Toy story thanks
Thank you so very much for this wonderful article (Toy story, January-February 2003). I've wanted to make toys for my Sarah, a blue and gold macaw, for so long and wasn't quite sure where to start. I have a scroll saw and love to cut various shapes for her to chew up and she seems to appreciate my efforts. Indeed, she seems to go through them faster than I can cut them in some cases. But your article also introduced several other options - things I would never have thought of doing.

Sarah and I are new to each other and I'm so fortunate to have her living with me now. Each day brings a whole new world of possibilities. I always worry she will be bored when I have to leave for a few hours. This article will help ensure I can keep her entertained while I'm gone.

--Vicki J. Gardiner

One way to stop featherpicking
First of all, I love your site. Wish it had been my idea! Tapper, my first handfed baby cockatiel, developed a featherpicking issue almost as soon as my husband and I moved to a new apartment. I guess Tapper didn't care much for his new surroundings because he almost immediately began plucking - primarily pinfeathers in his chest, he even shrieked when he plucked them. I tried a few things on my own, to no avail - flight suits (to cover the plucked area and hence prevent more plucking), bitter topical solutions...the situation kept getting worse. I knew I needed a solution badly when I came home to find the wall next to the cage covered with blood and pinfeathers.

I contacted a well-known bird behaviorist who said she had a 75 percent success rate with feather plucking issues. A consultation would cost $130 and I would need to devote several days to initial therapy. So I shelled out the money and took off from work to follow her therapies with Tapper. I will claim to my dying day that I saw a look of disgust on Tapper's face after only a few hours.

Upon leaving after explaining what to do and taking the check, the behaviorist said that "just in case this doesn't work" to buy a peacock feather to include in the cage. I made a mental note.

The therapy involved having him with me at all times, using positive reinforcements when he went for progressively longer periods of abstinence from plucking, negative reinforcements such as a light blowing from the lips when he would try to pluck. He never made it longer than six minutes.

So after an unsuccessful and tremendously exasperating four days of behavioral therapy, I bought a $5 sterilized feather to put in his cage. Voila. He was so fascinated with it that he stopped plucking and hasn't taken up the habit again (knock on wood) for three years now.

--Amy, aim@austin.rr.com

For more advice on how to stop featherpicking, see The worst of habits (Fall 2001). --Editor

Birds and cats
Hi! I am 13 years old and I really want to get a parakeet. The problem is that my parents won't let me get one because we have a cat. I know I can take care of one and if we knew a good way to keep the cat away I would be able to get a parakeet. Do you have any advice? Please email me back. Thanks!

--Max

Thanks for writing, Max! Your parents are very wise. It's difficult to keep a bird safe and happy in the same house with a cat. You'll probably want to let your bird out to play with it. Every time you did, you would have to be certain the cat was outdoors or locked out of the room. What if you accidentally left a door open and your kitty caught your little bird? You would feel terrible. My husband loves cats and wishes we could have one, but we have a bird, and we both know it would be a mistake to try to fit a cat into the household right now. I do know people who own both cats and birds - but in my opinion, they're taking a big risk, and some do lose their birds eventually. I know you wouldn't want that to happen. You sound like you would make a very responsible and caring bird owner. Look forward to the day when you can provide the safest possible home for a bird! --Carla Thornton, Editor

Is all manzanita safe?
My mother-in-law lives in California and said manzanita trees are all the rage for parrots. She asked if it's safe and do we want some. (We have a little jenday conure.) I see it is sold on many Web sites, but didn't see any vet opinions about it. My main concern was how would one know if it had ever been treated by pesticides or herbicides. I saw your great article (Toy story, January-February 2003) about preparing natural wood perches. But wondered if you have any additional advice to give me in evaluating.

Thanks for being such a great resource for humans owned by our birds.

--Kathy Thomas, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Toy Story author Cher Angelo replies: Well, I have known manzanita to be safe for use with birds for many years, but I wanted to avoid giving you the cut-and-dried answer of "yes" without investigating first. I think you'll be both pleased with and assured by the information I gleaned from a few of my personal contacts. Mainly, you should know that is often illegal to collect manzanita, so check out the laws about this before you even think about doing so! Many species of manzanita are endangered and protected from harvesting. If you do have permission from the landowner, be sure to prune responsibly and correctly to allow the mother plant to heal from the pruning scars.

If you want to insure the quality and safety of the manzanita that you purchase for your birds, the best thing to do is patronize companies like Rich's. Be sure to ask for a copy of the seller's Fish and Game certificate.

ParrotChronicles.com

-------