|
|
|
Tips on buying a bird
|
Pets enrich their owner’s lives. Whether the pet is a wiggling bundle of fur known as a puppy, a cuddly kitten, a talking parrot, a singing canary, colorful finch, or a beautifully decorated aquarium, or an intriguing lizard they somehow enhance and enrich the human experience. In fact it is a fairly well accepted fact that people who are institutionalized gain great psychological benefits from the presence of an animal in the facility. Nursing homes, group homes and correctional institutions and schools are all utilizing the interaction between humans and companion animals to improve the experience of being in the facility. Many dentists and doctors have aquariums in the waiting rooms of their offices to relieve the anxiety of waiting patients.
Caring for another living creature just makes people feel good. Pets are companions, confidants, and friends. They can provide a lonely child with a special friend. Elderly folks living in the strange and sometimes confusing and frightening environment of a nursing home many times relate to the home’s companion animal as an anchor to reality. Companion animals have been instrumental in rehabilitating violent criminals. In fact one of the earliest and still valid books on bird disease and diagnosis was written by Robert Stroud, “the Bird Man of Alcatraz” who served a life sentence in the infamous island prison in San Francisco Bay.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that unfortunately when we are dealing with livestock, we occasionally have to deal with “deadstock”. Having a pet die is an emotionally painful experience, whether the pet is your 12 year old Golden Retriever, your child’s two year old hamster, or the parakeet that your grandchildren gave you as a birthday gift. Having a newly acquired pet die is also frustrating and angers the new owner. “That “so-and-so” sold me a sick bird” is a comment that I have heard many times over my 35 years in the pet industry. In fact, when I owned a pet store back in the early 80’s I weathered and won a lawsuit over a cockatiel that I had sold when it died a couple of months after the sale. At the time all of my friends and associates told me that I should just replace the bird because pet store owners always lose lawsuits in favor of the consumer. Conventional wisdom indicated that I should have just folded and given in to the plaintiff, but I was angry that had the purchaser had not followed the directions and advice given when they bought the bird, and the poor creature suffered the consequences of that negligence. I went to court to defend myself not because of the financial ramifications, but because of my conviction that the bird should not have died had the owner fulfilled their responsibility as care-giver.
I firmly believe that as a pet owner (or using the more politically correct term “care-giver”) a person has a moral responsibility to the animal to do everything necessary to provide proper care for the animal. In addition to that, I believe that there is a moral obligation for the seller of the animal to provide the new owner with all the information and knowledge necessary to accomplish this. Given that, I have a few simple suggestions to the buyer to assure that the new pet owner has a happy, pleasant, and positive experience.
|
|
Suggestions for the buyer;
Rule # One; Get to know the seller. Ask questions about the bird you are considering buying. How old is it? What care does it require? What does it eat? How many birds does the seller have? How long have they been breeding birds? Where do they get their birds? Can they recommend a veterinarian? (If they can’t, it usually means that they don’t use a veterinarian themselves.) A quality breeder or retailer will have good answers to your questions and should be willing to take the time to answer them. Remember you are buying a living creature and want to keep it living. You should be confident that the bird has received proper care in the past.
Rule # Two; Get to know the bird. Take your time. There is no hurry when choosing a pet. Spend time observing the bird. A healthy bird should be active. The plumage should be smooth and unruffled. Birds maintain their body heat by raising or lowering their feathers. A bird that is sick or cold ruffles its feathers to trap air beneath the feathers to form an insulation barrier. A healthy bird doesn’t need to do this. The bird’s eyes should be clear and bright. Dull looking eyes or any weeping, discharge, or crusting around the eyes can mean that the bird is unhealthy. Look for dark stains or wet looking feathers above the nostrils. When a bird sneezes the discharge sprays upward. Stains above the nostrils can indicate a respiratory problem. Don’t forget to check the other end. Look for stains around the vent. Diarrhea or loose droppings will stain the feathers around the vent, and can indicate digestive tract problems. Watch how the bird interacts with cage mates. Birds will often pick on a weaker member of the flock. If the bird is being picked on by the others it may not be well.
Rule # Three; Don’t just buy the bird, buy the supplies. One of the biggest mistakes that new bird owners make is to change the bird’s diet. The seller should have answered your questions about the current diet. Follow the advice and buy exactly what you were told the bird is being fed. Don’t make the mistake of stopping at the grocery store to pick up seed on the way home. Buy premium quality food.
Rule # Four; Acclimate the bird carefully. How well you acclimate the bird when you first get it home is essential for the well being of you new pet. Set up the cage before you put the bird into it. By this I mean fill food and water dishes, mount perches, nest (if required), cuttlebone, and any toys or other fixtures. Place several layers of paper on the bottom of the cage. Newspaper works just fine. This is an important step that will be covered in a few moments. Once this is done, place the bird in the cage and leave it alone!
Allowing the bird to become accustomed to its new environment on its own terms is an important step in introducing it to your home.
Rule # Five; THE POOP TEST!!!!!!!!!! This is the single most important rule for new bird owners. Birds have a different metabolism than other creatures. In the wild predators seek out sick or weak animals as prey. As a defense mechanism birds naturally mask or hide signs of illness as long as they possibly can. Because of this a bird can be very sick without showing outward signs until the illness as progressed to the point where there is no way for it to recover. The sooner that a pet bird owner notices a health problem the better the chances are that the bird can be treated and returned to a healthy state. That’s where the Poop Test comes in to play.
In setting up the cage, I recommended lining the cage with several layers of paper. The purpose of this is a simple method of learning to monitor your bird’s health. Individual birds like most creatures have normal digestive behavior that is unique. Learning what is normal for your bird is a simple matter of counting the bird’s droppings each day. Pull out the soiled top sheet of paper each day to reveal the clean sheet beneath, carefully count the droppings and discard the soiled paper. This may sound silly, but it accomplishes two very important things. It gets you to recognize what is the normal quantity, and consistency of your new pet’s droppings. Once you recognize what is normal, you will be able to notice any abnormal droppings. Abnormal droppings are one of the earliest indicators that the bird is having a health problem. You can then seek the necessary veterinary advice.
|
 |
|
Quiko Bird Wellness
Kit for Consumers
The perfect way to give your new pet a
healthy start. Stress is an important facor in any animal's health.
The more stress, the greater the chances that it will become ill.
Moving into a new home is stressful. You can help relieve stress by
providing essential vitamins, extra protein, and eliminating
negative bacteria and parasites. The Bird Wellness kit does just
that. It provides enough eggfood, rusk, vitamins, aprotein booster
and Med to last for the first two weeks that your bird is in it's
new home.It even includes a measuring/feeding cup.
order S22001
$5.75 |
 |
|
Click on the Orchid Tree Exotics
logo below to link to our bird care sheets page. |
 |
|
|
|
