Posts by Mel Vincent
Why Birds Bite
Birds bite. Understanding why birds bite, is the first step to stop biting. A close encounter with a bird’s beak at some point, is the one thing I can usually guarantee a bird’s owner. That and a close encounter with bird poop. They are the two things a bird owner should expect. That’s the bad…
Read MoreWhat To Do If You Lose A Bird
Which Way Is The Wind Blowing? It’s not the first thing that jumps into your head, but it needs to be. A scared, frightened, exhausted bird (particularly if they’re inexperienced in flight), is going to take the easiest, fastest, way out of danger. Flying into the wind uses a lot more energy, than flying with…
Read MoreAbusing Veterinary Staff
Sometimes working in a vet clinic can break you. It doesn’t surprise me that the veterinary industry has a higher suicide rate than any other industry. There is a general attitude that vets are only in it for the money. That vets over-service and over-charge. The abuse veterinary staff receive continues to amaze me. The…
Read MoreHow to Control Bird Hormones
Bird Hormones get blamed for a lot of undesirable behaviours in our pet birds. From biting, to regurgitating – it’s easy to shrug off unwanted aggression as simply being due to the time of the year. The reality though? Hormones are a complex behavioural topic and there’s a lot of misinformation about them out there.…
Read MoreBird Hormonal Triggers – Misinformation that Gets Spread.
“If you touch a bird anywhere other than its head, you can trigger hormones.” We’ve all been told that at some point. Vets say it. Behaviourists say it. Everyone in bird forums say it. There’s even a kind of joking meme that gets shared about which body parts you’re allowed to touch. You’re allowed to…
Read MoreHelping a Pet Bird Grieve
Do pets grieve? Animals will grieve the loss of a family member (human or animal). Studies show that most animals will show at least one (if not multiple) behavioural changes after the death or loss of a mate, a companion or other family member. It can be extremely difficult to help your pet through that.…
Read MoreTraining Lorikeets
Can You Train Lorikeets? Training lorikeets is often considered to be harder than other parrots. The main reason for this is the difficulty in finding the right training treat for them. The average pet parrot will happily take a seed or a nut as a reward for an offered behaviour, but seeds and nuts are…
Read MoreHarness Training Birds
Teaching Your Bird to Wear a Harness The number one golden rule for harness training is: DO NOT JUST SHOVE YOUR BIRD IN A HARNESS WITHOUT TRAINING IT FIRST. This may work in the short term, but it very rarely leads to a bird who will accept happily wearing a bird harness in the future.…
Read MoreHow to Fix Birds Not Getting Along
So your birds fight? Or you want to combine birds into one cage? There is one main reason that birds will fight or not get along: resources. They defend them, they fight to get them and they’re always looking for them. The hardest part of this, is recognising what those resources are. The obvious ones…
Read MoreChicken Training – Chickens as pets!?!?
Chickens are highly trainable and make wonderful pets. Their quirky personalities can liven up any household. You can even teach them to dance! That’s right – chickens in tutus.
Read More