Jazz is preparing for our next motor home jaunt. That means Mama (me) has had to get busy putting together his amusements. The truth is that he doesn’t find much interesting about the store-bought stuff, which can be construed as a blessing since most of it costs a bundle. It seems that the commercial parrot … 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
Recently someone approached me with the question, “What is a Bird Breeder?”Responding to a question of this sort, entails some profound thoughts to answer adequately, fully and correctly, which I am sure I will be unable to accomplish totally. Avian breeders can and quite often consists of individuals or families with only one or two … 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
1.If a deal seems too good to be true, it generally is. Shop around. Ask someone else. 2. Ask the exhibitors (breeders) questions BEFORE BUYING….. a) Did you raise the bird? There are differences b) Do you own the parents? c) Is it closed banded with a traceable band? d) Was it incubator hatched? e) … Read more
Home made bird toys are becoming increasingly important to parrot keepers and their parrots. You don’t have to be an organized person to make great toys at home. All you need is a designated place to accumulate new parts, washed re-usable parts, scissors, and stringing rope. Set aside a budgeted sum to buy new parts … Read more
It is quite common to walk into a pet store and see many smaller bird cages made from plastic or thin metal. Such cages are quite inexpensive and give a potential new bird owner the idea that purchasing a cage is not a major investment. That may be true for smaller birds. But such cages … Read more
A frequent concern heard from bird owners is the inability to get birds interested in eating vegetables. Because vegetables contain vitamins and nutrients considered essential to a bird’s health, refusal to eat such foods can be very frustrating for bird owners. I had never had to deal with such a situation until this last spring, … Read more
Paramyxoviruses are enveloped RNA viruses that hemoglutinate red blood cells. Nine serotypes (PMV-1 – PMV-2) exist based upon the species or type of birds from which the virus was isolated and the location of isolation. PMV-1, 2, 3 and 5 can cause illness in psittacines. Numerous strains of PMV-1 exist, some of which are very … 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