February, 2011 | African Grey Parrot Centre ™ Articles

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Hideaway Boxes For Your Parrot

February 27th, 2011

Since I’ve started providing Digby with a box, a hideaway of some sort I’ve noticed that his behavior improved a lot and he behaves a lot more hormonal and destructive when he doesn’t have a box to hide in.

In fact, this is how I found out that he loves to have a box to hide in: he used to try and get in every dark nook and cranny when he just moved in with us. That was of course a sign of hormonal behavior as I thought and I tried to discourage it as much as I could but nothing helped. Tirelessly he would seek the corners, chew the walls and sometimes even go to sleep under the sofa! Until I found the solution – I gave him a box, he loved it, he calmed down and he has been happy ever since.

His hideaways are not always boxes, sometimes they are baskets or even a paper bag (given only under supervision). I never place them in his cage as he just doesn’t seem to be interested or brave enough to go in them when in the cage. They always rest on his part of the windowsill.

It works for Digby, but I am safe in knowledge that he is a boy and not going to lay an egg. I would not advise giving boxes to female parrots. Egg laying is a dangerous thing and can deplete the bird’s calcium storage and cause egg binding.

These are just some of the hideaways he had over the year:

I enjoy providing Digby, and Dudley the rabbit too, with large boxes. I usually put something inside as well, like a phone book or old toys for shredding. Then I watch them work, chew, shred, shaping their own habitat. They make the doors where they want them to be, Digby shreds the paper and toys to create perfect soft, finely shredded base of the box. With having a box he has something to work on, daily. Once I see there is nothing left to work on and the box is starting to look old and sad I throw it away and replace with a new clean one.

This is not strictly a hideaway but a pine shelf of his, but it does provide some sort of shelter and he enjoyed sitting on it, shaping it up, moving things around, trimming the wood.

Courtesy of Irina from Parrot Comforts

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Posted by: Paula
Posted in Cages & Housing, Parrot Care | 1 Comment »

Double Baked Veggie Biscotti

February 20th, 2011

Ingredients

1 cup of buckwheat flour
1 cup of corn flour
1/2 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup of ground pellets
2 jars of orange veggies baby food (like carrot, butternut squash, sweet potatoe)
1 egg
1/4 tsp baking powder

Preparation

Combine all the flours and baking powder together.

You can use any other flours instead of those mentioned above, just avoid using white flour. Wholemeal flour, spelt flour, quinoa or rice flour would make good substitutes.

To make buckwheat flour just put the desired amount into a coffee grinder and ground it into a flour. This how it turns out after a good whizz

Once the dry ingredients are mixed, add two jars of the baby food and the egg. Mix well.

These are the jars of baby food I used

The dough should come off the sides of the bowl and you should be able to roll it out in a sausage. I sprinkled it with a few hemp seeds on top too

Put “the sausage” in the oven and bake at 170C or gas mark 4 for about 25 minutes.

Remove it from the oven, transfer to a cutting board and cut it into thin slices.

Return the slices on to a baking tray and bake for further 30 minutes.

Once ready let them cool and freeze.

Mine stayed slightly soft in the middle. If you want them dry all through then keep them in the oven for longer second time round but it is best to turn down the heat after 30 minutes to make sure they don’t burn.

To make them more appealing just add some chopped dry fruit and nuts to the dough.

Bon Appétit!

Courtesy of Irina from Parrot Comforts

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Posted by: Paula
Tags: african grey parrots, recipes
Posted in Parrot Care | No Comments »

Cheese and Cracker Sandwich Recipe

February 13th, 2011

When you are having crackers or biscuits and your parrot is doing everything to get to them you can offer him an alternative which wont be harmful for him. Matzo crackers are made of flour and water, no added salt, sugar or anything else at all.

Here is a little idea on how to make them a bit more fun

Ingredients

1 Matzo cracker
a pea size amount of any no salt added nut butter or palm fruit extract
a 5p size thin slice of cheese
a thin slice of apple of the same size as cheese

Preparation

Break Matzo cracker into two small squares. Spread both with the nut butter. Put a piece of apple and cheese on one piece and cover with another. Microwave it for about 3-5 seconds. Squeeze it together. The heat would have melted the cheese and make everything stick together well. Cool down and serve

Courtesy of Irina from Parrot Comforts

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Posted by: Paula
Posted in Parrot Care | 3 Comments »

Delicious Vegetable Wrap Recipe For Your Grey

February 6th, 2011

Ingredients

1/4 of a small wholemeal tortilla wrap
1 cherry tomatoe
one slice of red pepper
1 teaspoon of corn (fresh or frozen)
parsley or coriander to taste
a tiny pinch of dry paptrika or caynne pepper
a drop of olive oil

Preparation

Prepare the pepper and the tomatoe by chopping them into small pieces. Chop the herbs. Drop a tiny bit of oil on a frying pan, put the tomatoes, peppers, corn and herbs on the pan, put the spices on top and fry on a medium heat for about a minute.

Then put the mix on the tortilla and wrap up tightly. To wrap up tightly put the veggie mix closer to one edge of the wrap, fold the sides in and then start wrapping from the end with the filling.