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…
Birds have been kept as companion animals (pets) for many hundreds of years, but the last 50 years have seen a surge in their popularity. A large number of species are kept as pets, with interactions ranging from a bird who becomes a part of the household to a bird…
This sounds like a very basic question to ask, but it’s one that needs to be addressed. Are birds the right companion animals (pets) for me? Birds are very clever. They can comprehend and learn things. There are plenty of studies that prove their intelligence [1]. They need care, the…
At some time, you, the owner, must handle (and sometimes restrain), your bird. Traditionally, it was considered acceptable to put on a heavy pair of gloves, pin the bird to the tabletop or the side of the cage and then drag them, struggling and screaming, into a position where the…
When looking at bird, you must be aware of the ‘masking phenomenon’. Birds are, for the most part, a prey species (i.e., other animals eat them). A natural survival instinct, developed over millions of years, is to hide signs of illness from potential predators – including people (the ‘masking phenomenon’)….
Every year hundreds of birds suffer from health problems caused by their environment. Their human companions are often shocked (and horrified) when they discover that their bird has been exposed to a hazard in their own home, often a hazard of which they were not aware. Birds, in many ways,…
Companion birds are most commonly kept in indoor cages and enclosures, although some are housed in either temporary or permanent outdoor enclosures. These cages range from small (outdated) budgie cages to large steel framed macaw cages. Aviary birds are generally housed outdoors (in Australia) in either full-flight (a solid floor…
At some time, everyone who keeps birds will acquire a new bird – a new pet, a new breeder, a new bloodline. Usually all works out well; both parties (buyer and seller) are happy, and the bird does well in their new home. But this is not always the case….