Abstract
In this age of birds as popular pets a
commonly asked question is "How
long does this particular species live?"
"Perhaps years," we will answer, "if
you provide him with proper nutrition,
exercise and watch out for
deadly accident possibilities in his
life."
Truly, domestic pet birds live in a
world fraught with danger. The more
imprinted and trusting the babies we
raise, the less "wild savvy" they retain
to warn and protect them from life
threatening situations. Here then are
our 10 most frequent accidents based
upon nine years experience and thousands
of pet bird encounters.
1. Dogs, Cats and Predators
Outside and inside the house dogs
can be instant bird killers. A neighbor's
dog came into the yard. The
porch screen door was ajar; and the
baby Sun Conure was exploring on
the floor. Oops! A free-flying Lesser
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo swooped
low over a neighbor's fence for the
hundredth time and was plucked from
the air by a new German Shepherd.
Oops! Dogs are quick biters and therefore
more dangerous than cats which
may quickly harm small fluttering
pets, but will engage in longer pitched
battles with a squawking, clawing, biting
parrot that rolls onto its back for
self defense. Beware of any dog
nearby when you have your parrot on
the shoulder. Remember that parrots
living in a home with a trained,
friendly dog are less able to distinguish
dangerous dogs. "Bad doggie"
(ggrrowlll) is one of the first words I
teach my baby psittacines. Often
smaller nervous dogs such as dachsunds
or cocker spaniels are more
dangerous than the larger labradors,
shepherds or dobermanns. Malamutes
and canines with inbred wildness are
difficult to train around birds. These
are only guidelines, of course, not fast
rules. Puppies and kittens brought up
around birds are quite trainable.
One of the most common results of
a bird/cat confrontation is a claw or
tooth wound inflicted upon the avian
pet. Cats are known for these painful,
festering scratches. Even a medium
sized parrot may become sick overnight
from such a wound; proper veterinarian
attention immediately can
save your bird's life. Remember, such
scratches may not be visible at first
glance. Get medical aid.
Other predators include raptors
(African Grays plucked from the patio
perch!), racoons (opened the pet's
cage and entered!), mongoose, owls,
feral cats and snakes (entered the nursery
and attacked a baby conure in the
feeding tub!).
If you have a parrot who spends
time outside in the yard, he will be
safer and more secure on a secluded
perch or tree with nan.Jral foliage to
hide in. Parrots are very insecure with
full open sky above them - even
inside a cage. Pick a leafy bough and
place it on top of the cage for camouflage
or hang the cage in a tree.
Remember, placing birds in an outdoor
setting is marvelous for their
health and well being only if you
watch them closely or train them to
watch themselves. Our mle of thumb
is one year of training and experience
before any unsupervised "tree time."
Still it is risky! This is advanced birdkeeping
...
2. Flying Away-Lost
There are two types of lost bird situations:
birds kept in doors who escape
and disappear; and birds taken outdoors
who "bolt" or wander off and
disappear. As often as we receive calls
about this; it seems neither mishap is
100 percent preventable in today's aviculture.
Our choice, therefore, is to
prepare our pets as much as possible
for this eventuality. We teach them
correct landing and flying skills before
their first wing clip. It is amazing how
many times an avian pet will fly off in
a beeline away from home simply
because that is the only flight he
knows. He has no skill to hover or fly
slowly, no skill to turn sharply; no
practice to keep from gaining altitude;
no braking skills; no landing skills.
Keeping a parrot without these teachings
when he is young and in the
house is an invitation to lose him if he
ever escapes.
Our second lesson is to place the
pet's cage outside at an early age so
he can familiarize himself with our
home environment - sights like the
panorama and horizon, sounds, lighting,
colors, wind patterns, etc. SuchÂ
sensory input awakens the "wild bird"
instinct in a young pet. We immediately
notice an increased attentiveness,
observation and caution in our
fledglings - an awareness of greenery,
clouds, insects, wild birds, traffic
noise which is indespensable to their
total well being. Many times a pet with
cage experience in the back yard will
escape the house only to be found in a
familiar spot in the yard. One of our
five-month old Cape Parrot babies
picked the lock on its cage one day
and disappeared. We found it calmly
sitting in the back yard on "his" picnic
table. Remember that pets who see
environments from only one viewpoint
will not necessarily recognize a
familiar tree, cage or clothesline from
another angle. Place your Cockatiel
cage in six or eight spots around the
yard to give her a full spectrum of
"knowing" the area.
3. Stepping On Bird,
Slamming Door
A vast number of our pet birds are
raised feeling safe roaming about the
floor of their home. Folks who have
this kind of situation in their home
had better learn to tread lightly! Too
many times will a pet psittacine creep
up behind a set of human heels seeking
attention or treats. One wrong step
is all it takes. Guests in the home are
even more dangerous. We cage our
parrots when there is a gathering of
friends in their accustomed floor
space. It also helps to have an oriental
"shoes off in the house" policy;
unshod feet are more sensitive and
less dangerous to feathered pedestians.
Slowmoving, clumsy and severely
clipped birds are vulnerable
because they cannot move as quickly
to avoid a heavy footfall.
Hand in hand with parrots allowed
to roam the house is the danger of
having a door closed on them. Automatic
and spring doors, bathroom
doors, automobile doors all may be
abmptly shut on an unsuspecting bird.
We've even known flying pets who
became shut in a door when their
owner was leaving a room and the
bird took off to follow. Our parrots
habitually love to perch on tops of
doors in favorite rooms; so we must
be aware of both floor level and ceiling
level hazards.
4. Entanglement
With the new generation of "rope
toys" growing in popularity, the need
for caution here is stronger than ever.
Parrots love to chew, fray and burrow
in ropes, twine, old socks, fabric and
fibers. I truly support the makers of
fine rope chewing toys for the health
and preening habits they encourage in
domestic pet birds. It is up to the pet
owner, however, to be aware that
aged and severely frayed rope and
cloth playthings are serious threats to
our pet birds. Monitor carefully, trimming
overlong or tangled thread
pockets on your bird's playthings. It
only takes one sharp toenail becoming
entangled in a binding thread to
start a twisting motion which can
entrap your bird's leg, neck and torso
in the fabric. Wash with fabric softener
when necessary; comb and clip. Our
parrots normally sleep in cardboard
nestboxes with cloth liners. We use
pillow cases, t-shirts and linen liners
to avoid nasty frays - especially
amongst the chewing species such as
conures, quakers, poicephalus, etc.
Remember any thread nesting material
for canaries, finches, lovebirds and
the like must be short lengths to avoid
endangering these nestbuilders.
s. Rolling Onto Pet During Sleep
It takes a tmly light sleeper to share
a bed with a pet bird. It is absolutely
essential that a bird be protected
against crawling in closely near their
owner and being suffocated. I have
slept with certain baby or ill psittacines
over the years, but I am a light
sleeper with one ear open for rats or
predators in the aviary. These pets are
always kept in a sleeping box up
above my pillow or on a night table
with a large bath towel over the box to
prevent their escape. There is just as
much joy having your pet bird nearby
your bed in a cage when you
wake up, without the very real danger
of a sorrowful mishap. Even persons
who snuggle with their pets for an
afternoon siesta must be aware that a
drowsy owner lying with an avian
companion presents a threat to the
bird.