Birds as Pets

Getting Ready for a New Bird

Whether your knowledge of birds comes from Woody Woodpecker, Tweety or “Polly wanna cracker?”, they make great companions: Some will cuddle with you, others will play and, of course, many will chat. Just keep …

Chlamydophila Psittaci in Birds

Your new bird doesn’t look healthy. It’s losing weight and looks depressed. It sits on the bottom of the cage with ruffled feathers. Your bird is sick, but you don’t know why. As the responsible pet owner, you take it …

Common Birds

Birds for Beginners – Getting your First Pet Bird

Not all birds are created equal! If you’re thinking about getting a pet bird, it is important to choose a bird that fits your personality and lifestyle. That way you can …

Egg Binding in Birds

Many sick pet birds look alike. They sit on the bottom of their cages with ruffled feathers and their heads down. This is why it’s so hard to figure out what is wrong with your bird without taking it to the veterinarian. Perhaps you also notice that your bird has a big belly. Perhaps it is a female who has a history of laying eggs but has suddenly stopped laying eggs. Your veterinarian will confirm this problem as “egg-binding”.

Egg-binding is a fairly common issue in certain female birds, such as cockatiels, budgies, and lovebirds. This is because these species tend to constantly lay eggs. If something prevents them from laying the egg, it will get stuck in the belly. When multiple eggs get stuck in the belly, this is called egg-binding.

Feather Plucking

What is feather-plucking? Feather-plucking, also known as feather-picking, is when a bird damages or removes its feathers. It is usually seen in captive birds, most commonly in African Greys and Cockatoos. Most often the bird plucks at its chest, but …

Getting Ready for a New Bird

Whether your knowledge of birds comes from Woody Woodpecker, Tweety or “Polly wanna cracker?”, they make great companions: Some will cuddle with you, others will play and, of course, many will chat. Just keep in mind that they are a …

Helping a Wild Bird

Beth McMaster of Wildbird Recovery in Middlesex offers these guidelines for what to do with a wild bird that appears to need help:

To catch and pick up an injured bird, throw a pillowcase or towel over it and gently …

Large Parrots

If you’re a bird enthusiast who has done research into owning a parrot, you may have decided that you’d like to get a large parrot. It could be for the talking ability, the bonding and interaction, or the shear beauty …

Parrot Pellets

Ninety-five percent of all pet birds are from the parrot family; people easily fall in love with these rewarding pets. They make very intelligent and affectionate companions. Unfortunately, there is much more general knowledge about taking care of cats and …

Pet Budgies

Budgerigars or Budgies for short, are one of the most popular pet birds in North America, and it isn’t hard to see why. These friendly birds are extremely intelligent, and can even be taught to speak. They are also relatively …

Proventricular Dilation Disease – PDD in Birds

Let’s say that lately you’ve been noticing that your bird isn’t feeling well. It’s lethargic, dull, and has ruffled feathers. Then you start noticing that it’s not getting better. In fact you’ve realized that even though it’s eating more, it …

Should I Clip My Bird’s Wings

Are you a new bird owner? Perhaps you are unsure about what kind of regular care your bird will need. Of course you need to feed and love it, but did you know that many bird owners choose to have their bird’s wings clipped? Wing clipping is one of the most controversial topics in pet bird ownership. In this article, we will discuss how wing clipping is done and what information you need to know before making this decision.

Although the thought of clipping a pet bird’s wings is horrendous to some bird owners, clipping is a very common procedure done to pet birds. It is done to prevent the bird from flying away and from flying into harmful household objects like windows and ceiling fans.  The idea behind wing clipping is to cut the “primary feathers”. Primary feathers are the long feathers that are closer to the wing tip. These feathers are very important for the bird’s ability to fly and to steer while flying. Some people will clip (cut) only one wing. When this is done, it is believed that the bird will not be able to fly, but will instead float down to the ground in a spiral.

Teaching a Pet Parrot Basic Etiquette

Normally, when people buy a pet, they expect it to be able to perform basic tricks and be as obedient as a dog. Now for parrots, the demands may be even higher especially when we see parrots like African Greys …

Teaching Parrots to Talk

In the wild, many types of birds learn to vocalize by repeating the sounds they hear around them. A young bird raised among its own kind will learn, of course, to make the same sounds and songs as its family …