ISSN 1492-8132
Issue Number 47,
Copyright © 2002
All rights reserved, no reprints without permission

This handy ebook cost s only $6.99, and will prove its value over and over. By buying any of our eproducts, you are helping us maintain our online presence and continue our mission of helping small pet bird owners learn to understand their birds better.

Keep your eyes peeled for this accessory to your 'birdie-info' bank, and help yourself and other pet bird owners, all at the same time! For more details see our Bird eBooks page.

Anybody who's interested in reading about birds has probably heard of Howard Voren - he's done some outstanding research on the breeding requirements of various species of birds, many of them rare, unusual, or difficult to work with.

Add that to the fact that this site contains a collection of some of the best writing Howard Voren's ever done, and you have a real bonus for any bird lover. If you are interested in birds, no matter what species you keep, plan to spend a little time here, and do some reading - this is a site you don't want to miss.

Birds pant to dissipate extra heat from their bodies, just like a dog will. This is because like dogs, and unlike humans, birds cannot sweat to cool off - an overheated bird will pant, slick its feathers down as tightly as possible, and hold its wings out from the body to encourage better air circulation.

A bird who looks like this is dangerously close to heat stroke, and must be cooled off as soon as possible. If it is not possible to move the bird to a cooler location, then try offering a cool bath, or misting the bird lightly with a gentle spray of cool water.

Remember that the answers to your questions may have already been posted! Before asking your question, check the information already made available on-site.

To read the articles and Flock Talk archives, just use the navigation links at the top of my most pages on the site. And remember, you can always check the questions posted on the Birds Board, or consult our new FAQs.

Water - so necessary to life. Your bird dips his dirty beak to drink and small particles of food are deposited in the water. He takes a bath and droppings are added.

At room temperature, these organic deposits become a breeding ground for a wide variety of pathogens. In summer temperatures, these bacteria, fungi and algae grow even faster! Life giving water soon becomes a pathogen soup.

Just ½ ml SANICLENS added to each quart of drinking water prevents the multiplication of algae, fungus and bacteria in the drinking water, for cleaner water dishes and healthier birds. Unlike many other products on the market, Saniclens is immediately neutralized when consumed. You need have no concerns of buildups in the body or damage to the beneficial bacteria in the gut.

For more info visit birds2grow.com

Our next issue is due out June 23rd - until then, may you and your birds enjoy all the best of everything!

Robirda
June 09, 2002

Welcome to Robirda's Companion Birds eZine

For breeder or pet bird owners who care.

Hello! Welcome to the 47th issue of Flock Talk, thanks for reading! Don't miss our new Product Review section, after the feature article. And you will want to enter our Name the Cam Babies contest in time for the end date of June 15th, too! See the results in the next issue of Flock Talk!  

In honour of the occasion, we are asking your help in naming the babies. Our Name The Canary Cam Babies Contest began May 26th and will run until June 15th, 2002. Submitted names will be screened by a panel of 6 judges. Watch for the results in the next issue of Flock Talk - and be sure to send in your entry before its too late!

The two first prize winners will be awarded a complete set of Robirda's Bird eBooks. (for the full list see robirda.com/books.html ) The top 20 names will be published in Flock Talk 48 (not issue 49 as stated last issue, sorry!). The readers who submitted the top 10 runners-up will each be awarded a free copy of one of Robirda's ebooks (their choice).

You can enter as many names as you wish - just remember to get them in by the deadline of June 15th, and to let us know which baby each name is meant for. We are looking forward to receiving some great names! Send your entries to (sorry, the contest is over)

Feature Article

Breeding birds is a wonderful activity. The babies are endlessly endearing, and it's an experience that can't be described, watching the pairs mate, produce eggs, and hatch, feed, fledge and wean their babies.

In all the excitement, it is very easy for new breeders to get so involved in helping their birds to produce babies, that they forget to consider how they are going to house, feed, and train these babies, or exactly what will be involved in finding them good homes. Yet these thoughts are perhaps the most integral part of becoming...

by R C McDonald
Vancouver, BC, Canada
copyright © June 2002

Difficult though it can be to rein in the excitement of your first breeding season, it can't be emphasized how important it is, before allowing your birds to begin breeding, to sit down and carefully consider all the factors involved in your operation. Careful preparation can help tremendously in dealing with any problems that arise, but first you need to have a basic understanding - before getting started - of everything involved.

Here's some of the questions I believe every breeder should ask themselves beforehand;

"Do I understand how my birds are going to want to breed?"

A successful breeder must have a thorough understanding of the wants and needs of his birds. Many species have fairly strict requirements, and will not produce much if anything for you, if these needs are not met.

Look for books, articles and websites on your chosen species, and read everything you can find on them. Talk to people who keep and breed them, if you can find some. Try to get a feel of what kind of conditions the species evolved under, so as to be able to better understand breeding triggers and the dietary requirements of their breeding diet. Then try to mimic those conditions as much as possible, in the environment you set up for them to live and breed in.

"Do I have enough cages to house all of my breeding birds individually if necessary, as well as enough extra cages to adequately house any babies once they are weaned?"

This is one of the most important questions any new breeder can ask himself, and it is perhaps the one most often forgotten, ignored, or skimped on. Yet it can have a tremendous impact on, not just your life, but the health, longevity, and personality of the birds you raise.

I couldn't tell you how many times I have heard people agonize over throwing out fertile eggs, when they manage to get their birds to breed and then suddenly find that they don't know how to get them to stop. Very often the cages fill up much faster than expected, and suddenly the breeder is faced with a quandary - if he or she allows those extra eggs to hatch, there will be too many birds.

It can seem like sacrilege, after struggling so hard to get your birds into condition to produce fertile eggs at all, to find yourself throwing them away in quantities later on - I've even heard it referred to as a 'crime'.

But if it is a crime, then the results of allowing such eggs to hatch is an even worse crime - because it is nothing but cruel to put young birds into crowded, competitive conditions.

These youngsters may have trouble getting adequate food and exercise, and will undergo a LOT of stress. Crowding is much more stressful on birds than it is on humans, even for the more social species, and that is even more true of youngsters, who have higher requirements than the adults, while they are still maturing.

For the territorial species (like most songbirds), over-crowding can be a death sentence to birds lower down in the 'pecking order' of the flock. These birds often have difficulty getting enough food or water, and live in a state of constant fear. This will severely impact their ability to physically mature, and often winds up negatively affecting their state of health life-long.

"Are my flight cages large enough to allow my babies to fully develop physically and emotionally?"

Crowded conditions are sometimes excused on the notion that the crowding is only temporary, until some birds are sold. But that approach does not take into account the fact that youngsters continue developing for quite some time once they are out of the nest - their bodies are still growing and developing for some time afterwards, and at the same time, they are also learning the physical and social skills they will use for the rest of their lives.

Housing for young birds should provide plenty of room for exercise, a wide variety of nutritious foods for their maturing bodies, and safe and plentiful toys and perches to stimulate their minds and bodies and encourage positive interactions.

All this, while still leaving enough room for the birds to practice flying. Most young birds can fly as soon as or shortly after they leave the nest, but will still need plenty of practice in order to learn to manage themselves properly. In particular, they need to learn how to take off and land. Birds who do not learn basic flight skills when young, are likely to never learn them at all.

This makes it very important that all young birds learn properly how to fly when they are young. This also helps strengthen their growing body and encourages proper musculature and skeletal development, as well as aiding in producing a confident, outgoing personality.

"Are you planning to sell your babies? If so, do you know how old they should be before being sold?"

Some species undergo a nestling moult shortly after weaning. Care should be taken to never sell any bird until their moult is finished, except in rare special circumstances where they will go to somebody prepared to deal with the special needs of a younger, still-maturing baby.

Most birds are highly susceptible to problems during the moult, particularly if they also have to deal with a changing diet and environment, so be careful to keep track of this timing before committing to any sales.

"If you are planning to sell your youngsters, do you know an ethical wholesaler or retailer you can sell your stock to, or are you planning to sell your birds individually to private homes?"

This is another highly important question so often missed by beginning breeders - but which can make a world of difference. While you may be paid more per bird, it can be a lot more work to retail the birds directly to their eventual owners.

First they need to be able to find you, so you will need to figure out what, when, where, and how to run your advertising, and what your return policy will be. Then, they will want to come and visit.

It's not a good idea to let just anybody into your birdroom - let them look in the door, but don't let them in to just wander around - not only could they scare your birds, but there's a possibility of insect or disease transmission too, especially if they have been around other birds.

You will also need to be sure that they know how to care for their birds - this was why I designed my Basic Care Sheet; everybody I sell a canary to receives a freshly-printed copy. On it is space to enter a brief description of the bird, it's band number, and my phone number and email, as well as basic care instructions. (You can use a similar care sheet - see Robirda.com/books.html )

Selling your youngsters to a wholesaler or a pet store is far easier - but rarely will such dealers take good care of the birds temporarily in their care. It is up to you to research such buyers and decide for yourself what will be best for you and your birds.

Nobody will know better than you how to make sure that your youngsters will be treated with the same care with which you raised them - and that should not change whether you are selling them to a wholesaler or directly to the family who will keep them.

Maintaining an ethical approach to breeding may seem like a lot of work, but I can personally vouch for the fact that not only are the rewards well worth it - so is the peace of mind you achieve, knowing that the youngsters you raised so lovingly and carefully will be cared for as well as you would yourself.

That's the kind of peace that no amount of money can ever buy - and it will stay with you and your birds for the rest of your lives. What better reward could anybody ask?

by R C McDonald
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Copyright © June 2002.
All rights reserved.

The label says, "Always Fresh", and my birds certainly seemed to think so! They dug into their seedcups with relish, and left nothing behind but chaff. The seed was very clean, and when I test-sprouted it (one of the best tests for freshness I know), it all sprouted. The list of ingredients is impressive, too. Overall, this strikes me as a good reliable seed mix to use to keep your canary healthy.

*** Do you have or sell a great bird product? Send us a sample, and have it reviewed for Flock Talk readers! We will be reviewing foods, cages and cage accessories, toys, and other bird items we have direct experience with in upcoming issues. To arrange for a review, send your inquiry and a brief description of your product(s) here, to Robirda.

While you might think it is lovely to allow your birds some time outside, please be very careful about allowing any kind of contact with wild birds, who can carry pests and diseases. It wouldn't be the first time a simple touch of the beaks resulted in a bout of avian malaria, pox, or worse.

These and other diseases can also be transmitted by a bite from a sucking insect such as a mosquito, so if there is even a few such bugs around, I would be very careful about allowing my bird outside at all.

You might think a good alternative would be to keep your bird by a big sunny window, or in a glass-covered green-house. These are not good places for birds to live - they heat up too quickly and too much during the day, and they cool off too rapidly at night.

While sunshine is nice, he must have shade available if he wants it. Air circulation is neccessary, but you will need to make sure that he has shelter available. There's nothing wrong with a good breeze - but he must be able to get out of it when he wishes. Sometimes all this takes is hanging a cloth over part of the cage (depending on the source of the breeze).

Fresh water must be available at all times, and this is especially true during hot weather. You need to be sure that it is offered in a cup or drinker that the bird cannot try to climb into. Many a bird has slipped or jumped into a large drinker cup when trying to cool off, only to find they could not turn around to climb out - and too often such birds will drown before they are found.

Instead, offer a safe bird bath, of a size wide enough to get into and out of easily, and shallow enough so as not to appear threatening to the bird. The water should be cool, and shouldn't be deeper than a half inch.

Follow these basics, and you and your birds will enjoy the summer weather at its best, without suffering from stress, heat, or worry. After all - who needs more to worry about? Not us - we just need more time to spend with our birds!