Bird owners like to think that their birds are little dinosaurs. But when I was in school, we learned that the dinosaurs had gone extinct. We weren’t really sure why, but one theory said it was because they were ungainly, slow, and stupid. So what’s the story?
This article is not intended to help you diagnose your bird. For that, I highly recommend this excellent PDF on recognizing illness in pet birds. This article is a good resource of information on bleeding.
People don’t like to imagine that their parrots could get sick or even die someday,…
[If you need to help with the decision to get a parrot, I’ve written a companion article called “So you’re thinking of getting a parrot…“]
A lot has changed in dog and cat ownership in the past few decades. Grain-based pellet (kibble) diets have given way to whole food and raw diets. People…
[If you decide to get a parrot, I’m working on a companion article called “So you’ve decided to get a parrot…“]
People can have very strong opinions when it comes to the topic of whether we should keep parrots. Some feel that it’s cruel to keep any creature with wings in captivity, while…
Debating this is sort of like talking politics. It can sometimes get heated! Although I draw on a lot of research for this article—and the articles it references—there’s also opinion at play as well as my own experience.
In my mind, the biggest downside to pellets is that they are ultra-processed…
If you lose your cat and they end up at an animal shelter, someone will scan them for a microchip. Provided you’ve kept your registration up-to-date, a happy reunion with your pet is in your future. Microchips typically cost less than $50 at the vet and last for the lifetime…
Primarily in the United States, the conventional wisdom is that seed diets are bad because they are high in fat. As a result, they will lead to obesity, poor feather condition, and chronic diseases. I’ve written many articles providing research that debunks this wisdom that is hammered into …
Ideally your bird would be fed a good seed mix, chop, and fresh food for maximum variety. However, there are some clear advantages to chop and a couple for fresh food that I’ll outline now. I’ll note that there is no good research on the nutritional value of chop versus fresh food.
For those not familiar,…
I’ve presented research for years about the value of a low carbohydrate high fat diet not only for parrots, but for humans as well.
The way science often works is that you come up with a hypothesis, basically a supposition based on intuition, a little evidence, or perhaps nothing at all. Then, you gather evidence and see if it proves your hypothesis.
I’ve written extensively on bird diets and specifically about the…