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
Jazz has just returned from six weeks on the road. Along with his people and pet Samoyed, Jazz toured the coast of California, parts of Nevada, five National Parks in Utah, and central Colorado in an RV. Already a veteran auto-rider, he had no problems adjusting to life on the road. Of course, we took … 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
If people enjoy playing with their pet birds, they should potty train their pet bird. It is more fun for everyone. The pet bird gets to spend more time in one on one interaction, and their owners gets to spend less time doing laundry. I have been keeping pet birds for nearly 30 years, and … Read more
1. Sources of virus. Exotic Newcastle disease virus (NDV) can infect a wide variety of bird species. Parrots and other psittacine birds are especially dangerous because they can carry exotic Newcastle disease virus and show no signs of disease. Most infected chickens and turkeys will die from this disease but can also spread the virus. NDV … Read more
One of the most disheartening things a bird owner can experience is having a bird who plucks his feathers or mutilates himself. The first step is to see a veterinarian to determine if the cause is medical. Having ruled this out, the cause is then most likely behavioral. It may be lonliness, boredom, or lack … Read more
Over the years there have been hundreds of examples of birds who have been potty trained. We have heard of macaws, cockatoos, cockatiels, lories, conures, amazons, lovebirds and greys who have been successfully trained. Because parrots are among the most intelligent of the animal species, it is easy to understand why they can so easily … Read more
I saw, in person, my first Jardine’s Parrots in 1985 and there and then decided that we had to add a pair of them to our collection. Finally, in 1986 I was able to get a pair from a wholesale bird broker in California’s central valley. We segregated our new birds, did cultures and whatever … Read more
The avian ear, as the mammalian ear, is an organ of hearing and balance. The ear is composed of three parts – an external, a middle and an inner part. The external ear lacks a flap or pinna (earlobe) and is hidden by specialized feathers known as auricular feathers. The auricular feathers protect the opening, … Read more