About mid April we put the Purple Martin house up, the hummingbird feeders & the aviary for our birds. It's also wing clipping time, so we can take the birds outside with us as the days grow warmer. They also look forward to spring. I know they sense the changing of the seasons as they seem to come more to life the closer it gets."
-Dream Member: Toy. -
"We absolutely love spring. It allows so much more outdoor interaction with the fids... we have our favorite Sunday Starbucks stop and Home Depot Shopping. They get to run many more errands with us. Including outdoor gardening and some weekend travels."
Dream Member: Natalie & Girls
Well it's felt like spring for quite a while in Florida to me and I'm so excited to be able to put the birds outside on their playgyms and they just love it. Sometimes so much that I have a hard time getting them to want to come in to eat.
~Dream Member Rhonda~
I both love and dread the spring time. Love it because I can finally open up the house and air it out. The wild birds are outside in the pines making nests and soon the babies will be there too. I can start to take my birds outside on their harnesses and let them get some real sunshine. I can take their cages outside and really give them a real scrubbing. I dread it because its when my DYH zon starts to get hormonal.
~Dream Member Laurie~
I too am from the Northeast and absolutely love the arrival of Spring! My guys love the longer days and warmth of the sun. They have window perches and just love the longer days of sunshine so they can actually enjoy looking out and basking in the sun. We also have a screen house on the back deck. Once warm weather hits, they get to spend some time in the screen house on their jungle gyms and they just love that. My caiques just love giving all the outside birds a hard time for coming in their yard... LOL! ~Dream Member Sandy~
Spring is a brand new beginning for us all. The flowers are blooming, the weather is perfect and of course the birds are singing.
Summer brings outdoor fun and an opportunity to spend extra time with our flock/families.
Spending Quality Time Together
Plan a special dinner or lunch at the park with your family and flock. You don't have to prepare a fancy meal, just deli sandwiches or oven fried chicken. Bring a portable perch and let your bird participate in the fun.
If your park is too crowded or perhaps has too many dogs running loose don't let that stop you from having a picnic. Grab your picnic basket and head outside in your own yard!
Reminder Note: As with all tips found on Macaw Dreams these are dedicated to birds with clipped feathers playing in a safe & bird friendly environment.
Have A Birdie Picnic
We aren't talking black tie here, we mean a fun BIRDIE PARTY! If I'm with one or two other bird owners we always have a party going! Simply get together with a few other bird friends in your area. If you don't know anyone this is a good time to join your local bird club. During bird parties we all bring our birds and we just hang out together while enjoying the nice weather. It's OK if your bird doesn't get along with someone else's, simply let them enjoy each other from a safe distance. Sometimes we meet at home and other times we all meet at a coffee shop and enjoy treats in the outdoor courtyard.
Even the Meteorologists are saying that winter dragged on way too long this year. Spring is a great time to be outside enjoying the weather with your family and feathered friends. Summer's heat does create the challenge of enjoying outdoor time with your birds. We have a few ideas to help keep you cool.
Quality time with your flock and family.
Members share spring time stories
Spring & Summer Recipes
Out with the old and in with the new
Change in Sleeping Times
Keeping food fresh in warm temperatures
Summer Heat
Fun Tips and More
Sneak Preview
Some times we feel like we are over worked, overwhelmed and just need a break. Spring time gives us a chance to catch our breath. Take a moment to enjoy the sights and smells of fresh flowers, it's an instant pick me up!
Sammy, providing entertainment at the Macaw Dreams Resort & Spa.
"Things" seem to pile up during the fall and winter months. Before we know it our houses are full of "stuff" so we start filling up the garage. Now is a good time to get rid of the old and bring in the new. Plan a garage sale so you can get rid of things you no longer need nor want. Put an add in the newspaper to attract rummage sale junkies. You can even get your neighbors involved and have a huge multi-family sale. Use the money you earned to buy new bird toys!
There's good reason it's called "Spring Cleaning" - Simply put, it's the best time to clean! We're full of energy as the days are longer and the flowers are blooming and filling the air with perfume. It's time to put that energy to good use.
Set aside one entire day to do nothing but clean your bird's environment from cages to toys. Mark the day on your calendar and plan on doing nothing else that day so you can keep your focus and not be distracted A few days before your big clean up you'll want to go out and buy some new bird toys, maybe a boing, swing or chew toys.
The evening before your big day chop up any fresh fruits and vegetables you normally feed. Plan a nice healthy snack or two, for yourself. Gather all of your cleaning supplies such as: a bucket, shop vac, rubber gloves, scrubbing pads or non chemical cleaner maybe a bottle of "Poop Off" and scrub brushes.
Gather up some of your favorite up beat CD's or find a good energetic radio station. Finally, get a good night's sleep so you can start your day with great vigor.
In the morning, go ahead and feed the birds as usual while you eat a light healthy breakfast then get started! Remove the birds from their cages and place them on a play tree nearby. Put on your most up beat CD or tune in the radio. Start singing and dancing while encouraging your birds to join the fun.
Remove everything from you bird's cage and play areas including all toys and perches. The cage should be completely empty. Start the clean up! In between scrubbing, keep interacting with the birds and encouraging them to sing and dance right along with you. Make sure to scrub and clean the entire cage both inside and out while showing your birds what you're up to. About half way through your cleaning put some fresh fruits and vegetables in your their bowls and grab yourself a snack.
Once everything is all clean and sparkling go ahead and put the perches back but in different places. If you're hanging any old toys make sure you place those in a different place too. Be sure to use the "cage layering" method to encourage movement in the cage. Add all of your new toys while pointing them out to your birds! That's it! Your bird's environment is nice and clean and ready for spring!
Make Spring Cleaning Fun
Garage Sale Gone Wild
Time Change And Sleeping Patterns
Although Spring brings us some beautiful days and comfortable nights it also creates some challenges for bird owners. As the days get longer our routines are thrown off especially around bed time.
Bed Time Is What Time Now?
While we know our birds need a good 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep, that can be a challenge when the sun doesn't go down until nearly 9PM! While that may be an exaggeration the truth of the matter is that the days do grow longer so our nights are shorter.
So, what time should our birds be in bed? At the Macaw Dreams resort we let our birds make the decision. If they are up around 8:00am and have a busy, playful day they are usually pretty anxious to go to bed before sundown. It helps that their room is dark and their sleeping cages are covered.
If your bird has an active and productive day he should have little energy to put up a fight before bed time. If night time becomes a challenge, increase his activity during the day and try starting your bird's day a little earlier.
STAYING COOL IN SUMMER HEAT
We are often asked just how much heat our birds can tolerate. One rule of thumb
is- if it's too hot for you it's way too hot for your birds.
Fun Tip - You can find all sorts of "starter" herbs to plant. Grow your own organgic herbs to add to your bird's meals. You can even pot them and use as bird friendly decorative plants in your bird's room.
Our summer time temperatures in Nevada can easily top 110 degrees, sometimes pushing 118. Even though our days can be smoking hot we still manage to give our birds several hours of outdoor time but we have to use serious safety precautions.
We keep them inside during the hottest times of the day and when they do go outside they are limited to shaded areas and we keep them fairly drenched.
We don't just turn the misters on because that's not enough. First we use the water hose to wet them down and then we turn on the misters so they keep cooled down. We check on them often to make certain they haven't dried off too much and if they have we give them an additional soaking.
Dream Memer ~ Donna's ~ Hyacinth Macaw "Skye" enjoying his day at the Dream Resort.
We still enjoy having Birdie Parties in the Summer but it has to be during the morning hours, before it gets too hot. Even when we take them out early we try and find outdoor eateries that have lots of shade and maybe even misters. We each bring along spray bottles so that we can shower our birds as we enjoy our breakfast or lunch.
Packing large drinking bowls and extra water for each bird is also a must.
Here our Blue and Gold Macaw "Malibu" enjoys the misters at an outdoor eaterie. Malibu was one of about 6 birds who enjoyed the birdie party.
IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP- The summer temperature in our cars can be deadly for our birds. Before we get moving we put our birds in their travel crates then spray the birds down heavily with water. This keeps them cool, especially as they sit in the back seat where the car is most warm. Also, we keep extra spray bottles and a full gallon of water in the car at all times. If it's so hot that we can't comfortably sit in the car, we stay at home.
Our birds fully understand that in order to stay outside, during the summer, they have to remain wet. They don't seem to care. After a few hours, when they get tired, they let us know and we put them back inside so they can dry off. But it will not be long before they want to go back outside and get soaked all over again. Even under the mister we keep a close eye on them because they can move away from the misters and start to dry off. That's when we get the water hose out and soak them down again.
Our 8 year old Solomon Island Eclectus "Scarlet" enjoying a soak down while playing in our backyard. Scarlet's feathers can dry very quickly so we keep a close eye on her to make certain she stays cool enough.
FUN TOY TIP- Turn a clean cotton sock into a cool summer toy. Fill the sock with ice cubes, knot it and then tie it to your bird's play tree. Your birds will enjoy chewing on the sock as they try and get the cubes out.
Keeping Bird Food Fresh On Hot Summer Days
Whether our birds are eating outside or inside their room, we have to take precautions to keep their food fresh. Cooked foods can spoil quickly and shouldn't be left in our bird's bowls for very long. We never feed sprouts outside because of the heat. When we feed sprouts indoors we always start with a cold stainless steel bowl and we remove it within an hour after feeding time. Fresh produce stays nice and fresh so we feed produce daily. Cut up fruit is also a good option as long as it's not allowed to get mushy. I really like hanging
whole fruits and vegetables during the summer time because they can be left out all day. The birds play with them, take a few bites and the produce remains clean. I use skewers to hang just about anything such as apples, oranges and pears. I will also cut fresh orange branches from our tree and tuck them into the trees in our birds aviary. The birds then pull up the branches in order to get to the oranges.
"Malibu" pulling up an orange branch to get to the fruit.
Refrigerate bowls overnight. Place your bird's bowls in the 'frig the night before feeding. The cold bowls help keep food cool and fresh a bit longer
Place ice cubes in the bottom of your bird's bowls and cover with Lettuce leaves. Top the leaves with your bird's usual fresh cut produce. The leaves help to keep the ice insolated while keeping water away from the food.
TIPS for Keeping Food Cool & Safe
Switch to Stainless Steel Bowls. Stainless is a favorite for Veteranarians. Choose Stainless Steel because they are very resistant to bacteria. Never use plastic bowls as they can harbor germs. Ceramic bowls are another option but Vet's warn that if they have the slightest of cracks they should be disgarded as they can harbor germs.
