Category: Bird & Parrot Care - Page 35

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How Do Amazon Parrots Use Light to Synthesize Vitamin D Having No Preening Gland? And Other Captive Amazon Care Questions

Mitch Rezman
December 1, 2017
Amazons / Bird & Parrot Breeding / Bird & Parrot Care / Bird Behavior / Bird Cage Info / Feeding Pet Birds
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How do Amazon parrots use light to synthesize Vitamin D having no preening gland?

As I was curating this post on Amazon parrot questions it got me thinking about one of my favorite subjects, full spectrum lighting and the synthesis of vitamin D in birds.

Amazon parrots are relatively unique having no preening gland (along with doves, pigeons and Hyacinth macaws).

The uropygial aka preening gland oozes a slippery goo which a bird rubs its head and beak against. Then spreads this oil over its feathered body.

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Why Do Parrots Enjoy Mimicking?

Mitch Rezman
November 30, 2017
Bird & Parrot Care / Bird Behavior / Training Birds
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How do we know parrots enjoy anything? Another question recently asked on Quora was “what do parrots do for fun”?

We know parrots prefer “working” for food versus simply eating from overflowing bowls of parrot food.

We know correlation does not necessarily imply causation but can we infer that work & play are one and the same for a parrot?

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Do Birds in Cages Suffer All Their Lives?

Mitch Rezman
October 20, 2017
Bird & Parrot Care / Bird Behavior / Bird Cage Info / Bird Lighting
0 Comments

Do birds in cages suffer all their lives?

Define suffer? If you don’t know any better how do you know you are suffering?

As good as our intentions are met by many things, they don’t necessarily meet our bird’s “instinctual expectations”.

Define a “cage”. If you talking about a big metal thing with bars that sits in your family room? In reality the entire home is a (bird) cage because the bird is not allowed to leave it unless it’s in a smaller travel cage

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Winter Checklist from ParrotMag.com for Outside Aviaries

Mitch Rezman
October 19, 2017
Bird & Parrot Care / Bird Cage Info / Bird Supplies Info / Birds & Lighting
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Some points here to help you through the winter months with outside aviaries – flights and to prepare for the new breeding season ahead:

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Congratulations – You’re No Longer a Caged Bird Keeper.

Mitch Rezman
October 14, 2017
Bird & Parrot Care / Bird Behavior / Feeding Pet Birds / Hormonal issues in birds
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You’ve been elevated to zookeeper

Dear Mitch,

I need advice in so many “bird” areas that I don’t know where to begin. It seems that all the personal bird stores are disappearing and even the good vets are a rarity. I have been involved with birds for almost thirty years.

I ordered a small crock on Amazon about a year ago and that is how I became “connected” with Windy City, your Sunday newsletters, etc. It is the result of a vision “issue” that discourages me with the computer and I do much better “talking”.

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Humans Have Lots of Bird Advice – Don’t Get One, They’re Hard to Raise

Mitch Rezman
October 5, 2017
Bird & Parrot Breeding / Bird & Parrot Care / Bird Cage Info / Peaches the Senegal Parrot / Veterinarian Related
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The following content is from 3 inquiries we received that we thought would be helpful by sharing.

We have four zebra finches in an outdoor aviary, with three walls being the exterior of our house, and the fourth wall is wire mesh.

We are in San Diego, and our nights can drop down to 40-50 degree. We are planning to add plexiglass panels over the mesh at night, and we are trying to decide on a heat source.

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What Is the Best Parrot for an Apartment?

Mitch Rezman
September 25, 2017
Bird & Parrot Care / Bird Behavior / Bird Cage Info / Habitats for caged birds
0 Comments

What is the best parrot for an apartment? The answers thus far have been pretty limited (on Quora).

We (Mitch & Catherine) used to (until 2019 when we migrated to Indiana) live in a three-flat apartment building, erected circa 1885 in the geographical center of the city of Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood.

It’s 1800 ft.² with 9 1/2 foot ceilings. The all-brick building is quite solid.

We like parrots. We are in the (caged bird) pet supply business. It’s our job to know about them.

For the record, we don’t sell any birds. We simply teach proper care for about 750 captive bird species out of approximately 10,400 species of birds on the planet.

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Incoming Category 2 Hurricane & You’re Chasing a Bird Under Furniture

Catherine Tobsing
August 31, 2017
Bird & Parrot Care / Bird Cage Info / Bird Supplies Info / The Traveling Bird
4 Comments

Re-posted this on 09/01/2017 with Hurricane Harvey as a stark reminder of mother nature’s dark side.

Parrots and Evacuation Kits are some of my favorite subjects. Nora wrote this post but my introduction is from someone who has been there – us. June 23rd, 2005 Windy City Parrot burned to the ground – long story.

If you have a pet bird or any pet for that matter – what’s your plan in an emergency? Floods, fires, frogs, locusts?

Sure you’re on your game with the latest high-tech smoke and high water sensors in your home but let me quote from some recent headlines.

6/25/15 Boston – New England Record Snow Tracker: Boston Breaks All-Time Seasonal Snow Record in 2014-2015

(What’s your backup heat source?)

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