ISSN 1492-8132
Issue Number 48,
Copyright © 2002
All rights reserved,
no reprints without permission

Most Canadian bird keepers know E & R Birds & Supplies - for some years now they have been a good source for those useful but hard-to-find accessories we all find ourselves needing for the bird room on occasion, as well as the more usual bird supplies like food, medicines, and the like.

But did you know that now they have a website, and that you can order products from them online, from anywhere in the world? There's still a lot of work to be done - any website is an ongoing project - but the basics are in place, and the order form is clear and simple to use.

It even lists items in U.S and Canadian dollars! It just doesn't get much better than this - great products, a useful selection, and good prices - check them out the next time you need something for your birds!

This issue's question;

"Hi, do you know where I can buy canthaxathin? I've heard you should use this for red-factored canaries so they keep their colour."

My answer is;

"Hello! Yes, canthaxathin is often used to help red canaries stay red - it allows your red canary to show his full potential for the colour he was bred to show.

"Specialty bird suppliers such as Birds 2 Grow, Abba Seeds, E & R Exotic Birds & Supplies, Silversong West, and Hornbecks all carry canthaxathin, as do many other suppliers.

"The only time you can affect your bird's colour with any food colour is when they are moulting. To see that your bird achieves a rich, deep, even colour, you want to start giving him food or drink with a good quality colouring agent in it beginning two or three weeks before the moult is due to start.

"I don't like using canthaxathin in water - it's too messy. An easy way to offer controlled doses is to go out and buy a cornbread mix, enough to make a 8 inch square pan. Before adding liquid to the mix, add a scant tablespoon of dry canthaxathin powder to the dry ingredients, mix thoroughly, then add the egg and liquid and bake as usual. You will notice that the mix turns very red as it bakes!

"Once out of the oven and cool, cut the cornbread into 1/2 inch squares and freeze. Offer your bird one or two thawed pieces a day, beginning when you expect the moult to be starting soon - now is a good time, as many canaries will be moulting by or shortly after midsummers day.

"If you like, you can offer your bird a square or two of this 'colour-cornbread' every week or so the rest of the year, even once the moult is over. This ensures that if the odd feather happens to be accidentally lost, there will be enough colour in his bloodstream to see that the new feathers come in the same colour as the rest."

Flourish is a combination of herbal extracts, and it works in three ways.

First, it stimulates the immune system, helping the bird to fight off all manner of infections and disease.

Secondly, it attacks some germs directly.

Finally, it creates a more positive environment for the beneficial bacteria living in the bird's guts, aiding their growth and helping keep digestive diseases at bay.

For more info visit birds2grow.com

Our next issue is due out July 7th - until then, may you and your birds enjoy all the best of everything!

Robirda
June 23, 2002

Welcome to Robirda's Companion Birds eZine

For breeder or pet bird owners who care.

Hello! Welcome to Flock Talk's 48th issue, thanks for reading!  

Priced at only $6.99, this 56 page ebook is chock-full of useful ideas, tips, advice, and even recipes - but there's more. By buying our ebooks, you are helping Robirda.com maintain our online presence, helping us continue to help other small pet bird owners.

Learn more about Robirda's Bird eBooks at robirda.com/books.html

Chance, for Cam baby 1, submitted by Meme Nelson, and
Lyric, for Cam baby 2, submitted by Martha Carrillo.

Congratulations, you've each won a complete set of Robirda's Bird eBooks - keep an eye on your email for more!

The 10 second prizes, a choice of one of Robirda's ebooks, go to the people who submitted the following names;

For Cam Baby 1
• Manumele (Songbird), submitted by Bobbie Fisher
• Cricket, submitted by Patty Louise Bonner
• Wilson Peep, submitted by Patty Louise Bonner
• Tangerine, submitted by Laura Lag
• Sprout, submitted by Sarah Lacamoire

In order to help everybody else with their baby-naming problems, the top 10 runner-up names are listed below. Each will be awarded a complmentary copy of Robirda's printable Canary Care Sheet.

For Cam Baby 1;
• Phevos, Cloud, Nym, Sprite, and Squeak, submitted by Andreas Laskaris, Cheleste West, Michael Stephenson, Nick Leighton, and Christina Burr.

For Cam Baby 2;
• Dream, Punkin, Butterfluff, Manualoha (Birdlove), and Blossom, submitted by Laura Lag, Jeff & Judy Poehlein, Jeannie Hajek, Bobbie Fisher, and Cheleste West.

Our thanks to everybody who entered, and especially for all your interesting and insightful comments! We had great fun choosing names, and hope you did too!  

Feature Article

Of all the controversies that have arisen in the world of pet birds over the last few years, few have been as fought-over or had such an impact as the rules and regulations about shipping birds. The US Post office has recently changed their rules yet again, and for now at least, bird keepers can again ship their birds 'Express' through the post office. (See the Legislation area of http://www.nfss.org for more details on these changes).

But the original ban on shipping was because studies showed that for many birds shipping by mail was extremely strenuous and could seriously impact their health. Has that changed, or did the USPO give in to popular demand?

Like the rest of us, you will have to make up your own mind where you stand on this issue. But since it helps to have as much information as possible in order to do that, I decided to share with you some of what I know and some of what I've been able to find out about...

by R C McDonald
copyright © June 2002

My first acquaintance with shipping birds was when a friend of mine decided to get some Colourbred canaries shipped to him from Eastern Canada. This particular colour mutation was not available in our area of Western Canada, and he felt the cost would be well worth it, and ordered 4 pairs of birds.

It was late August, and the weather had been pretty good. Ordinarily there would have been no problem - the birds were taken to the express delivery counter just before the plane left, and he'd been told when the flight was due to arrive. He was promised that his birds would be among the first items offloaded, and that he would be able to pick them up immediately.

Then the weather threw in a twist. Over the prairies, the plane encountered a sudden storm, and was forced to land in Edmonton. The wings required deicing, and for whatever reason, the cargo also had to be temporarily offloaded.

My friend's birds sat out on the tarmac in a cold pounding rain for almost 3 hours, in a specially-made cardboard box inside a mesh pet-carrier crate. The arrangement was *not* waterproof. Intended only as a temporary carrier, it offered only partial shelter at first, and none once the cardboard became wet through. The whole affair was then put - still thoroughly wet - back into the plane with the rest of the luggage, and the flight continued.

By the time they arrived a few hours later, 5 of the 8 birds were dead, and the other three seriously ill. Of the 8 birds originally shipped, only 2 hens survived. Of these two, only one ever bred for him.

Total cost for this lesson? Over $1,000.00 Canadian. My friend was devastated. Insurance did not cover his losses and as far as I know, to this day he will have nothing to do with shipping birds.

True, it was a simple accident, and events could very well have turned out differently - but to me a story like this emphasizes the risks involved in shipping, something very often glossed over. The fact is, no matter how careful you are, successful shipping of birds still requires a rather large component of sheer luck.

Co-chairperson for the host club this year for the U.S. National Cage Bird Show, ASC webmaster Ginger Wolnick, a well-known breeder of American Singer canaries, says of the recent change in the rules about shipping; "Regardless of what is 'official', you are at the mercy of your local post office, and the post office at the receiving end. There are just too many unknowns and things out of your control. I am still not going to ship my birds."

Ginger also says, "I believe the safest way to transport canaries is to hand carry in your own car or with you on a plane in a pet carrier that you take on board with you.

"I recommend that people try to find local breeders. With the resources now available online, most people should be able to find a canary breeder within driving distance.

"If someone just has to have some special type of bird, well, if they want it bad enough, they can wait for an airfare war and buy a discounted ticket and visit a breeder near a major city like Chicago!

"When you compare the total setup costs of breeding a good line of quality birds, spending a couple hundred dollars to visit the seller and pick out your birds instead of letting them ship you what they want to get rid of may actually be to your advantage. So, my recommendation is to not ship, but to hand-carry instead."

She further points out that many people miss an annual chance at one of the best opportunities around to get good quality birds; attend the National Cage-Bird Show. Many exhibitors will be happy to make arrangements for you to visit them and buy the birds you need. This year, American Airlines is offering a show discount and will allow birds on board. No quarantine will be needed for Canadian visitors, as a vet will be at the show to issue health certificates for those who need them.

If you feel you absolutely must ship, please be sure to consider everything that's involved beforehand. The ASC website at that Ginger manages contains some excellent shipping information, including an outline of what's involved in shipping internationally. Everybody should read this information before considering shipping a bird or birds, especially to or from another country.

Others feel very strongly about this issue too. Parrot rehabilitator Wilhelm Kiesselbach says, "Neither the airlines nor the postal service are absolutely reliable. Flight cancellations, delays and the 'people factor' can spell a real danger to the physical and emotional health of the bird. Horror stories about birds left in the heat on the tarmac, missing flights and being roughly handled abound.

"I see ads all the time with statments such as, 'Parrot Chicks For Sale! Fully weaned, raised with lots of love, healthy - will ship.'

"These ads make me ill. They include the word 'love', but really they are all about money. Most airlines now offer unaccompanied shipping services for animals, since the United States Post Office has announced it will resume this service as well. There are a number of reasons why I consider this an unethical, cruel and potentially very dangerous practice.

"I know of the fate of an African Grey chick which was shipped from Florida to Minneapolis. The breeder assured the buyer that this was no problem, 'we do it all the time'.

"Unbeknownst to the shipper, the airline cancelled the outbound flight. The chick was then put into a holding area for 6 hours, and when it was loaded the container was roughly handled - the baby Grey arrived in Minneapolis traumatized and in shock, and died 3 days later.

"I know of another story where a Macaw was shipped from the west coast to the east coast. It was summer, the weather was hot, and the bird was left on the tarmac in the sun for an unknown period of time. It was dead by the time it arrived in New York.

"Buying a pet bird should be a well considered decision. The buyer should meet the breeder and the baby chick before the 'big day'. He or she should make sure that the bird is properly reared in a healthy and clean environment and that the breeder is the person he or she claims.

"The importance of proper rearing, weaning and socializing cannot be over-emphasized. Apart from the purely ethical considerations of subjecting a living creature to the physical and emotional stress, there are also realistic concerns: A bird that has been shipped is akin to the 'cat in a bag'. Parrots and most other birds are not cheap - anyone investing this much money should be careful.

"A good and ethical breeder will not ship his or her birds under any circumstances. In my opinion anyone who advertises a willingness to ship birds automatically disqualifies him or herself as a responsible, loving and caring breeder.

"Someone once said: 'If you would not do it to your child, don't do it to your bird.'"

As our birds have taught most of us so well by now, there's always something new to learn. Fascinating though it can be to keep and learn about species, colours, or breeds of birds new to us - if obtaining those birds means shipping, you might want to be sure to consider everything involved before committing yourself one way or another.

After all - the life and health of both your birds and your pocketbook could be seriously affected! Isn't it a good idea to be sure you have learned everything you need to know, first?

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

Editor's Notes;
            * The National Cage-Bird Show this year is in California. If I was to pick one not-to-miss event of the year, this would be it! For more information, including reduced rates on hotel rooms and more, see the show's website at http://www.geocities.com/scvcebc/ncbs2002.htm
            * You can learn more about Ginger and her songbirds at her website, at http://members.aol.com/PacificASC/ginger/ If you are interested in canaries, you will want to be sure to read her excellent articles on subjects ranging from basic care to breeding, and more.
            * You can learn more about Wilhelm, his Rescue Hotline and his pet parrots at his website, which you'll find at http://www.nd.edu./~kkiessel/ (scroll down a little) Everybody interested in birds, and especially those interested in parrots should be sure to read the thorough and fascinating care and behaviour articles posted here.