Being a passionate bird person myself, and the content creator of World Wide Birds magazine, my first post will be about birds as pets.
There are many bird species to choose from: Budgies, cockatiels, canaries, lovebirds, conures, parrotlets, doves, Pionus, and Meyer’s parrots are easy to keep. Some basic knowledge about their dietary and environmental requirements is needed.
Birds that are more challenging and most demanding and need more knowledge and care, are African Greys, cockatoos, and macaws. Their dietary and environmental requirements need much more knowledge.
A lot of information is available on our World Wide Birds website as well as our magazines that can be downloaded from this website.
Dr. Barton Huber from Animal Medical Center of Corona in California is one of our Premier bird magazine subscribers. Some great information about birds as pets by Dr. Bart:
Nutrition is the most important.
Lack of a proper, balanced, nutritionally sound diet is the leading cause of heath problems in birds. It has been estimated that 85% of birds that get sick do so due to poor nutrition, with Vitamin A (Beta Carotene) being the number one deficiency in our feathered friends.
Birds get sick for many reasons but there are two main categories where most of the problems lie. These two categories are the bird’s environment and diet. After these comes trauma as a source of problems, but it runs a weak third. If bird owners can optimize their birds’ environment and diet, many problems which we avian veterinarians see could be avoided. This means that your bird can live a longer, healthier life and your wallet will also be spared much trauma! When you do need the services of a veterinarian, make sure that the veterinarian is an avian veterinarian who sees birds on a regular basis. It is not a bad idea to call around and talk to some of the local veterinarians who claim to be “bird experts” and ask them some questions, don’t be afraid to ask for references either.
Full article: Avian Health Care Tips
Featured image Courtesy: Amanda Swift
Content creator: Petrus A. van Tonder