I don’t know why this occurred to me, but it did. I was thinking about zip-loc bags and the integral part of they play in storing Chop. This innocent little sandwich bag has become a big part of my life. And from the email I get, it seems to have become a staple in the lives of many other people and their birds.

Chop in Snack-sized bags

As I was thinking about how to title this post, the phrase, “Zip-loc Life” kept coming  back and with it, the song, “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” from the Musical, “Annie” which shows you the direction my brain wanders every once in a while. So, seeing as we just went down Bizarre Boulevard, let’s take look in a few of the windows shall we?

First of all, I felt compelled to rewrite the first few stanzas of the song, and God forbid, if you want to sing along, here’s the link to music from the original song: Annie: The Musical

It’s the Zip-Loc Life

It’s the Zip-loc life for us!

It’s the Zip-loc life for us!

 ‘Steada Dicin’’
We unzip!

 We get kisses,

 They got no lips!

 It’s the Zip-loc life!

Got no woes to speak of, so,

It’s the Zip-loc row we know!

 Lotsa choices,

 It’s no bull!

 Comfy Bellies

 Aways full!

 It’s the Zip-loc life!

After getting that out of my system, I began thinking about some questions I’ve gotten regarding packaging Chop for the freezer.

I happen to have three Greys, so it’s easy enough to store their meals in a regular zip-loc. But I got an interesting question from a reader who has little, tiny, eensie weensie birds and only a couple of them. What is she to do when she is packaging up little tiny amounts of Chop for her mini-flock?

I ruminated about this and came up with a solution: 2×2 zip-lock storage bags:

You can find these bags at the  “Scrap Rack”

I think they would be perfect for small amounts of Chop and of course they are reusable if you wash and rinse them out, allowing them to dry thoroughly.  Of course, there are other sizes available as well, so you can not only tailor your Chop, you can modify the way you want to package it to suit your particular needs.

I guess what it comes down to is options. And the one thing you always have with Chop, are options- how to make it, what to put in it, how to package it and how to store it. If it works for you, then the more likely you are to continue making it and feeding it to your birds.

I’ve said before that Chop is a solution to the problem Liz Wilson pointed out at one time or another; that people simply have a difficult time managing their schedules to prepare fresh food for their flock twice a day, every day for decades. Chop is more of a response to a behavioral issue of humans. Yes, it’s great for the birds. But the real beauty of it lies in the fact that it sets up the environment for success. It’s difficult for most people to feed fresh food to the flock twice a day. And while making Chop is no walk in the woods, it’s easier in the day-to-day.

You may call me "Small Batch"

I don’t know what’s worse, having other people underestimate you or underestimating yourself. Both kind of blow. Sometimes you underestimate yourself, yet you find that you could indeed do whatever it was that you didn’t think you could do. That’s very uplifting and a hell of a confidence builder.

Having had other people underestimate your abilities or reach just tends to make me mad. And bitchy. Well, at least that’s how it affects me. I get kind of upset.

And then there are the things I wouldn’t dream of attempting.

One thing that always stunned me were my classmates from high school who simply picked up, got married and began having children when they were 19 or 20. How did they do that? The entire concept terrified me. Kids? A husband? At that age? I was mystified, not because the entire idea made me want to whack myself over the head with a cast iron skillet, but because it just seemed so hard. I mean, Good God, there are easier paths in life to choose than that.

I asked a classmate friend of mine who ended up with three kids, probably before she was 25 and her answer, although probably entirely truthful, stunned me. She said, “When you’re that age, you don’t know you can’t, and so you just end up just doing what you need to do.”

“So, you chose to do it?”

“Not really; it just seemed like, well, that was just what you did.”

Oh.

Then of course came the, “If I had it to do over again…blah,blah,blah…but I would never have skipped the kids! I adore my children!”

Well, of course she does.

Naturally, I thought the woman had lost her mind starting around the time she underestimated herself and decided that getting married and having kids was her only option.

I guess you’re all wondering where the “Parrot Aspect” fits into this. Well, it does and it doesn’t. Life with parrots is a part of our life. And as I’ve always maintained, if it takes up a fair chunk of your life, then you might be doing it right.

That said, I’m all for cutting down the workload and creating more spare time so you can actually have a life. Because parrots should be a part of your life. They should enhance the quality your life and make it better. More fun.

The easier and more efficient something is, the more likely you are going to enjoy it. If you have happy, healthy, well trained parrots, then you’re going to like your life a hell of a lot more than if you didn’t. It might take some work and effort to get there, but once you do, you and your family and your birds will be happier.

It’s up to us to work out how to make that happen. And if you say you can’t, then well, I think you’re underestimating yourself.

I’m always open to new ideas about how to make life with parrots, easier, more efficient, happier, cleaner and more sane. If you have any brilliant, innovative ways of doing things, send them here! We could always use some new techniques, new methods, or a cool way to save time.

I created a video assembled from photos sent by friends and Parrot Nation Readers from all over the place. It was a small project and I did the editing in about two days, but it was a lot of fun to put together. What I wanted to do was show you that Chop is indeed a “Concept.” As available ingredients vary from place to place and from Continent to Continent, Chop is never going to be the same.

You will also find your own Chop varying from season to season.  It was a quick and dirty editing job. I didn’t have the time to spend day-after-day fine-tuning it and photoshopping it, but I made a copy so I can work on it later should I need to.  You might want to keep it on the small screen as blowing it up to full size will be disappointing. I couldn’t render the images the way I wanted them as I am still learning, but it’s not bad for two days of work.

This is your Chop. Your way. From your kitchens. With your birds. Congratulations! You’re doing a beautiful job making it your own.

Here is the Video of Chop from, well, everywhere and also from many of you. Thank you to all who sent me photos. I hope you like it:

My Office at 35,000 feet.

While I try to keep up with the forums and blogs about what the heartbeat of the avian world is up to, (meaning the average parrot owner just like me) I have a tough time keeping up with them all due to my schedule. I’m either flying for work, or flying to get somewhere to do a presentation or do research or some such reason for the journey.

And there is the ever-present floor that needs a mopping. But I do get to meet really cool people:

Concetta! (Concetta DellaRocco- Ferragamo)

But I think it’s terrific the forums are busy because that means you are all yakking up a storm, exchanging information and helping each other out.

Paula Rossow, Irena Schulz and moi at the Midwest Bird Expo

Occasionally I run across a post about the Chop Concept. And I found one particularly interesting. When the Chop Video link was put up, someone saw all of the stuff I used to make Chop and stated the following:

“wow that is like 80+ bucks in ingredients.”

The original poster responded this way:

“When I picked up the ingredients for my batch of chop, I spent about $30 and didn’t use everything….I made the batch back around the 1st of October and I still have at least half left. I feed 8 parrots and 9 parakeets with it. I don’t feed it everyday, but several times a week.”

It was posted on the 30th of December which means she got through half of her Chop in three months.

The Real Quaker Oats

Now it sounds like making Chop or Teenie Weenie Beanies is expensive. It is- the day you make it. But once you bag it up and freeze it, you won’t be making it for quite a while, so you have to look at it as “cost-per-serving” or cost per day.  I never really figured it out to the penny, but I knew I was feeding three African Greys two meals a day for less than a buck.  And because I have never fed bulk seed on any real basis at all, I have no idea what it would cost to feed my birds the seed. But I can almost guarantee it’s less than 3 plus bucks a pound you probably have to pay for seed.

Have any of you figured it out? Does any one really know how much it costs you to serve Chop as opposed to the higher-pried model? I know it’s different every time, but perhaps some of you have done the costing out? I’d love to know what you’ve come up with.

If you ever run into her, (You will eventually. If you attend any avian related events, ask Janet how she met me. She has a very funny response.) My point is, people are actually making friends and acquaintances using social media to connect. With that, they share and exchange information, swap ideas, photos and also help, encourage and console each other during the rough times. Due to this, many friendships are developing as well as a more “family-like atmosphere.” Consequently, you just might run into your “Online Uncle Max” at a bird event. You’ve never met him before, but you feel like you already know him because you know how many birds he has, their names and the fact that his African Grey can recite Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

Me, Robin Shewokis of Leather Elves, Lisa Bono of Platinum Parrot, Jessica Pineda, Editor- BIRD TALK Magazine and Dr. Susan Orosz

Photo supplied by Lisa Bono

But of course, along with this are the feuds that seem to pop up in even the closest of clans. Yes, you end up with blood in the water occasionally as misunderstandings occur, differences of opinion pop up and flat out disrespect for another’s point of view roars through the pixels*.

(*Fun Fact #1: Pixel: ORIGIN 1960s: abbreviation of the phrase, picture element.)

There are the “junior high school Mean Girl” moments as well as the warm and fuzzies. But that even happens in the closest of families, so this is to be expected, I guess.

 Despite this, the information exchange has done wonders for the companion parrots of the world. As people join this ever-growing, “Global Family,” they are learning that it’s better to adopt than buy, that an all-seed diet simply blows, and that foraging and enrichment are important for our feathered buddies. And avian nutrition? Well, let’s just say that I’m working my keester off trying to ensure that Chop is the “New Black” in a parrot’s diet. I want to ensure that Chop is a standard element in feeding a healthy diet to your parrot.

Michelle Elle’s Chop: Photo by Michelle

As I keep my head down and go on typing, more and more people are learning that this is the way to go. I have other ideas and I’m trying to develop new methods and more ways to deliver the nutritional goods. And overall, I’m really focused getting that information out.

But as people become more aware of the needs and requirements of companion birds, interest in more information about how to care for them has grown exponentially across all areas of companion parrot care. Because of this, the demand for website content, more research and answers to the growing questions about caring for the little buggers has increased. The realization and insight people have gained through the internet about the subject of Avian Husbandry has had a positive impact on everyone.

These folks who never really grasped some basic elements of the diet requirements for parrots before, are now beginning to wake up and smell the quinoa. They are beginning to ask questions and search for information as they run into others who seem to have a better grasp on how to care for their flocks. They are starting to understand that while an all-seed diet might be easier, it sure as hell is more expensive, more dangerous and will lead them and their wallet down that ugly road to Avian Vet hell.

Michelle Elle’s got it down! Photo by Michelle.

Pictured:  flax seeds, rolled oats. barley and wheat baby cereals, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, sesame seed, wheat germ, chia seeds

Enter the Chop Concept. Good news: It’s spreading like STDs at a Florida senior citizens social center. If dietary requirements are met, foraging opportunities are presented, training is done, and a clearer understanding of the needs and prerequisites of keeping birds is acknowledged, the birds are going to get a better shot at staying put. The bird is happier and healthier which certainly plays into their behavior. And if their behavior is easier to deal with and their needs are met, we’re less likely to want give up our birds.

This certainly would ease the strain on the shelters and the adoption and rescue organizations which would free them up to present educational seminars and social gatherings; a far more positive pursuit.

But me being me, it seems as though it’s not enough. When I was at lunch with some of the attendees after my presentation at the Phoenix Landing event on January seventh, I called for a toast. I thanked everyone for coming and helping me out. I then stated that I simply couldn’t wait to see Phoenix Landing go out of business. They laughed and held up their glasses. Because I don’t think they can wait for that day either.

Actually, I think that’s what we all want.

I got back from the D.C. area after an incredible time last weekend with the Phoenix Landing Organization. A little background is called for here:

I’ve known Ann Brooks since 2005 when we both attended the Natural Encounters Companion Parrot Training Class, or “Birdy Boot Camp” as I called it.  Ann’s a tad on the quiet side and I was sick as a dog having come down with some truly heinous bug I picked up from some guy who coughed on me on the way back from Haiti. Despite my feeling like ten miles of bad road and due to Ann’s ability to put up with this virus monster sitting next to her for days on end, we got along just great. I just had a feeling that she was going to accomplish something amazing. And I was right.

Ann has a fascinating background. Ask her sometime time about drinking Norwegian Glogg somewhere near the North Pole. I found Ann introspective, shrewd, extremely dedicated and very, very sharp.  Ann knew that she wanted to work with birds and well, she did it. And that’s a pretty tall order.

We managed to maintain a cyberspace relationship through the years and I would help Phoenix Landing as much as I possibly could. Being the southernmost outpost of PL didn’t give me much opportunity to help, but I did what I could here and there. I wish I could have done more, and hope to do more in the future.

Not long ago, she asked me if I wanted to do a presentation on Chop for the January Phoenix Landing get together. “Sure! Why not?” was my response.

So this past weekend, I flew up there with my “Got Chop?” T-shirt and hopped around in my “5 seasons-ago Non-Prada  boots” talking about Chop. Please forgive some of the photos, but when you’re talking and someone shoots your photo, invariably a few are going to make you look like a goldfish:

I made a slide show for you about the event.

Behold:

Needless to say, I had a blast! I haven’t had that much fun since traveling to Raleigh Durham to do my Chop Presentation for the Raleigh Durham Caged Bird Society.

The people I got to meet and the new friends I made was amazing. And I also got to meet people I’ve known on the internet and finally got to meet in person! Here’s Eileen:

And here’s Melissa!

I also met a ton more people I knew here and there and also got to see people I already knew, so it was just a wonderful gathering. We talked, we had lunch, we made plans…it was all good. (Vicky:”Up the stairs and to the right.” Is that correct?)

If you live in the area of D.C. or Virginia, or are around the Ashville, North Carolina area, you should really get involved with this non-profit. It’s a great group of people and they are making a HUGE impact on thousands of people and thousands of parrots. They are smart, savvy, incredibly well versed in applied behavior analysis, all things parrot and above all, they get the job done.

And it’s not about a lot of sitting around talking about their birds. They bring in speakers, organize projects and are proactive in the community with education about aviculture, training, adoption and of course they help people who are in need of assistance.

Please join these people for their wonderful warmth, their love of birds and their dedication to adoption, education and the welfare of birds. We can all learn from them. I loved my visit to Phoenix Landing and hope to come back soon. You can visit the Phoenix Landing website here. Just click on the PL logo. And if you can, please get involved. It’ll make you a better person. And I know that from experience.

The revolution I’m talking about is what’s going on in the average parrot’s diet. Yes, I’m talking about the “Chop Revolution.” It seems to be spreading far and wide and I couldn’t be happier. And if you’re in the Springfield, VA area this Saturday, January 7th, you have an opportunity to attend a Phoenix Landing event at ten a.m. in the morning. I’ll be talking about “Chop” and the entire concept and story behind it.  Here is the information:

Click on the Logo for more information!

NOURISH TO FLOURISH: CHOP CHOP! with PATRICIA SUND

SPRINGFIELD, VA
SATURDAY
January 7th
10:00 AM – 12:00 Noon
Grace Presbyterian Church
7434 Bath Street

I’ve been invited by Phoenix Landing to give a bit of an overview on “Chop;” how to make it, how to store it, and the benefits. I know it’ll be a ton of fun. Lots of people I haven’t met but have communicated with will be there and I’m very excited to be able to meet them. And I’d love to meet you too. I mean really; this is going to be fun.

First off, I can talk about Chop until I’m blue in the face:

I love talking about something I believe in. Ever notice when you take a photo of someone who’s speaking, their mouth is always open?

Phoenix Landing is a wonderful organization that was founded by Ann Brooks. And she got behind the Chop concept as soon as she saw the benefits and its efficiency. So I’m quite happy to come up and answer questions, fill in some blank spots and encourage people to make some Chop. So if you’re in the neighborhood, please, please swing by and say “Hi!” I hope to make sure it’s entertaining. See you there!

Janet’s Portuguese Water Dogs Looking Ahead

We’re wrapping up what I referred to in an earlier post, “An Eventful Year.” Yes it was. And not just for me, but for the Avian Community and the world. Not all of it was positive. Not all of it was a step in the right direction. But the learning that went on even during the worst of times was a positive thing.

I always like to look forward to the coming year in hopes that it will be better as a result of what I have learned and experienced. I like to be able to say that I know more now than I did a year ago. And I hope you all can very safely say the same. But what can we as an Avian Community do to make things better? How do we improve our lives and the lives of our flocks? Susan Friedman has a quote that she placed on the bottom of her emails by W. Edwards Deming:

 “Learning is not compulsory…neither is survival.”

I love this quote and while I find it astute, I find it humorous as well.  Even in Susan’s emails, she is forever the teacher. But if you think about it, in order to survive, animals are constantly having to shift with their environment, to adapt to what is happening around them or they perish. We should really follow their lead because they’re the ones getting it right. We’re the ones who are constantly trying to bend things to suit us and our lifestyle. We really need to become more “Gumbyish.”

If we began the new year learning more about diet, behavior and training, general care and enrichment, this will not only improve the lives of our birds, but in turn, our lives as well. And God knows I’m all for upgrades!

I’m not one for making any resolutions but I am one for thinking about stuff I want to accomplish in the coming year. One thing I’d like to do is take the American Federation of Aviculture’s “Fundamentals of Aviculture” online class. I think it would be very enightening and I know I’d learn a ton.

I also want to get more writing done. But then, I always want to get more writing done. 

I want to get my office straightened up. It used to look great. Now? Not so much. And no I’m not posting a photo…

I want to try and save more money. I’m pretty tight with a buck now as it is, but I could probably get tighter. Unfortunately I’m ruing the day that I discovered the “Kindle App” for my iPad. Amazon has never sold so many books to anyone since I did that. I warn you, it’s addictive.

But more than anything, I really want to get ahold of my life and really live it. Yes, I do that now, just as most of us do. But I’d like to get some things moving in the right direction and that is going to take a chuck of time, something I usually don’t have much of. So, I’ll just have to crowbar it in somewhere.

More than anything, I want people in aviculture to learn more about feeding their birds well. That is my hope for next year. I fully support positive reinforcement training, foraging, enrichment, great health care and Vet visits.

But as I once explained my zeal to someone who asked why I was so interested and enthusiastic about bird diet, “You can’t train a deceased bird.”

There’s other things I want to learn, to improve upon, to get better at.

Or as the Mad Hatter said to Alice, “You used to be much more… ‘muchier.’ You’ve lost your muchness.”

http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/alice2a.html

I don’t want to lose my “muchness.” I simply want to be “Much more so.” Well, here’s to 2012 and “much more so.” May we all become “Muchier!”

http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/alice2a.html

How do you spend Christmas with your birds?  They don’t really understand this tradition and don’t get the stocking thing under the TV at all. (I live in Florida. If I want “Fireplace Smell” I use a ceramic ring for oils on a light bulb.) I know about explaining Christmas to them because I’ve tried. They seem semi-interested until Bill begins rattling around in the kitchen and that is cause for ignoring me and taking great interest in what’s going on in the kitchen.

In the past, I’ve hung their monogramed stockings with care under the TV hoping Santa would give a damn. He did because he inspired me to fill those freakin’ stockings with crap I thought they’d like. They did. They liked the dinner. They liked the cool food. The liked the added attention. The even seemed to like “A Christmas Story” over and over. (And over.)

But over the years, I’ve realized something. December 25th is just that to them. Another day in the year. I think to them,  Christmas should be every day.  And of course we really do give them gifts on Christmas because it makes us feel festive. We like to include them in our Christmas Traditions and it truly only is right that as members of our family that they share in the traditions.  My tradition for the last 25 years or so has been to work on Christmas. Not because I particularly want to, but because that’s what you get when you throw in with an airline. They issue you a flammable uniform and you proceed to strap yourself into a jump seat in a tube with engines on either side and fuel tanks that hold 11,500 gallons of highly flammable jet fuel for the rest of your career. They never promised you a rose garden. And they never promised you holidays off either. So off I went to fly. On Christmas, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Easter, it didn’t matter. Somebody needed to go somewhere. And it’s usually a lot of somebodies. So I flew.

Christmas Party for Flight Attendants That’s Stephanie!

And it’s a trade-off. I know it’s a trade-off, because it’s one I gladly made instead of living a normal life in which I would have quietly gone nuts. Now to me, working on a holiday is quite normal. Working weekends is normal. So we have had to adjust to this slightly off center way of life and work around it. When I was growing up, Christmas Day was no big deal. Christmas Eve was the Primo moment because Santa Claus came to the front door with the gifts. When other kids in school asked me what Santa left under the tree for me, I’d tell them he didn’t do that at our house. At our house, Santa delivered. I figured it was because we didn’t have a fireplace. And now of course, Christmas looks a little different where I live:

Whatever your Christmas or other holiday traditions are, you can make it even more special to you and your animal family by including your animal companions in them. People might say, “They don’t know the difference!”

But they will if you include them. They will if they get a special treat. They will if they get more one-on-one time with you. To them, that’s really special. You might think they wouldn’t know or wouldn’t care. But they do care. They notice more than we realize. And they appreciate the treat or the time. Occasionally, it’s the little things that mean the most.

As the Holiday commences, and the crazed shopping winds down, my schedule ramps up. But during those times when I’m at home, I will be spending those extra minutes with each of my birds, just so they know that not only is this a special time of year; but they are special to me. And that makes all the difference.  Happy Holidays, everyone. And thank you.