Posts Tagged ‘bird’
How Long Does It Take To Recover From Feather Damage?
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…
Read MoreAre Horizontal or Vertical Cage Bars Better For My Parrot?
One of my friends was recently shopping for a new cage for her parrot when she remarked in frustration to me that it’s extremely annoying that cage manufacturers don’t seem to make cages with just plain old boring horizontal bars. “Don’t they know it makes it easier for a parrot to climb around if the…
Read MoreManaging A Multiple Bird Household
I caved to MBS (multiple bird syndrome) a long time ago. When bird people find out how many parrots I have, they promptly ask how I find the time to manage so many? I have 9 permanent flock members here and 1 long term rehabilitation case. That makes 10 tame companion parrots vying for my…
Read MoreGetting Your Bird Interested In Vegetables
The only stupid question is the one that you don’t ask. I’ve heard that often enough and I’m not entirely sure that I believe it. Mainly because I once worked in a bookstore and was asked if we stocked books that had pages in them? Or the time that my mother asked me what the…
Read MoreProtecting Your Bird From Poor Air Quality
Occasionally something may happen in the area that you live that can create poor air quality. It wasn’t that long ago that there were reports of pigeons falling dead out of the sky in Singapore due to a dangerous deterioration in air quality. Fires in a neighbouring country were polluting Singapore’s air. It got so…
Read MoreReflecting On Life With Parrots
At the start of each year, I tend to reflect on the past. This year I’m asking the question: If you could go back in time to when you got your first bird, what is the one thing that you would tell yourself or wish that you’d known? I used to think the answer to…
Read MoreMacaw With Psittacosis
My Blue and Gold Macaw named Fid joined my flock back in February this year. He went through the standard ‘new bird’ vet consultation and was diagnosed with psittacosis and an assortment of other much more minor problems. When I last wrote about him, Fid’s was health was steadily improving and I’d finally solved the…
Read MoreUsing Target Training To Solve A Problem
My male Eclectus Pepi, has been a flying nightmare lately. He has gone from being sweet, affectionate and talkative to being moody, unpredictable and often downright nasty. It happened overnight and hasn’t been accompanied by any of the usual signs of sickness. Of all of my birds, it’s Pepi who seems to have the nastiest…
Read MoreIs Your Bird Fat? How to Tell and How To Fix It.
“Oh wow, you’re just soooooo fat,” my Eclectus Pepi has started saying to people in a very despairing voice. My voice. He picks his audience too. I have one relative who is particularly concerned with her appearance so naturally she is his favourite target. As he uses my voice – I’m the one that gets…
Read MoreKeeping A Visual Health Bird Diary
There have been a few questions on the BirdTricks Facebook wall lately, asking about health record keeping. The question is basically what information is useful? In terms of written records, the answer is: it helps to keep a notebook where you record the date, your bird’s weight (in grams) and note any obvious behavioural changes. I thought…
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