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Housing Considerations Pet birds may be caged or allowed to remain on perches while the owner is home to supervise their activity. Birds should be confined to cages while their owners are away to avoid accidental injury and other misfortune. Unsupervised pet birds allowed "the run of the house" often get into trouble. Not only can they be terribly destructive to the home and its furnishings, but all homes contain objects that can be harmful (directly or indirectly) to pet birds. These include mirrors, windows, walls, house plants, electrical cords, and items containing harmful chemicals. Birds resting on open perches are usually content to remain there, and usually take flight only when frightened by a sudden movement or loud noise. Unfortunately, these "impromptu" flights are taken without a flight plan and birds usually wind up crashing into walls, doors, windows, or mirrors because of their confusion and poor depth preception. The major source of poisoning of pet birds is lead found in curtain (drapery) weights, curtain pulls, leaded and stained glass, fishing sinkers, and ammunition carelessly discarded in ashtrays or dropped on the floor, costume jewelry, and in the lead wrapping around the tops of wine bottles, to name the most common sources. Most caged birds seem to have an affinity for this soft metal and love to chew on it. Poisoning results from eating even a small amount of lead. Lead poisoning can be successfully treated if diagnosed early enough. Caged birds allowed unrestricted freedom in the home may eat house plants or chew on electrical cords, resulting in illness and injury. Some unsupervised pet birds chew on macrame, carpet, and other similar fabrics and often swallow these materials, resulting in crop and intestinal impactions. Free-flying birds are also more vulnerable to injury from ceiling fans, hot stoves, and attack by pet dogs, cats, and ferrets sharing the same household. It is wise not to underestimate the aggressiveness of our 4-legged friends, and to restrict contact between them and pet birds as much as possible. Birds allowed unrestricted freedom and flight within the home may escape through open doors and windows. Most bird owners have the mistaken notion that their bird would never fly away and leave them. Unfortunately, birds that have escaped the owner's home easily become disoriented when outdoors. This confusion makes return or capture of the escaped bird very unlikely. The location of the cage and/or perch in the home is important. Some birds thrive in areas of heavy traffic, where they receive lots of attention and are part of all the "goings on". Others seem to prefer more privacy and solitude. A pet bird should never be kept in the kitchen. In addition to the obvious gas fumes and occasional smoke from cooking food, there is another, much more dangerous, threat to birds in the kitchen. Super-heated Teflon and related brandname non-stick pan coatings emit fumes that are deadly to birds. This "accident" happens most often when someone inadvertantly leaves a pan, coated with a non-stick surface, on a lighted gas or electric range burner. The pan becomes hot and the non-stick coating overheats, emitting toxic fumes. Birds that inhale these fumes die quickly. There are several other considerations when allowing birds unrestricted freedom and flight within the home. Birds flying about may end up in an uncovered pot or pan cooking on the stoves. Free-flying birds tend to assume a more dominent posture in their relationship with people and often become intolerably aggressive. Wing Trimming To be safe, all caged birds should have their wings trimmed. The decision to deny a caged bird free, unrestricted flight (as in the wild) is subconsciously made by each bird owner at the time the bird is made a captive pet in the home. Wing trimming merely makes this confinement safer for the bird. The flight feathers of both wings should be trimmed. If the bird takes flight for any reason, its descent to the floor is balanced and relatively controlled. Trimming the feathers of only one wing results in a precarious and unbalanced descent to the floor, often injuring the bird. Another disadvantage is that many birds with only one wing trimmed can fly as soon as 1-2 flight feathers have grown out on the trimmed side. Some bird owners prefer not to trim the wings of their smaller caged birds (parakeets, cockatiels) because their flying brings the owner great enjoyment. These small caged birds have a smaller turning radius in flight than the larger ones. Consequently, the smaller birds can usually safely fly about most homes and apartments. One other advantage of not trimming the wings of these small birds is that it allows them to escape when in danger and threatened by any pet cats, ferrets, or dogs in the home. However, generally it is best to keep your pet bird's wings trimmed at all times, except for the specific circumstances detailed above. Trimming the wings is like trimming your fingernails. If performed preperly, the bird will experience no bleeding or discomfort. Trimming the wings makes taming the bird easier and usually shortens the time for taming. Furthermore, this procedure changes the bird's appearance very little. Have an experienced veterinarian or veterinary technician perform this task and teach you how to properly do it. Beak and Claw (Nail) Clipping Caged birds live in a very "geometric" world, in contrast to their wild counterparts. Most of the surfaces they perch on (perches, cage bars, etc) are very smooth and regular. Consequently, the claws and beaks of pet birds tend to overgrow, and the surfaces of their beaks also tend to become rough and irregular. In a wild bird's natural environment, this problem never arises because wild birds are very active and wear down their claws on tree bark, rocks, and other abrasive surfaces. Most caged birds need their claws trimmed periodically in spite of gimmicks often employed to keep them shortened. Sandpaper perch covers, for example, do not prevent nail overgrowth but they do cause irritation and excessive wear of the soles of the feet. Sandpaper perch covers should not be used. An emery board, nail clippers, or cautery instrument can be used to shorten the claws of smaller caged birds. A rapidly rotating grinding stone is used to trim the claws and to shorten, shape, and smooth the beaks of larger birds. The results are very professional and satisfying. You should not attempt to trim the beak of your bird. If you do attempt to trim the claws, you must have something on hand with which to stop any bleeding. These clotting aids are called styptics. Recommended styptics include Kwik-Stop (Animal Research Co), silver nitrate sticks, and ferric subsulfate (Monsel's solution). If bleeding occurs while trimming the claws, do not panic. First, carefully restrain bird. Next, squeeze the toe just above the claw (tourniquet effect). Then apply the stypic to the bleeding claw. Alternate the last two steps until the bleeding has stopped. Always seek veterinary help when your bird is bleeding or has bled. Bleeding always represents an emergency situation. Corn starch or flour is a common household item that can be applied to bleeding claws or other wounds to help with blood clotting and to stop bleeding. The steps outlined above are first-aid precedures only and are not a substitute for veterinary assistance. Leg Band or Quarantine Ring Removal Leg bands and quarantine rings are often applied to the legs of caged birds for regulatory purposes or to help breeders to identify individual birds. Once the bird is sold, the band or ring is unnecessary and should be removed. Most limb injuries (broken or sprained legs, etc) in caged birds involve a banded leg. Band removal should not be attempted by a bird owner. Only an experienced veterinarian or veterinary technician should perform this procedure. Drafts Contrary to popular opinion, drafts are not harmful to healthy pet birds. A draft is really nothing more than a slight movement of air, usually accompanied by a mild temperature drop. A bird's feathers provide insulation against temperature extremes far in excess of what a draft represents. Drafts are, therefore, usually inconsequential to pet birds. The notable exception to this generality is the cool and sometimes cold air produced by air conditioners. Most caged birds cannot tolerate the rapid temperature extremes produced by thermostatically controlled air conditioners. For this reason, cages and perches should not be positioned directly beside or beneath air conditioning, heating, and ventilation outflows. Furthermore, sick birds should always be removed from drafty circumstances to prevent heat loss. Bathing Many exotic birds originally lived in tropical climates where rainfall is a daily, or otherwise frequent, occurence. Rainwater provides drinking water and an opportunity for bathing. Birds typically take advantage of this moisture by "showering" during a rainstorm or bathing in puddles formed by the falling rainwater. This keeps their feathers healthy, and restores and maintains a brilliant sheen to the plumage. Caged birds should also be allowed to bathe periodically. Some prefer to bathe in a small container; others tolerate being sprayed or misted with water. Regular tap water and a spray bottle or plant mister should be used. Commercial solutions available for this purpose offer no particular advantage and may, in fact, be harmful. Many pet bird owners enjoy taking their bird into the shower with them on a regular basis. Bathing activities can be undertaken once daily or as often as convenient. It is important to allow the bird to air dry in a warm room or in the warm sunshine. Hair dryers can be used to blow dry your bird, but the appliance must be held a safe distance (more than 10 inches away) from the bird to prevent burns. Covering the Cage at Night Covering the bird's cage at night is open to question. Because of thr tremendous insulating capacity of feathers, covering the bird's cage at night may not be necessary to protect the occupant from the cool drafts during the night when the thermostat is usually turned down. The one exception to this would be on cold nights in colder climates. A benefit of covering your bird's cage at night is that it provides a regular period of privacy not usually allowed during the day. Furthermore, it tends to keep the bird quiet in the early morning when it would otherwise become active and vocal. If you now cover you bird's cage at night, continue to do so. If you have not done so in the past and find that your pet bird panics or acts agitated with a cover over its cage, do not continue covering the cage. Hygiene Good hygiene is an important part of the husbandry for caged birds because most are confined to a relatively small living space. Consequently, droppings often accumulate on cage parts and perches, and tend to contaminate food and water cups, resulting in bacterial proliferation and mold growth. Perches should be kept scrupulously clean at all times. Soap and water, cleansers, and sand paper may be used to clean them, if necessary. Cage-bottom coverings should be changed daily. Cages should be given a thourough scrubbing and cleaning at least once a month. Sanitizing products work best if the cage and perches are first given a thourough soap and water scrubbing to remove all the major contamination. Diluted chlorine bleach can be used if thouroughly rinsed off afterwards. Food and water containers should be thouroughly cleaned once or twice daily before they are refilled. Bottle brushes work best for cleaning water tubes and bottles. Water tubes and bottles with a ball valve at the drinking end (water bottles for rodents) are increasing in popularity. They greatly reduce the possibility of contamination of the drinking water with droppings, uneaten food, and saliva, all of which contribute to massive bacterial proliferation within the water and its container. The corners of food and water containers are the most common areas for bacterial buildup. Therefore, concentrate on those trouble spots while cleaning these containers. Several sets of food and water cups should be maintained and used interchangeably. One set not in use can be soaking in a disinfectant solution. When possible, use a dishwasher for the final cleaning of these food and water containers because their extremely hot temperatures aid in disinfection. Rigid standards of hygiene must be maintained at all times. Disease-causing bacteria grow freely in most water containers. Small numbers of these bacteria from food, saliva, or droppings can quickly multiply into millions of organisms in a water container, yet the water appears normal to you. Allow the water tap to run for about 3 minutes before filling the water container. Bottled water dispensers should be allowed to run for about 5 seconds before filling the drinking container. These bacteria do not affect most people but can have devastating consequences for caged birds if allowed to multiply. Diet Supplementation Birds, like people, "are what they eat." Therefore, to be healthy, they must consume all of the necessary nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water) in the proper proportions. Unfortunately, the exact nutritional requirements for all of the various caged birds have not been determined. Commercial bird diets advertised as "complete" or "balanced" are, therefore, not truly scientifically formulated. These diets are the result of breeding successes or have been derived from poultry diets. Caged birds should be given vitamin supplements because of the uncertainties in their nutritional requirements. Powdered vitamins (Nekton-S: Nekton Products, W. Germany) can be sprinkled over fruits, vegetables, and other table food items to which the powder will adhere. Do not sprinkle powdered vitamins over seeds. Powders do not adhere to dry seeds and end up on the bottom of the food cup. Furthermore, birds do not eat the seed hull, to which the powder may adhere. A water-soluble vitamin (Avitron: Lambert Kay) should be added to the drinking water and replenished with each water change. Do not distribute liquid vitamins over seeds because they can cause the seeds to become rancid. If liquid vitamins are used, the water container should be scrubbed out thouroughly and changed 1-2 times daily because vitamin preparations tend to promote bacterial growth. Vitamin supplements intended for birds must contain Vitamin D3 because this is the only form of vitamin D that can be used by birds. Water-soluble mineral preparations (Avimin: Lambert Kay or Neocalglucon: Sandoz) can be added to the drinking water. As with the vitamin preparations, the mineral supplements represent an "insurance policy" in case the bird's diet is lacking in one or more of these trace nutrients. Mineral supplements are especially important for egg-laying birds to replenish minerals used in forming egg shells. Additional sources of minerals may be offered to caged birds when needed. Cuttle bone and oyster shell may be offered to smaller caged birds. Oyster shell and mineral blocks may be provided for larger caged birds. Because birds do not have teeth, they do not chew their food. The gizzard functions to break up seeds and other food items so that they can be digested. Wild birds consume sand or tiny pebbles ("grit") which pass into their gizzards and remain within this muscular organ to assist in the mechanical breakdown of seeds and other firm foodstuffs. Grit apparently is not absolutely necessary for proper digestion among hookbilled birds (parakeets, cockatiels, parrots). Hookbilled birds that have been denied grit for extended periods do not pass whole, undigested seeds in their droppings. In fact, use of grit for these caged birds is controversial among aviculturists. Avian veterinary experts, however, are unanimous in their opinion that grit for hookbilled birds is unnecessary and may, in fact, create serious problems (grit impaction and intestinal blockage) when consumed in large amountsl. This is most likely to occur during periods of illness. For this reason, grit need not be given to hookbilled caged birds, but it should be provided for passerine-type caged birds (finches, canaries). Owners of finches and canaries, however, should be vigilant and remove grit from the cage at once if illness is suspected. Disease: How to Recognize It and What to Do Most disease in caged birds is directly or indirectly related to malnutrition and stress. Malnutrition most often stems from what the birds eats, rather than how much it eats. Most caged birds are offered enough food, but they do not receive enough of the proper foods and in the proper proportions. Stress results from any condition that compromises a bird's state of well-being. Examples include poor husbandry, inadequate diet, repid temperature changes, and trauma. All owners of caged birds must understand that birds tend to "hide" signs of illness. Birds can compensate for serious internal disease in such a way that they appear healthy externally. It is theorized that evolution has "taught" birds to hide signs of illness to avoid being harrassed and possibly killed by other birds in the same flock. Because of these disease-masking tendency, by the time a bird owner recognizes illness in a pet bird, the bird may have been sick for 1-2 weeks. Therefore, one cannot afford to take a "wait and see" approach and hope the bird improves. Be observant and act promptly. Learn to look for subtle signs of illness, and take special note of changes in routine and habits of your pet bird. Seek veterinary assistance promptly if you suspect illness. Following is a list of signs of illness easily recognizeable by the concerned bird owner. Alone or in combination, they signify potential illness in your bird. Signs of Illness * Discharge from the eyes. * Change in clarity or color of the eyes. * Closing of the eyes. * Swelling around the eyes. * Discharge from the nostrils. * Obstructed nostrils. * Soiling feathers on head or around nostrils. * Sneezing. * Inability to manipulate food within the mouth. * Reduced appetite or not eating at all. * Fluffed-up feathers. * Inactivity. * Droopy wings. * Decreased preening and feather maintenance. * Break in the bird's routine. * Changed or no vocalization (may be serious). * Weight loss. * Equilibrium problems (very serious!). * Inability to perch (bird on cage bottom). * Limping or not bearing weight on one leg. * Swollen feet or joints. * Change in quality or quantity of droppings. * Open-mouthed breathing when at rest (very serious!). * Tail pumping (rhythmic back and forth motion of the tail when at rest). * Lumps or masses anywhere on the body. * Bleeding (always an emergency situation, regardless of the origin). If you suspect illness in your bird, do not delay in making an appointment with your veterinarian. Either transport your bird to the doctor's office within its cage or use some other suitable container (smaller cage, pet carrier, box). Never visit the veterinarian with your bird perched on your shoulder. This method does not provide enough protection for your pet. Whatever container you choose should be covered to help minimize the stress to your sick bird during its visit. If you take your bird to the veterinarian in its own cage, do not clean it first. The material you discard could represent valuable information to the veterinarian. After a sick bird has been initially treated by a veterinarian, home care is very important. Sick birds must be encouraged to eat and must be kept warm. Illness can cause significant weight loss in a matter of days, especially if the bird stops eating. If this happens, the patient must be hospitalized. However, even a sick bird with a "healthy appetite" can lose substantial weight because of the energy drain caused by the ilness. As a general rule of thumb, any caged bird that appears ill to its owner is seriously ill. One day of illness for a bird is roughly equivalent to seven days of illness for a person. The tendency for pet bird owners in this situation is to first seek advice from pet stores and there purchase antibiotics and other medication for their sick pet bird. With very few exceptions, these non-presribed products are worthless. They allow the sick bird to become even sicker, and greatly compromise the results of diagnostic tests that the veterinarian may require to properly diagnose and treat the patient. Contact your veterinarian at the slightest sign of illness in your bird. Supplemental heat (space heater, heated room, heating pad under cage bottom or wrapped around the cage, heat lamp) is vital for a sick bird. It is especially necessary if the bird's feathers are fluffed up. Provide just enough heat so that the feather posture appears normal. Overheating the patient must be avoided at all costs. Heat-stressed birds pant, hold their wings away from the body, depress their feathers close to the body, and appear anxious and agitated. Heat stroke and death can result if the bird continues to be overheated. The envoronmental temperature should be kept at 80-95 F for sick birds. The patient's cage should be covered (top, back, and sides) during its convalescence. If a bird refuses to crack seeds or eat other foods that require a great deal of work, offer hulled or sprouted seeds or other "easy" foods, such as warm cereal, cooked rice, cooked pasta, vegetables, applesauce and other fruit sauces, and peanut butter. Remember, birds that refuse to eat must be hospitalized. Few people can successfully force-feed a sick bird at home. Droppings Can Reflect Illness A bird's droppings reflect its state of health. Therefore, it is a good idea to pay close attention to them. A bird's digestive, urinary, and reproductive tracts empty into a common receptacle called the cloaca and the products from them are expelled through the vent, which is the opening at the bird's "south end." A normal dropping may contain excretory products from the intestinal tract, urinary tract, or both. The fecal (stool) portion of the dropping should be green or brown. The color is influenced by the bird's diet. Normal droppings are formed into a coil, reflecting the size and diameter of the intestine. Along with the fecal portion is a variable amount of uric acid or urate ("whitewach") and urine ("water"). The urates are usually in a blob or mixed with the feces and should be white or beige. The urine portion soaks the papers of the cage bottom for a variable distance beyond the perimeter of the dropping. It is important to regularly observe the amount of urine being excreted in the droppings. For this reason, such material as crushed corn cobs or walnut shells should not be used on the cage bottom. These materials also tend to promote repid growth of disease-causing fungi on the cage bottom, especially when wet with urine or water. Newspaper or paper towels are preferable. Smaller caged birds (finches, canaries, parakeets) tend to have an individual blob of fecal material with an accompanying amount of urate. The amount of urine excreted is usually quite small. A bird has diarrhea when the fecal portion of the dropping lacks form ("pea soup"). Diarrhea is not very common in birds. A dropping with a normal fecal but a large amount of urine around it represents a watery dropping (polyuria), not diarrhea! All diarrheic droppings appear loose, but not all loose or watery droppings constiture diarrhea. This is a very important distinction. Polyuric droppings may indicate disease (diabetes or kidney disease), but more often they result from increased water consumption or consumption of large amounts of fleshy fruits and vegetables. The color, consistency, and amount of each component of the droppings of normal caged birds frequently change, depending on the type of food consumed, amount of water consumed, amount of stress experienced, mood changes, amd other factors. Abnormal droppings typically remain abnormal in appearance during the entire course of a bird's illness. Walter J. Rosskopf, Jr, DVM Avian and Exotic Animal Hospitals of Los Angeles and Orange Counties
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