Care of your bird
Nutrition:
Readily available, balanced, pelleted rations and seed
mixtures have greatly improved nutrition in cage and aviary
birds, however supplementation of a bird's diet with other
feeds may still be necessary. Depending upon the species of
bird, dietary supplements may include apple, fresh grasses,
and cuttlefish.
In the wild, birds do not solely eat seed, because it is
simply not available all year round. Seeds and seed mixtures
may form part of a bird's diet, but a diet of 100% seed
(which has a very high fat content) may lead to malnutrition
and obesity.
Hygiene:
Hygiene
is most important in the three areas of a cage or aviary
which birds visit most often, i.e. the feeding, drinking,
and roosting areas. Never place roosting areas or perches
above feeding or drinking areas, because this may lead to
faecal contamination.
Control of lice, ticks, mites, fleas, cockroaches and
mosquitos is aided by good feed hygiene and regular removal
of faeces. Protection of the bird population from mice, rats
and cats is important, and quarantine of new birds is
advised before introducing them into an existing
collection.
Cage
Design:
All
cages and aviaries should be large enough for the birds to
fly within the enclosure. The best cage designs incorporate
curves rather than corners, thus birds cannot be "bailed-up"
in a corner by aggressive cage-mates.
Always ensure that there is no unfinished or broken wiring
around the enclosure which might cause lacerations. Good
quality perches are vital to prevent malformation and damage
of a bird's feet. Thoughtful location of perches, as
previously mentioned, is important to prevent faecal
contamination of food and water.
Minimising
stress:
Birds
are relatively intelligent creatures and are quite
susceptible to a range of stressors. Overcrowding, boredom,
extremes of temperature, and aggression between birds should
all be avoided. Excessive stress may lead to sickness and/or
abnormal behaviours, such as feather picking and
overeating.
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For
those people who feed our native birds...
Hand-feeding of native
birds in suburban gardens can lead to developmental problems
and nutritional deficiencies. For example, feeding bread
coated with sugar or honey to rainbow lorikeets can lead to
poor development of flight feathers due to a lack in
protein. Poor growth of juvenile magpies, kookaburras and
currawongs from suburban areas has also been associated with
feeding the parent birds large amounts of meat and sausage.
A far better way of attracting native birds to your garden
is to plant native trees and shrubs.
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