 |
|
To read any issue of Flock Talk, use the links below.
ISSN 1492-8132
Issue 144, © 2006
No reprints without permission
Check out our bird-lover's products, in order of popularity!
A recent customer says, "Thank you for the DVD slideshow of... your canaries breeding, I can understand how noisy your birdroom must get... thanks for having your website there too, it's helped a lot."
Another says, "Thank you for your interesting and encouraging book, DVD, and CD, we have enjoyed all of them... we are getting a kick out of this hobby already... and we have a delightfully noisy bird room!"
Visit our Products Page For a full list of all our products and services!
Help Needed
Table of Contents
Do you know of a great bird site which deserves a review? Maybe you have a favourite tip or trick that you like to use, or know of a product that has made your bird's life better or easier to manage in some way? Why not share them with other readers? Send us tales of how you cope, or how your birds confuse and puzzle, interest and amuse you, and we will share them with the rest of our readers in a future issue. Just send an email here.
Links
Table of Contents
- Home
- Contest
- Products
- Articles
- Basic Care
- Breeding
- Health
- Moulting
- Photographs
- Flock Talk
- Canary Cam
- Birds Board
- Canary FAQs
- Canary Cam DVD
- Canary Song CD
- Books & eBooks
- Probiotics
- Bird Cages
- Cage Accessories
- Questions?
- Contact
- Links Pages
- Privacy Policy
- Testimonials
- Site Map
"I love your website, your information has made me a very well-informed canary friend/owner. Thank you."
"Thank you for your love of birds and your commitment for helping those of us who are learning to share our lives with our feathered friends!"
"Robirda's website, bird board and e-zine are invaluable tools for any birdlover."
"I ordered 'Canary Tales' by Linda Hogan last year...Although I fully recommend buying the book, I find Robirda's book much more complete, easier to read with less difficulty finding information."
"I cannot thank you enough for your kind and considerate responses to all of our questions. Your website has really been a wonderful find for us! And we absolutely love your canary CD!"
"Just a short note to tell you how great your ezine is... As a long time bird lover I thank you for your wonderful mag. Keep up the great work!"
"Hi Robirda! Thanks for your thoughts. My little one is singing as loudly as ever. He looks much better today. Your advice was most welcome; I'm particularly grateful about the recipes! I sent you the same amount the vet charged me; you have done no less than he did. You are a real blessing to all of us canary lovers the world over."
"Thank you so much for the book on canaries. That is a really nice book. I needed one, because I bought my Mom two canaries, a male and a female, we don't know anything about them. I'm so glad to have this book, I couldn't believe how much was in there. Thank you so much!"
Welcome to Robirda's Companion Bird eZine
For breeder or pet bird owners who care.
Website News
Table of Contents
We've received some very nice photos for the start of our 150th issue Flock Talk Photo Contest, and we're looking forward to receiving more! You will be able to submit your photos until midnight on July 3rd. Submit as many photos as you wish, of any kind of pet or breeder bird, the more the merrier! Just remember to accompany each with a short description.
Once all the candidates are in, voting will commence, and run from July 4th until midnight on July 14th. The winners will be announced in Flock Talk's 150th issue, Sunday, July 16th, 2006.
There's some marvelous bird-keeper's prize packages up for grabs, in fact, we've got over $800 US dollars worth of prizes to be won! So keep those photos coming, and find out if others find your birds as beautiful as you do! And hey, why not make your play to get your share of the awards at the same time?
Take a look at the photos that have already been submitted, by visiting robirda.com/flockphotos/.
You'll find all contest details, including directions on how to submit your photos, at robirda.com/contest.html.
Feature Article
Table of
Contents
Bird-owners have a saying to the effect that owning birds is like eating potato chips - one is never enough. It's meant as a joke but interestingly enough is an accurate observation when it comes to many birdkeepers - we just can't seem to stop at one!
As soon as you start thinking of making the move from owning one bird to owning two or more, another factor enters the equation. Too often though, nobody remembers to consider it, yet it can literally mean the difference between life and death.
Quarantine
by R C McDonald
www.robirda.com
Copyright © Apr 2006
Webster's dictionary tells us that the word 'quarantine' is a modification of the Italian word 'quarantena', referring to the quarantine of a ship, from the word 'quaranta', meaning 'forty', and the Latin term 'quadraginta', from 'quadra', or four, plus 'ginta', meaning 'twenty'.
Webster goes on to give four definitions of the word quarantine;
Although these definitions originally applied to ships and shipping practices, the word quarantine has come to be used to refer to the isolation of any being or group of beings where health concerns or potential pest problems may exist.
In the case of birds, in most cases international laws demand that birds being shipped from one country to another enter a government-monitored period of quarantine before being released to their purchaser. The aim is to determine and/or verify the bird's state of health, and to ensure that it will not carry any communicable pests or diseases upon being released to the purchaser.
Depending on the source of the birds being quarantined and the country the purchaser resides in, often medication is required to be administered during the quarantine period, with the goal of elminating any pests or diseases the bird may be carrying, whether actually detected or not.
Unfortunately, many birdkeepers regard the quarantining of birds as being a procedure followed only by the bigger breeders, or those who for whatever reason wish to import or export birds. While it is true that quarantine is an important part of these procedures, by no means is the usefulness of quarantine limited to only those situations.
These days, with more and more avian diseases showing up in the headlines of the news all over the world, basic quarantine procedures are becoming the rule in the homes of more pet bird keepers, as well as in the homes of most who keep, breed, and show birds. Quarantine procedures are not only followed when acquiring new stock, but are also applied when bringing home birds that have been in a show, or for that matter anywhere else where they may have been exposed to other birds.
Ideally, the birds being quarantined will be kept in complete isolation from existing stock or pets. If this is not possible, they should be placed as far away as possible from any other birds. If the house has forced-air heating, consider shutting off the air circulation to and from the quarantine room, and arranging to draw air into the quarantine room from outside the house. This will assist in preventing any possible air-borne contamination or diseases from getting into the vents and eventually spreading to the rest of the house.
Achieving an ideal quarantine set-up is not always possible for all of us, but even if you live in a fairly small apartment, you can establish a limited quarantine by placing any new birds as far away as possible from your existing pet or breeder birds. If possible, they should be in another room, to prevent airborne contamination.
The next step to consider, is the length of the quarantine period. If you randomly ask any group of birdkeepers for their recommendations on quarantine length, you will find the responses will vary quite a lot, depending on who you're talking to. Some feel that two weeks is perfectly adequate, while others recommend three or four weeks or more. Many avian veterinarians have been heard to recommend a minimum of four weeks, with more recommending a extended six week quarantine as preferrable.
The whole idea is to keep the birds in quarantine long enough that any diseases they may be carrying will finish their incubation period and become active and visible in the bird, before the quarantine period is over. Given the rather long incubation period of some of the nastier diseases that our avian friends could be carrying if exposed, I myself consider the longer quarantine periods of six or so weeks to be the safest.
One of the most difficult parts of observing a quarantine, is to keep possible exposure between the quarantined birds and your own stock to a minimum. This is easiest to do if, whatever the situation, the quarantined birds are dealt with last. Always feed, clean, and maintain your own birds, before approaching a quarantined bird for care, interaction, and maintenance.
If possible, keep a clean smock or some other article of clothing at the entrance to the room the quarantined bird is being kept in, along with a pair of slip-on shoes and some clean, empty garbage bags. Change out of your everyday clothes into these before approaching the quarantined bird for day to day maintenance or any other chores. This makes it easier to be sure you won't accidentally pick up anything and carry it out of the quarantine room on your clothes or shoes.
Speaking of shoes, it's a good idea to keep a filled 'footbath' containing a disinfectant solution safe for your shoes, to walk through on your way into and out of the quarantine room. Once you're finished with the daily chores of maintaining the quarantined bird, walk out through the footbath, remove your slip-on shoes, and throw the smock into one of your clean garbage bags, for transport to the laundry. Then take a shower before carrying on with your day.
This kind of routine can complicate your day of course, but depending on the circumstances, it can save lives, along with a sometimes fairly hefty investment of time, effort, or money. Depending on the situation, a less strenuous routine may fit your needs better, but it's a good idea to know the options (along with the risks and benefits) well enough to be able to adapt the routine to fit the situation, rather than expecting the situation to adapt to your needs. Besides, the latter will almost never happen anyways!
Depending on where the quarantined bird came from, you may also wish to administer some medication during quarantine. For example, if your new bird had access to an outdoor aviary, and that exposure included access to soil, you may wish to treat for possible soil or water-borne pathogens such as intestinal worms, giardia, or coccidosis. Birds 2 Grow sells a handy 'quarantine kit' that can help you to see that your new birds don't expose your existing birds to any such problems once the quarantine period is finished.
That brings us to the next step. Once the quarantine is over, what's the best way to introduce your new bird to your existing bird or birds?
Perhaps the most common approach is simply to bring the new bird into the same room as existing birds. If you only have one or two pets, this is fine, but if you have several (or more) birds, you might want to take a different approach. Once the quarantine is up, rather than putting the new bird into the birdroom, instead bring one or two of your regular birdroom inhabitants out to live near your new bird or birds for awhile. Say, a couple of weeks or so.
This is safer than the reverse, because it allows you the chance to learn if your new bird is carrying something to which it is immune, but that your other birds could catch. This way, if your already established birds should happen to become sick when exposed to the new bird, you would lose only a few, instead of the whole flock.
This kind of situation is admittedly not too common, but CAN happen! And given that it is far easier (and cheaper!) to replace one or two birds than a roomful, this extra step is not unreasonable, at least for those who have a birdroom with more than a few inhabitants.
The USDA Veterinary Services Organization has published an excellent and definitive website on backyard bio-security, with guidelines for preventing the spread of disease in your home and flock. To see their recommendations and to learn more about why and how such procedures should be implemented and when, see the website at www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/birdbiosecurity/#
Careful quarantine and monitored introduction of new birds into an existing flock or birdroom can seem like a lot of trouble to some of us, and others might pooh-pooh the whole idea as being overly cautious. But when you consider the potential disasters that the use of quarantine procedures can help you to avoid, it seems only common sense to make use of them in your home, when you find yourself wanting to add another bird to your life.
by R C McDonald
www.robirda.com
Copyright © Apr 2006
"Everyone always asks me why my birds are such beautiful singers and breed such magnificent babies...I tell them that I learned from Robirda! While they give their birds all kinds of 'magical' formulas, I just follow your guide to 'keep it simple.' My birds are now very healthy, and there has been no recurrence of the infection. Thank Goodness!" R.C., Florida
Sponsor's Space
Table of Contents
The folks at Bird & Cage aim to provide bird keepers with a great selection of good quality birdcages and accessories for great prices, along with some of the best customer service you will find anywhere, and their customers all agree, they do a great job! They've provided a marvelous cage for part of the grand prize in our photo contest; Click here to see it for yourself!
Save 20% every day in the Sidewalk Sale of overstocked cages. There are some great cages deals available! On the rest of the site you will find breeding cages, cage accessories, stands, and some of the best flight cages anywhere. There's even free shipping if you live in the continental US!
A recent customer says,"I just wanted to let you know that I am THRILLED with the brass round cage 7530 and stand 4530 I ordered for my parakeet, Pedro. He is now able to be in the living room with all of us and he loves chatting and singing along with the music on TV or the piano when I play. Your service was AWESOME - I received the products in less than a week and the cage and stand are beautiful. Thank you!"
For a full selection of cages and cage accessories, visit BirdandCage.com.
Song CD
Table of Contents
Do you like to keep your canaries singing? Our CD of Robirda's canaries in full song stimulates pet canaries to sing more, and is a popular choice for many canary owners. But it can also be used to bring more wild birds to your feeders, or to make your pet parrots more comfortable with their surroundings.
Best of all - we've now sold enough CDs to allow us to lower the price! So if you haven't gotten yours yet, now's a great time! We get a great deal of positive comments from happy customers, so we're sure you'll be pleased. Here's what two recent buyers had to say:
"Thank you for creating such a beautiful CD. I just purchased 'New Songs From the Birdroom' for my cockatiel to listen to whenever I have to leave him alone for any period of time. The CD is absolutely fantastic, thanks again!"
"My 'baby' Jingles and I are both thrilled with your CD! It arrived within days of my purchase and it's the best CD out there! I have purchased every CD available, and yours was the only one my canary responded to. The CD has attracted the wild birds outside his little garden sanctuary, so my canary has lots of vocal competition now, which makes him sing even more."
Find out more about our Canary Song CD, here!
For You
& Your Birds,
With Love
Table of
Contents
We rely on YOU to help keep this publication and its associated websites alive. If you find help you need in this ezine or on one of our websites, please consider joining our sponsors.
Read testimonials or find out more about becoming a sponsor, here. If you're looking for something different, check our home page for links to all our products!
Our next issue is due Sunday, May 7th. We hope you and your birds stay safe, well and happy in the meantime, and we look forward to seeing you all then!
home Back Apr 23, 2006, Issue 144 Next
Flock Talk Archives 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Dedicated to all those who try to help others on our journey to a better tomorrow.
Copyright © 1994-2008 by Robirda Online. All rights
reserved.
Home | Products | Articles | Basics | Breeding | Photos | Flock Talk | Questions | Contact | Personal | Privacy | Wings-Up Seal | Testimonials | Links | Map