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There are many books available for the pet bird owner or parrot lovers in general. They range from specific species guides that can help you care for your pet, to first-person accounts of bonding with a parrot, and beautiful collections of photographs in volumes intended to grace your coffee table. Let’s look at some books that any parrot lover would be happy to add to their collection. [Read more…] about Parrot Books: For Care, Training, Breeding and Species Guides
Feather stress bars can very easily be overlooked if you are new to pet birds and don’t know what they mean. In fact, a lot of people view them as something normal and don’t pay them enough attention even when they do notice them. Needless to say, this is very bad for your bird. So, without further ado:
Simply put, stress bars are visible lines that run crosswise through a bird’s feather. Together with the lines, there’s usually a change in the feather’s width as parts of the feather on both sides have stopped growing and the rest of it has continued the grow from the middle section. It doesn’t take an avian vet education to realize that this can’t be good for your bird – it just needs a moment’s thought. [Read more…] about Understanding Feather Stress Bars: Causes, Identification and Solutions
A dilemma faced by many pet bird owners is in determining the sex of their avian housemates. This is due to the fact that many species of birds that are popular with bird enthusiasts are not sexually dimorphic, meaning there are no visible physical characteristics that distinguish male from female individuals. In many cases, the males and females of an avian species appear to be identical.
Species such as the budgie, have a gender that can be easily identified when they are adults but may not be easy to see in young birds. Since a large majority of birds are selected by future owners or breeders before they are sexually mature, this poses a problem when choosing which bird to purchase.
DNA testing is a reliable way to determine the sex of your bird. We will take a look at what exactly DNA testing entails, as well as how it is accomplished. There are other uses of DNA testing in addition to gender identification which we will briefly review. [Read more…] about Bird DNA Testing for Gender, Species and Disease Identification
Just as mammals shed their fur and reptiles change their skin, so do birds molt their feathers. Yet, for some reason, people are often surprised and even freaked out when they see a molting bird.
There are even plenty of cases where new bird owners try to return their bird or bring her to a vet because of her simply molting. And while this is definitely ill-advised, it’s also kind of understandable – bird molting isn’t talked about as much as fur shedding or reptiles’ change of skin and as a result, some new bird owners get caught by surprise. There is nothing to be freaked out about, however – bird molting is completely natural and harmless and all birds do it. [Read more…] about Bird Molting: When? Why? How often? And Symptoms of Bird Molting
No matter how well you have trained your parrot to talk to you, it cannot tell you when it is not feeling well. As your avian companion’s human caretaker, it is up to your observations to determine if your bird is undergoing health issues. Birds will instinctively hide their ailments, as in the wild they would mark the animal as easy prey.
This desire to conceal illness makes your health monitoring very difficult. By the time noticeable behavioral changes are apparent, your bird may be very ill. Similarly, dull feathers may become evident to you after your bird is already seriously ill and in need of attention. [Read more…] about Parrot Poop, Diseases and the Health of Your Pet Bird
Even if you take all possible precautions to keep your bird comfortable, unforeseen circumstances can cause your pet to overheat. In extreme cases, your bird could suffer from heat stress which can lead to heat stroke. Your bird can lose consciousness and even die when the temperature exceeds their comfort zone. Here’s what to do if you run into this problem. [Read more…] about Keeping Overheated Birds Cool in Hot Summer Temperatures