When a distressed bird is taken to an avian veterinarian, respiratory disease is often found to be the cause. Frequent sneezing, nasal discharge, periocular swelling, coughing, wheezing, and a voice change may be evident. Dyspnea, or labored breathing, may be seen at rest or after the bird flies a short distance. “Tail bobbing” or a … Read more
Prospective purchasers of macaws often ask which species we believe make the best pets and which ones are more difficult to own. Macaws are near and dear to our hearts as we not only breed them, but also have a number of them as pets. In our experience, we have seen a noticable difference in … Read more
A frequent concern I hear about cockatoos, and sometimes about conures, is that the primary caregiver has been shunned in favor of another household member. Sometimes this special person does not want to be the primary person in a parrot’s life. It is hard for us to accept that a parrot would chose someone else … Read more
So you want to hold a bird show, expo, mart or fair. I have helped put on a number of these events for my bird clubs. My previous article Holding A Bird Show covered a number of important issues in holding a bird show. This article covers my experiences with several additional areas that need to … Read more
When a distressed bird is taken to an avian veterinarian, respiratory disease is often found to be the cause. Frequent sneezing, nasal discharge, periocular swelling, coughing, wheezing, and a voice change may be evident. Dyspnea, or labored breathing, may be seen at rest or after the bird flies a short distance. “Tail bobbing” or a … Read more
Do you avoid feeding nuts to your birds because they are nothing more than fat-laden treats? If so, it is time to rethink this popular myth. Because of the recent trend toward fat-free diets, nuts have gotten a bad reputation which is both undeserved and inaccurate. Recently, two major scientific conferences have extolled the virtue … Read more
We just moved our six pet birds and one human (me) from New Jersey to San Diego, CA in one move. In as much as the birds and the human survived, we thought to share what we learned about carriers.Once it was decided that we were going to move our birds (four umbrella cockatoos and … Read more
Digestion in birds involves a lot of organs, each performing a specific function. It begins with entry of food via the beak and ends with the exiting of refuse at the vent. Food is broken down and absorbed for use along the way. The Mouth The avian beak or rostrum is composed of bone and an outer … Read more
Crop Stasis Crop stasis occurs when the normal mobility of the crop is impaired, causing food to remain in the crop. The crop may appear enlarged orit may be hidden by feathers. Food, fluid and mucus or foreign bodies may be present in the crop. Crop stasis is most common in baby psittaciines (parrots) and … Read more
Probably more words have been written and said about this topic than any other computer related subject. This a serious subject, but it does have some ironic characteristics. First of all, it is not millenium related. The next millenium starts on January 1, 2001 (our current calander started with year one, not zero), while our … Read more