Birds anyone?

Squawkbert said:
Finch smell is minimal - the dander associated w/ the feathers is the chief source of odor (in my opinion).

I must warn you - the bird related sites I've seen in the past will not appreciate viewing birds as a conversation piece - better be wearing your flame retardant suit when you post... they can be a touchy lot.
Click to expand...

they do tend to crap A LOT, at least mine do, and if it is left there uncleaned for a few days it can start to get pretty rancid..although it isn't THAT strong of a smell..
 
I think it would be kind of cool to have a raven or an owl or something.
 
If the cage contains a large plant...maybe a small tree...is that going to be a maintenance nightmare for me? I had a parakeet when I was 8 so I am familiar with the standard cage maintenance thing but have a more realistic setting with branches and leaves....can anyone give me some suggestions on that?
 
This sounds like a neat idea! My 7th grade science teacher had a huge cage with finches and a tree, with tons of extra branches etc. She kept sawdust on the bottom, and because the cage was big enough for us to walk into, we took turns raking out the cage and refilling it 2-3 times a week.
 
Tailfeathers is the best community that I have ever seen for birds. I have cruised quite a few in the last 4 or 5 years and found this one to be the most accurate and helpful. The people are very knowledgeable, but don't pull any punches. If you can't take un-sugar coated advice, don't go here. They will tell you exactly what to do and not to do to help in the care of your bird. Most of the members have kept birds for many years and have experience in many different species. If I remember the community correctly, there are also several avian doctors that post there regularly. Sorry, but I can't remember their names....

http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/

Just a side note:

The last I knew, you can't keep any bird of prey (like an owl, hawk, eagle, kestrel, or falcon) legally in the United States without a rehab permit (as in the bird is hurt and can never be returned to the wild) or a falconer's license. Even owning a feather from a raptor is an offense. The only people allowed to own found plumage from birds of prey are Native Americans.

Ravens are awesome (I had one under my care when I worked at a zoo), but they are EXTREMELY intelligent. They need something to do constantly, or they end up neurotic (feather pulling, lethargy, refusal to eat/drink, repetitive motion like pecking or rocking). They are very similar to the large parrots in their need for stimulation.
 
Siren said:
Just a side note:

The last I knew, you can't keep any bird of prey (like an owl, hawk, eagle, kestrel, or falcon) legally in the United States without a rehab permit (as in the bird is hurt and can never be returned to the wild) or a falconer's license. Even owning a feather from a raptor is an offense. The only people allowed to own found plumage from birds of prey are Native Americans.
Click to expand...
Truth. It's a federal offense. (and btw, kestrels are a type of falcon; add in accipiters, kites, vultures and harriers for the full list of 'groups' of raptors :P) Normal people in the US can't have any raptor part without a permit, and normal people can't get permits. Native Americans are supposed to get permits as well, and they have to be for ceremonial/religious/whatever-the-right-word-is purpose. Rehabbers can only have a bird while it's not a candidate for release; certain institutions can acquire permits for individual birds for educational purposes (e.g., rehab centers and zoos) but there has to be some kind of proof that the bird can't be released, and you can't do anything purposefully to the bird to make it non-releasable (e.g., you can't imprint a baby on purpose, and if a baby at your facility gets imprinted, you have to send it to a different facility to live out its life)

Though I'm told that one can have a non-native raptor without a license, it'd be difficult and expensive to acquire one. Someone told me that in England, it's possible to acquire a raptor as a pet. Which IMO isn't a good idea...

They're great birds, and I really enjoy working with them, but they're not something the average person could have easily. They are pure carnivores, and the majority tolerate humans for food only. Yes, they can be trained to do things, but they're not the most intelligent birds. Harris Hawks are sort of an exception to most truisms about raptors (they are social, with a structure sort of like a wolf pack, have a lot of personality, and at least the one imprinted bird I've met seems to enjoy humans), but again, you need to be a falconer or rehabber to have one in your posession. Their housing requirements are a little different from other birds, though not too different, I guess. You can't be squeamish about feeding small furry or feathered creatures to them. Especially the larger ones can injure you if you don't know what you're doing and/or not paying attention. Most are fairly good-sized birds... bigger than most parrots people keep... so they need correspondingly more space and more food (unless you're a falconer who prefers to keep his birds tied +/- hood, rather than free lofting... both are valid methods, but I have more experience with free lofted birds)

Anyway. That's probably fairly offtopic... but raptors are what got me interested in birds in general, and they're still my favorite group by far.

Siren, thanks for that link, I'll probably start browsing that forum at least occasionally :)

Ummm, original question. It's hard to disinfect trees and dirt/rocks/whatever is going to be on the ground. You need to have good drainage so you can hose down the rocks/whatever under the tree to wash off the bird poop. Most zoos replace the top however many inches of dirt in their enclosures at least once a year because of that disinfection nightmare. At a minimum, keep the birds in a conventional cage and ensure that they're disease and parasite free before turning them loose in the tree area.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom