Cockatiel

My cockatiels, Tinky and DeeDee, have been joined at the hip forever. Except for a brief period of introduction (the importance of quarantine was not emphasized back when I first started my flock), they have done everything together from the beginning, including sharing a cage.

For some time, they were housed with cockatiels Henry and Cocoa, who have since passed, and they lived in perfect harmony as cockatiels so often do. They were great together.

As I mentioned in a recent post, the two were not doing particularly well. Tinky had ...

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Rosebreasted cockatoo and Jamie's mom

Q: I am at home sick with a cold. Can my bird catch it?

— Justine, V., Fairfax, VA

A: A veterinarian once told me that a client brought her amazon in with a “terrible cold”. It was coughing, sneezing and sniffling with a “runny nose”. The doctor dutifully examined the bird, feeling pretty confident about the outcome.

When he was finished checking the bird, the vet asked her client if she, herself, had recently been sick. She replied that she’d had a cold and that she felt ...

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Ever heard the saying that if something seems too good to be true then it probably is? I think that’s what was bugging me about my Blue & Gold Macaw, Fid. I found myself with this beautifully good-natured creature that just seemed so perfect. I kept waiting for bad health news or for something to go wrong.

I put Fid through every screening test that my vet could think of; just to ...

There is a lot of misunderstanding on the topic of microchipping, especially where it pertains to birds. Many people seem to think that birds are not good candidates for this procedure because of their relatively small size in comparison to cats and dogs. And many people misunderstand the purpose of the microchip. I want to make some clarification.

WHAT IS A MICROCHIP?
A microchip is small electronic device encased in a glass chamber, about the size of a grain of rice, that is inserted into an animal. It is ...

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