Im hoping someday to get them into a flighted aviary. No cages. We have been coming up with plans for real trees, misting system, a water feature, and feeding stations. Lights will be on timers. We will build tree like stands with sandy perches built in and several good roosting spots until the trees grow. It will be big, 2 stories high, stone floors and built in beds for safe ground spreading type plants. I want to pipe in rain forest sounds for them like frogs, other birds, crickets, rain. It sounds like a fantasy, but Im sure we will make it happen. We just have to find land once the market picks back up again. Anyway, once they are in there we will put in a timed uv lighting system. They will be free to fly, roost, ground feed, and chew all they want. Once the lights go down, its nighty night time for the fids. Oh, and it will be sound proofed. Id like to visit the Philly zoo one more time to check out their aviary's before we break ground on it. Wont be in this house though.

Could more exercise help the situation? I obviously don't have the experience with the same birds so I'm just throwing this out there. I know that my little ones tend to be more well-mannered when they've gotten a good exercise in.

I hear that! It seems like I finally get a good schedule going here and it's time to change it again.

They actually get a good amount of exercise. Not only do they have that big gym system they play on at least 4 hours a day, but they use every inch of cage. Occy chases foot toys in there, and Mr Buddy likes to hang upside down and bang his toys. He hangs upside down on the boings also. Pulling himself up uses a lot of strength. We encourage them to flap their wings often also. Since the same muscles used to flap their wings, help them breath, we keep them moving. So we line them up 1 at a time and say "All flights now departing Rivera International! Please clear the runway!" Mr Buddy knows what this is and starts to quiver. I hold him on a finger and he grips with one foot and flaps away. We run all over the house and they love it. We do this at bedtime so they fee like they are flying to roost. Then wacko psycho puff, she is always ON! lol..

You're a big meanie!

OMG, I know EXACTLY how you feel! Echo has been doing this to me for the past few weeks too! I get so frusterated with her! I love her and I want her to be happy, but flying into my face is really getting on my nerves. Then she'll start biting me when she wants my attention. I'm hoping its just a weird phase she's going through...

I wonder what the flying in the face is really all about. I know the head tag is dominance and territory. But the face?

could it be that our featherd friends know that Daylight Savings Time is just around the corner? March 8th

Flying in the face is aggressive and often associated with hormonally induced behavior.

I am so grateful that I learned about maintaining a sleep schedule, otherwise my psycho BG macaw would be impossible. I move the birds to their night roost about 5:30 p.m. these days. They go to 'bed' with the sun and wake up with the sun. It's made a huge difference in our lives. I've been doing this for at least a year now. I get a lot of attitude from the kids who have to walk around with their cellphones to see upstairs, but even they noticed how much less crazy the birds are now. The only one who doesn't get moved is Oliver, the wild caught who is just not tame. He stays in the breakfast room, and everyone jokes about how this period of time will be remembered for eating in the dark.

Oh yes, 'tis the season....or at least getting to be. The last couple of days I've seen signs that "His Hormonal Majesty" (Chico) might be waking from his long winter's nap. Nothing much so far, but he seems a wee bit more restless and territorial these days. We may be still locked in winter up here, and I do maintain a twelve hour sleep cycle, but they can still sense the lengthening of the days!