Double Yellow Headed Amazons

The Double Yellow Headed (DYH) Amazons are one of our newest additions. They are 15 - 17 inches long and live approximately 80 years. They are found in Central America.


Their intelligence is amazing. Their antics could entertain me for hours! They came to us named Fred and Wilma. When I go in to feed them Wilma says Hi I'm Wilma. I always respond with how are you Wilma and she does a little dance and turns her head in ways that would make Linda Blair proud. When I stand there and talk to them they will talk back in parrot. We hold long conversations, I just wish I could understand the wisdom they are imparting to me.

They love corn on the cob! They will grab it out of my hand before I can put it in their dish. They eat Papaya seeds but leave the Papaya. They hungrily consume Apples, Grapes, Melons, Sweet Potatoes, Squash (except yellow squash), Kale if the pieces are big, and of course birdie bread.

My love of Amazons has come back 100 fold. I don't know how I lived for the last 30 years without one in my life. When they have babies I will be keeping one for a pet. There is just nothing like the intelligence and antics of an Amazon. My new Mantra is Zons rule!

Here is a picture of Fred and Wilma

Redheaded Amazon

The Mexican Redheaded Amazon is also known as the Green-Cheek Amazon or the Red Crown Amazon. We refer to them as the Redheads. We have found if we call it the Green Cheek people confuse it with the Green Cheek Conure. We acquired our pair of Redheads at the same time we got our Lilac Crowned Amazons. Their names are Lusi and Dezi.

The Redheads are from Mexico, they are most prevalent in the Northeastern part of Mexico. They are approximately 12 inches from the tip of their head to the tip of their tail. They are considered to be good talkers, they are well known for their whistling abilities and being playful and affectionate.

Our Redheads love to chew on anything and everything! I am going to try making them some new toys that have thicker pieces of wood. They go through their chew toys so quickly.

They did not eat fruit and vegetables when we first got them. They are now starting to eat them. They really like Kale and peppers. With persistence they will start eating more of the fruits and vegetables.

Here is a picture of our Redheads. Sorry about the quality, they are very camera shy and I can't seem to get a good picture of them. Lusi has a little patch that Dezi has plucked. Don’t worry they are not starving, their food dish is not empty. For some unknown reason they move the seed to one end of the dish.

Lilac Crowned Amazon

We have added a pair of Lilac Crowned Amazons to our flock. I love the Lilac Crowned Amazons. The Lilacs are 12 - 13 inches from their head to the tip of their tail. They are one of the smaller Amazons and one of the quietest. They are one of the best companion birds in the Amazon species because of their size and temperament.

It is fun to watch them take a bath in their water bowl. We give them a shower every other day. Sometimes they want more and will take a bath in their water bowl. We have a large dish that is kept on the bottom of their home but they don't use it for a bath.

They really seem to enjoy their vegetables, especially corn. Their favorite fruits are papaya and bananas. They pick the coconut out of their dry mixture and eat it first.

They make some calls in the morning to greet the sun and some in the evening to wish us all a good night. During the day they mostly whistle, mumble and occasionally talk to us. The most common things to say are 'what are you doing', 'yum', 'mornin', 'what', and 'hello'. They also sing, I am not sure what songs they are singing. I think they are making up their own songs.

They started working on their nest box yesterday. They have already chewed the hole bigger and started redecorating the inside.

This is Lavanda and Jose:

New babies and new flock members

Sorry it has been so long since I have been posted. Between updating the site, feeding babies and making a large addition to our flock I have been quite busy.

Here is a picture of the Green Cheek Conure babies I mentioned in my last post. This photograph was taken on March 3rd.


We have added Amazons to our flock. We have gotten a pair of Lilac Crowned, Mexican Redhead, Double Yellow Headed (DYH) and Yellow Naped. I will post some pictures of them over the next few days. We have also added 4 pair of Conures. We now have new pairs of Cinnamon, Yellow Sided, Turquoise and Normal Conures. I will post some pictures of them over the next few days.

The Amazons are wonderful! I had an Amazon when I was a young girl and it broke my heart when we left Brazil and I couldn't bring him to the USA. I said I would never have another Amazon. It took 30 plus years for my broken heart to heal and some prodding from my friends to convince me to get some Amazons. I jumped in with both feet! We have set up a temporary room for the Amazons. They will be moving into a larger room in a few months. We are building an addition to our house for our Cockatiel breeders in June/July.


We have quite a few new baby Cockatiels. There are 14 in the nest boxes that are less than 3 weeks old, 18 that are weaned and ready to find forever homes, 6 that are still being weaned.

I am still working on the playpen cam. I am not sure what I am doing wrong but I can't get it to show on the net. I have gotten it to work on Yahoo's webcam, but for some reason I can't get it to work on the site. I will keep trying different things so that everyone can see the babies playing, growing and watch their antics.

Today the birds had broccoli and peas. They love broccoli, I am thinking about trying to grow it.

Green Cheek Babies

Green Cheek Babies

Tonight while I was giving everyone their dinner and doing a final check before their bedtime I noticed that Rhea was out of her nest box. I opened the box and took a quick peek. I saw at least 3 maybe 4 little naked babies. They were all huddled together so I couldn’t tell for sure if it is 3 or 4. She hurried back in to her box so I closed it quickly. It will be at least 3 days before I check it again, I don’t want to upset her. Cronus is a normal Green Cheek and Rhea is a Pineapple Green Cheek.

The new playpen is working out wonderfully! The babies have more room to play and explore. We were able to put up more perches. I picked up some great curvy willow branches this week-end. The babies are having so much fun with all the extra room and the new toys we put in. We are still working on the cam.

I did a lot of veggie drying over the last few days. Spinach and carrots were on sale at the grocery store so I bought a bunch and brought them home and dried most of them. The balance has already been fed to the birds.

Today’s birdie bread had spinach, pecans, and dried kale. By the time I had finished giving everyone some the first birds that got it had already finished it! They also had sprouts today. Apollo and Sirona didn’t eat their sprouts today. They usually eat them like they are starving!

I am working on a new dried mixture for them. I am waiting for the hibiscus and chamomile flowers to come in. When I get everything in I will put up the ingredients. I found some star anise on sale at the local health food store. The lady that runs Morning Glory Market in St. Joseph is a very wonderful woman. She is always placing special orders for me, answering my questions and having the patience of a saint! If you are ever over by the new Paneras make sure you stop in and take a look at all the great stuff she has there.

I made some granola the other day and it was a huge hit with the birds and my family! I thought it needed more cinnamon and something else. I can’t put my finger on what it is so I will try a few different things. When I get it where I am satisfied with it I will share the recipe with you.

Site live and Birdie Bread

I finally got the website ready and it is now live. I plan on adding a guest book and slide shows of different birds doing different things so that people can get an idea of what living with a bird is like.

Today we went out and got some new sides for the playpen. I didn't realize that the baby birds would chew on the wire as hard as they are. This version is going to be 4 foot by 4 foot. The current one is 3 foot by 3 foot. We are hoping to get the cam set up this week-end so others can enjoy the antics of baby birds. They are so much fun to watch. They are either going 100% or sleeping. I hope you visit when it is live, then you can see them playing with the plastic rings and wearing them like a necklace.

This morning the birds had their corn/rice/garbanzo bean mix. Birdie bread with broccoli, peppers and shredded carrots for lunch. For dinner they had grapes and apples. Adam and Eve are always sitting there waiting for their apple at night. If they don’t get it I will find all their bowls on the floor in the morning. They are just like kids and throw temper tantrums.

We get a lot of requests and questions about our birdie bread recipe. I have a basic recipe that you will find below. I add different things to the recipe each time I make it. Today I added one 16 ounce package of broccoli (chopped up in the food processor), 1 cup of peppers and 6 shredded carrots. I make the bread in a 13 x 9 glass pan. This makes enough for everyone to have some. If you don't need that much you can cut it into squares and freeze it. Then just remove a piece each night, let it thaw overnight and give it to your bird(s) the next day. Some people heat their birdie bread in the microwave. I worry about hot spots and crop burn so I don't do that. Since we have so many birds I allow it to cool off and give it to the birds when it is just slightly warm to the touch.

This recipe requires self rising corn meal. I don't like feeding my birds things that contain aluminum or sugar so I make my own self rising corn meal in large batches. I mix 10 cups of corn meal, 20 tablespoons of whole wheat flour, 10 tablespoons of aluminum free baking powder and 1 teaspoon of sea salt.

The basic recipe also contains dried greens; you can purchase these at most pet stores. I make my own by drying wheat grass, kale, spinach, mustard greens, oregano, basil, cilantro, chamomile, and thyme. I mix them together and use them in all sorts of recipes. I even add it to the seed mixture we make.

Here is my recipe for basic birdie bread:

2 cups of self rising corn meal
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of flax seed
1 cup of coarse ground corn meal (also known as corn grits)
1 cup of oats
1/4 cup of cuttlebone (while the birds are breeding)
1/2 cup of dried greens
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1/4 cup of dried peppers
1 tablespoon of baking powder (aluminum free)

4 tablespoons of oil (I alternate between coconut and red palm)
4 eggs (I don’t use the shells, some people do)
1 cup of juice (no sugar added)
2 cups of organic/no sugar added applesauce or other fruit that I have pureed.
Optional ingredient(s) (see below)

Mix all dry ingredients then add oil, eggs, juice, pureed fruit and your choice of the optional ingredient(s). Mix until well blended.

Spoon into your greased (I use whatever oil I have put in the bread) baking dish. This mixture is thick and does not pour. Flatten out with a spoon. Top with one or more of the following: seeds, raisins, craisins, oats, coconut or whatever else sounds good. I use different things depending on what I have available. Using the back of the spoon gently push the toppings into the bread mixture so they don’t fall off when the bread is served.

Bake at 375 in a preheated oven until golden brown. The top usually has some cracks in it. Remove from pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Optional ingredients that I use are listed below. I have not provided amounts to use because it depends on if you are using more than 1. To give you an idea of the amount of items you can add, today I used a 16 ounce bag of broccoli, 1 cup of chopped peppers and 6 carrots. You want to have plenty of veggies or fruit in the bread. If your bird isn’t a veggie eater then start with smaller amounts and increase over time. It is a good way to get them the nutrients they need.

Optional Ingredients:
Sweet potatoes
Peppers (hot and bell) dried or fresh
Squash
Frozen vegetables such as, broccoli, corn, spinach, mixed veggies, or carrots
Fresh vegetables such as kale, spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, bok choy, broccoli, or corn,
Berries
Fresh fruit
Dried fruits (sulphur free) such as raisins, craisins, papaya, blueberries, cherries, pineapple, strawberries, coconut and mango
Fresh fruits

The house always smells so good while the birdie bread is baking.

About Silver Cloud Aviary

Silver Cloud Aviary is a family-owned aviary. Lia and Richard, with help from his Stepson Robert, operate SCA, and have been involved with raising birds since 1990. We owned our first large bird Casey a Congo African Grey in 1985. We currently raise African Greys (TAGs and CAGs), Cockatiels, Conures; including Green Cheek (GCC), Pineapple and Suns, SI Eclectus, and Western Rosellas

Lia is a stay at home mom so that she can spend plenty of time cooking and baking for the birds. This also allows her time to play with and socialize the babies. We have converted 1/2 of our home into different breeding rooms, a nursery, supply storage and of course a seperate hospital/quarantine area. We have a special playpen set up for our weaning birds to have some fun and get plenty of exercise.

We use Manzanita wood limbs as our main perches because this is a very hard wood. These allow for good foot exercise and development due to the difference in sizes of the wood. In addition to the Manzanita perches, we use calcium perches so that the birds can maintain their beaks and toe nails, and get additional calcium; rope perches for when they want to have a soft place to sit; and other types of wood because they are a good wood for them to exercise their feet, their beaks, to peel, chew and gnaw at; and of course the old stand by - the dowel, we use these because birds love to chew and this is a chew toy that is easily replaced. The way we look at it is that we don't want to sit in the same chair 24 hours a day, we don't feel our birds want to sit on the same type of perch all day.

We make the majority of our bird's toys, including millet and greens holders, nut rings (usually almonds for the larger birds), moppies, chewables, plastic chain bunches, wiffle balls laced with leather and beads, foraging toys, foot toys, muffin flowers, and toys similar to those you see in the pet stores. We feel it is important for the birds to be stimulated with many different types of entertainment. Afterall, you wouldn't put a toddler in a room with no toys and nothing to do!

Our handfeed babies are abundance weaned. We feel abundance weaning is the most effective way to introduce baby birds to new foods. As soon as we see them start peeking/picking at the surface they walk on we start introducing foods. They get bowls of seeds, pellets, sprouts, veggies and fruit. They do not start eating these foods immediately, they play with them a lot at first. After a while they start eating the foods we have provided and less of the handfeeding formula. There is no cut off date on the day we stop feeding formula; each bird is different and we allow them to let us know when they don't need it anymore. It is very common for us to have older baby birds take one or two bites of formula and they are ready to go back to their home and eat some adult food. We will not sell an unweaned baby so please don't even ask.

We teach all of our babies to step up and the command off. We feel that these are two essential commands for all companion birds to learn. Once they have these learned we feel it is easier to teach them other things. All of our babies get used to the daily sounds in a household so that they don't get frightened and bite or fly off. They are introduced to the sounds of the vacuum, cats, a dog, telephones, and television to name a few. We also make sure that they get used to brooms, fast hand motions, and misting with a spray bottle.

We make sure to towel the birds occasionally so that they will get used to it and not be afraid of it. During this training we also play with their wings and feet to make it less traumatic when they need their nails trimmed or have to visit the vet.

Our weaned birds are fed a daily diet of natural pellets, a homemade mixture of seeds, fresh fruits, dried fruits (sulphur free), and vegetables. We also alternate birdie breads, sprouted seeds, and rice or pasta daily, which provides them with additional nutrients and a variety of foods and textures.

We love all kinds of birds, and animals. We have established our backyard, and a wetlands area behind it that fronts on a river, as a National Wildlife Habitat. We have a large number of bird houses (20+ at last count), Owl houses, Bat houses, 8 different bird feeders, natural food sources, natural cover and hiding places. We have been rewarded with several dozen Goldfinches that flock to several special finch feeders just outside of the Family Room windows,that brighten our Springs and Summers. We have also been visited by Cardinals, Chickadees, Hummingbirds, Junkos, Robins, Starlings, Titmouse, Orioles, Woodpeckers, Rabbits and Deer.