The Importance Of Quarantine And Screening Tests For Birds

Otto

Musk Lorikeet

 

A family went to a pet store and bought a bird. A cute little parrot that instantaneously became part of their family. A few weeks later, it was at an avian vet, in intensive care. The family was heartbroken when it couldn’t be saved. Turns out the bird had been hiding an illness the whole time. The vet told them that if it had been caught earlier, the bird could have recovered. If only the pet store had bothered to screen ...

 

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Adding Another Bird to The Flock

Rose breasted cockatoo and congo african grey

I’ve talked about MBS (Multiple Bird Syndrome) in previous posts and know well the feeling that since your bird has been such a joy in your life that it only makes sense to add another (and another). It is a decision, however, that needs to be as carefully weighed as adding a new child to your family. When you add another bird to your home it changes the flock dynamics. Things WILL change, and not always in the ways you had imagined.
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PDD: Proventricular Dilation Disease

Blue throated macaw

PDD is a disease that causes a failure in the parrot’s digestive system. While it is also called “Macaw Wasting Syndrome”, it is absolutely not exclusive to the macaw.  In fact, it has been seen in many species of our companion birds and their wild counterparts.

So that you can better understand the impact of this disease, first let me describe the parrot’s digestive system:  The bird breaks down food with its beak and passes it down to the crop.  The crop slowly delivers food to a two ...

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