Did you know that calcium supplements don’t only come in the form of cuttlebone or powdered calcium carbonate? It is very important that birds have access to calcium, especially females, for if they start to develop eggs. Usually the easiest thing we can do is stick a cuttlebone in there for them to chew on whenever they need to boost their system, but in the wild they would never encounter a cuttlefish, so how do they keep their calcium levels up to prevent eggbinding? Calci

Many people are unaware of just how dangerous nicotine and cigarette smoke are for birds, but the truth is that even small amounts of exposure can have serious consequences. Birds have incredibly sensitive respiratory systems that work far more efficiently than those of humans, meaning toxins are absorbed faster and circulate through their bodies more intensely. When smoke is present, nicotine and the other harmful chemicals included in cigarettes can coat a bird’s feathers,

Why it can be problematic to try and teach your bird “naughty” words A common question I get at the store is, “Can any of these birds cuss?” Yes, a few of them do, and while hilarious for the general public, we actively try to discourage them from repeating those words. I often try to discourage people from trying to teach their own bird these words as well on a regular basis. But, they don’t know what it means, right? What’s the problem with teaching them something that we m

Birds are special animals, and unlike dogs and cats, they are tamed, but not domesticated. Domestication is breeding over multiple generations and selecting for characteristics and temperament over the course of many many years in a species to be better suited to living with humans. Taming is working with a single individual and getting them habituated to interaction and conditioning them to interact with humans. This means that birds are still mostly wild animals that allow