We all feed our birds as well as possible. Unfortunately for us, ants like all of the bird foods too. Last year we were suddenly infested with carpenter ants in our den. These black, half inch long devils made a beeline for our birds’ large gym and began feasting in the bird food dishes and … Read more
This story has not appeared in print before. It has not been told aloud. Popcorn and I did not realize that he was a bird, so we did many things inappropriate for a bird. But we loved doing it all wrong.My wife Carol met a cockatoo when the two of us were visiting a business … Read more
The avian egg goes through three major stages in its life, the process of forming the egg, incubation after the egg is laid and finally the hatching of the chick. Each stage is a wonder of nature and has its own unique processes. The Forming of the Egg It takes approximately 25 hours for an … Read more
Angel the Jenday Conure was found one April day immediately under his cotton candy preening toy. He was standing perfectly still with strings of shredded cotton wrapped tightly around his throat. Angel also had his right leg hung in those same strings from trying to free himself from the ones around his throat and he … Read more
If one were to look at the most popular species of pet birds, then 3 groups of birds would pop to the top of the list – parrots, softbills and pigeons or doves. But there are many other kinds of birds, such as raptors. And these fall into other groups called families or orders.There are … Read more
Breeding African Greys can be a very rewarding and learning experience, but it also requires an uncommon dedication. The breeding pairs, the babies, and your clients deserve an informed, committed, ethical, responsible, and knowledgeable breeder.Breeding Greys is not just a matter of buying two birds, putting them together and letting nature take its course. Healthy … Read more
I think everyone has a fleeting thought on breeding birds once they have had pet birds for a couple of years. Especially if they have the “dreaded” Multi-Bird Syndrome. We did and we actually acted upon it. We got a pair of Hahns Macaws and a pair of Quakers. Once we had them, we realized … Read more
The avian male reproductive tract is very unique and different from that of humans and mammals.Male birds have two functional bean-shaped testes located within the body, just above the kidneys. This is in contrast to many female birds in which the right ovary regresses, leaving just one functional left ovary. The testes grow in size … Read more
Birds have a population of bacteria known as ‘normal microbial flora’ which colonizes the skin and mucous membranes of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract. These bacteria are not disease causing and are referred to as ‘nonpathogenic’.Bacteria may be classified as ‘gram-positive’ or ‘gram-negative’ based upon certain staining characterisitics. Gram-positive bacteria are the predominant normal inhabitants … Read more
As a rule injuries to wild birds happen in two ways, the most common being the impact of the bird with a window or some other immovable object. The second is a predator/prey situation usually involving a cat or dog. Some injuries are quite evident and others are impossible to determine by observation.The bird should … Read more