Military macaw

Birds are very messy creatures who manage to track their meals throughout every square inch of their cage. Many can throw their food with the distance and accuracy that would qualify them for a Cy Young award. That means that we find ourselves cleaning A LOT, and sometimes in strange places.

Hopefully, everyone understands the importance of a clean environment for their bird. Where there is leftover food and fecal matter, there is bacteria and yeast which can inundate a bird and make him very ill. Cleaning thoroughly, and often, ...

Blue throated macaw

Most of us view bird chores with a sense of dread. It’s reasonable that one wouldn’t necessarily enjoy the unpleasantries left at the bottom of cages. It can be a lot of work to keep up on the cleaning that bird ownership requires.

But there is a very big advantage to doing those chores: you get an intimate look at your bird’s health and its activities. Birds are such masters of disguise when it comes to illness that we have to actively investigate to get to the truth.

Wild birds ...

Read the rest or post a comment »