Morning Rituals...A Cherry-Head Conure's Way of Saying "Good Morning"

Each morning we arise to the screeching squawk of our beloved 25 year old cherry-head conure, Mr. Spock. This has been going on, well...for a long time. Somewhere between about 6:30 and 7:00 am when the Eastern Daylight Savings time sunshine begins to fill his cage, our pretty little parrot's morning anxiety begins. Since we are usually already coherent, but not necessarily up and at'em, we can hear Mr. Spock in the next room milling around in his big cage. Mind you...his cage door is open, so he is welcome to go in and out at his pleasure. His a.m. routine begins with climbing down from his sleeping perch, slamming the hanging stainless steel mirror against the wood, stepping up to his inner cage food dish and having a breakfast shack of dry Pretty Bird brand fruity morsels. Now his pallet is awakened and he wants the next breakfast course. So outside of the cage he goes, to the rooftop play area and perch, where he checks his other food dish for something more interesting. This is the place he usually finds his fresh fruit, veggies, pasta, etc. However, since it is the morning...there is nothing, an unacceptable situation to our spoiled bird. So back in to the cage he goes, finding the largest and noisiest of toys and begins to let us know he is awake...bang bang bang the toys go. Grabbing them by the beak, he bangs them in to the side of the cage like a demolition team swinging a wrecking ball. If that doesn't get our attention, the whistling sounds begin. Finally, in his final desperate attempt to get us to rise and shine, he moves in to position on his favorite "screaming perch" and begins the call of the wild. Ear-ouching screeches and squawks. Up we are, filling his dish, wondering how has it come to this. Our cherry-head conure is our master...we are definitely parrot people.

Good Morning !

Dessert: Baby Food for Big Bird

How does one select a new and delicious snack for a parrot? It has to be safe and nutritious, while tasting good enough to be a treat. What are the odds a sales clerk in the pet food store truly knows what tastes good to your parrot? Also, are parrots taste buds like humans? I only know that our bird likes most of the same foods we like, good or bad as that may be. Too bad choosing from the boxes, bags, and trays of bird treats from the pet food store is not as easy (or as much fun) as choosing from the cookie aisle grocery store. We can usually imagine pretty well how a super chunk chocolate nut cookie will taste. But as for the dry and grainy looking bird treats...who knows!

I know Mr. Spock, our gastronomic adventurous bird, will try just about anything in the world. He often surprises us with the choices he favors. I like our bird's treats to be a vacation from the ordinary. So when I select a new treat from the bird store, I wonder if Mr. Spock will think "wow...this new treat is sooooo deeeeelicious," or will he simply eat it because it adequate. That is why I rarely buy any new treats for Mr. Spock from the pet store. We have taken to creating our own recipes for him.

Treats became easier when our wonderful avian vet, Dr. Sam Backos, was found to be feeding Mr. Spock human baby food. Our bird loves it as a treat. It's easy to find, economical, comes in many varieties, and doesn't make a mess. "Graduates Finger Foods" by Gerber comes in yummy flavors: banana, cherry, strawberry, sweet potato, apple, and sweet corn. They are crunchy little star-shaped puffs of different colors. We like to mix and match them for variety. I have to confess that sometimes I find myself munching on them too. (I wonder if I can serve them to guests....hmmmm.)

Finicky About Bird Food or Jelly Beans?

Some parrots and conures are choosy about the brand of bird food they will eat. Our cherry-head conure, Mr. Spock, is not only selective about the brand, but he has a pecking order (pun intended) as to which color he will eat first. It reminds me of how some people will eat jelly beans, Starburst, or lollipops in a certain order.

His favorite bird food is Pretty Bird brand medium size fruity pellets. There are four colors in the mix, and they have a nice fruity aroma. First to go is the purple, next is the yellow, then the red, and finally the green ones. Many times when we change his food, all that is left is a bunch of the green pellets. What's up with that?

What have we learned? Cherry-head conures are not color blind.

Bird Food: A Mediterranean Experience

What does Mr. Spock eat when he is not crunching on his Pretty Bird brand fruity bits? Well, tonight was falafel night. He had freshly made falafel with whole wheat pita bread, and topped with lettuce, corn, tomatoes, shredded carrots, couscous, and tahini sauce. We know he loved it, because his little red head was buried deep in his dish, chomping away until he had his fill (he eats like a bird you know).

P.S. These aren’t the tomatoes he ate. They are actually from Mom’s garden and just looked too good to not post.

What have we learned? Falafel is actually bird food that humans like to eat too. (Makes me wonder how the fruity scented Pretty Bird pellets taste.)