August 05, 2022
The Importance of Quarantine
What is Quarantine?
Quarantine is the practice of keeping any new flock members in a separate cage, in a separate room preferably with different airspace from any existing flock members for a minimum of 30 days, but preferably 45 to 60.
How to Quarantine:
It is difficult to do a true quarantine in most homes, but usually keep any new birds at the opposite end of the house or floor, from the rest of the flock. It is advised to always wash hands between handling any of the quarantine birds to protect the health and safety of your flock.
Why Quarantine?
If your new flock member comes to you ill, you could lose the entire rest of your flock because many diseases are airborne and highly contagious. THEREFORE, keeping them in the same room in a separate cage is not enough.
Many people think that if the bird looks healthy, it must be healthy-- this is completely untrue. If birds were so easy to diagnose as healthy or not, vet trips would be far less expensive and we wouldn't need border control or national regulations on avian quarantines. Birds are excellent at hiding their diseases, and often a disease will become very serious before the bird shows any outward symptoms.
It is also so difficult to tell with a new bird what is normal or not since you have not established a pattern of behavior. In addition, many avian diseases have extremely long incubation periods or latency periods and may not surface for a few weeks, why we recommend a long quarantine.
The stress of moving to a new home, new cage, new environment, is often enough to make previously dormant diseases that are activated by stress flare up. Even if you get your bird from a very responsible breeder with a 100% clean record, quarantine is still considered essential. But especially if you get your bird from a pet shop, where he or she will have been exposed to an entire gang of diseases and other birds.
May 22, 2022
Birdie Almond Cookies [ Healthy bird recipe]
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| Eclectus parrot eating Birdie Almond Cookie |
Recipe by monika sangar
Ingredients:
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour of your choice ( I used 1/2 cup rye and 1/2 cup millet)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 egg ( or use 1 tbsp flax meal mixed with 3 tbsp water )
2-ounce apple sauce
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped almonds
water as needed
Coconut oil for greasing
Directions:
Set oven at 350ºFGrease cookie sheet with coconut oil
Add everything into one bowl and mix. Add enough water to hydrate the flour but you don't want a wet dough. Add enough water so the dough sticks together.
Make small balls then mash them gently between your palms to create a disk. Place cookie on greased sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Let completely cool and store in the fridge.
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| The mix of flours and oatmeal for birdie almond cookies |
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| Add enough water so the dough sticks together |
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| Birdy almond cookies ready for the oven |
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| All done, more, please |
April 21, 2022
DIY Nutriberries [ healthy homemade treats]
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| DIY Nuritiberry |
We all know what nutriberries are: round balls of seeds, pellets, or veggies that birds go crazy for. In the simplest form, my version of nutriberries is made by first creating a sticky base and then adding your seeds, veggies, and nuts to form any shape you wish.
For the sticky base, you can use any dry fruit and add additional ingredients to your parrot's liking. I added half of the mashed sweet potato, for added nutrients, like vitamin A. Nut butter or a mashed banana are a few ideas to add to your sticky base.
Next to the base, you add flax seeds. Flax meal will work better because it will create a binding effect when water is added. If you don't wish to use Flax or Flax meal, one egg white can be added.
The most important step: using a blender make the smoothest paste with your dry fruit mixture by adding small amounts of water. Transfer the bowl and add your seeds, nuts, greens, veggies, and fruits to the dry fruit mixture. The mixture should hold its shape so as not to be too sticky.
If it is too sticky, add more of your seed/nut mix. If the mixture became too dry and won't stick together, you need more base. The beauty of the recipe is that it is easily adaptable and you can easily change it to fit your purpose. If all fails, spread the mixture on a cookie sheet and bake.
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| Basil eating her Homebaked Nutriberry |
Ingredients:
5 dates or any other dry fruit
1/2 sweet Potato
1 Tablespoon of Flax Meal (or flax seeds)
Water as needed.
1 cup total of any seeds/nuts/greens/veggies etc
My favorite mix:
2Tbls millet
4Tbls minced dandelion greens
2Tbls Chia and Flax
2Tbls Hemp seeds
1Tbls Milk Thistle
2Tbls Safflower
2 Tbls Oats
2 Tbls Hemp Hearts
Directions:
Add the first three ingredients into your blender and make a smooth stick mixture. Add water when necessary.
Transfer your mixture into a bigger bowl if needed, then add all your seed/nut/greens and mix well.
Make balls or any other shape.
Bake 325 for 15 minutes
Cool completely before freezing or giving it to birds.
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| Kismet testing the home-baked nutriberry |
December 05, 2021
Milk thistle and Aloe Vera
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| Charlie was diagnosed with Liver disease when he was rescued |
“Milk Thistle, sylibum marianum, is a wonderful herb for the liver. It has been shown to protect the liver and heal liver cells. Its active ingredients are found in the fruiting bodies, the seeds, and the entire plant. The content of silymarin is highest in the fruiting body! Although there are fewer liver-healing properties in the seeds, birds will readily eat these tasty millet-size seeds, making milk thistle seeds an excellent addition to the diet for any bird with liver problems.
There is a nutraceutical extract of milk thistle called silymarin, which is a flavonoid having an affinity for the liver. It is used quite commonly in Japan and Europe for acute liver toxicosis. It’s primarily used to regenerate hepatocytes, where it improves the flow of bile and fat to and from the liver. If used in too high a dose, however, it can cause loose stools due to the increase in bile it produces. Milk thistle, or silymarin, is one of the best herbs for liver cirrhosis, hepatitis, acute toxicosis of the liver, and fatty liver disease. It is also beneficial for bile duct inflammation and is a potent anti-oxidant. Glutathione is one of the most important hepatic detoxification pathways of the body, and milk thistle increases glutathione content in the liver by up to 35 percent.” David McCluggage, DVM
We use at the rescue, Milk Thistle seeds for maintaining liver support but when we have a bird with a liver health issue, we use ‘Silamarie’ by Bio-Health. This is Milk Thistle fruits (Silymarin) with no other added ingredients. These are 450mg (powder) per capsule.
Usage: Approximately ¼ of the MT powder, then divide in half (1/8th ) to give each dose per 1 soft hand-feed x twice daily. If feces become too loose, reduce the dose. Warning: it is possible the stools will turn very dark green to black. Don’t be alarmed, as the MT is doing its job, thus cleansing the liver and bile ducts of accumulated rubbish and toxins from the liver.
Further information on Milk Thistle: http://www.herbs-hands-healing.co.uk/singleherbs/milkthistle.html
ALOE VERA HERBAL DETOX FORMULA FOR LIVER DISEASE
Another additional treatment, alongside Milk Thistle nutraceutical extract for liver (and kidney) disease, is 'Aloe Vera Herbal Detox Formula' by Lily of the Desert http://www.lilyofthedesert.com/our_products/category/condition-specific-formulas/32
Usage: Aloe detox does not eradicate bacteria like antibiotics so you are not going to need a probiotic to follow the treatment. Dosing: start the bird out on 1 half capful to 1 pint of water. Once the bird is used to the taste, increase it to 1 capful to 1 pint of water. !f the bird is sick or you think he/she may have ingested something toxic, give the formula at 50/50, or stronger, as long as they drink it. Store the opened Aloe Detox bottle in the fridge, as it then has a long shelf-life.
We have successfully used Aloe Vera Herbal Detox Formula alongside the Milk Thistle nutraceutical extract with two parrots here at the rescue. One of the parrots had a severe kidney infection that later compromised the health of his liver. Both birds made a full recovery
Additional supporting links:
http://www.avianweb.com/liverdisease.html
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww24eii.htm
Compiled by Julie Hamilton, New Life Parrot Rescue & Helpline Service (UK) Charity Reg No: 1056409
July 03, 2021
Are parrot pellets healthy? [ parrot health]
In the 1980s, the pellets food was first developed for parrots and birds. Pellets were created because some people were only feeding their captive bird seeds which though have nutrients, lack all essential nutrients. Feeding just seeds causes the parrots to overfeed on seeds leading to health issues, like obesity and malnutrition.
So what are pellets?
So are pellets a source of balanced nutrition food?
No. And here's why. First of all, every parrot and bird species are different and have different requirements. None of the pellets out there today are produced with your specific parrot species in mind. It takes years of study and research to determine what individual species require. If your parrot has an unusual dietary need, it could become very dangerous to put your parrot on a general food.
Pellets are made with heat treatments. Heat does destroy some enzymes, vitamins, and nutritional value of the raw ingredients. (seongeung lee, et all).
Another reason you are not getting all the rich nutrients is because grinding up raw ingredients deteriorates the food faster. Eg. nutmeg. It is always recommended to buy the whole nutmeg and grind it yourself at home when needed.
How should pellets be used?
Last thoughts
Citation:
June 14, 2021
Apple seed: The truth to the core
If you are active on social media you will come across people saying no to apple seeds because of cyanide poisoning. Though it is true that apple seeds have cyanide, is it enough to kill or cause harm?
May 21, 2021
How to find cheap parrot toys
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| wood bird toys |
Cheaper bird toys
Parrots are highly intelligent and therefore need mental and physical stimulation and agility. Bird toys encourage exercise, decrease boredom, and keep them happy and healthy.
I should start this post by stating: Skilled, handcrafted isn't cheap and you get what you paid for. Cheap bird toys are just that, cheaply made, dangerous, and causing more issues than one needs. Cheap toys are smaller, very few wood blocks, dangerous hanging clips, and the wrong material is used.
Many times, I will receive donations of toys and I didn't give them to the birds because they will cause more harm than good. I took them part and remade them. However, there are still a few things you can do to get cheaper toy options.
We should be aiming for good quality bird toys, fairly priced. A good bird toy maker will use proper materials to make sure the toy lasts as long as possible. They will use materials that are non-toxic, and safe yet still deliver creative bird toys for your parrot.
As wood prices increase, wood parrot toys have and will also increase in price. There are other options and creative ways to help our feathery friends stay happy and enriched.
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| shreddable bird toys |
Cheaper ideas for bird toys:
1) Cardboard might be every bird owner's best friend right now. As wood prices increase, making toys out of cardboard is easy and cheap. There are cardboard boxes, cardboard blocks, and cardboard sheets. Check out all the fun, cardboard toys here: Pds parrot toys
2) Infant/ baby toys: Infant toys are not just for a human baby; your 20-year-old parrot might love them too. There are so many varieties of toys from wood to sound-making. Go to your nearest thrift store or look at marketplaces online for used old baby toys. (baby wood toys are safe since they use safe material for baby stuff)
4) Lumber Yard: Even with high prices, you can find a clearance section at the lumber yard where they are selling off untreated pine wood for 70 percent off. You might not be able to use the full length and throw away part of the damaged wood, but it's much cheaper than the full-priced stuff.
5) DIY bird toys: If quarantine had taught us anything, it's how to youtube and google new skills. There are many DIY parrot toy videos. Many places are selling wood blocks with drilled holes. All one needs to do is string them with sisal or chain. Done.
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| parrot wood blocks |
February 26, 2021
Ginger Bars [ healthy recipe for birds]
Adding ginger to your parrots' diet is a great way to get benefits from this root. Along with ginger, there will be sweet potato or pumpkin which adds the much-needed vitamin A, and other vitamins and minerals for a healthy parrot recipe.
Ginger Bars
1 1/4 cup of pumpkin or sweet potato puree
2 1/2 cup of flour ( chose one or a combination of: spelt, kumat, brown rice)
2 Tablespoon of seeds ( chose one or a combination of: Flax seeds, chia, and sesame )
Oven Tempture @ 350
1) In a bowl, add your homemade or can pumpkin/sweet potato puree.
2) Add ginger and molasses to the puree and mix well.
3) In another bowl add your flour, chill, and seeds, mix well.
4) Mix in your puree to your flour mixture.
5) Roll out our dough until you have a 1/4 thick rectangle and cut into any shapes.
December 28, 2020
Raw Food Chop Recipe
Parrot food can be very nutritious with just a little time. Depending on ingredients, you either have to soak and cook a soak mix or you can just soak and NOT cook. Not cooking allows for an easy raw food recipe that is packed with nutrition. Today, we will be making this raw food chop recipe which is not only nutritious, healthy, and natural but so easy to do. (for a cook chop recipe click here)
First of all, a little bit of science.
As we all know, seeds have all the nutrients necessary to grow a plant. When we soak seeds or grains, in water the seeds start absorbing the water. The intake of water signals the seed to use its stored energy for growth through the activation of enzymes.For this noncooking recipe, we are going to be using nature and science to create a nutritious meal for our companion birds and parrots.
First of all, we need a list of seeds and grains we can use as a soak mix. We can use all or some mixture of these grains/seeds.
Grains and Seeds
Green Split peas
Directions
In the morning, rinse well. Add cut-up veggies and fruit to the soak mix. I also added greens which were chopped in the food processor.
PS: For any leftover soak mix, you can start the sprouting process by rinsing the soak mix three times a day, until it starts to sprout. Parrot sprouting is ideal however not necessary for this recipe. Sprouting seeds for birds provide all the essential amino acids.
October 05, 2020
Pumpkin birdie bread
There are two different recipes here. The original by our friend, Rose Essex, and a more eclectus friend friendly which I made. Both recipes are amazing and full of Vitamin A, protein, micronutrients, and other essential vitamins.
Original
Ingredients:Directions:
Eclectus Friendly recipe:
Ingredients:
Directions:
August 17, 2020
DIY Sock Sweaters for your Parrot
DIY parrot sock sweaters
We will be making the sock sweater from the top portion of the sock only. I am cutting to about 5 inches in length for my medium size parrots (see picture below). Depending on if your parrot is shorter or taller, you will adjust the length. You want to cut it straight across.
Instructions on how to put this on your parrot:
Then gently pull the wings through the slits.
Soon you will have a good-looking gang in fashionable sock sweaters.
