1. Domesticated Birds
Small Animal Care

2. Objectives Standard: Objective:
9.00- Select the best pocket pet or bird for a given use.
Objective:
9.01- Discuss the major breeds of pocket pets and birds.

3. Parrot family Contains some of the smartest birds
Many species can be taught to talk, are affectionate, and make excellent pets
Members of the parrot family are known for their large beaks, especially the Macaws

4. Parrot family Include: Cockatoos Cockatiels Conures Macaws Parrots
Parakeets
Lovebirds
Hanging Parakeets

5. Parrot Family Cockatoos
Known for crest or tuft of feathers on the top of the head
Also, ability to mimic words and sounds.
Intelligent birds
Range in length from 13-30”
Most popular birds
Make excellent pets
Tame easily

6. Parrot Family Cockatiel One of the most popular pet birds
Ideal for beginners and youngsters
About 12” long
Common in pet stores
Affordable
Gray color is most common
Easy to raise and affectionate pets

7. Parrot family Blue and Gold Macaw Up to 30’ long
Most alert and intelligent of all Macaws
Very curious and mischievous
Prices usually range from $600 to $1,000
Most popular and commonly seen Macaw

8. Parrot family African Gray Parrot 13” long Primary color is gray.
Very alert, intelligent, and affectionate pet
Considered to be the best talker of all birds, its voice closely resembles a human voice

9. Parrot family Budgerigar or “Budgie”
Most popular pet bird in the world
Often sold as a “parakeet”
Can be taught to talk
Excellent pet
Easy to care for
Affordable
Prefers to eat food from floor of cage

10. Woodpecker family Toucan
Fairly rare as pets and may cost $2500 or more
Very noisy birds
About the size of a Macaw
Known for their extremely large bill, which can be almost as long as the bird’s body

11. Perching Birds Largest family of birds Almost 60% of all birds
Perching birds are such good singers they are also known as song birds

12. Perching Birds Starlings Talking Mynah bird is in this group
Black bird w/orange bill
Has ability to mimic the human voice and other sounds
Require lots of care
Prices range from $300 to $500

13. Perching Birds Common Canary
Very important pet known for singing ability
Once used as miner’s warning
Bred for:
Color
Singing ability
Crested top - feathering on the top of the head

14. Perching Birds Finches Small birds that are social in nature
The Bengalese Finch is most social of all
The Zebra Finch is the most widely kept and bred in captivity

15. Neat bird videos!! Finch Chirping Bird the Mimic All Sounds
Einstein the African Gray
Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo
Frostie Whipping Her Hair Back and Forth

16. Bird Care, housing & feeding
Small Animal Care

17. Objectives Standard: Objective:
9.00- Select the best pocket pet or bird for a given use.
Objective:
9.02- Use care techniques that improve the well-being of pocket pets & birds.

18. Management Practices for Good Health
Proper management begins with a healthy bird
Signs of good health:
Bright eyes
Clean, shiny feathers
Good appetite
Full of Energy

19. Proper Environment Location Out of direct sunlight
Free from drafts, warm and dry
Constant temperature
Free from hazards
poisonous plants, other pets
Minimize stress
Other animals, lots of noise
Quarantine/Observe period of 3-4 weeks before introducing new birds

20. Management Practices for Good Health
Sanitation is extremely important
Should provide fresh food and water
Keep perches and cage clean

21. Management Practices for Good Health
Regular bathing and spraying
reduces feather dust and dirt
cuts down on mites
Encourages Preening
Helps to prevent feather plucking
Small Birds prefer to bathe in container
Container may be placed in cage at regular intervals of 30 minutes
Large Birds need to be sprayed with a fine mist
Mist should be allowed to filter down onto the bird rather than directly on the animal
Do not saturate bird, gently spray 2-3x’s per week
How to Bathe Your Bird

22. Proper Management Feather Plucking Preening Boredom
Bad Diet
Needs mate
Lack of bathing
Preening
Process of cleaning and trimming its feathers w/beak

23. Proper Management How to Trim Nails Nail Care
Overgrown claws can result in injury
Clip w/ pet nail clippers
Avoid pinkish streak/quick of nail

24. First Signs of Illness Sign: Feather fluffing Action to take:
Sign of chilling
Action to take:
Cage temp should be between ° F
Move cage to warmer location
Adjust temp w/light bulb or heating pad (under cage)
Provide 2-3 perches so bird can find most comfortable temp
Partially cover cage to prevent drafts
Provide quick energy fluids: sugar water, honey water, or orange juice

25. Housing and Equipment
Requirements vary with the size and general nature of bird

26. Housing and Equipment Must be heavy gauge metal Example: Mynah Bird
Large Birds
Small Birds
Must be heavy gauge metal
Example: Mynah Bird
6’ x 3’ x 3’
Can be smaller gauge metal
Bar spacing must be less than 1”
Example: Budgie
24” x 24” x 24”

27. Housing and Equipment Cages Finches need a rectangular cage
Allows long horizontal flight to imitate their natural flight
Reduces stress from circular flight
Finches need a cage larger than canaries and budgerigars

28. Housing and Equipment Perches Size and style depends on the bird
Most store bought cages come with hard plastic perches which may be uncomfortable for birds
If birds refuse to perch, replace plastic perches with wood perches that are more natural for birds

29. Housing and Equipment Perches
Larger birds like larger perches, smaller birds like smaller perches
Limbs and tree branches make natural perches
Insure they are free of mold and pesticide residue
Tapered perches work well because they give the bird a choice of the most comfortable perching spot

30. Housing and Equipment
Perches
Large birds destroy their perches, so they need frequent replacement.
However, the bird exercises its beak and stays busy in the process

31. Water & Feed Containers
Need to be hard/sturdy
Easy to clean materials
Glass, ceramic, stainless steel
Feed containers may be plastic for small birds, but larger birds need metal
Gravity-Type Waterers
Hand on outside of cage w/metal spout/tube extending into the cage

32. Toys Prevent Boredom need stainless steel chains with bells
Large parrot-type birds
need stainless steel chains with bells
Smaller birds like canaries and finches
can have mirrors, chains with bells, and ladders

33. Feeding

34. Feeding Most birds eat one of three things Seed Fruit and/or Nectar
The vast majority of birds have a diet of seeds
Consist mostly of one of two types of seeds:
Cereal seeds
higher content of carbohydrates compared to oil.
Examples: canary seed, millet, corn, and dehusked oat kernels
Oil seeds
High content of fat; lower in carbs
Examples: sunflower, peanuts, safflower, pine nuts, rape, maw niger, and linseed

35. Feeding
Seed
usually bought in a commercial premixed ration of cereal and oil seed
Formulated for certain bird species and provides balance and variety
Needs to be free of dust, dirt, and dry
Moldy seed should never be fed (shelled/unshelled peanuts are real susceptible)

36. Feeding Seeds may be soaked for 24 hours in warm water
For young birds who may have difficulty cracking the seed with their beak
For birds during the breeding and molting season
Stimulates germination = increases protein content
Rinse in tap water & examine for mold/fungi
Discard any not eaten and clean dishes after feeding

37. Feeding-other materials
Green plant material can also be fed.
Examples include: carrot tops, chickweed, and dandelion leaves.
Kale and spinach can be fed in moderation
Too much green plant material can cause diarrhea
Avoid lettuce
Wash all greens to ensure no pesticide residue
Feed when warmed to room temperature

38. Feeding-other materials
Grit
Needed in a bird’s diet at all times, with the exception of Mynah birds
Aids in the ventriculus in grinding up food (birds have no teeth)
There are two kinds of grit
Soluble
oyster shell breaks down and is a good source of minerals
Insoluble
crushed granite provides the base for food to rub and work against to be ground up

39. Feeding-other materials
Cuttlefish bone (marine mollusk)
provides a source of calcium
will be readily eaten by larger birds
Smaller birds may need the cuttlefish shaved or chipped
particularly useful to female birds who need calcium for egg production

40. Exceptions to the Seed Feed
Mynah
Diet does not include seeds, grit, and cuttlefish
Soft bill pellets or foods from pet store
Fruit-apple slices, grapes, orange slices, and banana or dried fruit can be fed
Mealworms are live food that can be fed also
Lories and Lorikeets
Nectar and pollen eaters
Powdered nectar available from pet store to mix with water
Fruit

41. Feeding
When birds approach weaning they can be fed once every 3 or 4 hours
Feeding must take place from early morning to early evening

42. Feeding- Hand Reared In high demand because they are more tame
Requires newly hatched birds to be fed every 1.5 hr.
Dry baby cereals, fruits, and canned baby food are mixed in water, blended, and heated to a warm somewhat runny state

43. Handling and Training
Allow birds to adjust to new locations for 2 or 3 days before any handling is attempted
Offer a treat at regular intervals to the bird until it will take the treat through the open door of the cage

44. Handling and Training
Press a stick perch up against the bird’s chest above the legs to encourage the bird to step on it
Once the bird is comfortable one may substitute a finger of hand for the bird to perch on.
Leather gloves may be needed for larger birds that use their beak to climb to perch

45. Handling and Training
When a bird is let out of a cage, their wings can be clipped to restrict their ability to fly and prevent escape
Painless procedure where primary and secondary flight feathers are cut just above the base of the feather shaft

46. Handling and Training Wing clipping
Cutting down into the feather shaft will result in injury and bleeding
The two outer primary flight feathers are left for aesthetic purposes

47. Handling and Training
Budgerigars, cockatiels, parrots, macaws, cockatoos, and mynah birds can be taught to talk
Young male birds are usually the best learners and easiest to teach

48. Handling and Training Teaching to talk
Remove distractions such as mirrors, toys, and feed during lessons
The same person needs to work with a bird on a regular basis.
Usually women and children are better trainers
Lessons should be given at the same time everyday
Limit the lesson length to about 15 minutes each day
Use short phrases and words and slowly repeat them

49. Objectives Standard: Objective:
5.00- Discuss the role of major systems of small animals.
Objective:
5.02- Discuss the ways that disease processes affect major body systems.

50. Internal parasites Roundworms
Diagnosis is by observing long, thin, white worms.
Roundworms are contracted from ingesting worm eggs in contaminated feces, soil, or food.
Symptoms: blockage of the intestines, poor plumage, weight loss and diarrhea. Several treatments are available

51. Internal parasites Tapeworms
Diagnosed by observing small rice like segments in the feces.
Birds get tapeworms from eating an intermediate host such as house flies, fleas, ticks, or earthworms.
Proper cleaning and sanitation practices are the best preventative.
Treatment is with piprazine, nicotine sulfate, and kamal powder

52. External parasites Red mites appear as tiny red specks
feed on blood of infected birds at night
Causes restlessness, scratching and picking at their feathers
Spread through contact with infected birds
Adults may be dusted with a pyrethium powder to treat
Clean and disinfect all cages and nest boxes

53. External parasites Feather mites Small, gray-colored moving specks
Cause a bird to chew or pick its feathers
Feed on the bird during both night and day
Symptoms: restlessness, severe scratching, feather picking, and skin irritation
TX: Cages and equipment should be treated with nicotine sulfate, malathion, or coumaphos and birds should be sprayed with a mite spray

54. External parasites Scaly leg mites
Mites that tunnel under the scales on the legs of budgerigars, lovebirds, and canaries
Live their entire life cycle on the bird
Symptoms: White scaly deposits that become thickened, enlarged and encrusted
TX: Use Vaseline or mineral oil to kill the mites and loosen the deposits.
The mineral oil or Vaseline plugs the air holes used by the mites and causes them to suffocate.
Additional treatment is by cleaning cages, perches and equipment

55. Bacterial diseases Parrot fever- (chlamydiosis or psittacosis)
Contracted mainly through feces and contaminated food and water.
Zoonotic
Treat birds with chlortetracycline-impregnated seed for at least 21 days
Symptoms:
nasal discharges
closing of the eyes
Listlessness
appetite loss/weight loss
greenish-colored diarrhea
labored breathing

56. Bacterial diseases Bumblefoot
A painful ailment associated with staphyloccocal infections
Symptoms: feet and joints become hot and swollen with a thick, grayish white fluid, and not walking or clasping onto perch
Suitable perches and sanitation help prevent Bumblefoot.
Treatment is with antibiotics

57. Viral Disease Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease- (French molt)
Viral disease attacks the immune system
Symptoms become evident at the first molt when new feathers do not emerge or are deformed and break off
The bird’s beak and nails may be soft, overgrown and lose their pigment
There is no cure for the disease.
TX: Vitamins, minerals, and control of secondary diseases through sanitation

58. Viral Disease Newcastle disease
Viral disease that has high mortality rates and spreads rapidly
Imported birds are the main source of possible infections
Respiratory difficulty (wheezing) is one of the first symptoms, followed by tremors, wing droop, and a twisted neck.
Birds should be vaccinated to prevent the disease
Zoonotic

59. Nutritional Problems Goiter Swelling of the thyroid glands in the neck
Interfere with breathing
The major cause for goiter is iodine deficiency
Goiter seems to be a special problem for budgerigars

60. Nutritional Problems Rickets (osteomalacia)
An imbalance or deficient amounts of calcium, phosphorus, or Vitamin D3
Causes deterioration or softening of the bones
Symptoms: lameness, stiff-legged gait, or a constant resting in the squatting position, and decreased growth
Adequate oyster shell or course limestone in the diet along with Vitamin D3 supplementation is the best preventative

61. Nutritional Problems
Obesity
too much food, not enough activity or seeds high in fat
Bird owners need to avoid feeding too many sunflower seeds if obesity is a problem for their bird.

62. Symptoms of Problems
Sleeping on two legs may indicate the bird is uncomfortable or ailing.
Birds normally sleep on only one leg
A bird who fluffs its feathers out is usually chilled and trying to retain body heat.
If feces is runny, a digestive ailment may be the problem
Not flying around and lack of activity may indicate the bird is sick.

63. Symptoms of Problems
Eye discharges or continually closed eyes are an indication of a cold, etc.
Wheezing, noisy, or irregular breathing may be a sign of a respiratory problem
Not eating or very little eating indicates a loss of appetite that is often associated with sickness.

64. THE END