Working really hard in a genetics lab class.

There are a few different pathways to becoming a vet in Australia. Traditionally it has been a 5-year undergraduate university bachelor degree, which would allow you to apply for registration as a vet. This requirement has changed. You now have to complete an appropriate undergraduate science degree and a postgraduate Doctorate of Veterinary Science (7-8 years full time). Certain subjects must be covered in the undergraduate degree in order to meet DVM pre-requisites. The ...

Congo african grey

Dogs have been living among humans for a very long time – this fact is documented throughout much of our recorded history. During this time, we have bred favorable traits into them and slowly excised the unsociable ones to make them more suited to life as a pet.

We have engineered breeds that are suited to perform certain tasks such as herding (collie), hunting (spaniel) or search and rescue (German shepherd.) that give dogs a place of their own in human society. Throughout the process, dogs have been modified ...

Sometimes when faced with behavioral issues with our birds, we immediately quantify them as BIG problems, potentially unfixable problems. But what we fail to realize when we’re “in the trenches” is that often times, our biggest problems can be solved much quicker than we’d even imagine once we apply some new training techniques. In Lauren’s case, she was able to solve her “big step-up problem” in as little as 2 days!

MEET OLIVER

Lauren Moore and her husband are ...

Umbrella cockatoo. Linus

I know I am not the only person that has suffered through another crazy spring breeding season this year. I hate to use expressions like misery loves company, but I have to admit that while Linus was threatening to use my body parts as nest lining, I was glad to have those around who truly understood my frustration. This year has been hard on everyone it seems.

Thankfully, it appears to be drawing to an end for most of my birds. While their behavior is only somewhat improved, I ...

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A European Wasp eating Lorikeet wet food.

Generally speaking bugs aren’t a major issue for birds. Birds are largely protected by their feathers, which make it significantly less likely for them to be stung or bitten by a bug. There are some exceptions to this though. I’ve written before about my encounters with a parasitic fly – the Hippoboscidae Fly. Another exception would be mosquitoes that might be carrying diseases (especially if you keep a species of bird with exposed facial skin ...

Bluethroated macaw

This season seems to be handing out more than the average share of hormones to our companion birds. Oddly, I am hearing reports of rotten behavior from bird owners all over the world – even in places where it is autumn and not spring. I wish someone would do some research to explain why this sometimes happens.

Why are there some seasons so much worse than others on such a universal scale? Is there an unusual atmospheric condition that is triggering hormones that we don’t recognize? And while researchers are ...

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