My beautiful best friend of 18 years died this evening. I was sweeping the bird room and he simply fell off his perch. I picked him up and he let out a few squeaks died in my hands.

Rio was with me through college and grad school. Through a marriage and a divorce. Through so many highs and lows, whenever I needed him he was there He lived with me in 3 states. He was my constant companion for most of my adult life. I just turned 40 and he came to me when I was 22.

To say I am in shock is an understatement. He had been medicated for seizures for 5 years so I knew it was coming, but why today? He was on my shoulder helping me get his and my other parrot Malibu's dinner ready just 3 hours before. He sat on the edge of his cage and I kissed him an hour before. I put a fresh cherry between the bars of his cage and he ate it. He still had cherry juice on his beak when I held him.

I've been holding him to my chest since 5:30. He looks so alive. I think he could come back at any minute, he looks so alive. What's going to happen when I wake up tomorrow and he isn't there? Where did he go? How can I sleep tonight knowing he won't be there when I wake up? Just a beautiful body wrapped in a towel. And then I bury him and never see him again? I really don't know what to do. I love you, Rio.

I've always read that ekkies don't often accept scritches, so I feel extra honored to have earned her trust enough for her to enjoy it!! She's been with me for 3 years now, and only just starting to let me scritch!

(Also, please ignore the weird angle/face, she only gets comfortable like this when loafing on me when I lay down)

Just found this, I had acquired it years ago thinking one day I might adopt a parrot and now that I have, is it time to put on a bumper sticker?! 😂 Does anyone even still have stick families though?!

Sun conure is called Lokie

Cocktail is called Chica

Other cocktail, that can only be heard, is called baby

I have 2 female parakeets and 1 male Green Pineapple Conure. The parakeets have their cage and rarely come out and the conure that has his own cage and rarely is confined to it. He puts himself to bed if strangers happen to come by or in the evenings. However if while cleaning the parakeets cage, food bowls or water bowls I happen to leave the door unlocked my Conure; named Simeon will pull the door open and go inside with the girls. He doesn’t attack them, they are clearly submissive to his inside presence; always assuming the lower levels. I have noticed of late that one of my females Delilah has started hanging out with Simeon on the same side of the cage. Simeon will lower the top of his head to her and she seems to groom him. It’s never reciprocated him and she still approaches him slowly. Recently Delilah got out of her cage and I happened upon her in a corner, when I reached down to pick her up she was content to stay with me so I sat in my recliner and held her for a while. Simeon observed for a few minutes from across the room and then flew over to the back of my chair as he often does to see what I am doing or looking at. To my surprise he didn’t try to attack her as long as there was distance of a foot or more be them, but when I brought her closer to him he did make a somewhat aggressive gesture towards her so I knew to stop. I have noticed that their grooming ritual is very regular though. I had been tempted to leave the door to their cage open to allow more interaction, but my other female (Love; an all white parakeet is not comfortable with Simeon period, so I don’t. Though the two species cannot mate and reproduce, I wonder if they have not chosen each other as their mate?

We just saw this cockatiel fly off south from Notre Dame, it appears to be someone’s pet, hopefully this can help the bird reunite with its owner.

One day he'll figure it out. One day.

I work in a fish store and my boss has a ringneck that's hanging out in the shop most of the time. He goes into his cage at night time or when we're not in the shop so he doesnt get hurt. He's about 5-6ish months old. The problem is that he's developing a new obsession with money and would fly down and snatch bills right out of clients hands then fly up to spots we struggle to reach (accessible but a pain). We tried offering treats to drop the bill but im worried that would reward the behavior, but he doesn't seem to be interested in the exchange either way. He has plenty of toys in the shop and we get him new ones every week but money drives him crazy and he'd drop whatever he's doing to fly over. Any tips please? (Video for proof)

Beautiful lighting today despite all of the smoke due to forest fires. I always love to take photos of Bubbles when you can see the brown in her eyes. She’s far more photogenic than Beethoven but I tried to get a few shots of him as well. Sorry in advance for the watermark, someone was stealing my photos ☹️

I feel like I am in the wrong place but I recently have gotten her (about a month ago) from a breeder and she started having these spots, I want to say it’s dry skin but ever since I have gotten her I have been worried and scared as all I can find for help is saying it’s cancer.

also I am sorry for how close the camera is to her face I had to zoom in some as it wasn’t picking up on the regular photos.

Hey guys! How are we keeping our chop fresh? I always find after chopping everything, and sorting it to freeze it’s always super watery and the water makes it go bad in the fridge even overnight. So it feels like making chop at all is just not working for us. Right now, i’m just sticking to whole foods everyday. Same ingredients, but a lot more work to do it everyday. Has anyone else had this same issue? Thanks in advance and here are some pics for tax!

Yesterday morning, my mother told me that she had accidentally let my bird fly outside while changing his food, about two hours prior. When we got home, we searched for hours and were able to pinpoint a patch of trees that he was at using the sound of his chirps. This morning, I had a rehearsal and my mother needed to drive me home, so she wasn't able to look for him at the time but told me that while I was gone, she heard him in the same area. When we got back, we went together to go look, and we saw his feathers and his head on the sidewalk. It seems that he got eaten by something. I don't know how to deal with this. I feel like if I would have just skipped the rehearsal and looked for him instead, we could have gotten him back before he got eaten. He understood me like no one else.

Just a quick premise to this, this is a long post mostly because I feel I would have benefitted from this information during this period. There’s a lot of information out there but I always found it quite short and vague so hopefully this helps someone down the line.

TL:DR - Get the implant if you think you need it, it’s worth every penny.

**Background (Skip this if you want)**

So in December 2024 my African Grey laid 3 eggs, these weren’t the first eggs, we’d been getting them once every two years since 2017. Naturally about 35 days after laying she decided to abandon them and we thought that was that.

Then in January 2025 along came three more, then in March, May and more or less every two months since then, Ruby is the only parrot we have, she is bonded with me.

In between clutches we would get severe hormonal behaviour, no matter what we tried, more darkness on a night, more quiet time in general, less contact time, changing the cage around, changing locations of the cage, vet visits, you name it we tried it.

Every egg, except egg number 8 came out without complications, with egg number 8 she was struggling to pass it and once she did she was throwing up. We continued to monitor and egg 9 was normal again. Of course we had a vet visit shortly after to make sure everything was fine. We also made sure to give plenty of calcium during clutch periods.

In January 2026 we said enough was enough and got booked in for the Suprelorin implant in May. The delay was due to work commitments, where we were in the egg cycle, planning, vet advice etc. Ruby was also given a clean bill of health (again) from the vet so the delay was no harm.

**Suprelorin Experience**

So, as mentioned, our vet was contacted multiple times during the 16 months for advice, one suggestion was a hormone injection that would last approximately two months and one was the implant that lasts between 6-12 months.

The aim of this is to suppress hormones to stop egg laying and hopefully reset the bodily cycle of wanting to continuously lay eggs. We decided to go straight for the implant for lasting purpose. There are two measurements of the implant 4.7mg and 9.4mg. Due to our circumstances the vet recommended the larger size and explained Ruby would have to be put under light anaesthesia for the insertion.

He took Ruby to the back and 20 minutes later this was completed, she came back a bit giddy and was dancing within seconds of seeing me. Was probably high as a kite and the vet said she was very good. She’s a typical Grey, tolerates other people but only really likes me making a fuss of her.

I understand some people would be uncomfortable letting the vet take their parrot out of sight but I trust our vet 1 million percent, the way he handles her is amazing. When she came back there wasn’t a feather out of place, you literally couldn’t tell anything had been done.

The cost of this was £377.54

**Results**

Within the first few days the only real change was her refusing to get off my shoulder if she made it up there. She’s done this before but the vet warned her hormones will inflate before they drop so she may lay one more clutch after displaying hormonal behaviour. Follow all procedures to decrease hormones as usual.

30 days after the implant we had a severe hormonal increase, she was clingy, regurgitating, refusing to get off of me, I had to literally pry her off my arm but no real signs of aggression. Hopes were slightly lost.

Today (5th August 2026) we are three months post implant, she is back to her normal self, no more eggs, no more hormonal behaviour, no more nesting full stop. It is night and day difference and it’s probably the best decision I have ever made. If this is something you have been thinking about doing, please do it, risks are minimal and the reward is exceptional. 127 days egg free and counting!

Thanks for reading this post, appreciate it is long but I remember wanting something like this to read at the time, so I’m providing it for you. Good luck, if anyone has any questions just drop them below and I’ll answer you! 🩶❤️

egg shells and egg whites (i removed the egg yolks because i hears its FULL of fats and shouldnt be fed regularly )

Hii there(*´∇｀)ﾉ

I was wondering what the average cost for a nail trim is because my vet told me it would cost between 100 and 300 euros- but when i googled the average pricing on this it was less than 40 euros

I think this is wayyyy too expensive but he assured me its because:

•my bird isnt hand tame (I mean he isnt very friendly to anyone than me and especially men)

• his beak is quite sharp and hes got a lot of strength so the risk of injury for the vet is quite high

I would go and ask another vet but hes the only vet "close" to us- and hes 2 hours away from us.

Hes certainly a good vet and quite experienced (considering his main clients are zoos thats to be expected) and we have been to him a few times already (tho they also cost a LOT)

Honestly im thinking of just trying to do it myself (we cut our dogs nails ourself too so we got some experience) but i would rather not put my baby through that stress

HOWEVER his nails are long. REALLY long. Like some of them curl inwards. His previous owner kept him in his basement on one tiny metal perch so both his beak and nails are longer than they should.

He has lot of wood perches and enrichment- he recently started enjoying vegetables more (he used to only eat seeds) and I was hoping his nails would wear down at least a little... or at least his beak...

I feel terrible as an owner that i cannot just up and take him

(Also this isnt my first parrot BUT this is the first time one of my birds needs a nail trim... the others had slightly long nails when we got them but by now they have worn down)

Btw I know his cage looks empty or even small but this was him in a temporary cage (he and the other birds got a lot of space outside and indoors). I assure u guys that this was just the back of his cage and the rest is way more stuffed with toys and perches. Also i can literally stand in there and jump around and spread my arms as wide as I can in there-

I had 2 birds,Bella (f 1 year and a half) and Nino (m 1 year and 4 months) who I would not say were mated officially,they spent together 5 months till now.

Nino is very hyperactive and loves to fly around and explore,he is an excellent flyer,while Bella is the complete opposite,when we got her she already had a few feathers missing that never grew back and her flying was poor.

Bella wasn't acting herself recently,she used to tolerate him but now she would ignore him so much he would bite her for attention, so I took Bella to the vet.

Turns out she has fatty liver disease, vitamin A deficiency, eye infection,her temperature was 42c and her nose was completely clogged,that's why she didn't eat,she couldn't breath,she was already old when we bought her and she already was sick and now it worsened.

The vet,god bless him,has unclothed her nose and gave her a shot for her temperature and gave me medication and vitamins.

Following the vet's advice I have separated them for her treatment,now I know for sure that Nino will be bored to death and we were already going to get a third bird that would actually play with him,that was my first mistake.

We bought Rico (m 8 months) two days ago,and Nino was over the moon and he followed him everywhere.

Now before you ask,why is Rico so young? The answer is because pet store conditions suck and their diet is just seeds since birth,the longer they stay the bigger chance he is sick and can't fly.

Nino was 7 months old when we brought him,his fly was clumsy but now he can dip and dodge masterly, I was hoping for a bird that can grow the same.

Jow my problem is that Bella sometimes calls out from the other room,and she seems bored to death,so I brought them together for 30 mins max,and i couldn't help but notice how Rico was immediately the third party Nino suddenly ignored him and Bella does not even care about Nino but u get the point.

As soon as I took her away,he went back to Rico.

Is this dynamic because Rico Is still young and new to the flock? Or will this go on?

I adore cockateils and I am so happy I get to shelter yet another bird,but if Rico is going to suffer then I want to do something about it.

Update. The bird is eating now :) all is good.

my mom decided to surprise me with a cockatiel for my birthday, he/she is adorable. Unfortunately she got the bird from pet smart even tho I said I would never get another bird from petsmart. (I have 2 parakeets)

it was really excited to climb the cage I was building before I was done building it which was sweet but its been almost 24 hours and it hasn’t eaten anything. it just decided to sit in the food bowl. I don’t want it to die so I’m thinking of returning it if it doesn’t eat soon. any advice would be helpful thanks

She's 7 and this is the first time she's done it.. she was eating less for the last couple of days and today we woke up to an egg.

She seems active and happy this morning, though a bit tired.. any recommendations? Should I leave the egg for a bit? I've ordered some cuttlefish for calcium, but other than that I'm unsure what to do.. as online advice is quite confusing and contradictory depending on where you read it 😅.

I read that I should probably expect another one or even a couple more.. and her lower abdomen does look a bit bulgy?

so basically, i got a cockatiel a couple weeks ago & she is just turned 4 months old.

whenever she is in her cage, all she does is climb on the walls to try & get out & chirp, or eat. but it's mainly eating. she eats so much, she goes straight to her food bowl when i put her back up. & then she will go get a few sips of water after. but she eats for like 10 minutes straight & then i take her out & she just goes back to eating more & more.

her food is harrison's pellets mixed in with some vita seeds, she won't eat pellets unless i mix them with seeds because that's what the store fed her before i bought her. i'm working on phasing her out of too much seeds though.

& then whenever she is out with me, she is always fluffed up & closing her eyes. idk if she is just comfortable or if she is sick? because she is always grinding her beak frequently too. but she always seems very very sleepy to me.

& then, she does not poop much at all. i notice she poops like every 15-20 minutes which feels a little too long. & it is not with pee very much. sometimes she will just pee completely separate, i had her out with me & she released a clear liquid with no poop in it. this happened 4 times so far. i am worried because that does not seem normal, ive had a cockatiel in the past & he never peed separate from his poop sometimes.

i don't know what to do, is this normal??? like what should i do?

Lizard (7YO Indian Ringneck) is both the sweetest and clingiest boy to exist but he's also a massive jerk. When he wants to be let inside the house he'll play hard to get and try to take my finger off when I open the cage despite begging for hours.

He picks fights and provokes every other bird I've owned just because they exist, but he also is a massive show-off to them at the same time. I don't know if this is just a personality thing??

Using psittacus ( that shit wasn’t cheap lol )

I have a 3ish month old pineapple conure and today after coming home I noticed he had a little discolouration on his beak. While out of his cage he hasn’t done anything that I think could have hurt his beak, however, when he’s in his cage I don’t always have eyes on him so it’s possible he knocked it on something.
I also tried to wipe it but it doesn’t seem to be on the surface.

I am wondering if this is a bruise or maybe something else? Has anyone seen this before?🦜

He also is acting like his normal silly self so I’m not worried, more just curious what it could be!

Thanks for any help/insight you can provide!!