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In today’s article I wanted to explore the common mistakes pet bird owners are likely to make which may result in the death of their birds. This article will provide a general list of dangers I had frequently discussed over the years when I had worked in a pet shop. Suffice to say the topics below will not be an exhaustive list. Lets start:
Aerosol sprays are a common household item used without owners thinking about the possible repercussions these sprays may have on birds. Sprays such as fly sprays, oven cleaners, personal hygiene deodorants, hair sprays and room freshener deodorants all pose a health risk to your bird. Aerosol sprays are likely to affect birds in two ways. Firstly, if one observes the natural breathing rhythm of a bird, we will notice the rapid pace between inhaling and exhaling. Therefore, if too much aerosol spray has been used in close proximity to the bird, the spray will act in a way that suffocates the bird because the bird is unable to obtain enough oxygen out of the air. The second common way aerosol sprays affect birds is through direct poisoning, e.g fly sprays and oven cleaners. A bird may suffer poisoning because too much spray is floating in the air and becomes toxic to the bird because they have a relatively small body size and therefore consume more of a substance per gram to body weight.
A draft is any airflow change which exists in the room. A draft is commonly noticed when we sit in the house and find certain parts of our body e.g, feet, back, face, chest etc gets cold in the absence of direct wind upon us. For the purpose of this article, a draft of cold air can affect the birds ability to regulate their body temperature. The draft acts in a way that cools the bird and is unable to remain sufficiently warm. Therefore the bird may either stay cold because it is unable to get warm due to a heavy draft, or experience ongoing oscillating warm and cold body temperatures will generally lead to sickness in the bird.
Wing clipping is a common practice to prevent pet birds from flying. Personally I have not clipped my own pet birds wings when they are caged in the house as I don’t feel it necessary. The advantages of clipping wings is the bird can not escape should it escape outside of the house and that it prevents the bird from flying into walls. While in aviary kept birds it is a possible to clip any aggressive birds wings to minimise any aggressive harassment. The disadvantage of clipping birds wings is that it is always possible the bird may jump from a height and injury itself because it may not realised that it cant fly. Another disadvantage is the bird is vulnerable to injury because it can no longer escape from other dangers from within the house, e.g pet dogs, cats etc. For those who have made the decision to clip the birds wings, one must always remember after each moult the wing feathers will grow back. I have lost count how many times I have listened to people tell me they didn’t realise their birds wing feathers had grown back and the owner took the bird outside where the bird flew off never to be seen again.
The procedure of clipping a birds wing entails cutting the primary and secondary flight feathers just prior to reaching the feather vein or blood feather. It is this cutting of the flight feathers which prevents the bird from lifting off and taking flight. There appears to be several methods of clipping wings:
The difference between what I would call full and partial clipping of the wing feathers is that in partial clipping either the secondary or primary feathers are cut, where full clipping both secondary and primary are cut as shown below.
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In the above photo the orange and blue coloured lines represent the difference between secondary and primary flight feathers. The red line represents approximately where to cut. Always ensure your not cutting blood feathers, if in doubt cut further away from the body.
However, I tend to believe clipping birds wings is unnecessary and has more potential disadvantages than advantages.
Sometimes owners of aviaries forget when spraying gardens or lawns with pesticides and other toxic sprays, the sprays will disperse in the wind and enter the aviary contaminating the water or food dishes. It is always a good idea to remove all food and water bowls from the aviary prior to spraying. Additionally it is always wise never to use sprays in close proximity of the aviary.
Sometimes birds who roam freely in the house access and consume foods outside of their normal dietary requirements. Foods such as Avocado or even caffeine related foods such as coffee, Pepsi / coke or chocolate are all toxic to the bird and will cause adverse reactions, significant illness and possible death. When letting your bird out to freely roam, it is always a good idea to do a quick check and remove all foods accessible to the bird.
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Crop feeding is an advanced technique that in many cases has the same life saving capability akin to CPR for humans, however the reality is the concept of crop feeding in birds is no different to stomach tube feeding in humans. The only difference between human and avian tube feeding is for a bird the food is directly deposited into the birds crop, where in humans the food is deposited into the stomach. Generally speaking, crop feeding is predominately used as a method to feed young chicks, however it is also used to manually feed ill birds who are not eating. Thus manually feeding is likely to prolong a birds life during illness because your able to give the bird additional nutrients it wouldn’t be receiving if it wasn’t eating in the first place. The provision of medications via crop needle is yet another benefit of being able to crop feed a bird. The basic tenets of crop feeding is passing a tube (crop needle) into the beak, down the neck (esophagus) into the crop and then depositing the syringe contents into the crop.
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Even though crop feeding is an efficient and advanced technique to feed chicks and preventing ill birds from dying, their are several associated risks we need to be fully aware of when performing this procedure. The associated risks when crop feeding are injecting hand raising formula that is too hot that will result in internal scalding. If the bird doesn’t die in your hands, then depending on how hot the formula was, it is likely to die not long after. Secondly, inserting the crop needle inaccurately which results in killing the bird via piercing the crop or other internal organs. Likewise, if the crop needle is not fully inserted properly so that it reaches into the crop and the syringe contents is injected, the bird is likely to either drown because the fluid in the trachea will block the airways, or a secondary infection may occur in the lungs. Another error one must also be aware of is not to overfill the crop which may cause the bird to aspirate. In any case their is generally only one crude reality that exists when crop feeding, and that is their are no second chances. If you fail to complete the procedure correctly the bird one way or another is likely to die. The only difference is that it will be either a quick or slow death.
Generally speaking, when its time for you to cook your own dinner it is best to keep your bird in the cage and outside of the kitchen area because of the inherent dangers associated with kitchens and cooking. In short, some of these dangers are gaseous toxins from non stick cooking utensils, sharp utensils, falling or flying into boiling water or hot oil. The bird may even eat foods that may be potentially toxic to the bird while the owner is distracted with their cooking or watching TV.
No one wants to see a bird locked in a cage because it restricts freedom, however with pet birds the rules of the wild do not necessarily apply in the house. This is not to say that you should not let your bird out of the cage, in fact quite the opposite, let the bird out as much as possible. However when the bird is out of the cage just make sure you supervise your bird as you would supervise a young child starting to walk and is prone to picking up random objects. Birds like children are very curious creatures and will play with anything they can get their hands/beak on. This is why I view a bird cage to be a positive source of security because it is keeping the bird safe when it is not able to be supervised.
Any bird owner who lets their pet bird out unsupervised is just asking for trouble and unnecessarily placing their pet in a potentially dangerous situation. Birds may inadvertently fall into a kitchen sinks, toilets, chew power cords, fall and get trapped behind furniture, fly into windows and walls if frightened, eat or drink foods which may be toxic to them, chew furniture, enter washing machines and dryers or even dishwashers. There are countless ways a mischievous bird can get into trouble, suffice to say if you leave your bird unsupervised expect problems.
Owners of pet birds recognise the importance of keeping pet birds occupied and having an environment which stimulates the birds senses. When selecting toys the bird owner needs to consider the safety of the toy, much the same way parents with children have to be alert to the dangers of certain toys. Toys which dangle from strings are sure to entrap the bird by it’s feet, wings or even worse around the neck. Additionally, toys that are sharp can also be dangerous if birds happens to jump from a perch and lands on the sharp object.
Given parrots like to chew, be sure to add non toxic wood for them. The larger parrot species may also find interest in food puzzle toys.
It’s always recommended to cover your birds when its time for them to sleep. Covering the bird will signify that it is time for rest, it will also assist in giving privacy for the bird not to be constantly distracted due to other events which occur in the house. While covering birds at night may also assist in protecting the bird from draft.
Birds residing in the home may be susceptible to accidental fright such as phone ringing late at night, a room light being flicked on or any other disruption within the home. I have found Cockateils to be particularly vulnerable to night fright. The primary concern with night fright is the bird is unable to see and will panic causing it to thrash about in the dark. Thrashing around is likely to see the bird cause itself injury such as wings getting caught in the cage wire or hitting the cage. Other injuries such as damage to legs, feet and eyes as the bird desperately attempts to escape from its panic.
Hand raising birds is a common practice and if done correctly the outcome will result in a very tame companion that has been human imprinted. When hand raising birds we must be conscious of the impacts of stress. Psittacine chicks like many other birds are fully dependent of their parents for warmth, protection and food. No different to humans, as the bird ages there is the enviable stage where the chick gradually moves towards self independence. The stage where the bird reaches full independence is commonly known as “weened”, thus a chick in the process prior to being weened is referred as “weening”.
The weening process is quite a stressful time for the chick because the actual process involves gradually reducing food quantity during feeds which illicit slight hunger to motivate the chick to seek food elsewhere. As with any living creature that is hungry, the search and exploration will ensue providing the bird is hungry and feels that it is safe in its environment. While the desire to eat due to hunger is an automatic cognitive process, the actual eating process and learning to fend for it self is a learn’t behaviour. It takes time for the bird to conceptualise the various processes which result in being able to eat and digest the food. Processes such as identifying foods, grasping and manipulating the food in the beak and finally breaking the food up and the digestion of the food. The learning behind these stages is the reason we frequently see baby chicks playing or mouthing foods without actually eating the food. It is important to understand just because a chick during the stage of weening has food in its mouth, does not necessarily equate to the bird eating. This is why it is so important aviculturalists frequently weigh the chicks on a daily basis to ensure weight gain.
Chicks that have been fully weened and given to new owners may feel very insecure in their new environment. This new environmental stressor may cause the bird to retreat from seeking food and may want the security of its initial caregiver such as the parent bird or perceived human hand rarer. Therefore if a chick has been given to a new owner, this new bird owner must carefully watch for the chick eating. Failing to observe a chick eating may result in the chick starving itself should it revert to a pre-weened stage.
As I had previously mentioned in the “ is my bird sick” article, the main two influential reasons birds are reported to have “drop dead” is mostly due to the bird owner not observing the early signs of illness, while the second reason is likely to be the failure to take ill birds to a veterinarian in time. I also referred to the fact birds will tend to have a higher body temperature than humans and in order to maintain their body temperature the bird will burn more energy. Therefore when the bird gets sick, loss of appetite is likely to occur resulting in the inability to maintain the higher body temperature which cascades into the dire problem of hypothermia or shock. In this case applying supportive therapy by appropriately increasing environmental heat will assist the bird to artificially stabilise its core body temperature without needing to resort to burning its own energy to maintain the required body heat just to survive. Giving you the procedure and heating recommendations is beyond the scope of this article, however suffice to say if your bird is sick you should contact your avian veterinarian as soon as possible.
There are times an aviculturalist may wish to have a mixed aviary setting where multiple species are house within the same aviary. Generally speaking the more experienced aviculturalist are not likely to mix incorrect species together so for the purpose of this article I will make special reference to the inexperienced bird keeper who may make this error.
In Australia two commonly purchased birds are budgies and lovebirds. If housed individually both of these birds are generally trouble free and quite resilient. However if mixed under the same roof the aviculturalist is likely to see the budgies being attacked or killed by the more aggressive lovebird. This is one of many examples where housing incompatible species together will often result in injury or death. Even though it’s very easy to establish a mixed aviary with a bunch of pretty looking birds initially play happy with each other most times of the year. We must always be mindful that it is possible the breeding season may dramatically change the dynamics of the birds interacting with each other. Seasonal behaviour changes such as increased aggression, breeding box invasion, guarding feed dishes and other territorial disputes involving other species are a couple of examples how breeding seasons affect group dynamics within aviaries.
Routine worming of aviary birds should always be part of the pet health care repertoire. While birds housed individually in the house may not need to be wormed as frequently after their initial worming procedure providing they are not in contact with other birds.
Aviary birds, in particular those housed with open wired roof tops must maintain a routine worming program because wild birds are likely to drop their feaces inside the aviary floor. The birds within the aviary who have greater tendencies of playing and grazing on the floor are the ones more susceptible to contracting worms. An example is that some birds like the Australian Princess parrot may be very susceptible to worms and must be routinely wormed if in an aviary setting because they frequently sit and eat on the aviary floor. Therefore it is important to understand the bird behaviours of the species of birds that you keep so you can effectively care for them.
Perhaps the biggest dangers regarding worming a bird are the use of inappropriate worming solutions, overdose of solution or large infestations leading to intestinal blockage. Not all worming solutions are the same, hence some solutions may target one or two types of worms, where other solutions may target a wider range of worms. The inappropriate worming solution is likely to cause a build up of worms in the intestinal tract. Perhaps the biggest issue for birds who have large infestations is when they are wormed, the mass of dead or dying worms being expelled causes intestinal blockage.
Finally, one last thing to consider when worming your birds is to ensure that you effectively clean your cage / aviary to minimise or prevent any further digestion or any contact of contaminated feacal matter. Out of habit I will usually sweep and clean the aviary prior to worming and then once wormed I will disinfect and scrub the aviary floor after a period of time has lapsed (usually later that same day). 1 week after I will again clean and disinfect the aviary floor.
Cages that are set upon unstable stands may easily be knocked over in the home or in the case of being outside blown over by a strong wind, which may lead to escape, injury or death of the bird. Always ensure any cage stand is well seated on a level floor and not easily blown or knocked over.
One of the realities when keeping birds as pets is their will most likely be rodents lurking behind the scene somewhere, more so in aviaries. Given the rapid reproduction cycle of mice and rats is very fast, it is essential to control the rodent population as soon as possible if one is to avoid any impact to the birds you house. Their are several key factors to understand regarding how the presence of rodents may have on birds. Firstly, the rodent urine may cause ill health if it has contact with the water or bird food (especially seeds). Another issue that can occur is the disruption to sitting hens where rodents may cause the bird to leave the nest. If the hen is sitting on eggs and have to leave them regularly or for extended times the eggs will cool, in the case of a hen laying an egg the distraction may cause the hen to lay the egg outside of the nesting box. It is also possible rodents may also eat eggs when hungry. Rodents, in particular rats may also attack the pet birds leading to injury or death.
It is not uncommon that aviculturalists will use rodent poisons to control any rodent population. However the aviculturalist will need to keep in mind how they are using the poison and how the poison may be inadvertently consumed by birds. The consumption of rodent poison may occur through the water when the rodents will naturally attempt to drink water to alleviate any effects of the poison which usually causes internal hemorrhaging. This transmission of the poison may occur due to either having the poison on the mouth while drinking the water, or perhaps the rodent may die in the water. It is also possible the rodent could take the poisoned pellet inside the aviary and the birds will eat the pellet. And finally, we also need to be mindful how animals outside of the aviary may also be poisoned e.g pet dogs, cats, wild birds etc. Please be careful where you place the rodent poison.
This article has sought to highlight some common errors owners of birds may make that leads to serious injury or death of their birds. As mentioned before, this list is not an exhaustive list, however the general themes generally related to errors of housing, environmental, pet supervision and bird handling. Throughout the many years of keeping birds, I have found that one must have a attitude of predictive foresight regarding potential dangers which may arise in order to keep birds safe. It is my belief caring birds is no different than keeping dogs or cats because regardless of the pet you choose to keep, neglect will always have serious repercussions to the animals health. Or more information regarding bird health, feel free to review my other articles “ is my bird sick?” , “The use of digital cameras to aid distant examinations ” and “ Avian Nutrition − Vitamin Overdose ”.
Until next time...
Darren Hamburger
Page Last update:10/07/2017
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