| Welcome to Blue Earth Aviary
(Site updated 5/18/08)
Specializing in:
Blue Headed Pionus (Pionus menstruus)
Red Bellies (Poicephalus rufiventris)
Lesser Jardines (Poicephalus gulielmi fantienses)
Congo African Greys (Psittacus erithacus erithacus)
Blue & Gold Macaws (Ara ararauna)
Visit our "pricing/babies" page on the left to see what's available and to also learn more about Blue Earth Aviary!
Thank you to all our past Parrotlet customers.
We have decided to stop raising the parrotlets and are now focusing on
our African species, Blue Head Pionus, & Blue and Gold Macaws .
Please contact Danny Petrie
at www.petriesparrotlets.com for your parrotlet needs.
Contact us: blueearth@charter.net
(507) 381-2230 (Central time)
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| Beautiful Day! |
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Welcome to Blue Earth Aviary located in the beautiful Minnesota River Valley in Mankato, Minnesota. We are a small, home-based aviary that raises Blue Head Pionus, Red-Bellies, Lesser Jardines, Congo African Greys, and Blue and Gold Macaws. Our small size allows us ample opportunity to interact with our handfed babies, producing well socialized and healthy baby birds. Our babies are always fully weaned and allowed ample time to fledge before going home with their new parents. We occasionally have breeding birds for sale also.
All our birds (breeders included) are raised in our home and will be used to the everyday household hustle and bustle, including other animals, children, vaccuum, etc... and lots of friends and family visiting! We believe this will make your new baby a well rounded, well socialized companion!
All the species we raise are considered "quiet" (With the exception on the Blue and Gold Macaws) which make them excellent for apartments, or where noise is a factor! They are full of personality and make great family additions. If you are not sure which type of parrot is right for your family, please let us help you.
Take a few moments to look around our web site (Frequently asked questions page) and feel free to ask any additional questions you may have before making your decision.
We can also provide you with references from past customers who have purchased a baby parrot from us!
Enjoy your visit to Blue Earth Aviary!
We look forward to doing business with you! :)
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| Baby Red-Bellie taking a break from flying! |
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| Pair of Blue and Gold Macaws |
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| Female Blue and Gold Macaw |
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| Baby Red-bellie taking flight! |
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| Blue Head Pionus Sulley and Lucy! |
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| Adult male Redbellie! |
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| Adult Lesser Jardine! |
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| Congo African Grey enjoying the sunshine! |
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Blue Head Pionus:
Pionus parrots are not only beautiful, but are full of personality. They are a medium sized parrot in stature. Blue Head Pionus are relatively quiet, making them perfect
for apartments or where noise may be a factor.
The Blue Headed Pionus are also noted for talking, although the speech ability of the Pionus parrot usually does not include the large vocabulary that you would see in the African Grey. Speech clarity varies depending on the individual bird and how much time you interact with your bird. They are capable of making
different sounds, such as beeps and whistles.
Pionus need a cage at least 24x24x32 with 3/4" bar spacing. Make sure there is a lot of room for perches and toys for your bird.
A bigger cage is always better!
Pionus in general are gentle birds, and enjoy time outside of their cages either with you or on a play stand.
Something unique about the Pionus parrots is their stress response. When frightened, these birds will wheeze. It sounds as if the bird is having an asthma attack. This is a normal trait of the Pionus,
but one that a Pionus owner should be aware of!
All Pionus share red tail coverts. (Underneath their tail) Sexing is needed either by blood or surgically sexed
to determine if you have a male or female.
Blue Head Pionus are about 11 inches tall. Their beak is black, with a red spot on either side of the upper mandible. Their head is a rich dark blue, although full coloration isn't reached until one to two years of age. Their body is subtle shades of green, and their ear coverts are black. Their feet are dark gray to black. Juvenile birds look much the same, except that their head has less blue and more green. As the young birds molt, the green turns to blue.
Overall they are a great medium sized parrot that is full of personality and are beautiful in appearance, and would be recommended for a first time bird owner
with supervision around “smaller” children.
Red Bellies:
Red bellies are quiet for their size, and not prone to screaming like some other parrots. Their natural noises are beeping and clicking sounds. They can learn how to speak quite well, and of the poicephalus species, they seem to be the best! They like to show off for company, and will practice talking in front of strangers as well as owners. Red belly parrots are playful birds, and love to swing from the tops of their cages and roll around on the floor with their toys. Chewing is a favorite for the Red Bellies, so it is necessary to keep lots of wooden chew toys in their cage and play stand. Although they are very energetic, a red belly will always take some time out for cuddling and head scratches. Our baby red bellies are talking by the time they are fully weaned!
One characteristic that is sometimes found in red belly parrots is a phobic stage. Occasionally, one will find that a perfectly happy red belly parrot has become terrified of normal activities. During this stage, owners must make the bird feel safe and secure. It is important to keep the household calm during this period, so that the bird does not feel as though there is something it should be afraid of. With patience, a red belly will eventually get over this stage and
return to its happy, playful self.
Red bellies should also continue to be socialized with numerous people when they are in their permanent homes. Each member of the family should make the effort to interact with the baby on a daily basis so that the bird does not become fearful or resistant to a new person holding it or playing with it.
Red-Bellied Parrots are beautiful birds, with a visible difference between the males and females. The females are gray with a deep forest green belly. The males are gray on the back with olive in their wings, a brilliant red belly, neck, and forehead, and lime green stockings on their legs.
The eyes are bright red.
Housing: Purchase a cage large enough for the bird to have plenty of room to fully stretch his wings and play with his toys, including room for dishes, lots of toys, and perches!
Lesser Jardines:
The Jardine’s Parrot has been referred to as the "African Amazon". They are larger than most other Poicephalus , and are related to the Red Bellie and Senegals.
Their body shape resembles Amazon Parrots.
Jardine’s tend to be steady of temperament, great talkers, and very playful party birds.
They differ from the Amazons in their lack of the hormonal surges and mood-swings typical of Amazons during the breeding season. Their steadiness of temperament is
a real plus in households with noisy children & lots of activity.
Jardine’s are said to be capable of large vocabularies and Grey-Parrot-like accuracy in mimicry. Beyond their potential speaking ability, Jardines are extremely playful birds and can entertain themselves for hours as long as they are provided with lots of toys that are rotated on occasion to prevent boredom. They just have a general love for fun.
In appearance they differ from the Amazons in having larger beaks and a plumper build. This gives them a kind of cartoon parrot look that some people find cute!
When housing a Jardine as with most birds, bigger is always better as they are
active birds and like to rough-house at times with their toys, etc...
Our breeder pairs diet consists of Zupreem pellets, small quanties of parrot seed mix, along with fruits, veggies, and fresh sprouts.
Congo African Greys:
Congo African Greys are awesome birds, but they are not for every one. I would not recommend them for a "first bird household" with no prior bird experience.
You must be prepared to spend time with an African grey,
providing social contact as well as mental stimulation.
African greys tend to be quite cautious with new situations and new people, although devoted to their owners. They have a reputation as one-person birds, but that is largely because often only one person in a household spends enough time with a grey to really form a close bond. Make an effort to socialize a grey with lots of people, although you will have to give your parrot the chance to become comfortable with any new person. This is of coarse a "generalization" and each bird definately has his or her own personality. My pet congo has his days...some days he loves others, some days he doesn't.
I guess it's no different than a humans mood swings, but I notice him to be more
stand off"ish when he doesn't get his complete nights rest.
They are quiet as far as screetching goes, but be prepared for "noise" from all the talking he or she may pick up. My grey usually doesn't say a word in front of strangers while they are watching him, but if they turn their back he will talk their ears off!
Provide "activity" toys and toys that provide foraging opportunities. (Provide this will ALL parrots)
Cage space is a personal decision, as stated above but please provide ample room for your bird to play, stretch, and have some fun without being crowded with all the toys, perches, etc...
My breeding pair is on a pelleted diet, with seed a few times per week, along with
veggies, fruit, and fresh sprouts that we grow ourselves!
Blue and Gold Macaws:
Blue and Gold Macaws are beautiful parrots that have a great reputation in the Macaw family. Although Macaws are not for every person, due to their large size and sometimes “large” voice, they typically have nice personalities – Happy, but not high-strung, calm at times, physically affectionate, even-tempered, all-around good birds. They are usually physically affectionate with people they know and trust. They enjoy head scratches and some even enjoy laying on their backs for tummy rubs.
A cage large enough for the bird to extend their wing span, and to also accommodate their large tail, plus all the toys, perches, etc…is required. You will also need a play stand or perch so you bird can enjoy it’s out of cage time with the family. They eat a variety of seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, commercial pellets, as well as healthy “human” food.
A full sized macaw can get over 2 lbs and a length up to about 34 inches.
Macaws must be socialized at a young age and exposed to a variety of experiences which will help them become all around great birds, and helps them avoid fearful behavior as they mature. Macaws can be very loud at times and this will depend on each birds own personality and how “YOU” react to them at a young age. Ignore the negative and reward the positive! This is true with any parrot. If you have a bird that screams or yells to get your attention and you respond with any eye contact, or a simple “be quiet” you are in fact teaching your bird that when it screams it gets your attention and they crave this from you.
Macaws are very intelligent and relatively easy to train.
Macaws should be provided with toys, especially those made of parrot safe wood for them to chew, as that is a favorite pastime of the Macaws. Also provide toys that make them think and work to get to that special treat. You can get creative with paper towel rolls
and many other “safe” items around your house.
To sum it up…Blue and Gold macaws are a highly intelligent parrot and one of the easier macaws to work with. They are very social parrots and require attention from the human flock and love their out of cage playtime, which should be provided on a daily basis.
The key to a happy, well behaved bird is too provide him or her with attention,
love, respect, healthy diet, clean living quarters and always...
Ignor any negative behaviors and reward, reward, reward, the POSITIVE!
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