Importance of Maintaining Bird Health

The Crystal Parrot - According to a survey conducted by Pet Age Magazine, on 7.6% of bird owners take their birds to an avian vet and 92% of the people polled said they take their sick bird to pet stores to be treated! Over the counter “medications” simply do not work. This is like buying an item of clothing that is one size fits all! To quote Liz Wilson – parrot behavior consultant “If your foot is broken-you don’t go to a shoe store for treatment!” It is very important for your bird to be vetted – by an avian vet – at least one a year and at the very minimum have a throat culture or gram stain done once a year. As a bird owner, you need to be aware that you will usually have to request the vet to do a gram stain or culture. Vets do not automatically include them in their exams. By nature birds will hide many symptoms of illness. This is an instinct carried over from the wild. Birds exhibiting any weakness quickly become prey – another creature’s meal! Usually by the time your bird appears sick to you-it is too late and death is most likely imminent.

The Crystal Parrot does cultures on a regular basis (they are read by Dr. Susan Clubb, ( www.susanclubb.com) who is a world renowned avian vet! We do see a lot of E. coli results and this is a common bacterium that is very treatable if diagnosed in time. It is also a type of bacteria that bird will exhibit almost no symptoms until it’s too late!

Although we can never 100% prevent our birds from becoming ill, there are things we should do (and shouldn’t do!) to increase the odds of maintaining our bird’s optimum health. One of the easiest things NOT to do is kiss your bird on the beak! DO NOT KISS YOUR BIRD ON THE BEAK!!! The human mouth is full of harmful bacteria to birds, including E. coli that you are passing on to your bird when kissing them on the beak. If you must kiss them-kiss them on top of their heads where they cannot reach with their beaks! We all like to share meals with our feathered friends. Please be courteous to your bird and allow them to have their own plate, bowl and utensils. Eating after us is no different than kissing on the beak. When exposing your birds to other birds for any reason, it’s your responsibility to know if those other birds have been cultured or gram stained recently! This is why we require a culture to be within the past 6 months for boarding purposes at The Crystal Parrot. This is for your bird’s protection, as well as the other birds that board and live here! Do not allow people to handle your bird when you don’t know where their hands have been! Always wash your hands before handling your bird and insist that others do the same as well! Be careful about leaving fresh foods in your bird’s cage for an extended period of time. Food that sits too long at room temperature becomes a great place for germs and bacteria to grow and multiply! Once your bird ingests these they continue to grow, most likely making your bird sick! Be diligent about changing your bird’s water AT LEAST twice a day, more often if your bird is a “dunker” or “soup maker”. When changing the water, ALWAYS make sure to scrub the dish with hot, soapy water and rinse well before refilling the dish.

If you have any questions about any of the above info, please call us with your questions or to schedule a vet appointment with Dr. Bourke who does well bird clinics at The Crystal Parrot on a regular basis.