WingsNThings - Birds & Parrots as Pets - All About Pet Birds - Pets & Animals on Pet Life Radio (PetLifeRadio.com)
Summary: What do you look for when choosing a pet bird? Find out what to look for from the experts! In these pet podcasts our host and guests discuss choosing a bird to fit your lifestyle, compare pet stores and breeders, and talk about how to keep your bird happy and healthy. Other topics include species of birds, your bird's habitat and which are the best foods to feed your little feathered friend! Find out what common household dangers you need to know about, as well as how to train your pet bird and more. In these fun pet podcasts, you'll find everything from taking your pet bird to the office to tips on what the best perches are to keep your bird's feet from getting tired or damaged. So take a beak, we mean peek at the world of pet birds... only on Pet Life Radio!
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- Artist: Barbara Heidenreich and Robin Shewokis
- Copyright: PetLifeRadio, L.L.C.
Podcasts:
This week Barbara Heidenreich interviews field biologist Dr Donald Brightsmith of Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center at Texas A & M University. Dr Brightsmith shares his experience studying wild parrots in Peru. His research has provided new insights into clay lick use, diet and nutrition and distances parrots travel in the wild. Listeners are also invited to join a research gathering expedition to Peru scheduled for January 2009.
This week Barbara Heidenreich interviews Rebecca O’ Connor, author of "A Parrot for Life." An accomplished writer and animal trainer, Rebecca shares stories about flying falcons, working with parrots and training cheetahs, as well as information on her nine books.
In this week’s episode, Robin talks with Philadelphia Zoo keeper and bird trainer, Catherine Vine. They discuss how to provide enrichment on a budget. Catherine also introduces us to one of her favorite projects, The Feather Distribution Project.
Finding someone qualified to care for your beloved parrot when you are out of town can be a challenge. Robin interviews Karen Anderson of Avian Suites, a professional bird boarding facility. Karen shares her advice on how to find a facility or person to care for your parrot and what you can do to make your birds boarding experience as positive as possible.
Training and enrichment can be and should be easy! Robin and Barbara explore ways to keep your training and enrichment program thriving even if you have little time, little finances and lots of birds.
Barbara and Robin discuss some tips to help you get off to a good start with your baby parrot. Those uncoordinated, yet curious babies have different enrichment needs from your adult parrot. They also present some excellent training opportunities due to an important sensitive period of development. Prevention of behavior problems is also explored, such as biting a bit too hard during play and exploration.
This week Barbara and Robin discuss the many ways to keep your training and enrichment programs stimulating. Not only are there are a number of different senses to enrich, there are countless types of behaviors parrot caregivers can train. This episode is loaded with tips and ideas to ensure your parrot has a very rich and interesting life.
Sid Price is a professional bird trainer, President Elect of the International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators and a regular contributor to online training discussions in the companion parrot community. He and Barbara chat about some of the hot topics in parrot training.
In this week’s episode Robin interviews bioacoustic researcher, Michael Schindlinger. Michael is probably best known for his field work with wild Amazons in the creation of the film Stalking the Wild Amazons. Robin and Michael discuss his findings and how they relate to caring for your companion parrot. Michael also shares an exciting ecotourism project that is helping parrots in the wild.
Shane is an internationally experienced early childhood educator who has been teaching for thirteen years. He is the co-creator and author of Fledglings, the Parrot Society of Australia's junior aviculturist publication. Although he has kept and bred many different bird species from a young age, parrots continue to dominate his primary interest in aviculture. Shane's travels have given him plenty of unique opportunities to view many parrot species in their native habitats around Australia and beyond. He fulfills many roles on the Parrot Society's Executive Committee including promotions, advertising and editorial duties for the PSOA News. Shane is one of the organizers for Parrots 2008.
Australian bird trainer Nicholas Bishop shares his love of birds and his ground breaking adventure training the highly endangered Spix Macaw for a medical procedure at Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation.
In this week’s episode Barbara and Robin discuss reinforcers for training and offer numerous suggestions for creating a vast menu of options for your parrot.
Meet Einstein! A very articulate parrot who lives in Texas. To clarify... this is not the Einstein featured on Animal Planet’s Pet Star, but she can give that one a run for her money. This chatty parrot runs through her vocabulary, including phrases such as "What does E=?" "Look at the grackle" and "Who let the dogs out? Who?" Barbara also interviews Einstein’s caregivers Marcia and Jeff to find out how they came to have such a special parrot in their home.
In this week’s episode Barbara and Robin tackle a widespread issue in the companion parrot community, Feather Destructive Behavior. They review some of the many causes and make suggestions for alleviating this very common behavior.
In this week’s episode Barbara and Robin discuss the often lamented challenge of the screaming parrot. Training and enrichment strategies that address this behavior are reviewed.
