Tag Archives: parrot

Blog, Recipes

Grapes Are Neat and Turning up the Heat

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As Mango is settling in here at the perch, we are trying to make sure that he gets used to (and fond of) having fresh foods in his diet. Parrots, just like us, need fruits and vegetables in their diet in order to enjoy a good nutritional balance.

Here Mango is enjoying 1/2 of a grape. He ended up licking this more than eating it, so I cut it in quarters and he was able to chew it much more easily. In many instances, if your bird does not enjoy a larger piece of fresh food, you can make it smaller and they will readily eat it!

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Many bird owners also do not know that parrots can eat peppers (even the hot ones!). They have very few taste buds and are seemingly unaffected by the capsaicin in peppers, which is the chemical that produces the hot taste. Just to put this in perspective…

Birds may be able to eat peppers because they have so few taste buds: Chickens have just 24 taste buds, and pigeons have 37, Pidgeon says. Humans have close to 10,000 taste buds, and rodents and other mammals likely have a similar number…

-https://news.wisc.edu/curiosities-why-can-birds-eat-hot-peppers/

We haven’t given Mango the ultimate taste challenge yet (hello, Ghost Pepper and the like). Hower if you would like to see a fun pepper challenge, you can watch this one:

Hope everyone has a great week with their birds!!!

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Blog, Recipes

Our Birds Get Sushi

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In running a YouTube channel about birds, one always thinks about content. Content. Content. Content. What do I post about? What do my viewers want to see? What will make my stats get better? I realized, in my most recent contemplation, that I had sorely neglected sharing recipes with my audience. Bird recipes are so fun and often easy to do. Alongside a little research into what’s appropriate to feed birds, there exists an endless number of possibilities for birdie treat diy projects.

So this week, I decided to try bird sushi! I personally have a huge love affair with sushi, finding it both beautiful and very pleasing to the palate. Although I couldn’t fix my birds a lobster roll or a spicy tuna, I did find that there are several ingredients that birds enjoy which would make a really mean looking sushi roll. So I “rolled” up my sleeves and played around in the kitchen with some turnip greens, peppers, cucumbers, carrots and brown rice. Here’s what I came up with! The birds really enjoyed it, and you can check out our YouTube video featuring the birds eating their new treat and also ending with bonus footage of our conure inspecting some of the ingredients. Keep being creative out there!

Blog

Like Mango?

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We spent a wonderful weekend at the Nashville Exotic Pet Expo talking about our YouTube channels and educating people about bird ownership and care. Of course it is very difficult to go to an expo and not fall in love with many of the animals represented there. Hence, our flock got a little bit bigger yesterday. Meet our new sun conure, Mango!

Mango is already proving to be such a sweet and smart bird, so we can’t wait to share more pictures of him with you and hopefully train him to do some fun behaviors as well, which we will share on our YouTube channel. Here are a few more pictures of some of the fun things we saw at the Exotic Pet …

Blog

Sexing Your Budgie

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We’re so excited to say our new video is up on YouTube!  It’s about determining gender for a budgie. This can sometimes be a pretty tricky endeavor, so we hope you enjoy the little tips and tricks that we’ve added to the video along with a few surprises.  Check it out!

 

Blog, Uncategorized

We’re Baaaaack

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Hi everyone!  Whew, it has been a minute since we’ve published much from the perch!  Over the last year, we have flown to another home and have been adjusting to changes in jobs and family.  However, 2018 promises to be bigger and better than ever for the birds.  Their new bird room has lots of space for add-ons, so stay tuned for some exciting new surroundings for the birds and some new additions of other kinds (shhhhhh…it’s a surprise).  Thanks for continuing to share our journey with us.  We love you all!

Siri, Sunny, Segoe, Sydney and Sophia

Blog, Our Crew, Uncategorized

Do Parakeets Make Good Pets?

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Here at the perch, I often get asked whether parakeets make good pets.  Although I think they make awesome pets, there are both pros and cons to owning this sweet little parrot.  So….you know, since I am a youtuber and all, I decided to make a video to help those folks who want to know more about budgies as pets.  Check out this fun little video, featuring me, Sydney, Siri, Segoe and Sunny!!!

 

Blog, Breeding, Our Story, Uncategorized

A New Perch and More!

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How appropriate!  Just a year after filming our budgie cage tour of the Prevue Hendryx flight cage, we have landed a brand new cage for our birdies. Check it out in our newest YouTube video!!!

 

 

Blog, Uncategorized

Meet Sunny

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Whew, it has been a while since we’ve blogged here at the perch!  Busy schedules, a planned move to the city and new pets have all played a part in the absence, but we just had to take some time to share the exciting news.  We have added a new budgie to our flock named Sunny!  This little bird is full of fun and adventure, and we named her Sunny because she has a “sunny” disposition (you’ll see).

Here she is when we first got her…

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As you can see, she looked a little rough!  Notice how she sits low on her legs and doesn’t stand on a perch properly?  We adopted Sunny, and our avian vet thinks that she probably had a birth defect in her legs that was never taken care of when she was a young chick.  She may have also been picked on by other birds because her feathers looked so rough and misaligned.

Fast forward a few months, and look at her now!

Her feathers are looking much better, and she has a blast exploring things in her cage or flying around the bird room.  She has also become a really strong climber, has the cutest birdie swagger when she is walking along, and loves to hang upside down!

Stay tuned to our YouTube channel for upcoming videos featuring Sunny and the rest of our flock!

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Birdie Fun, Blog

Berry Christmas

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This week we are bringing you another great budgie holiday enrichment idea. How about edible presents!!! Just go to your local hobby store or craft/wedding section of most discount retailers and get some plain boxes. No dyes, no embellishments…just plain. Don’t worry, you get to fun them up in just a minute.

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Next, get some jute string or other means to tie presents which is safe (undyed/untreated) for budgies (raffia and sisal also work nicely).

Once you construct the boxes, place a fun treat inside (millet works well, as can Nutri-Berries) and wrap the presents in plain paper, black and white  newspaper, or even kale! You can then tie them up and present them to your bird(s) for some edible Christmas fun!

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20151223_162356.jpgEXTRA TIP: If you budgie doesn’t want to get inside the boxes, you can punch holes in the side before wrapping them to help your bird smell and see the treat inside!  You can also present these boxes plain, without wrapping them, to make it easier for your bird to get inside!

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Blog, Recipes

Fruity Fun

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I am so excited because I recently received some stainless steel skewers I ordered for my birds.

These things are AWESOME!

They can be used to skewer different fruits and vegetables so that they may be hung in the cage and enjoyed by birds as they get in the mood to snack. Since it’s very important to include fresh foods in birds’ diets, this is a great addition to any birdie lovin’ household.

As far as what can be placed on the skewers, the possibilities are endless.  You can add a big chunk of one type of fruit (like papaya) or cut fruit into smaller chunks and make a fun, colorful kabob (apples, pears and bananas are a fun combination).

Just make sure to remove seeds from the offerings, as these can be very bad for budgies!  Here is Soma, enjoying his first kabob!

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Make sure the food on the skewers stays fresh in the cage.  Once it gets brown, wilty, gooey and/or yucky, you’ll want to toss the fruits/veggies in the trash (or better yet, the compost pile…your flowers will thank you).  It’s also important to clean skewers properly in between uses to keep things santitary!

If food becomes boring, you can also try adding some toys or things for your budgies to play with.  Paper, wood and other things can make great toy components, as long as they are safely used!

It’s so important to give our birds a variety of things to keep them healthy and entertained.  Skewers can be a large part of this…how creative can you get with them?