a CD or tape of your own voice, talking to your bird or talking to someone else, and give the caretaker instructions to play the recording once a day. This way your bird will still think that you are in "the jungle", just farther away and not visible.

- Inform the caretaker that your bird can become sad and seem depressed the first couple of days from being parted from you (especially if your grey has "chosen" you) and this can show in, for example, refusal to eat. If your bird does not resume eating after a couple of days the caretaker should be told to contact the vet (your bird could be sick)!

- Be prepared that your bird could be mad at you, after you've come home from traveling. African greys can sometimes hold a grudge and there is a chance that your bird will be angry at you for leaving, but this will usually pass rather quickly.
I recently came home from a three week trip to the USA. Sarabi had become so sad that she refused to eat the first couple of days. This passed after a while though, to my (and the caretaker's) great relief. The person (my grandmother) who took care of Sarabi, and also my parents' grey Malaika, played a CD that we had recorded everytime she went to take care of the birds. When I got home from the trip Sarabi was shocked and couldn't quite believe her eyes (she was a bit restricted), but she wasn't mad, luckily enough. The day after I could scratch her neck and handle her just as usual, without a problem. Malaika was a bit more mad and didn't want to come out of the cage the first coupe of days. A few years back, when I'd been away in France for a month and we'd then gone on a trip to the U.S. for a month right after(before I bought Sarabi), Malaika stayed mad at me for almost two months (the length of time that I had been away). So how your grey will react at your sudden disappearing is an individual reaction that can differ, from bird to bird. Following the presented checklist could maybe help making the seperation a bit easier for your bird, when the birds known routines are kept the same even in your absence.

Stand for playing

Buying (or making) a portable play stand for your avian friend is a great way to make spending time with your bird a little bit easier (and more fun!). It gives your bird a mobile place to sit, eat and enjoy your company - in every room of the house (without having to buy extra cages, carry around heavy playtops or risk any damage to furniture - at least minimizing the risk). Sarabi absolutely loves her new playstand, where she can sit and make as big of a mess as she likes (to her owners joy). It is also a great stand that can be used for bird training, for example training the command "step up" or teaching the bird to do "the eagle" (stretching its wings on command). This morning Sarabi was given a slice of watermelon to eat in the food bowl attached to her playstand. She took the word water-melon a little bit too literal though and tried to bird bathe on it. I could not stop laughing! She kept hunching into the bowl, ruffled her feathers, flapped her wings, did the crazy chicken dance and threw chewed off pieces of watermelon around the entire room (see pics).

Observe: If you are going to construct your own playstand and tend to use sticks and branches from outside as material, don't forget to clean and sanitize the branches well (to remove potentially harmful germs) and remove any pointed or sharp parts that could injure your bird!

Avian regurgitation - an act of love?

If your parrot, all of a sudden, starts making strange noices and stretches or "pumps" its neck; don't be alarmed! It is probably on its way to regurgitate (throw up) on you. "Eeeew, that is disgusting!" you might think but in the avian world regurgitation is seen as a "true act of love."

"Regurgitation, perhaps one of the most perplexing bird behaviors, occurs when a bird throws up small amounts of food with the intention of feeding it to a loved one. Gross? Perhaps, to those who don't understand avian behavior. Normal? Absolutely" (http://www.birds.about.com/).

If your avian friend regurgitates on you then you should feel very honored because that means that you have built a bond of trust and that your bird really loves you! Often the bird regurgitates one or more seeds or "pellets", depending on the diet, into your hand while the bird arches its wings and "beaks" your finger (or ear or whatever part of you is nearest) gently. Here is a video of Sarabi "showing her love":


It is important to note the difference between regurgitation as a sign of affection and actual vomiting from some type of illness. If your bird starts to "flick its head" so that the regurgitated food is flung away all over the place it may indicate that your bird is actually sick. If you notice this type of behavior it is best to consult a veterinarian immediately!

Treat your parrot with a treat

Sarabi enjoying a cracker, or "gnaw stick." It is a stick filled with delicious seeds and other treats that can be hung from the cage bars. Your parrot will love it and empty the stick in no time at all! Think of it as a kind of "candy cane" for parrots. So when you're feeling generous: treat your parrot with a cracker treat (just not too often as it contains more "tasty" and fattening foods than the general parrot diet ;).