Alice Wender 
In the past five years, as I have continued to increase my knowledge about birds, and have become enriched by my contacts with other aviculturists, I have become fascinated with a subject which has rarely been addressed in the literature. That subject concerns how and why birds behave the way they do, and the ways … Read more
Bird clubs are for education, interaction and friendships. People join for those things. It promotes a standard of excellence for its members to evaluate, for the benefit of their birds, and in a non-judgmental way. There is a danger that can isolate clubs from the community, and even from its members. It can work as … Read more
Answer Yes Or No To The Following Questions Your bird eats better than you do. You end up with more “goodies” in your grocery cart for the birds than for yourself. You spend more money on bird food than human food. You’ve had to caution your family not to eat something because “it’s for the … Read more
The ad in the newspaper said “Double Yellow Naped Amazon for sale”. I scour the bird classifieds on a daily basis (a sure sign of a serious addiction…), and this one piqued my interest. I have long been fascinated by the talking green parrots, and was particularly captivated by the Double Yellow Heads and the … Read more
Being able to do your own cultures and or gram stains can be essential tools to help you determine if and what problems might be brewing in your aviary. This is especially important in the avian nursery. A sick baby needs help immediately, and being able to quickly and inexpensively do cultures for the major … Read more
Several recent inquiries have alerted me to the fact that many Eclectus owners are unaware of signs of sickness in their birds. Most knew that birds’ instincts make them experts at hiding signs of sickness and that it may be difficult to detect symptoms. In the wild, if a bird shows signs of sickness, that … Read more
Two years ago, I sold Stitches to a very caring gentleman who can no longer care for him. Stitches has been barbering his tail feathers, and his owner does not feel he has the time or ability to treat him as I had suggested. So I brought Stitches home to care for him. Stitches is … Read more
In early May, Gizzy developed the toe-tapping and clutching syndrome that is so often seen in Eclectus parrots. This was the second time he had shown these symptoms; a year ago he had developed them too. He also began scratching with his beak the back of his feet, to the point of excoriating them, leaving … Read more
Each of us should try to make it as difficult and time consuming as possible for someone who is unfamiliar with our aviary to accomplish his dirty deed. Many times the professional methods are not necessarily the best. Use of cheap but effective equipment and even sometimes misuse of an item’s intended use can be … Read more
The area in which I live is not “heavily” into aviculture. In fact, some breeds of parrots that are common elsewhere are difficult to find, and I don’t know of any large commercial aviaries in the vicinity. Yet, in the past 5 years I know of 8 breeders that have been stricken by disease in … Read more