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A Better Chop Mix: Feeding for Health, Behavior, and Hormonal Balance
Most parrot caregivers I encounter are feeding chop mix as a dietary supplement. They have been told that it’s one of the healthiest things they can do for their birds. And while fresh foods are important, many people don’t realize that diet doesn’t just affect physical health – it also influences behavior through its impact…
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Introducing Rei Rosenquist: Your Pyrrhura Conure Specialist
Watch my conversation with Rei Rosenquist below: (Prefer to listen: You can find this recording on YouTube on the Parrot Steward Channel.) It’s a special day when you get to watch someone you’ve mentored spread their wings and fly right into their own consulting practice. I could not be prouder today to introduce you to…
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How Parrots Bathe in the Wild – and What That Means at Home
Prefer listening? Watch the short talk below: https://www.loom.com/share/38475ae650474e3380d0181a63f81131 Why do you bathe your parrot? It’s an honest question, and for many people, the answer is simply that someone told them they should. We see parrots bathing in the wild, so it feels natural to assume they need the same in our homes. However, the obligation…
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Parrot Behavior Consultation Options: Professional, Accessible Help for Companion Parrots
Over the past year, I have refined my consultation structure to better reflect the depth of work I provide and the decades of experience behind it. I am now 72 years of age and have committed my life to the betterment of parrots in captivity. I bring 18 years of experience as an exotic veterinary…
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Empowering Parrot Care: Mentoring and Certification in 2026
As the year draws to a close, I’d like to share an update on what I’ve been doing in 2025. My work this year feels especially meaningful—not just to me, but to parrot owners everywhere. Since I don’t post frequently on social media, I like to pause occasionally to offer a broader update on my…
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How to Reduce Your Parrot’s Noise: Effective Strategies
One of the most persistent and upsetting behaviors parrots can offer is ear-splitting noise. Budgies may get a pass here, but from those little guys on up, screaming is a typical—and solvable—problem. Behavior Always Has Function First, understand this: your parrot screams for a reason. All behavior serves a function. If it didn’t “work” for…
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Gardening and Wildcrafting for Parrots (and their People)
The spring and summer of 2024 led me down an unexpected path – one that has brought joy and enrichment not only to my own parrots but also to those of my clients and students. It all began during a conversation with my group of apprentices, the Parrot Steward Consulting Collective…. We were studying olfaction,…
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Companion Parrots and Sleep: Debunking the 12-Hour Myth
Companion parrots do not need 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. They do not require total darkness, sleep cages, blackout curtains, or lighting designed to mimic gradual sunrise and sunset cycles. You may find this surprising—even avian veterinarians are now repeating this widely accepted but incorrect advice. Social media is flooded with the claim:…
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Parrots. Pets. Products. and People.
May 31, 2024 was the 20th Anniversary of World Parrot Day. I didn’t know that we celebrated a World Parrot Day. Chances are, if I didn’t know about it, you may not have either. Now that I am aware, it seems a fitting opportunity to discuss the state of companion parrots in captivity today. (You’ll…
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Parrots. Pets. Products. and People.
May 31, 2024 was the 20th Anniversary of World Parrot Day. I didn’t know that we celebrated a World Parrot Day. Chances are, if I didn’t know about it, you may not have either. Now that I am aware, it seems a fitting opportunity to discuss the state of companion parrots in captivity today. (You’ll…
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Parrots and Proximity (Part Two)
In Parrots and Proximity (Part One), I examined the importance of proximity to parrots. (If you have not yet read that blog post, please do so before you read on.) Parrots react both positively and negatively to the proximity of people they encounter, to other parrots, and to objects. You may be thinking: “Well, this…
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Parrots and Proximity
I have lived with parrots for a great deal longer than many of you reading this have been alive. My decades of involvement with them afford me a unique perspective. What has our history been with companion parrots? The following is my view. Beginning in the mid-1800s, we have taken these parrot species into our…
