Dear Parrots magazine,
Flying irritants
I live in the UK and as the weather is getting warmer it seems flies are awakening and I am becoming extremely frustrated as my parrots hate them. I like to have my conservatory doors open and do have those plastic tassel hanging fly screens over the doorway. I think they are quite effective at keeping out the flies, but there’s always some that manage to get in and my two Greys become quite agitated, as do my two dogs. You wouldn’t think living creatures that are massively larger than a fly could be so intimidated by them.
Read more: Letters: Flying irritants
Dear Parrots magazine,
Dunking Goffin’s
I read the article entitled Goffin’s like to dunk their food, with great interest (Parrots, April 2024). Whilst I haven’t got a Goffin’s in my collection, I have an Umbrella, a Mollucan, a Red-tailed black, a Galah and a Major Mitchell’s, and without exception they all dunk their pellets. Indeed I think they all try to make the thickest ‘soup’ in their water bowls, more so than any of the rest.
Read more: Letters: Dunking Goffin’s
Dear Parrots magazine,
More breeding please?
I know Parrots magazine is focused on companion parrots and all that concerns them, but don’t forget the breeders, many of whom also have companion birds. I am not talking about commercial breeding for profit, but the genuine hobbyist who breeds some purely for the pleasure and in some cases, rare species to guarantee their existence.
Read more: Letters: More breeding please?
Dear Parrots magazine,
Is legislation required?
I read with great interest Pauline Sellwood’s article in the May issue of this magazine about buying parrots when she asked the question focusing on whether there should be legislation for the sellers of exotic animals. I say exotic animals, but if there was such legislation, it should apply to all animals including, dogs cats and small furries etc. It grieves me greatly when I see in a pet store small children pressing their parents to buy a little cute furry animal.
Read more: Letters: Is legislation required?
Dear Parrots magazine,
Just couldn’t leave him there
It was some years ago when I took one of my daughters to a garden centre as she wanted a hamster, but we didn’t come back with a hamster instead, we came back with a parrot. Like all children, they love to wander around pet shops looking at all the different animals, and in this case some grizzly looking spiders and snakes. That was when we looked at a very bedraggled looking parrot, which stopped my daughter’s attention in its tracks.
Read more: Letters: Just couldn’t leave him there
Dear Parrots magazine,
Lack of knowledge
It was only a few weeks ago when I went into a garden centre to buy some compost that, as a parrot owner, I was attracted to a conversation that was taking place between a young shop advisor and a couple. This was all about a Senegal parrot that was up for sale and the couple were asking questions about it. What horrified me was that this young advisor was giving out a lot of misinformation about how this Senegal should be looked after, what food it should be given and what type of cage it should be kept in. This young chap didn’t have a clue as to what he was talking about and only seemed to have been wanting to make a name for himself.
Read more: Letters: Lack of knowledge
