Complete Psittacine by EB Cravens

The Philosophy Beneath Natural Parrot keeping

The basic premise behind the concept of natural parrotkeeping is that captive environments for psittacines, indeed for any avian creatures, are exceedingly artificial, and that keepers who work ceaselessly to bring nature to their charges are going to end up with superior birds, physically and emotionally.

Truly, the more contrived is the aviary environment, the more likely our parrots will begin to develop dysfunctional behaviors such as screaming, repetitive actions, narrowed eating habits, aggression towards mates or other birds, feather mutilation, and the like.

For the past thirty years or so, my focus in aviculture has been the devising of imaginative ways to return 'nature' to my pet and breeder birds. Raw foods, fresh air, sunlight, moonshine, rain, wind and weather, room to fly, chewable greenery, other parrots nearby, and a host of further items all fall into this category.