I felt really relaxed and my mind was clear. I believed Kacy felt the same too!

While relishing in this quiet moment with Kacy, I took a few nice candid shots of her with my trusty digital camera (a Canon Powershot A320 IS).

Kacy looks simply stunning and gorgeous when her feathers shine with iridescent colors under the clear sunlight. I really love this close-up shot! What about you?

Spending a relaxing day like this can still be fun and pleasant. What really matters is whom you spend the day with! I’m glad to have Kacy always being with me. Everything will be so different without her presence and companionship.

Kacy is of a great help to me, and I am really happy that I have such great Personal Assistant!

Unfortunately, this scenario can never be possible in real life. With Kacy’s small petite built (merely 10 inches in length and weighs around 70 grams), she won’t be able to open a life-size drawer that is many times bigger than her.

Although Kacy can never possibly help me retrieve a mail from my drawer in real life, but this interesting parrot trick that I taught her has brought lots of fun and laughter to the family!

This parrot trick is actually a great example of a behavior chain which involves a series of behaviors linked together.

There are a few behaviors involved to make this parrot trick possible:

1. Opening the drawer
2. Retrieving the mail from the drawer
3. Placing the mail in my palm

As Kacy is familiar with retrieval (also known as fetching), I only had to spend a few days training her on how to open the drawer.

After a week of parrot training, I was able to chain up all the behaviors together and got Kacy to perform the whole sequence.

Overall, Kacy did an awesome job. She really did it!

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With all the windows properly bird proofed, I can enjoy the beautiful scenery with my Black Capped Conure, Kacy and not worrying about her flying out of the window.

Although the flight feathers of Kacy are always trimmed, it does not indicate that she will not fly out of the window.

Just imagine, in a situation whereby Kacy is startled, she can gain enough flight power and elevation, covering distance just like any flighted parrot. If she is near an open window, she may fly out just like that.

I would rather take the extra precautionary measures to ensure my parrot safety. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

I believe many parrot owners hesitate to bird-proof their windows because they feel that it may look ugly and will not match with their existing interior decors and furnishings. It may not necessarily be the case when you buy the right material.

I actually bird-proofed the windows in my home early this year. The overall outlook looks pretty good.

The materials that I used for bird-proofing were actually the LILL curtains that I got from Ikea. These are 100% polyester, thin, sheer curtains which lets in daylight and does not block off natural air circulation through the windows.

The LILL curtains can be easily fit onto my existing curtain rods, thus installation was a breeze!

The good news is that I got these curtains for less than SGD10! Definitely a bargain for a bird-proofing project for home owners!

I bought a few curtain clips from Daiso (10 pieces per pack for only SGD2) and attached to the bottom of the window grilles.

These clips help to hold the tail end of the curtains, making them appear more taut (sort of making the curtains appear glue to the windows) which prevent the curtains from being blown up during strong breeze.

I hope this article gave you an insight on how bird-proofing home windows can be easy, economical yet presentable!

Mum slept early today because she was down with a bad flu. Kacy, my Black Capped Conure was left alone in the hall with her favorite toys. But couple of minutes later, she made her way to my bedroom and join me on my work desk.

While Kacy was tenderly caressing herself and enjoying the warm cosiness, I took a few pictures of her with the iSight Camera (a built-in webcam on Macbook Pro) without her noticing it.

After a few shots, she finally noticed that I was shooting her with the iSight Camera. She decided to be photogenic by waving hello back to the camera!

I rewarded Kacy by giving her some nice head rubs and scratches. She was totally engrossed.

Whenever I’m wearing a singlet or running vest, Kacy will always snuggle in within just like that and it tickles. This often makes me feel like I am a kangaroo, whereas Kacy is like a Joey (a baby kangaroo) snuggling in my pocket.

No doubt, Kacy (like any other conures) can be a naughty little rascal who give nasty nips and bites. But, most of the time she can be a cuddly, snuggly parrot who truly appreciate and treasure human companionship.

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Is it the Oranje or La Roja?

I decided to let Kacy, my Black Capped Conure to predict who will be the champion for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.

So who did Kacy pick?

Kacy eventually picked Spain to be the champion for 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. It seems that she’s supporting La Roja!

In fact, I had a different pick. I’m hoping the Netherlands, the Oranje will make history and lift the World Cup. *Giggle*

No matter who wins the World Cup, both teams deserve a pat on the back to be able to make it to the final game!

Disclaimer: This is just a prediction from Kacy and meant for fun and laughter.

The old man was actually feeding the Ringneck Parakeet with some iced milo (a kind of chocolate beverage). I was alarmed.

I decided to go forward and confront the old man.

“Are you feeding the parrot with iced milo?” I asked the old man politely in mandarin.

The old man smiled and replied in mandarin, “Yes! He (Green Ringneck Parakeet) loves it! It is his favorite drink.” I wasn’t smiling, instead I was worried when I heard this.

“Uncle, please don’t feed him (Green Ringneck Parakeet) with milo. Milo contains chocolate, anything that contains chocolate is toxic to parrots!” I explained to him in mandarin.

The old man rebuked me in mandarin, “I’ve been feeding him all the time with small serving and it won’t cause any harm! Anyway he’s not dead yet!”

The old man was peeved. He ignored my advice and continued to feed the Ringneck Parakeet with iced milo.

I didn’t persist and left the place in the end. This incident left me deeply pondering whether is the old man being stubborn, being ignorant or being selfish?

Why Chocolate is Toxic to Parrots?

Chocolate contains a toxic substance called Theobromine. Parrots lack the ability to metabolize Theobromine effectively like humans. Other animals like dogs and cats also lack this ability to metabolize Theobromine.

When parrots consumed chocolate, Theobromine remains in their body and bloodstream for up to 20 hours.

With the accumulation of Theobromine, this leads to toxicity resulting in symptoms like lethargic, restlessness, vomiting, diarrhea and excessive urination. In severe conditions, it can leads to internal bleeding, seizures and death.

Other Toxic Food/Drinks includes:

1. Avocado
2. Apple seeds
3. Uncooked beans (e.g. Raw Lima Beans, Soybeans*)
4. Caffeine in drinks and food (e.g. Coffee, Tea, Coke)
5. Excessive salt
6. Mushroom
7. Alcohol
8. Raw onions or garlic (Read this article about the effects)

I felt that all parrot owners should know what food is safe and what food is toxic, right from day one when you brought your parrot home. This is a piece of information that is extremely crucial and also a matter of life and death!

If you had not know about the toxicity caused by the chocolate (or other toxic food) in the past, I forgive your ignorance, but after reading this article, I begged you please stop offering chocolate (or other toxic food) to your parrot right from today! Be a responsible parrot owner!

*Some parrots may have allergic reactions to soy products. Also do refer to article titled Dangers of Soy Based Products from The Parrot Society UK. Although the evidence are still not clear, but prevention is better than cure, it will be wise to avoid offering raw soy products to parrots.

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I always enjoy reading BirdTalk magazine because of the great tips and information on parrots I got hold every time in each issue. While I was reading through the dated March 2010 copy last night, something caught me by surprise.

I found my name published in the magazine!

Too bad, it wasn’t in an announcement of contest winners for the magazine, but a published column with a short write-up that I wrote about Kacy, my Black Capped Conure!

I quickly called Kacy into the picture. She hurriedly hopped on the table and took a peek at the short write-up published in the magazine. Even though it was a very short write-up about Kacy, but she seems delighted reading it!

The published column was titled “Squawk Box” and was sharing the responses from readers on the topic, “What does your bird do to entertain itself?”

I actually participate in the discussion on BirdChannel’s Facebook Page, but I can’t exactly remember when was it.

Nevertheless, out of so many participated responses on Birdchannel’s Facebook Page, I guess I am still lucky and fortunate to see my own written response about Kacy in the printed magazine.

I always periodically buy new parrot toys for my Black Capped Conure, Kacy. She loves playing with all the toys I bought for her and her favorite toy is actually the “Barrel of Fun” Foraging Toy from Nature Instinct.

I have to admit Kacy is a little spoiled, probably she is currently the only parrot in our household. My family and I wouldn’t mind spoiling Kacy with all the toys as long she remains happy.

With constant increase in the number of parrot toys, things get a little messy and untidy at home.

To solve the existing problem, I bought a hang-able mesh storage bag from Daiso to store all her frequently played parrot toys. The storage bag cost me only 2 bucks!

What I like about the storage bag is that it comes with 2 suction cups which allows me to stick on surfaces like tiled walls, glass, cabinet doors or even the fridge. With this feature, it helps me to save precious floor space in my small apartment unit.

I actually stuck the storage bag on the cabinet door located near Kacy’s parrot cage. This actually provides me with the convenient and easy access to the frequently used items.

I also bought a huge plastic box which cost me 6 bucks, from the neighborhood hyper-mart to consolidate all the other parrot accessories and toys.

The total spending of 8 bucks for the storage solutions was well-spent and everything looks more organized and tidy than before!

If you have any organization or storage tips, feel free to share your ideas in the comment below!

Kacy, my lovely Black Capped Conure had a whole grain bread toast for breakfast today! She truly enjoyed her hearty breakfast for the day.

Mum and I don’t really put our precious Black Capped Conure, Kacy on a strict monotonous diet.

We have been providing her with foods like cornflakes, cereals, oatmeal biscuit, whole grain bread and scrambled eggs for breakfast. And, she loves them all!

We always offer Kacy a wide variety of foods (even sharing of table foods) so long as the foods are healthy, safe and not toxic to parrots.

Kacy doesn’t seems to be a picky eater, probably because we always provide her to a wide variety of foods.

My mum and I never seems to had any hard time getting Kacy to try anything new. She always seems so eager to try on the new foods. Maybe she’s really a chow-hound!

Inadequate Vitamin A in a parrot diet can lead to various health problems and affect mortality. Thus it is extremely crucial to introduce parrots to healthier foods that are high in Vitamin A.

Kacy, my Black Capped Conure loves carrots! I am really glad that she enjoys healthy fruits and vegetables, probably because I started introducing a wide variety of healthy foods to her when she’s at a young age.

As I mentioned earlier, parrots lacking in Vitamin A in their diet can be subjected to health problems like:

• Appear weak and lethargic
• Poor feather coloration and structures
• Nasal discharge
• Night blindness
• Poor bones development
• Skin problems
• Kidney problems
• Bacterial infections (like Candida, a yeast infection)
• Impaired fertility

Although providing parrots with high potency multi-vitamins supplements can solve vitamin deficiencies, but it can also cause vitamin toxicity when overdosed. Parrots suffering from Vitamin A Toxicity (also known as hypervitaminosis A) may have symptoms like:

• Loss of appetite
• Poor growth
• Weight loss

It is advisable to always consult with an avian veterinarian first before using such supplements.

The most ideal way to combat Vitamin A deficiencies (without the fear of possible vitamin toxicity) in parrots is to provide them with natural healthy food sources in their daily diet like:

• Carrot (Kacy’s Favorite)
• Pumpkin (Kacy’s Favorite)
• Sweet Potatoes (Kacy’s Favorite)
• Red Peppers
• Kale
• Apricots
• Mangoes (Kacy’s Favorite)
• Broccoli

These fruits and vegetables listed above are rich in Beta-Carotene, an inactive form of Vitamin A.

Beta-Carotene will only be converted into Vitamin A by the parrot’s body when required. Therefore, Beta-Carotene is considered as a very safe source of vitamin A and high intakes will not lead to Vitamin A Toxicity. Excess Beta-Carotene is stored in the liver, when there is enough Vitamin A in the parrot’s body.

Start making changes and give your parrot a healthy diet if you haven’t been doing in the past!

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