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asic care is
essential for your bird(s) overall wellbeing. Here I will describe some
of the basic requirements of bird care. Please keep in mind that
this information is meant as a general guideline of bird
keeping. Some species may require more than I will cover.
Over
the years, I have tried many different products. During these
times of trials and errors, I have found what works best for my
birds and have stayed with these products based on results. I
share some of these with you here.
It is my opinion that most of the commercial cages found are NOT
of proper size to allow for flying which is an import aspect for
exercise. Birds need room to fly in a left to right manner.
Commercial cages are designed with more height than width.
Breeder cages are about the best as they allow room for your
bird to fly inside the cage. My birds
are housed one pair per cage in nothing less than a 24x16x16,
larger birds have larger cages.
On the cage bottom, I use only a meadow/orchid grass. One can
also use timothy hay. I don’t like to use paper as it gets wet
and doesn’t always dry. It can stick to the tray and make a real
mess! And wet paper is a ready made area for bacteria! Meadow
grass will absorb wetness and dries quickly. Plus, the birds
love to play with it and use it for nesting material. It is a
more natural form and is odor absorbent as well.
For perches, I cut tree branches of different thickness
appropriate for the
species.
I
place the perches at the same height of the cage, one on the
extreme left and the other on the extreme right. I allow enough
room for the bird to perch high and not hit its head on the cage
top nor have its tail feathers damage by hitting the cage sides.
Fresh seed and water is CRITICAL! Daily, empty uneaten seed and
remaining water from the cups. Wash the water cup and wipe the
seed cup. If the seed cup has become soiled, wash as well but be
certain to dry toughly. If your bird(s) are consuming all seed
and water within a 24 hour period, they are not receiving
enough.
Go Green: Take the uneaten seed and feed to outside birds! If
you live in a area where wildlife joins you in your backyard,
place uneaten seeds outside for all the animals to enjoy. We
collect our uneaten seeds from all our birds. Every two or three
days we empty the collection pail on to the ground in our yard.
The wild birds, squirrels, chipmunks, deer and bear come to
feast! They really appreciate this in the winter when food is
snow covered! I've found that the deer will eat the seed husks.
Now, we collect everything! Husks and uneaten seed and offer to
the wildlife. We've counted 11 deer feeding in our yard! What a
treat to see. One day I'll remember to get the camera and take
some pictures!
Due to the amount of cages I have, seed hoppers and water tubes
are used on most cages. The seed hoppers hold a 4-7 day supply
minimum for most of the finch breeders. Of course these are checked daily. The water
tubes hold enough water for 3-7 days as well depending on the species
and room temperature. Again, these are checked daily. To
maintain water freshness, bleach is added to the drinking water
at a ratio of 1 teaspoon per gallon. This not only keeps the
inner tubes clean and water fresh, it aids in reducing bacterial growth
both in the water and in the birds. Surprised to hear that I add
bleach in the birds drinking water? I was horrified when a
breeder first told me of this. Bleach! I exclaimed. Yes, she
said. Its no different than chlorine being added to city
drinking water. Being from New York City, my mind suddenly recalled
the smell of chlorine from the running tap to which I drank and
offered to all my pets. With raised eyebrows, I concluded
to the belief. I researched this a bit more just to settle my
mind to find that many other breeder have adopted this method.
Note: Seed hoppers work well for finches and canaries. For hook
bills such as parakeets, love birds and cockatiels I have had to
modify the units to allow for the bigger seed and sunflower to
drop through. For my doves and quail, I use seed troughs or
poultry feeders.
A good blend seed mix is important to feed. Commercial seed
(prepackaged) may sit on the shelf for long periods of time at a
warehouse before getting to your local pet shop. Because of
this, the seed may become stale which can cause illness to your
bird. It is best to purchase seed in bulk form from a feed store
that has high sales volume, this way the seed is fresher. Over the
many years of breeding I have tried many different seed sources
monitoring overall health and seed waste. You may now
purchase this seed from us.
A
bird’s diet should not be limited to just seed. You should offer
these leafy green vegetables daily- romaine lettuce, spinach,
kale, collard greens and mustard greens. Carrots, cauliflower
and broccoli too should be part of the daily diet. I have found
that chopping then mixing the above together works especially
well. Remember to let drain well prior to feeding. You can also mix the chopped veggies into
egg food. As of late, this is the method I have fostered as
it saves time on morning feeding and another food cup. NEVER
feed iceberg lettuce as it contains mostly water and will cause
very runny wet droppings. If you feed foods that spoil, please
remember to remove after 3-8 hours accordingly. Some birds take
to fruits. Do some experimenting and find the ones your bird(s)
will take to. Grapes and cut apples are a good start. Remember,
apples turn brown when out for a while. I have been told this is
actually bacteria growth, so please use caution.
Citrus fruits should be avoided. Avocados and apple seeds are
poison to birds and should never be offered! Sliced cucumber is a
veggie that birds seem to enjoy, I recommend feeding sparingly
only 1 -3 times per week in a separate cup/dish from all other
foods.
In a treat
cup
nestling food with seed is available at all times during the
breeding season.
Egg food and seed sprouts are placed on the center of the cage floor in an oval
dish. With the position of my perches, the egg food/seed sprout
dish is less likely to be popped in! Speaking of egg food and
seed sprouts, I mix my own egg food (well actually my wife is
the one to this chore) and sprout fresh seeds. This
is a vital source during the breeding season as it supplies
needed calcium and other nutrients’. For my egg food recipe and
sprouting instructions, click
here.
Lighting is another item to take into consideration. Birds need
to go through the seasons as this will allow the natural cycle
to breed, rest and molt. If your bird(s) are in a room with
windows this is easily achieved. Consideration should be
exercised so that the bird is not disturbed once nightfall has
happened by room lighting being turned on or headlights from
passing cars flooding the room with quick moving bright light.
This can cause night fright where the bird fly's haphazardly in
the cage seriously injury itself or worse...death from breaking
its neck! Once a bird is
sleeping, just one minute of light will wake them where they
will look to start feeding.
Birds
naturally look to eat upon sunrise. This sort of disturbance can cause
much stress in your bird. Stress can cause illness. Illness can
cause death.
Supplemental lighting is needed should your bird(s) by in an
area where no windows exist! Use natural sun light florescent lights on all cages.
(also know as Vit-lite)
Use a timer so that each day the on and off times are the same.
You can adjust according to outside natural light.
During summer, birds should have about 14-16 hours of light and
during winter about 8-10. In a room with natural light, the
birds will receive dawn and dusk time allowing them to wake and
roost. In my old bird room, when I had no windows, I used dimmer type lighting to replicate
dawn and dusk light. And let us not forget to
look at night lighting. Birds can not see once it is dark. Night
fright can cause them to bounce all over the cage causing injury
and in some cases, death! Mounted to the ceiling, I have dim
lights that stay on all night. This omits just enough light that
the birds can see there way back to roost should they become
startled during sleep time.
Temperature for most exotic birds is about the same. My bird
room is kept at about 70-73 degrees Fahrenheit in winter and
78-82 degrees Fahrenheit in summer. Some breeders do not have
heat or air conditioning in their bird rooms. Temps can bottom
out at 65 degrees Fahrenheit in winter and top off at 100
degrees Fahrenheit in summer. Birds will acclimate when these
temps occur over time. Sudden drops or elevation of temps can
and will cause adverse effects. Always keep your birds free from
drafts! Drafts can cause a bird to catch a cold that can easily
turn into a more serious illness and cause death within 24-48
hours.
For calcium and beak conditioning, a cuttle bone should be
available at all times for your bird(s). At times, these have a
fishy smell (well, it is the bone of the cuttle fish) that birds
are not too crazy about. To rectify this, simple give a quick
rinse under the tap. Let dry and place in cage using an
appropriate holder.
Spray millet is very beneficial to your birds and boy do they
relish it! If your bird(s) are not given millet on a regular
basis, they will devour it in no time. It is best to keep it
available to them at all times. I place a spray or two in the
center on the cage floor replacing it once per week. Once the birds
have it available to them all the time, they will nibble on it
instead of devouring! I recommend purchasing millet from bulk as
it is generally fresher. Once I had read that the prepackaged
millet may contain formaldehyde!
Our captive birds are not able to
self-medicate like birds in the wild therefore a supplement is
highly recommended and needed! An avian
herb salad is offered in another treat cup that I hang in
the upper back part of the cage. I can not begin to tell you the
results I have seen since using this product! Better color,
song, eggs laid and more hatches as well as birds recovering
from sprained legs, injured wings and illness! It’s a bit
expensive for me with all the birds I have, but it is worth its
weight in gold.
NOTE: Early 2006 I became a distributor of Twin Beaks
Aviary Herb Salad.
Some of the birds I breed require additional protein from live
food sources. Feeding meal worms is a simple way to achieve this
need. I simply add live worms on top of the egg food and sprouts
each day. Additional I sprinkle a mineral dust on top of the
worms. The mineral dust offers many essential minerals. I have
started the use of offering a mineral grit which I mix in to the
seed. The mineral grit contains sterilized oyster shell, sterilized egg shell
(both sources of calcium!) and other beneficial minerals.
Well, I have covered a lot of ground here. I hope that you have
gained some knowledge and have an understanding of some basic
bird care. I welcome your
questions.
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