In 1991 my wife and I got our first two cockatiels as pets from a bird fair in Montgomery, AL and then we were given a cockatiel from a family that was being reassigned overseas and couldn't take their cockatiel with them. We place all three in one cages not knowing at the time that we had two males and a female and before we knew it, we had six more. It grew from that point on. We joined the Central Alabama Agricultural Society (CAAS) to learn about all types of breeds and how to show cockatiels.

Around 2001, we started receiving calls from individuals who found a bird, was given a bird and didn't want it, or just didn't want their pet parrot any longer. We began to work with PAWS and the local humane society and got a full page write up in the local paper about our efforts in saving exotic birds of all types. We placed a small add in the paper that we would take in unwanted or abused birds to give owners an alternative, as many were being released and would not survive. We are taking in an average of 8 birds of all types per month. From that point on we became a rescue aviary.

I believe part of the issue is the owners do not know what to do with their feathered friends other then leaving them in a cage and periodically taking them out. Birds are very intelligent animals and need interaction. I found by working with my birds (training) a few minutes a day brought so much joy to both the bird and us. My family found ourselves playing and teaching our birds to respond to certain movements, to say a certain word after we say a particular word and we even played games. We were able to potty train our birds, do math and wave hi. For example, we taught the macaw to first say the number five. Once she got that down, we then taught her to say five after we said the number four. I then would tell people she knows how to add and subtract. I would ask her what is one plus four or nine minus four and she would reply "five". It was her queue to say five when we said four.

My goal with our new blog, The Exotic Bird Training Blog is to provide owners with training information and resources in hopes that they will spend more time with them and enjoy them more. And hopefully fewer birds will be left in the corner in a cage locked up.

Yours,

Michael Camire