How Did Our Cockatiel’s Leg and Foot End Up in a Paper Cast?
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How Did Our Cockatiel’s Leg and Foot End Up in a Paper Cast?

 Funny you should ask – file under life imitating art imitating life.

On the heels (<- pun) of last week’s blog entitled “How do birds sleep standing on one leg?” where we saw the most exceptional illustrations of how the flexor tendons in a birds leg act as an ingenious pulley system enabling a bird to firmly grasp a perch even while sleeping and in the case of birds of prey this system also aids in the killing of said prey.

Mother nature as usual was simple eloquent and right to the point. The question arose recently, for us, how do you shut down 50% of that system for maintenance? It’s been an interesting few days.

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Bird Cage Seed Guards – A Pet Bird Keepers Solution Or Problem?
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Bird Cage Seed Guards – A Pet Bird Keepers Solution Or Problem?

I purchased a new cage for my severe macaw about a year ago and the seed guards are only 3 inches in width. Since she seems to like to hang on the side of the cage, and of course poops while there, the guard doesn’t catch it and we have a mess on the floor.

Could you recommend a particular cage approx? 20 deep x 24 wide with larger seed guards? thanks!

Deb

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Your Government Wants to Outlaw Your Pet Bird!
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Your Government Wants to Outlaw Your Pet Bird!

We’ve all heard about all those government perks Swedes get – 97% of their healthcare is picked up by various Swedish taxing bodies (about 9% of Sweden’s costs for health and medical care amount to approximately 9 percent of Sweden’s gross domestic product GDP)

Stuff like 5 weeks paid vacation when you start a job, increasing with your length of tenure – 480 days of paid parental leave – it’s cold and dark and then sunny and perfect and all those beautiful women (although I’m reminded here in edit by Catherine that the beautiful women are not supplied by the government 🙁

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Accessories to Keep Your Bird Cage Area Cleaner That Actually Work. 
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Accessories to Keep Your Bird Cage Area Cleaner That Actually Work. 

We’re going to start out with one of our favorite product lines that’s been solving birdcage cleanliness for more than a decade – Lixit water bottles.
Do you really need a water bottle? Birds being the messy creatures that they are will poop in their water dishes regardless of placement we think yes.
 
They spray food, poop, and other contaminants into their drinking water which carries bacteria that gets ingested by your bird causing mouth & throat infections. Think of the $200 vet bill….minimum. 

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This Cockatiel Gets a Bird Cage Makeover
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This Cockatiel Gets a Bird Cage Makeover

Today we put a new Parrot Cup Cover in Popcorn’s cage as it popped into my head a bit ago that perhaps her repeated bacterial infections might be resulting from her pooping into her water.
We do not see her do it inside the cage, but we now see she tends to sit on top of the cage which is right above her water dish.
So a cover for the water was on my “birdie wish list”. I had thought about a water bottle but maybe later. This looked like a good start. (more…)

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Is Newspaper Print Safe for My Bird?
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Is Newspaper Print Safe for My Bird?

Is Newspaper Print Safe for My Bird?
 
We loving your Sunday morning birdie brunches. Wonderful info, but I do have a question about one of the suggestions.
I have a “teil”. Is it really SAFE to put newspaper on TOP of the grate???
My Merlin would chew the newspaper and maybe eat it. But if it’s safe, this sounds like a great idea.
Also, if I put his food dish on the newspaper, then won’t I wind up with poop in the dish? Thanks for all your info and a great website.
 
Linda W 
 

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The International Bird Carrier Caper and Paperwork Avalanche
The International Bird Carrier Caper and Paperwork Avalanche

The International Bird Carrier Caper and Paperwork Avalanche

A couple of months ago we talked about the how to’s of traveling with your bird. the physical portion of terrestrial travel doesn’t change whether you’re traveling in town or across the country.

You can travel with your bird by air or by car. We talked about Disaster preparation with your bird. Here’s a great page that outlines what you need to do and lists a whole bunch of pet friendly hotels and motels which dovetails with our talk about travel today.

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Where to Put a Swing and How to Get a Bird Used to It
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Where to Put a Swing and How to Get a Bird Used to It

Recently I visited a customer to deliver an order and was invited to come in and see their new rescued Macaw named Paulie. A beautiful Scarlet in a huge Prevue 3155 cage, the top third was loaded with toys and a large Booda Rope Swing. They said the macaw had not used the swing set, as he seemed to be intimidated by the movement of it so it hung pristine and lonely.  

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DYK – Your Bird Keeps Better Time than a Swiss Watch?
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DYK – Your Bird Keeps Better Time than a Swiss Watch?

Quick, say “diurnal, circadian, or photoperiodic clock” five times fast. And that my friend explains how your bird can tell time. Although your bird cannot tell what day it is it does know what the month is of each year using its circannual (calendar) clock. It actually knows the precise time of day (just not what day it is).
 
iPhone might have Siri but with no Internet connection whatsoever your bird gets “messaged” on a regular basis, indicating the proper times to change feathers (molt), when to breed, and with migrating birds, when to migrate.

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