I received a package from Kris Porter a couple of weeks ago. Kris Porter is a whiz at creating foraging toys and  has a wonderful website called Parrot Enrichment.

Kris is also very well known for her Parrot Enrichment Activity Book that you can download for free here: Parrot Enrichment Activity Book.

Kris and her husband Jerry have begun manufacturing toys based on Jerry’s designs. I don’t know what made Jerry think of this, but I couldn’t believe what I found inside the box.

Inside the package, were some samples of her Puzzler Foraging Blocks (PFBs). I immediately fell in love with them because of the smell of fresh cut wood that came wafting out of the box. These were some fresh cut toys! I looked them over.

They were wonderful! Well made, beautifully designed and ready for some chewing, these toys were wondrous. They were soft enough to entice even the most cautious of birds and the smell! Oh my God, they smelled wonderfully of the bird-safe white wood they were crafted from. There were different sizes made from the smallest chewer to the table saw variety-hard partying Macaw. Notice the “Peek-A-Boo hole” cut in them perfect for stuffing “stuff” in there: anything from a nut to a carrot strip:

You can get blank ones as well as some with vine stars and colored wood buttons. I’m telling you, these toys are amazing. Now how do I know this? Well, let me explain something. My African Grey Pepper, (Yes, that Pepper from BIRD TALK’S Memo to Parker and Pepper)  is a relinquishment. When I first got Pepper six years ago, she had absolutely no idea what a toy was. She wouldn’t have known even what to do with a toy if you held it under her beak. And believe me, I spent a lot of time holding toys under her beak… Nothing.

After a while, she began to get the hang of it and tentatively began working on easy stuff: phone books, paper plates, etc. While she is still not a big player, she dabbles. Enter the PFB. I came home from work and found this:

Here’s another view:

Now it doesn’t look like much; but for Pepper? This is enormous progress. See?

This is proof-positive that if Pepper is going to mess around with this toy, odds are your parrots will too. You can stuff them with Nurti-berries, almonds, vegetables, broken toy parts, raffia, dried vegetables, and leather. You are only limited to your imagination.

Parker Giving one a Whirl…

But wait! There’s more! Kris and her husband Jerry are always thinking. At the top there is a screw eye for hanging the toy. Occasionally, you’ll get a parrot that likes working from the screw eye and it finally gets deemed a “foot toy” because you can no longer hang it due to the damaged part of the toy. No problem. Check this out:

Kris and Jerry saw that this might be an issue, so they provided a pilot hole. If one end of the toy becomes too damaged to hang, simply remove the screw eye and screw it into the pilot hole provided at the other end. That way you can rehang it and your bird can finish off the rest of the toy.  Here’s a photo of Pepper posing with a PFB stuffed with celery, cucumber and Jalapeño pepper. She did mess around with it after I got the camera out of her face.

As far as I’m concerned these toys are a no-brainer. They are sturdy enough to have a lot of play-value. They are intriguing enough for even the pickiest of parrots. And I think they are worth the cost. They come in small, medium and large. She also has Puzzler foot toys.

You can find and order them all here at Parrot Enrichment. 

And be sure to open the box slowly so you can get a whiff…

The problem is that I have very little drawing ability. Photographs have had to do.  I’ve made a few of them and hope you get a laugh.

What else can we do? We try to keep our birds happy, well-fed, trained and healthy. Most of us work at it. We learn everything we can and try our best to provide a suitable environment for them.

But after that what else is there? Well, I don’t know but I’m working on it. You see, if you’re here, you probably might pick up some good ideas here and there, but for the most part, you are here because you’re interested in birds. And if you are so interested in birds that you’ve managed to find this blog, then you aren’t who I want to talk to. Well, I do, but you know what you’re doing. You care enough to look for new information, for the next big idea. You want more. You give a damn. You already get it and want to get even better and more proficient at taking care of your birds. I applaud you.

Irena Schulz getting ready to speak at the Midwest Bird Expo

But I want to talk to the bird owners who don’t know what kind of parrots they have. And feed them nothing but wild bird seed. In a round cage. And it’s in the garage. With poop all over it. Perched on a plain wooden dowel. Or a sandpaper perch. With nothing to play with.

People at Petco attending a seminar.

I want to somehow reach those people that don’t know crap about taking care of their birds.

These are not evil people. They just don’t know any better.

They remind me of the airline passenger who tries to put this honkin’ huge suitcase in an overhead bin that isn’t even remotely big enough. It would take three people, a crowbar and an engineer to get that bag up there. Or the guy who wants to know what his next flight number is. Now how in God’s name would I know that? I don’t even know where he’s going, let alone the flight number. You realize I could riff on this for hours….

View out of my window returning from Best Friends Animal Society.

Now how do I do that? How do I get those people to join “the Parrot Nation,” as it were? How can all of us get to these people, sit them down and say, “Hey. You are doing a real bang-up job screwing up this bird’s life here.”

Now I realize this is not the most tactful way of going about things. And I wouldn’t ever really say that. But I think you get my point.

Problem is, I can’t do it alone. Barbara Heidenreich, Robin Shewokis, Dr. Susan Friedman, Kris Porter, and all of the other people working in the industry; we can’t do it alone. We can’t even get to all of these people as a team.

Bonnie Jay, Irene Pepperberg, Me and Paula Lynn Nolen Bowak

Because the people that need to learn the stuff I rant about, aren’t here at “Parrot Nation.” They aren’t on the parrot and bird forums, they don’t get BIRD TALK, and they certainly aren’t attending any seminars, conferences, or festivals. They’ve never heard of “Chop,”or  “Mash” and wouldn’t know a good bird diet if you held it under their nose. They’re buying cheap, crappy seed at a big box pet store and giving them grit.

But I’ll bet you know at least one person like this. Someone who’s just not getting it. Someone who you could help.

Now if you’re here, you know my blog isn’t the only fish in the pond. On the right of this blog, right over here,  ——————————————————————————–>

is a list of resources. Good ones. With lots of great information. From wonderful people who know what they hell they’re doing. And have written extensively about the subject of birds.

Cripes, many of these sources are where I learned this stuff. And there’s even more people who have lots to teach these people about how to properly care for their birds. Sally Blanchard, Susan Chamberlain, Liz Wilson, Julie Murad, Robin Shewokis, Barbara Heidenreich, many of the writers at BIRD TALK can all teach us about how to better care for our birds. The list is extensive. These people are all over the place and so is their information.

Robin Shewokis of “The Leather Elves”

So here’s what I want to do. I’d like you all to find one person who doesn’t have a clue and teach them. Make a connection with them. Train them. Show them. Help them. Give them the links to these sources. If they don’t have a computer, print them out for them. Share your “Chop” with them. Tell them what a good cage is. Teach them about decent perches. Start your own teaching program with just one person. If you belong to a club, drag them to one of the meetings. Begin your own teaching program because I’m not there. I don’t know these people but I’ll bet you do.

About a year ago, I was invited to speak at the Rocky Mountain Society of Aviculture. My presentation was entitled, “Making it Real.”  I had a dandy little Powerpoint Presentation to go with it, a contest and some great music and sound effects. It was fun.  I also admitted that when I first got Parker I knew nothing about birds and have spent the entire time since then making up for it. Here is a quote from part of the presentation:

“Susan Friedman told me years ago that if you know more than the next person, you are bound by that knowledge to teach that person who doesn’t know. You have to pay it forward. Many people don’t think they can teach, but it can be as simple as answering some bird questions on “Yahoo! Answers.”  My God, those people need all the help they can get!

But, how many of you teach the stuff you already know?

How many of you have schools nearby? Kids? Grandkids in school?

Well, get out there! Put together a PowerPoint Presentation, or a speech with some photographs, and cobble something together.  Bird Nutrition! Conservation! Behavior training. Species specific classes. Cooking classes and bird nutrition. Go to a Scout Meeting and have everyone make a wild bird feeder. Promote Aviculture, promote your club and above all, promote education in good bird care! Use the Internet to get some ideas on what to present.”

Keeper Kim Klosterman Playing with a Kea at the Cincinnati Zoo

That pretty much sums up my point. I can’t help people if they don’t even know I exist. Barbara, Robin, Susan, Sally, Liz…None of them can do a damned thing unless people read their stuff. But that’s where you come in.

And you can make all the difference in the world to some birds who could really use your help.

___________________________________________________________________

Don’t forget to vote for my entry at the Quark Expeditions:

http://www.blogyourwaytothenorthpole.com/entries/94

The Enrichment Genius: Kris Porter

Kris Porter put together an absolutely incredible book and website about parrot enrichment. There are enough ideas in both to keep your birds busy for years. The book is free and downloadable and it’s absolutely packed with cool ideas to keep your birds happy and busy. You can download the book at her website and you can also watch videos with other great ideas on ways to entertain your parrots.

Click on the photo of Zorba to get to the Parrot Enrichment Website:

The Parrot Enrichment Website! Click on the image of Zorba above.

If you don’t quite understand what “enrichment” is, it’s simply anything that enhances your bird’s life. It’s toys, music, places for climbing, foraging for treats, hanging out with you, sunshine, just anything that is fun and engaging. Kris has found photos, made videos, and explains in depth some of the items you can find in thrift stores, dollar stores and around the house to arrange your bird’s environment for for fun, play and interest.

Something as simple as a cardboard bottle carrier can be enriching!

Buddy, pictured above is foraging around in a cardboard beer bottle carrier that has been stuffed with “Stuff.” Looks like he’s intrigued.

You can sew buttons onto some kid’s used overalls you might find at the thrift store, fill the pockets with bird safe items and hang plastic toys from the straps. Bingo! An engaging activity for next to nothing.

Working to get at the Vegetables

Leigh Ann Hartsfield sent Kris a photo of her Grey Franco climbing up to investigate a basket of vegetables. This Munchkin Basket was zip-tied right to the cage door.

These are just small samples of the incredible array of stuff you can do to enrich your parrot’s environment. It’s a wonderful website and I thank Kris for putting it together for the rest of us.

Kris states, “My goal with this website is to cover all areas of parrot enrichment; foraging, training, nutrition, etc.  Also provide video instruction on how you might encourage your own parrot to learn to forage or engage in enrichment activities both inside and outside the cage.”

Kris? I think you accomplished all of that and more!

I have risen to a challenge. My friend Irena Schulz, Founder of “Bird Lovers Only Rescue” and Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo’s Caregiver made a comment a while back about how she thought that I could write about phone books and she would still be entertained. Irena posted the following as a response to one my posts:

“Your topic of discussion could be phone books and I’d STILL be entertained! There! I used TWO exclamation points…fun article.  “

In another response, she wrote: “You are so determined to make me wear my morning coffee!”

To me, this was a challenge. and it’s the type of challenge I love because I was handed a topic and  I had to think about it and come up with a post. Thanks to Irena, I did. Great idea. (We’ll see how far she spews out her coffee this morning.)

For a Parrot Lover, phone books are one of the most wonderful inventions in the world. But I’m not so sure AT&T would be too happy if they knew how they were used among Parrot Families. Hung from a chain, tossed on the top of the cage or weaved through cage bars, they are absolutely wonderful chew toys for birds. They can chew on them, tear up the pages, claw them and generally turn them to pulp. And if they get pooped on, simply rip off the pooped-on pages and discard, leaving the rest of the book.

This sounds like a rather undignified end for the phone book. However, this pales in comparison to the fate of the Sears and Roebuck and Montgomery Ward Catalogues during the depression. Yes, toilet paper was a luxury and the Sears and Roebuck And Montgomery Ward catalogues was used as a cheap, handy and plentiful substitute in your average outhouse. And they were indeed a step up from corncobs.

At least the catalogs were interesting to look at and you always had something to read during the completion of the task at hand, so to speak. In a way, it was a timesaver because you could always plan your Christmas Shopping list while “enthroned.”  I like to think that this was one of the original “multi-tasking” endeavors ever accomplished.

As far as I’m concerned, this is a step up in the nature of use from the depression era outhouse use. So  don’t throw out the phone book when you receive it, and be sure to ask your neighbors and friends for theirs. Recycling at its finest, offering your birds a phone book to mess around with is enriching and fun. And who knows? They might even learn a few numbers.

Little by little, Maisy got more comfortable with staying with Mattie, the birds and me in the afternoons and early evenings. She actually started plopping down on the rug with Mattie. Mattie didn’t seem to mind the company, although she did give Maisy an occasional “correction” to her manners. Maisy picked up on it right away and Mattie only had to growl at her a couple of times to set her straight. After that, they got along like peas and carrots. In writing her letters, I began finding Maisy’s way of communicating and found her jogging and lilting manner of “speaking,” so to speak, by watching her shift her attention from one thing to another. She would walk around my condo checking everything out and seemed to notice if something had been moved. She would look at a pair of shoes on the floor and then look at me quizzically, and continue to search for other things that had magically changed since her last visit. I felt that I had to find a particular writing style to portray Maisy’s personality. As I wrote each letter, it became easier to reflect Maisy’s rapid redirection of her attention from one thing to another.

2.19.08

Dear Mom,

Today I got to go out again. I really like that part. I get to pee and poop…two of my favorite things! Lady didn’t quite know what to do…she thought I was done and then 2 minutes later I pooped again! Yeah! So I guess it was kind of a post-script.

Lady didn’t even have to call me when she came to get me…I went right out to see her when I heard the locks turn. I did!

Mattie was bitching up a storm because she tells me (in our language)…that she’s over this totally going out all the time.  I told her to shut her yap. I LOVE going out! But Mattie was in a good mood today and actually tried to keep up with me. Did I tell you she has very short legs? She actually ran to Lady’s door with me when Lady let us loose at the elevator.  Lady thinks I am the best example.

Got the brush action again….any more of this and I’m going to like, object or something.  But it kinda feels good. I’m lighter than air after the Lady is done. But my God, how pretty do I have to be, really? I am pretty already…Aren’t I?

Oh!  Did I tell you I trot right out when Lady comes to get me? Yeahhh! I do! And she refills my water bowl because I pretty much nail it down to nothing by the time she shows up. Oh, I told you about that already…the lock-turn part… Sometimes I get so excited telling you about my day I forget what I told you.

I found more work! I now stand outside in the wind and make sure that the plants don’t walk around…Lady found me rooting around in one of her pots. I got the “Maisy! No!” thing again, There wasn’t anything important in there anyway, but I think Lady was worried about me. I think I’m a digger with my nose.  Remember that raise we were talking about? It just went up if I can’t root around in her pot of nothing…

But I am happy to be with the Lady and Mattie. You see, I have this job now and I found it. I have a purpose and I’m very important. So, yeah. But Lady says I don’t ever let it go to my head. I’m the same old Maisy no matter how important I become. And did you know that she keeps treats on her desk? I found I get attention when I try to put my paws on her desk. “Maisy! No!” But then I get a butt scratch instead, so I kind of forget what I was after…

This “job” thing has me working every minute. Don’t listen to the Lady when she tells you that I “lie down” on the job.  I just rest a little.

“Hoover time” was vacuuming Mattie’s bean sprouts. Mattie doesn’t finish them. Mattie is an idiot. I however am a very smart creature. I have even learned it’s not polite to drag Lady around.  Lady stresses manners and I get high praise when I stay by her side when we walk. So I do! Yeah! She doesn’t say anything when I don’t, so I’d rather stay by her side and get praise than hear nothing. She says I am doing very good. “Good Girl Maisy! Good Girl!”

Oh and I found a bone!  And that was fun. Hey, did you know these birds talk? Mouthy little guys…

Well, I’ll see you when you get home. Bye.

Love,

Maisy

Emma is my Postal Person who brings me the occasional letter, card, paycheck, BIRD TALK Magazine, and a plethora of junk mail. She also brings a pile of those local free papers. Because not everyone wants to read them, they place them on a little table next to the mailboxes. I snatch them to use as substrate for my bird “houses.” And sometimes, she brings me a package. One of the things she brings me is the hemp twine I use in making bird toys.

But yesterday was a special mail day for me: Emma brought me a gift from a friend. Melanie Allen is a friend who works for Hagen Foods. A few weeks ago she was setting up a Facebook Page for “HARI,” which is Hagen’s research center located in Rigaud, Quebec. Melanie wanted some help in letting people know about the HARI page. To help out with their message, I put the link up on my FB wall and made some comments about the HARI Institute and what they were all about. I managed to generate some traffic to the page and people began getting some really good information about all kinds of subjects regarding taking care of their birds. Yesterday, Emma brought me a box. And it was from a goat.

Allow me to explain. Melanie has birds of course. But she also has a miniature goat named “Luvie.” Luvie looks kind of like this:

Apparently, Luvie approved of the hand I gave Melanie with launching the HARI Facebook page, so she sent Parker and Pepper some gifts.

This is the toy Luvie sent. It’s great for both the birds and for Mattie the dog. It’s a training toy as well as a foraging toy because the blocks have little slots in them for treats. She also sent some Hagen biscuits for the birds because Luvie knows I can’t get them down here where I live.

But best of all, Luvie sent an autographed photo of herself. I framed it and put it in a place of honor in the guest bathroom. That bathroom gets more traffic than anywhere else in my home other than the kitchen, so it went there. (All my best framed photos are in that guest bathroom. I like the “Captive Audience” concept!) Anyone who drops by will be able to see Luvie:

In case you’re curious about the photo to the left of Luvie, that’s an overhead shot of me lying on the Equator. I always wanted to do that, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity when I was frequently flying to Ecuador.

Well! I was bowled over! I’m charmed by Luvie’s photo and was so thrilled to get the gifts from Melanie. I happen to really like the Hagen line of products, but I can’t get it down here. So I’m happy when I come across it or it finds its way into Emma the Mail Lady’s hands. And during that rainy, blustery day, Parker and I just took a moment to look out the window and remember how lucky we are.

I’m a bit tired today. I flew to Columbia and back yesterday, and I’ve been writing a lot. It’s a gray, rainy day; perfect for staying in. It’s also a tad blustery, but nice and cool, so I have the Greys out on the front porch. They seem to be enjoying the air and and watching the cars go by.

I offered my hand to see if they wanted to come in but “no dice.” They wanted to stay out there and watch the world.

I enjoy days like these. I can hole up in the house and not feel guilty about spending time with my birds and get some writing done. My excuse is, “For cripes sake, I just went to South America and back yesterday.” I usually brew some “Red Zinger” tea and  stop to occasionally sweep up after the birds, dust something and vacuum just a bit:

Maybe I can tidy up the living room while I’m at it, and get the laundry ready for tomorrow. I’d do it today, but my neighbor lost her laundry card, borrowed mine and hasn’t returned it yet. And as long as I’m dusting, I should probably get after the bathroom floor and give that a good going over.

I have no idea what I’m making for dinner, but it will probably involve making some sort of soup. I like soup on rainy, lazy days like this. I was reading a book yesterday and there was a passage about “Dan Dan Noodles,”  a Chinese noodle dish served in a bowl with green onions, sesame seed oil and hot chili oil with whatever else you want to throw in there. Maybe I can whip up something like that.

When I was in college, I would run errands in the afternoon. After the lunch rush, I would stop into a small restaurant with my pad of paper and pen, and order a cup of cappuccino. This “fancy coffee thing”was fairly new to me at the time, and to me there was nothing better than to sit in this deserted restaurant and write while I sipped my coffee.

Long before laptops and Starbucks, it seemed that I had found not only my favorite past time, but my lot in life as a writer. It wasn’t so much that I wanted to write, it was because I had to write. It certainly wasn’t anything of any consequence. I don’t even  remember what I was writing about and I don’t think it really matters. All that matters was that I was having fun.

In the fast-paced world we live in today, a rainy day when everything seems to slow down is a pleasant interlude from the breakneck speed we all seem to have adjusted to. And I intend to take advantage of it. Pepper seems to be diving into her water bowl in honor of the rain, so perhaps they should have a shower.

I even baked some “Birdie Bread.”

Yup, There’s nothing like a lazy, rainy day.

I live in Florida so I’m not referring to shoveling snow, nor am I the proud owner of a herd of cows that needs occasional upkeep. I have shoveled cow manure, but that’s another story. The precipitation we get is liquid, and a LOT of it at times.

I’m referring to cleaning Parker’s cage. Please bear in mind at this point in time that Parker rarely poops in his cage, so it’s not what you think.

My friend Bill makes these toys for my little dudes out of palm and tied with hemp twine. They are all-natural and Parker has taken to them like they were made of flippin’ caviar.  It’s a really good toy. They are crunchy, and although they take some work to shred, they eventually bite the dust under Parker’s constant gnawing.

Parker is just coming back to normal after being in breeding condition for about six weeks or so. It wasn’t a bad season at all this year. I don’t know if the cold weather had anything to do with it, but he wasn’t nearly as heinously obnoxious as he usually is. On the other hand, it might have been the pacifying effects of the toy Bill and I refer to as “Ty Styx.”

He will take this toy and turn it into shreds in about an hour or so, but the beauty of it is that the toy totally and completely engages him. He is quiet and intent on turning the “Ty Styx” toy into dust and shards of palm. He can saw through up to three in a single day, but man, is he quiet while he’s working on them, save for  lot of “crunchy” noises emanating from his cage. He is totally engrossed in working on that toy. I think it fills that “gnawing and chewing” need parrots have. It is enriching in many ways; it must be satisfying in some auditory way because it makes such a loud crunch when he bites down on it. The pieces that he shears off can be individually chewed on once it is separated from the stick, and he has to manipulate it because it’s hanging from the hemp twine.

This is Nothing. You should see it when he gets though with a Big Toy!

How frustrating and maddening to have this toy and no way to share it with the rest of the world! It’s a hand made toy and I’m just not sure it could be manufactured in bulk.

When I designed my last toy, “Ring Around the Rainbow,” I gave up after about two years of trying on and off just to get someone to just manufacture the shoelaces for the toy. It made me crazy. On top of that, I have no skills in manufacturing, distribution, sales and business in general. The only thing I could do was haul it to someone already in business and have them make it. I wanted to see my “Rainbow” toy made for birds because I felt it was important enough that our birds should have it, no matter who made it.

I took the “Ty Stix” toy over to Rick Horvitz at the “Golden Cockatoo,” a nice bird store in Deerfield Beach and tried it on a few of his birds: Some Cape Parrots, some Macaws, and a Grey. They loved it!

My friend, Christina Girodano tried the “Ty” on her Cockatoo and Macaws with the same result; they loved it. Sometimes it takes time for some parrots to get the idea of what to do with the toy. But once they do, there’s no going back.

Now if I could just figure out the “business end” of it, I might be on to something. In the meantime, I’ll simply continue giving Parker his “Ty Styx” and periodically raking out the remains from the bottom of his “room.”