Stable or Cured?

Quakers

Giving After Hours Emergency Advice For Birds There is one mistake that people with critically ill birds commonly make.  They can’t tell the difference between stabilised and fixed.  It happens, in part because they desperately want their bird to be ok.  They will grasp at any sign that their bird is going to be ok…

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What Is Feather Destructive Behaviour?

Feather Destructive Behaviour

Feather Plucking | Feather Destructive Behaviour | FDB Feather Destructive Behaviour occurs when a bird is intentionally damaging or removing feathers (usually but not always their own).  There are multiple different types of feather destructive behaviours and it helps to identify exactly what type of destructive behaviour your bird is actually doing. Feather Destructive Behaviour…

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What To Do If You Lose A Bird

Lost Cockatiel

Which Way Is The Wind Blowing? It’s not the first thing that jumps into your head, but it needs to be.  A scared, frightened, exhausted bird (particularly if they’re inexperienced in flight), is going to take the easiest, fastest, way out of danger.  Flying into the wind uses a lot more energy, than flying with…

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Abusing Veterinary Staff

Self-mutilating Bird

Sometimes working in a vet clinic can break you.  It doesn’t surprise me that the veterinary industry has a higher suicide rate than any other industry.  There is a general attitude that vets are only in it for the money.  That vets over-service and over-charge.  The abuse veterinary staff receive continues to amaze me.  The…

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Choosing a New Bird

Alexandrine playing

So You Want To Buy a New Bird? Selecting the right breed of bird to fit into your family is essential and it is helpful if you do your research.  There are certain traits that are common for certain types of birds, which you  should know about and consider before you take what could potentially…

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Heat Stress In Birds

heat stress

What is heat stress? Heat stress in birds is when a bird’s core body temperature is raised uncontrollably to a dangerously high level.  A bird’s body temperature is normally between 39-43C/101-109F.  If their temperature rises higher than this, it can quickly become a serious, often life-threatening problem. Birds are not like us, they do not…

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Keeping Your Birds Safe Around Dogs and Cats

Cats and Dogs

Can dogs, cats and birds all live together? Photos and videos of birds with other pets tend to start wars on social media. There are many people that swear their dogs and/or cats are best friends with their birds but there are just as many tragic stories where those friendships end in disaster. It’s a…

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What To Do When You Find A Baby Wild Bird?

baby blackbird

Baby birds are one of the most common wild bird rescue situations that I deal with during the warmer months. At the time I’m typing this, I’m literally waiting for the night to end and daylight to come so I can follow-up on a case I dealt with yesterday. It might be summer here in…

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How Long Does It Take To Recover From Feather Damage?

Beautiful macaw

Every now and again I am asked the question: “How long will it take for my bird’s damaged feathers to grow out?” Most of the time, the question relates to a clipped bird, but sometimes it is someone with a bird who has recovered from an illness or is dealing with a plucking/self-mutilation issue. Rosebreasted…

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