My answer to a Quora question
We have 10 flighted birds in our home.
7 budgies (all rescues) never leave their large aviary and keep themselves organized and busy all day.
Our rescues African Ringneck, Blue Quaker, and Grey cockatiel all came to us clipped.
Sharon McA. asks,
May I use a fluorescent bulb rather than a full spectrum bulb atop my birdcage for my two Indian Ringnecks? Please advise. Thanks.
Karen C. asks,
Have you ever experienced dealing with a bird that has developed what they are calling “bumblefoot”?
I have a parakeet that has a sore spot on the bottom of one of its feet.
When I looked it up on the internet it didn’t seem like much could be done and this little guy isn’t finger trained.
He was a rescue along with 3 other birds.
It’s quite a feat to catch him at all and I don’t want to stress him out anymore than the poor thing already is.
Rob K. relates,
Mitch, I have read much and understood all of your points about lighting. My bird is a Congo African Grey.
My concern is that I have also read articles about the danger of eye damage such as cataracts from such closeness and intensity of the light.
At the equator, high noon footcandles range from 9-10,000 and cycle up and down moonlight to moonlight (.01 FC @ full moon) and between dawn & dusk (10 FC).
Barbara T. writes
My darling birdlings, parakeets, happen to both be female.
One, MoonShadow, is approx 7 years old…a rescue.
When her partner passed last year, after the funeral, MoonBirdy was sooo lonely, depressed, inactive.
We, in mid pandemic, bought a pet shop friend for her. Of course, the pet shop attendant assured my husband Mercury was Male.
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Hello Catherine, I just wanted to show you the new cage I got for Kelly recently.
He’s only been in it a few days.
I was excited to see him move around and explore, however, I needed to get the ladder because he was struggling to get to the top play area.
It’s sad to see how helpless he is without enough feathers to fly.
Hi Mitch!
I just read your blog on someone who had asked about this same thing. My local powder coater is suggesting…
(of course in addition to zinc-free base coat) that I should use FDA approved coating.
Scott writes,
Hey folks: Our 4-year-old (almost) male gray Cockatiel Buddy has a dander problem?
We can get him to bathe outdoors when he’s out in the lanai and it happens to be raining which is a fairly common occurrence here in west-central Florida but the problem (?) is that we can’t get him wet to the skin. Buddy will shake off after a bath and a cloud of dander will “poof” off him.
I’ve read that birds, in general, need to get wet to the skin to remain healthy. Any thoughts?
Barbara T. wants to know
My darling birdlings, parakeets, happen to both be female. One, Moonshadow, is approx 7 years old…a rescue.
When her partner passed last year, after the funeral, Moonbirdy was sooo lonely, depressed, inactive.
We, in mid pandemic, bought a pet shop friend for her. Of course, the pet shop attendant assured my husband Mercury was Male.
Deborah F. is looking to get new perches for my blue fronted amazon male and orange wing amazon female… they like to sit on the same perch during their out time ..which is most of the day.
Would this perch (small) or the same one in medium be strong enough to hold them both?
Coffee Tree Perch Natural Y by Prevue 9″ Small
Right now they have a medium Polly sand perch with no coating on it and it holds them just fine.
