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 Pet Bird’s Healthcare
Pet birds can be of various types starting from a singer to a talker to a whistler to a playful friend but all of them love to be caressed.
By good healthcare of birds, we mean
- regular visit to veterinarian
- a general examination annually
- good nutrition
- vitamins and mineral supplements
- accident prevention
- changing the water daily
- cleaning the food containers regularly
The major health problems of pet birds that the veterinarians notice while examining birds are
- malnutrition
- problems caused by serious accidents in an unhealthy and unsafe environment
Budgies, finches, canaries, parakeets, and parrots are recognized as grain eaters from the nutritional point of view. But seeds are deficient in many nutrients and a diet based exclusively on seeds results
- in an inactive bird
- poor plumage
- susceptibility to many diseases
A good diet for pet birds consists of
- 50 per cent of an appropriate seed mixture, 45 per cent of nutritious vegetables (broccoli, ground corn, cauliflower), and five per cent of high protein foods (well cooked meat, eggs, cheese) and fruits
- vitamins and minerals
- calcium (powder of liquid calcium, oyster shells or cuttlebone)
Role of environment on bird’s health:
- the bird's cage and surroundings influences its state of health
- to avoid foot problems (redness, swelling, and aches) in birds it is advisable to exercise the bird outside its cage
- the bird's nails should always be kept short or they may get trapped in the bars of the cage or in the nest materials which might result in the breaking of a claw or limb
Careful tips to avoid pet bird’s accident:
- Covering the aquarium and closing the toilet seat as the bird might get drowned
- the bird should never be allowed in the kitchen as it could be attracted to boiling water or oil
- a bird flying freely in the house can crash into mirrors or windows panes
- clipping of bird’s wings
- taking care that other pets do not feed on them
- taking care that lead poisoning does not occur from tiffany lamps, old paints and curtain weights
- taking care that they are not poisoned by any chemicals
- taking care that they are not poisoned by certain plants
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