Equipment and Lighting solutions of The Birdbrain

"Romeo"
Umbrella Cockatoo
Cacatua alba
Photo by: Eli Weiss

Weaning Some cockatoos take a long time to wean, physically and/or emotionally. If this process is rushed, problems will usually occur. It is extremely important for the long term health of young birds to purchase them from reputable, compassionate and knowledgeable breeders, in order to hopefully avoid many problems associated with forced weaning. Many young cockatoos go through the weaning and socialization process more positively when raised with siblings or other cockatoo species, rather than as a single bird. While it is important for them to receive daily attention and nurturing from human "parents", it is extremely helpful for them to learn from each other, and from older juveniles and adult same species birds.

Sam Foster
Fostered With Love
Avian Consultant
E-Mail
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We have many other great informative and educational side-bars to read and enjoy. Please click here to access this database.

Equipment & Lighting

ABOUT THIS SECTION:
Providing optimum care for the parrots living under our care and in our homes requires the addition of some suggested types of equipment and lighting to help insure their total well-being. In this section, you will find the following items:

AIR WASHERS
Indoor air quality is of tremendous concern for our own health, but especially so for the parrot whose entire physiology is based upon efficient use of oxygen and flight. We are proud to feature the Venta Air washer that cleans and humidifies the air in your home or aviary, providing a healthy-air environment for you and your birds. Click here for more information about air quality.

HANGING SKEWERS FOR FOOD OR TOYS
Foraging is a natural activity for parrots in their indigenous habitats, and this behavior may be stimulated in captivity with the use of hanging stainless steel skewers. Use them for holding difference chunks of food, or stack destructible parrot-safe toy parts on them and watch your bird have fun as they go for the wiggler!

FULL SPECTRUM LIGHTING
In order for our birds to effectively utilize the calcium in their gastrointestinal tracts for healthy bones, birds must absorb Vitamin D from natural sunlight. In our homes, the glass windows that we have effectively block out the UVA and UVB of the sun, which prevents this process. Utilizing appropriate full spectrum light is a major benefit to your parrot to process the absorption of Vitamin D. For additional information regarding your parrot's vitamin needs, please contact your veterinarian.

SAFETY HARNESSES
Encouraging our parrots to exercise is of great importance to their health. If your parrot is fully flighted, taking your bird outside may provide an opportunity for an unwanted "free flight" or escape! For these occasions, we recommend the use of a parrot-safe body harness if your bird will tolerate it. Never, ever tie or tether your bird by its leg to a stand or to its cage as the leg and hipbones are strong, though fragile, and this may cause broken bones. Some parrots may not be suitable candidates for a body harness and may actually try to dissemble it. If you would like more information about a bird safety harness for your bird, please contact us by telephone or via email.

SEED MOTH TRAPS
The use of fresh seed, pellets, nuts and other foodstuffs for a companion parrot may cause the ordinary seed moth to hatch, grow and thrive. Using an all safe, all natural pheromone lure-type trap will help keep your home and bird room free of these pesky seed moths.

SPRAY WATER BOTTLES
Bathing is critically important to our parrots. Sometimes there is not enough time to take the bird into the shower. During those times, utilizing a pump spray water bottle can provide a great source of misting pleasure for your bird. Our sprayer is a welcome relief to arms and hands tired from pushing the typical trigger spray washer. Please, never use a water sprayer bottle to punish a parrot. If you would like more information about bathing your parrot, please contact us.

SPROUTING JARS
These jars help to make germinating "live food" such as seeds, legumes and grains easy with their plastic, strainer tops. For excellent information on the importance of live, germinated foods, click here

STAINLESS STEEL QUICK LINKS
For several years the issue of potential sources of heavy metals' toxicity in parrots has been of concern to many veterinarians that see a substantial number of psittacine patients. For those whose birds continually mouth any type of fastener, we recommend the use of stainless steel quicklinks. To learn more about this issue, please discuss it fully with your veterinarian who has a special interest in avian medicine. For further information on this topic from The Birdbrain, click here [link to attached aboutzinc.doc to be included in educational articles]

WEIGHT SCALES
A simple and effective tool to monitor your bird's physical health is utilizing a weight scale. Bird's weights fluctuate, and keeping a weight chart can be a good way to catch early signs of potential illness by becoming familiar with 'normals' for your bird(s).. We recommend weighing your bird when it's crop is empty, and sticking to a scheduled weekly routine. It can be considered 'normal' for a bird's weight to vary about 15% during the course of charting its weight. For further information please discuss this subject with your veterinarian.

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1025 Acoma Street
Denver, CO 80204
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