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 ISSN 1492-8132 Issue 117, © 2005 No reprints without permission Table of Contents The folks at Bird & Cage aim to provide birdkeepers with a great selection of good quality cages and cage accessories for great prices and top-quality customer service. There's even a wrought-iron cage that 's perfect for pet canaries or other small cage-birds! Check it out along with the other best-sellers listed on our Best Sellers page! A recent customer comments, "Can you believe it!!.....I just had them delivered in good shape....thanks again for your usual prompt service. Your response is rated a '10' in my books..." For a full selection of cages and cage accessories, visit BirdandCage.com. Table of Contents A Flock Talk reader sends us this warning; "I would like to warn against using dryer lint as a person on a finch list thought it was a great idea. Her zebra finches loved to use it for their nests, but because of the extreme fineness of the particles in the dryer lint, when they picked it up they would swallow some of it. It eventually clogged up the birds' systems and killed them. (This was found in a necropsy). "It is up to you all what you use but I feel I should warn you what happened to these birds because of it. It is just too fine, and the birds swallow it instead of spitting it out." Table of Contents Our canary song CD offers great quality for one of the lowest prices you'll find on the market! Our CD of Robirda's canaries singing has no background music to distract from the canary songs. You'll find 12 16-bit true-stereo tracks, each averaging almost 5 minutes long, for a total of 58 minutes and 48 seconds of canary songs. Judge for yourself, and listen to a 10 second mp3 sample. Listen carefully, and you will be able to hear the different positions of each bird! A recent customer told us, "Received the CD! Man can they sing! Hope our American Singer will sound half as good! Thank you." Another says, "The CD arrived and it's just great! Hansie loves it and has been warbling away for the past 2 days." Another says, "Your CD sure did start him singing. He was hanging from his swing looking out the way of the CD player and singing right along with it. Thanks again from a very contented canary and his owner!" Learn more at here! Table of Contents
This site reminds me of a used car lot; it is loaded with information, some good, some questionable, some misleading. A new canary keeper relying on the accuracy of the info here is likely to find themselves in trouble sooner or later - as much because of what's missing, as what's there. The situation is not aided by the fact that everything is presented using the kind of hard-sell techniques more commonly found in door-to-door salesmen or on used car lots. Similarly to buying a car from such a lot, some digging might unearth either treasure or junk - but you will need experience and a good bit of canny judgment to tell the difference. Table of Contents Do you know of a 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 Flock readers? Send your ideas here with the subject line, 'Flock Stories'. Table of Contents
- Home Table of Contents Need help with your birds? You can ask for Robirda's help for only $15 US. Even avian vets sometimes consult with Robirda on small-bird housing, feeding, care or behavioral questions! They, and her other customers, find Robirda's answers to be detailed and reliable, caring and supportive. Robirda can help you learn to understand your birds better! Learn more here.
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 For breeder or pet bird owners who care. Hello! Welcome to Flock Talk's 117th issue. Subscribe and unsubscribe information for the email version of this ezine is at the bottom of this webpage.
Table of Contents You'll be happy to hear that although we must continue to use paid advertising to help keep our sites running, we've finally been able to reach a goal we've had for some time; soon there will be no more pop-up ads anywhere on our sites! This option was not previously available to us, since so many advertisers prefer to use pop-ups - but like most users, we hate them, and we've been agitating for some time now for the ability to block pop-ups and pop-unders from appearing on our sites. Our efforts have finally paid off, and soon you will be able to browse our entire site without seeing a single pop-up-or-under ad anywhere! We're working on updating our sites, and we'd like to know what you think. You can help by taking our quick confidential survey. Table of Contents Bird-keepers and gardeners everywhere know it; the former as a wonderful little wild-food that drives their birds into a frenzy of eating, the latter as a pernicious, persistent garden pest that resists being eradicated. Lately research has been teaching us something that our birds have apparently known all along - there's a whole lot of good to be gained from eating...
by R C McDonald Chickweed is a low-growing, cool-loving plant that starts growth as soon as the ground thaws in the spring. It loves rich, loamy soil, and is commonly found in gardens - to a great many gardeners' dismay. To these folks, this lowly little green-leafed, sprawling, white-flowered plant is a pest which stubbornly keeps coming back no matter how persistent the gardener is in trying to discourage it. Chickweed is closely related to the 'purslane' family of plants, and in one form or another, either it or a close relative can be found over almost the entire planet. Interestingly enough, many plants in this family are a form of succulent, and perhaps this is one reason why the greens from this family of delicate little 'weeds' all seem to remain tender and tasty for their entire lifespan. Even when flowering, none of these plants ever become bitter in any way, and they all maintain their crispy, juicy texture and delicate, mild flavour until the day they die. Chickweed leaves have a texture similar to lettuce, and are very tasty when eaten in salads, sandwiches, or rolls. Most birds, of whatever species, adore chickweed and will gobble down large quantities, if given the opportunity. My canaries love it so much that if they get to eat it regularly, they will begin to refuse other greens, loudly demanding that I remove 'this horrid stuff' and give them their chickweed, should I have the audacity to present them with anything else! Unfortunately for them, chickweed does not love the heat, and rarely lasts longer than late spring in the garden, even if deliberately cultivated. So no matter how insulted they feel about it all, sooner or later each year they have to give up their chickweed and start eating something else instead. Even when the yard is knee-deep in chickweed though, the birds never get all of it, because I love it just as much as my birds do - it has a wonderful mild taste that resists description, and has to be experienced. Once you have, you just might find yourself wanting more! Even a really good butter lettuce seems bland by comparison, once you've eaten the remarkable and very tasty little green called chickweed. Chickweed has a number of field and woodland relatives, all fairly similar in appearance and growth habits, and all with the similarly wonderful flavour, texture, and resistence to bitterness found in 'real' chickweed. Several of these plants are also commonly known as chickweed, while other varieties are termed 'miner's lettuce', 'siberian miner's lettuce' or other such similar names. This was because these greens often appear early in the spring, and during the gold rush days were eagerly eaten by miners to stave off scurvy and other such problems. Their efforts were successful, because chickweed and its relatives are very high in Vitamins A and C. Even better, more recently they have been shown to contain more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable known. The most common dietary source of these fatty acids are cold water fish such as salmon, herring, and mackeral. Omega-3 fatty acids assist the body in producing compounds that affect blood pressure, clotting, and the immune system, and help prevent inflammation and lower cholesterol (LDL) levels. They also act to prevent certain cancers and control coronary spasms. Recent studies suggest that Omega-3 fatty acids may additionally have beneficial effects on the brain and its functions, and may assist in conditions such as depression, bipolar disorders, autism, schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder, Alzheimer's disease, hyperactivity, and migraines. Although these fatty acids are so highly beneficial, traditionally there have been very few good dietary sources other than seafood for Omaga-3s. More recently some oils, nuts, some grains and other leafy vegetables have been found to also contain some Omega-3s, but so far purslane and its relatives, including chickweed, have been found to have far more of these fatty acids than can be found in any other group of plants. Interestingly enough, many plants in the purslane family are, unlike their relatives in the chickweed group, heat-loving plants that come into their prime in middle to late summer. This means that these little weeds from the purslane family are a good green to offer your birds once chickweed season has passed. Similarly to chickweed, purslanes are also found in fertile soil, and often appear in gardens, where they are seldom related to as anything other than another unwanted, pestiferous weed. If only those gardeners knew of the nutrition they were throwing away when they uproot these delicate little plants! One type of purslane has been cultivated for its heat-tolerant and drought-resistent flowers, and is usually known as the 'Dolly Parton flower', for its habit of blooming from 9 am to 5 pm. Meanwhile its smaller 'weedy' cousin has recently begun to recieve a great deal of attention as nutritionists and some more creative chefs have begun to discover that this little plant has almost everything you could want; eye appeal, crisp texture, tangy taste, and all the nutrition you could want, and more. If the high content of Omega-3 fatty acids weren't enough, it has also been discovered that purslane (and chickweed) has above average values of Vitamins A and C, and yet manages to provide all of this nutrition with only 15 calories in a 100-gram portion, as compared with 76 in a boiled potato! Purslane has been eaten throughout most of Europe and Asia for centuries, particularly in the Mediterranean. In Russian, it is traditionally dried or canned, to save for winter use, while in Mexico, where it is a favourite comfort food, it is known as 'verdolaga', and is often eaten in eggs or wrapped in a fresh tortilla. It has no bitter taste at all, and can be eaten raw in salads or sandwiches, cooked as greens or in omelets, or added to soups and stews, where its muucilaginous quality adds greatly to the texture and flavour. Interestingly enough the incidence of heart disease is very low, wherever purslane is a traditional component of the diet. The latest, and very exciting, health discovery about this so-fascinating family of plants, is their high content of alpha linolenic acid, one type of the omega-3 fatty acids. This fatty acid may affect human health directly, but the most intriguing possibility is that the body may be able to convert this particular fatty acid into other, related kinds of omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fish oils. Researchers have seen evidence that these substances lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and make the blood less likely to form clots. Yet for hundreds of years before this scientific finding, purslane and chickweeds have been eaten as foods, and used for treating arthritis, inflammation, heart disease and to promote general good health. The juice has been used as a mild eyewash for sore or tired eyes, and juices and/or compresses were used for treating dry, irritated skin, or rashes. Folk medicine lists many more uses for both purslane and chickweed, and while many will remind you that all such 'old wives tales' are suspect, in this case science is beginning to show that these plants have a great deal more to offer than even folk medicine seems to have suspected. I have been enjoying chickweed and purslane as wild edibles for much of my life, but it never occurred to me to wonder just why my birds seemed to like it so well. It seems that in this case, as has happened so many other times, my birds were wa-a-a-ay ahead of me. Maybe they really do know best! by R C McDonald Some chickweed, miner's lettuce, and purslane links;
Table of Contents Recently Robirda's book Brats in Feathers was reviewed by Mr. G.B.R. Walker, one of the most respected canary authors and judges on the planet. His comments make it clear why this book has been getting such a great response from its readers. Mr Walker said, "I have just finished Brats in Feathers. My overall impression is that it is an excellent introduction to a first time canary owner, and a useful reminder to those that have owned a pet for a time...The chapter on training was particularly well received. I have never seen anything like this in written form before, and frankly had never even considered it. "Whilst we and 50 other breeders in the same room will all give different opinions on various aspects of breeding canaries, the basics always remain the same, and you have covered them well. A new breeder following your guidelines should be successful, and at the end of the day that is all that matters. I loved the photos from the cam, and was most impressed by Jim's chapter." Brats in Feathers is available as a book, or as two (unprintable) ebooks. You can find more details, including a link to download sample chapters, at www.robirda.com/books.html. Table of Contents Whenever you hear a discussion the benefits of using or not using cider vinegar (for people as well as birds), usually there is also some confusion about how to use it, and how much to use. Usually cider vinegar is administered via drinking water, but it's been rightly noted that the recommended amount seems to vary depending on who you ask. But worry not, there actually is a very good reason for all the apparent confusion! The differences have to do with the acidity or alkalinity of the water the cider vinegar is being added to. The goal is for the ph of the drinking water to be slightly acidic. The ideal is approximately 6.5. 7.0 is neutral, so 6.5 is just slightly acid. This encourages the body's beneficial bacteria to flourish, while making the environment uncomfortable for unwanted disease-causing bacteria, most of which prefer a more alkaline environment. There's lots of ways to test your water. Some drug stores still sell litmus paper, an older time-tested method, and many pet stores sell water acidity test kits for use with fish tanks. These tests generally work well on ordinary water too! Just add cider vinegar a teaspoon or so at a time to a couple of cups of water, stir til its blended, and test, til you find the right proportion of cider vinegar to add to your water. You may find that you already have acidic water - a lot of people do, especially on the west coast of the continent. If so, using cider vinegar is not a good idea. Water that is too acidic can go beyond beneficial and become detrimental; for example, some metals will remain in liquid suspension at a ph of 4.5 or lower. Water with such a ph can contain a fair amount of trace metals that can't be filtered out; being liquid, they will pass right through a filter. If you should find that the ph of your water is too acidic, you can add small amounts of baking soda to gradually raise the ph of the water to the level you desire. This will cause any metal content to precipitate out as particulate matter which can be caught by most filters.
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 our websites, please consider joining our sponsors. Read testimonials or find more details on sponsorships. If you're looking for something different, check our home page for links to all our great products and services!
Our next issue is due April 10th. We hope you and your birds stay safe, well and happy in the meantime, we look forward to seeing you all then!
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