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Educational Articles

Birds

  • A feather cyst is a malformation of a feather follicle whereby the feather(s) do not exit the skin, and instead become buried in a cyst under the skin. They can become quite large and be painful to the pet. These cysts require veterinary attention and if injured, may bleed extensively.

  • Feather loss occurs either because the bird is truly losing feathers or because the bird, or its cage-mate, is picking out its feathers. Feather Destructive Behavior (FDB) is a general classification that describes the many types of damage a bird can do to its own feathers, including feather picking. Feather loss and feather-picking can also be caused by diseases that result in irritation or pain for the bird, or damage to, or inappropriate growth of feathers. Feather loss and feather-picking are complicated problems. For specific advice, your bird should have a thorough work-up by a veterinarian familiar with birds.

  • As with all other animals, birds need a proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. The bulk of a finch’s diet should be commercially available pelleted food along with a smaller amount of fresh produce and a small percentage of seed.

  • Lories and lorikeets are also known as "brush tongued parrots" due to their unique tongues that are adapted for their highly specialized dietary needs. Lories and lorikeets eat nectar and pollens in the wild. They also consume soft foods like fruits, berries, flower blossoms, and buds.

  • Meyer’s parrots consume a variety of seeds, nuts, fruits, berries, and some vegetation in the wild. Occasionally, wild Meyer's parrots will feed on grain crops. As with all other animals, Meyer’s parrots need a proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. Pellets are the ideal base diet for most pet birds.

  • Birds need a proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. Poor nutrition is a common reason for many health problems in birds. Pellets are the ideal diet for birds and should ideally represent approximately 75%-80% of the bird's diet.

  • Poor nutrition is a common reason for many health problems in birds. Cockatoos are vulnerable to vitamin A deficiency, high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, stroke, insufficient dietary calcium, egg-binding, and other nutrition-related problems. Pellets are the ideal diet for birds and should ideally represent approximately 75%-80% of the bird's diet.

  • Birds need a proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. Poor nutrition is a common reason for many health problems in birds. Conures are vulnerable to vitamin A deficiency, insufficient dietary calcium, egg-binding, and other nutrition-related problems. The recommended diet for conures is pelleted food formulated for birds and should ideally represent approximately 75%-80% of the bird's diet.

  • Birds need a proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. Poor nutrition is a common reason for many health problems in birds. Lovebirds are vulnerable to vitamin A deficiency, insufficient dietary calcium, egg-binding, and other nutrition-related problems. Seeds are highly palatable and preferred by birds, but nutritionally they are incomplete. The recommended diet for lovebirds is pelleted food formulated for birds and should ideally represent approximately 75%-80% of the bird's diet.

  • Macaws are vulnerable to nutrition-related problems such as high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, stroke, vitamin A deficiency, insufficient dietary calcium, egg-binding. Pellets are the ideal diet and should ideally represent approximately 75%-80% of the bird's diet.