Just a PSA for everyone!! With spring coming around and the humming birds migrating back in. I just want to warn everyone do NOT no matter what use the “premade” red humming bird food. The red dye in the food is causing seizures and death among the birds. Instead you can make your own! Just use 2 cups water and half cup sugar!
GIVE THEM THE GOOD SUGAR WATERS they come every year to my feeders, I love these birds they deserve that premium warm sugar water
Also – don’t use brown sugar or honey, only refined white sugar!
many people don’t understand just why cat attacks are so deadly to birds. even if the bird receives what looks like a minor cut, cat saliva is extremely deadly to them and will poison them if it enters the bloodstream. even a scratch from a claw instead of a bitemark can kill them, as cats coat their claws in saliva when they clean their feet. if you find a bird that has been attacked by a cat, please bring it to a wildlife rehabber even if it seems “okay”. if your bird has been attacked by a cat, please bring it to an avian vet ASAP. it’s better to be safe than sorry!
Adding on: ASAP means “within hours,” not in a few days. It is a true emergency.
I see so many people let cats and birds “play” together 😞 I wish people would just think for one minute and realize prey animals should NEVER be around their predators
Not just cat saliva – ALL MAMMAL SALIVA IS TOXIC TO BIRDS. Cats, dogs, even YOUR saliva contains bacteria that can kill your bird! DO NOT let your bird eat out of your mouth, or stick their heads in your mouth. No matter how cute it is!
On a similar note – don’t let your other pets groom your bird for this reason. Not only can your bird ingest their saliva this way, it’s easy for them to be accidentally injured.
I feel like it’s necessary to make this post as someone who had no idea what they were doing when they got their first bird. This isn’t intended to shame Petco employees, who are just doing their jobs, or people who have taken advice from Petco in the past. This is just observations from someone who hates to see birds kept in subpar conditions.
First off, let’s look at the way Petco treats their pet birds – and implies through doing so that it’s an acceptable standard of care for bird owners. These were all taken today at my local Petco.
Cages this small are not acceptable for any bird. It’s more important for a cage to be wide than tall; birds need to fly and this provides them the space to do so. This is suitable as maybe a quarantine cage at best. There definitely needs to be more toys as well, especially considering these birds stay in the cage all day and do not come out for interaction.
This is the budgie cage. This many birds should absolutely not be kept in a cage this small. Some of the birds were visibly stressed out, and got scared and upset when people walked by. There’s very few toys in here as well (though at least they have each other’s company). Millet is a treat; offering this much millet at a time is pretty unhealthy and shouldn’t be done. If you look closely, you can see the perches do not vary in texture or size and are all smooth. This is pretty awful for a bird’s feet. Birds need perches of varying texture, preferably 3-4 different kinds, or they can have conditions such as bumblefoot or problems gripping.
The birds are only fed pellets and seed (mainly seed). Even considering that budgies are grainivores, this is a pretty awful diet. They need plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit in their diet, and this is the kind of diet that leads to health problems over time.
There’s a buildup of droppings and debris in the cages – even on easily wipeable surfaces.
Now let’s take a look at the bird care brochures available near the bird section and at the register. Maybe they will advocate better birdkeeping practices?
Conures don’t give a high pitched screech when startled. Conures scream whenever they want. It’skind of cruel, honestly, to market them as a first-time, easy bird for someone who may be bringing them home to an apartment or noise-sensitive household. Conures are loud, and loud very, very frequently. Even green cheeked conures, which were sold in this Petco, aren’t great first time birds. They are loud, are known for being ‘beaky’, and are overall a handful. Are they awesome birds? Yeah! But you need to know what you’re getting into before purchasing them.
Let’s look at the “general bird checklist”. Pretty decent at first glance, even if they haven’t fulfilled many of the requirements for their own birds. But there are a few issues you should be aware of.
Vitamins and supplements are not necessary if your bird is eating a healthy diet. This doesn’t mean your bird will get sick if you DO give them, but it’s overall kind of a scam. Of course, Petco wants to max out the money they make off of your new buddy, but if you are feeding your bird well, this is absolutely not necessary.
Millet spray/Millet holder. “All birds need these items” being applied to this is absolutely bizarre. Many bigger bird species will not even touch millet due to how small it is. It’s a great treat, but is in no way crucial to your bird’s care, even if they do like it. It has very little nutritional content and should only be a treat, not a diet staple.
Styptic powder is something you shouldABSOLUTELY have on hand!! If you nick the quick of a bird’s toenail while clipping nails, or they have issues with breaking feathers or blood feathers, you will need styptic powder. Your bird’s blood will not clot and they can lose a significant amount of blood from minor injuries.
There’s nothing much wrong with the ‘individualized’ care guides – other than the big, glaring issue of cage sizes. All of these ‘minimum’ cage sizes are way, way too small. For reference, here is an 18 x 18 x 24 cage:
This doesn’t apply to just Petco. Please be wary of information from any chain pet store. Many of them are trying to make birds seem as easy as possible so you’ll buy one and make them more money. Birds are complicated and delicate creatures – PLEASE do your research from reputable sources before getting any new pet.
I just wanna throw my two cents in on how bad big pet stores can be with their birds and info. So my friend who I’ve know since high school, and who’s tiels I’m currently watching, got a pair of cockatiels from petco around 10ish years ago. Her family was told that both birds were male, around a year old, and that they were getting them for a great price at $200 for the two of them. Well cut to 4 years later and one of them lays an egg and it turns out they’re both female. Cockatiels aren’t too hard to sex and if they were at a year they would have had their adult feathers in by then, unless they were wrong with the age. Also I haven’t gotten a parrot from a breeder in a long time, like 14 years, but when my grandma got Candy she was $100 and she was a lovely hand feed bird who we got to go visit before we could take her home. What I’m saying is $200 for two cockatiels who are terrified of people wasn’t a ‘great price’, not that it matters, and it bothers me when people try selling animals the same way you would try to sell a car. Lastly I need to mention their feet. Both birds were missing parts of their toes or their whole toe on some parts of their foot. I brought this up to my clipper friend one day asking her what could have caused it and she said they were most likely bitten off by a larger parrot. My finch, who I got from petsmart, is also missing almost all of the toes on one of her feet. I also did have a friend from college who worked for petsmart and he did tell me that they don’t always take great care of their birds before they put them out for sell and injuries likes this were common. I don’t recommend getting animals from big pet stores and I never recommend listening to there advice. If you want an pet do your research and I don’t mean looking a one website, act like your a college kid writing your thesis paper.
It always breaks my heart I wanna save all the birds but they will just get new ones 😰
they’re more often just called “myna” or “mynah” in aviculture. there are other myna species which are capable of talking, but this is the most common in aviculture and it’s generally agreed upon that they are the best talkers.
mynas are a part of the starling family, but manage a much better reputation than starlings, which are typically regarded as loud and obnoxious. unfortunately, mynas have come under some pressure from poachers. their loud calls are easily recognizable, so some of them are stolen from the wild for the pet trade, despite new laws making it harder to illegally export wild-caught birds.
things you do to help backyard birds that could actually hurt them
we all want to do things to help our backyard birds, especially with increased development causing a lack of natural habitat and resources. however, there’s a few things to avoid doing because they can do more harm than good.
putting out pet fur as nesting material. there’s nothing wrong with this in concept – however, if you apply a topical flea and tick medication to your pet, the chemical residue from this can be in the fur and unintentionally affect the nestlings.
leaving birdfeeders up constantly. try to take your birdfeeders down to clean them at least every few months, preferably more. bacteria gathers in the feeders and can cause outbreaks of illnesses to visiting birds.
leaving out bread. a little bread is fine as a treat, but lots of bread isn’t good for birds. plus, bread easily becomes mouldy and can make birds sick if it isn’t properly disposed of.
offering suet year-round. suet is an awesome source of energy – in the cold months. in summer months, the suet can get melty and leave an oily residue on feathers which is almost impossible for birds to clean off. however, there are no-melt suets available!
filling the yard with nest boxes. nest boxes are awesome and should be used in yards with enough space and big enough trees. they’re especially great for places that don’t provide a lot of natural nesting opportunities. however, putting nest boxes too low puts babies and parent birds at a huge risk to predators. putting the box too close to a road or driveway puts the birds at risk from cars. and crowding the nest boxes too much can lead to disputes over territory (or more likely, cause the birds to just stop using the boxes until there are less birds around).
offering food by nest boxes. you may think you are assisting the parent birds by putting food right by the nest box. it’s great to put food out, but keep it a distance from the box! too close and it will attract other birds and predators, and in association, more attention to the nest.
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