Feather damaging behaviour (FDB) is damage to, or destruction of, a bird’s feathering by the birds themselves. It can include a number of behaviours including: Feather chewing – the bird chews at the ends of their feathers, damaging the vane. Feather barbering – the bird chews along the entire length…
Birds can carry a large number of external parasites (ectoparasites) – fleas, ticks, mites, and lice. This isn’t as common as people sometimes appear to believe and is greatly overrated (over-treated) as a cause of feather damaging behaviour and feather loss. See these articles for more information on feather damaging…
Advances in recent years have shown us that feeding an all-seed diet is not just a bad diet, but one that actively contributes to the death of thousands of pet birds every year. Did you know? That sunflower seed contains 49% fat – three times as much fat as the…
Birds gather together in a flock which serve primarily as a protective unit for the birds. The relationship the birds have with one another is essential to the survival of each individual. The need for social interaction between the birds, although extremely important, is secondary to the instinct for survival….
One of the main reasons for having a pet is to bond with them in some fashion. Ideally, birds and owners interact as flock members, but not as mates. When the behaviour of a parrot causes this bond to be severed, the results can be devastating to the owner and…
Many bird owners like to groom their birds, i.e., trim their wings, nails, and beaks. This has to be done carefully, as your bird may be injured if the correct techniques are not used. Often these procedures are best done by a veterinarian experienced with birds. Wing trimming Wing trimming…
Although aviculturists want their birds to lay eggs, pet bird owners face a dilemma that is the exact opposite – they want to stop, or at least limit, the number of eggs their bird lays. Left unchecked, some birds, especially cockatiels, will lay one egg after another until they are…
Lorikeets are brightly coloured birds of the Psittacine (parrot) family ranging from 15cm to 30cm in size, native to the Australasian region including south-eastern Asia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. They are becoming increasingly more popular as pets, but general knowledge on their care is lacking or misleading. The most…
Identifying your bird with confidence Can you honestly say that, if your bird was in a cage full of similar birds (species, sex, and colour) that you could unhesitatingly point to one of them and say, “That’s my bird!” If your bird escaped and was handed in to a local…
Worming birds – both aviary birds and companion pets – is a subject that is hotly discussed in avicultural and pet circles, with almost as many opinions as there are bird keepers. Thoughts seem to range between worming your bird every 6 weeks to never doing it at all. And…