Northwest Bird Club Newsletter

JANUARY 2019

PURPOSE

To join together people who have a common interest in keeping and breeding exotic birds

in captivity. To educate our members and the general public about the best care, keeping,

maintenance, and breeding of their birds.

To support bird conservation.

Together we can make a difference.

President’s Message

Dear Members-

We had a wonderful time at the Christmas Party! There wasn’t a huge turnout, but the food,

fellowship and fun was great! It’s always fun to spend quality time with other members.

I can’t believe it almost January! This year has flown by. I hope our club becomes bigger and better

in the coming year. Please help the club by attending meetings and volunteering for things.

Please plan on attending the January meeting to hear our speaker. Ariel is very enthusiastic when it

comes to birds! I’m sure it will be a wonderful program.

If anyone would like to volunteer to be a speaker/present a program at one of our meetings, please

contact Lonelle.

Hope to see you at the next meeting!

Sabra

JANUARY SPEAKER

Ariel Gaffney, Forensic Ornithologist at the National Fish & Wildlife Forensics Lab in Ashland will be speaking at our next meeting. Ariel has travelled the world studying birds of all kinds. This should be a very fun and informative

program.

Please plan to attend to support our speaker!

BOARD MEMBER CHANGE FOR 2019

It was voted and passed by members that Linda Stewart will replace Tanya Franklin on the Board for 2019.

Importance of Salt (Sodium Chloride) in Bird Food

NOVEMBER 7, 2018 • BLOG, NUTRITION

FROM: HTTPS://HARI.CA/IMPORTANCE-OF-SALT-SODIUM-CHLORIDE-IN-BIRD-FOOD/

Many companion bird caretakers read ingredient labels and are concerned when they see an

inclusion of salt (sodium chloride) in their bird’s favorite extruded foods.

It’s True, Birds May Develop Toxicity if Salt Is Consumed in Large Quantities

Many foods that people enjoy feeding their birds are much too high in salt. Snack items, such as fast

food, chips, crackers, salted nuts and even canned vegetables (unless rinsed thoroughly), if eaten in

sufficient quantities, may actually be toxic to birds.

Besides excessive drinking (polydipsia) and excessive fluid excretion (polyuria), too much salt may

cause kidney failure (no longer producing urine) or an abnormal accumulation of body fluids (ascites

– cirrhosis of the liver), depression, tremors, neurological issues, and heart failure leading to death.

Poor growth has been seen in babies fed too much salt, such as a mixture of hand feeding diets with

high sodium peanut butter.

Salt, an Essential Mineral in A Bird’s Diet

However, in order to survive, salt is an essential mineral required by birds, as it is by all living

animals. A shortage of salt can cause excessive fluid excretion (polyuria), weight loss, fatigue, and

slow growth. Humans eat foods that naturally contain salt (meats, eggs, dairy, and seafood) but some

animals, such as parrots, can have diets lacking in essential minerals. In the wild, they search for

supplemental salt sources, like the parrots of Manu and Tambopata, where over 30 species of parrots

use clay licks to ingest different salts and to help detoxify their bodies from the fruits, seeds, and nuts

they have eaten in the forest.

REFRESHMENTS FOR JANUARY MEETING

LINDA OAKES AND JAN ROSENBURGER

While sodium chloride only makes up a small part of the body weight, it does play a crucial role in

maintaining health, nerve, and muscle functions and in regulating body fluids, and is necessary for

the overall health of your bird.

Balancing A Bird’s Diet with Potassium-Rich Foods

Sodium and potassium are interconnected and are interdependent on one another. They are the two

primary electrolytes working together to help regulate fluid balance, muscle contractions and nerve

signals. Consuming potassium-rich foods as part of an enrichment diet, as well as providing

opportunities for birds to be more active can play a role in maintaining your bird’s health.

Food sources containing potassium include leafy greens (spinach and kale), grapes, peas,

blackberries, root vegetables (sweet potato, white potato) and citrus fruits.

MY BIRD KEEPS LAYING EGGS WITHOUT A MATE.

IS THAT NORMAL? FROM: HTTPS://PARROTPRESSNEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM

Yes, laying eggs without a mate does happen. Some birds such as Love Birds, Budgies, and

Cockatiels, in particular may lay eggs several times a year. Usually it's not a serious issue for them,

but there are a few things you can try that might help break the hormonal breeding cycle. Laying too

many eggs can deplete calcium and can become a health issue for some birds.

Some of the triggers for breeding include longer days, warmer days, abundance of food, and nesting

areas as determined by your bird.

So in attempting to break the cycle, try putting your bird to bed very early so the days are short for

her. That means covering her cage "completely" with a dark cover and making sure her cage is

located in a very quite room for sleeping. You may have to shorten her days for several weeks to

break the cycle.

If she has a favorite toy she feeds, or a sleeping hut or bed, she thinks of as "nesty" spot, or even a

favorite food dish she likes to sit in, it would be a good idea to remove these. In fact you should

really consider removing all of her current bird toys and replacing them with different ones as well as

moving her perches around and even food dishes. You are then helping to distract her from the

breeding cycle. Provide lots of interactive busy foraging type toys, and it may also be helpful to move

her cage from one side of the room to the other for a new non-breeding environment.

If your bird is sweet and cuddly, don't cuddle for a while. Snuggling, petting, and such, can also

encourage breeding hormones. So stick to little feather scratches around the cheeks and such and

stay away from any snuggles that she might incorrectly interpret as love is in the air. If she tries to

feed you, carefully replace her in the cage until she is distracted.

Most birds have an internal number of eggs they will lay and if you keep removing the eggs as soon

as she lays them, she may keep laying in an attempt to reach her number. Sometimes leaving the

eggs for her to sit on or roll around, will allow her to reach the number she thinks she needs, and her

laying may stop. Letting her sit on them for a week or two is fine, and often the bird will loose interest

after a while and desert her eggs which is the perfect time to then remove them. Smaller birds lay

their eggs every day or every other day until their clutch is complete. So if your bird has not laid an

egg in several days, you can then guess her egg quota, and just let her sit a while.

Make sure she is getting all the calcium she needs during this time. Providing cuttlebone, a calcium

supplement, or calcium enriched bird pellets will usually provide the calcium she will need. If at any

time however, she lays a soft shelled egg, she will need to see her veterinarian as soon as possible.

Soft shelled eggs can be a sign of a serious calcium deficiency or other health issue not allowing her

to absorb calcium in her diet.

Egg binding is another serious medical condition and requires veterinarian care quickly. Egg binding

is when the bird is unable to pass an egg because of it's size, her health, or other issue, and she will

need assistance of a specialist to help her pass the egg. Soft shelled eggs that do not pass or

rupture inside the bird, or egg binding, can lead to infection or internal organ damage, and even

death. If your bird looks like she is straining, or is sitting all puffed up and not eating and moving

around, call your vet for assistance. Better to be safe than sorry.

I hope this helps give you some ideas on how to safely help a bird that is laying eggs without a mate.

10 Things Bird Owners Do That Others Will Never Understand

. From: https://lafeber.com by Laura Doering

1. Shower with their birds. There’s a reason why shower perches exist — many parrots, like people, love to get soaked in a shower. Taking your parrot into the shower with you saves time and saves water. (Well, on second thought, showering with your parrot might cause you to take a longer shower if your bird opens up his/her wings and does a “water dance” to catch each droplet). Some pet bird people perch their birds on the shower rod or nearby so their birds’ feathers can benefit from the steam. If your bird likes to sing or whistle while in the shower, you might want to give non-bird overnight houseguests a heads up, or

they might assume that’s you! Dogs are typically bathed all by themselves in the bathtub, outdoors under a garden hose or at the groomer, and cats are rarely bathed — so your cat and dog loving friends might not understand that showering with you is a favorite part of your bird’s day.

2. Be OK with bird poop on their clothing. Experienced bird people tend not to freak out if and when their bird poops on them. We just deal with it by blotting it off with a wipe or napkin and continue our conversation. When you think about it, bird poop is much less offensive, at least size wise and smell-wise, than that of cats and dogs.

3. Sing to their birds in a “Sesame-Street” kind of way. Compared to other pets, parrots tend to be a little more interactive — as in you sing, they sing; you whistle, they whistle; you talk, they talk back. Combine this with the fact that most parrots respond better to words or phrases said or sung in a silly way — a habit you quickly develop — and you might be amusing your houseguests without even knowing it.

4. Save the good veggies and fruit for their birds. If you have a houseguest with fridge privileges, they might be taken aback by your intervening if they open the crisp bin, the one dedicated solely for your flock. You know your birds won’t forgive you if they see some silly human eating their daily blueberry or freshly misted romaine leaf.

5. Dedicate a quiet room for their bird. Bird people know how much their birds cherish a good night’s sleep. Birds don’t want to be startled off of their perch and they don’t want to have to keep one eye open in a room with activity going on. Some birds even insist on going to bed at the same time each night and will start to vocalize their disapproval of being left in the “mix of things” when the clock strikes that certain hour. The solution is designating a separate sleep room. Your evening guests might be equally startled if they accidentally venture into your bird’s quiet room and are met with a squawk or the sound of a bird flapping his/her wings as he/she tries to stay steady on the perch.

6. Hide in the closet, pantry or bathroom when they’re on the phone so their bird can’t interrupt them. A lot of bird people have an in-home “phone booth,” which can be a closet, pantry or bathroom — a place where they can hide so their bird won’t know they are on the phone. “Why” a layperson may ask? Because many parrots seem compelled to compete with their people during a phone call. This can be through mimicking their person’s intonations, laugh or in, extreme cases, full-on screaming for the duration of the call. The bird will most always win, so the easiest solution is to slip out of sight/sound while you make or answer a call.

7. Spend $25 on a toy their bird will completely destroy within the week, and then buy more. It’s fun to go bird toy shopping because toys for birds are often colorful, kid-like, and there is an endless variety. A torn and chewed up toy is the ultimate form of flattery when it comes to parrots and their playthings. Bird people know that parrots need safe items to chew up and thoroughly destroy and won’t flinch at spending what would be considered a good amount of money in cat and dog terms on a toy that won’t last more than a week or two.

8. Save their birds’ molted feathers. Bird people are fortunate in that their pets “gift them” with a whole lot of feathers a couple of times a year, when their birds molt. A lot of parrot people save some of their birds’ colorful feathers as keepsakes. (My personal favorite is my cockatiel‘s top crest feather, which resembles a little plume.)

9. Whistle/contact call to their bird whenever they leave the room. You might be so used to whistling to your bird from another room, that you won’t notice the curious expression on your visitor’s face, who probably doesn’t know the intricacies of your bird needing to know that you are nearby and safe.

10. Drive two or more hours to their favorite vet or bird store. Bird people are a dedicated bunch. This might mean driving a couple hours to a bird-experienced veterinarian or to an avian-retail store. In a dog and cat-centered pet world, a lot of bird people go out of their way to find top-quality avian services.

HOW IMPORTANT IS HUMIDITY TO YOUR BIRD?

Most parrots are originally native to Rainforests around the world. The average humidity level in most

rainforests is about 80% humidity. Sometimes as high as 90% in certain seasons of the year.

The average home in the winter months with the heat running to keep us warm has a humidity level of

about 20-25% humidity.

That is indeed quite a difference. Of course, we do not need to maintain such high humidity in our

homes for our birds to be comfortable as the rainforest provides, but we do need a little more than

25% for both parrots and their people. The most recommended humidity level in the winter in our

homes is about 40%.

Very low humidity levels increase dry skin, itchy skin, and even flakiness for your bird. It can cause

over-preening and even feather destruction in an attempt to help the itchy dry feeling of skin and

feathers. It also usually affects humans with dry flaky itchy skin in the winter. Air too dry can also

contribute to sinus and allergy problems in both birds and people.

So how do you add some extra humidity to your home you ask? Well, adding a cool mist humidifier in

the room where your bird spends most of its time will help tremendously. Adding a tabletop water

fountain to the room can also add some much-needed moisture to the air. You may be amazed at

how fast that fountain needs filling as the water evaporates into the air adding the moisture needed.

Adding safe plants to the room can also be a great way to add some extra humidity.

Making sure your bird still enjoys baths in the winter will add moisture to feathers and skin. Just

make sure baths are early in the day allowing the bird to completely dry before any cooling of the

house at night or let your bird preen and dry off in a heated bath until dry enough to be moved back to

the cage.

By adding one or more of the above suggestions to your winter routine, not only will your bird receive

some of the extra humidity needed, but you may find the humans benefiting as well in the improved

air quality.

Classified Ad Pricing

(Your Ad will be in the monthly newsletter and on our club website)

( Line Ads are free for members )

Line Ads for non-members: $5.00 per month ~ $27.00 for 6 months ~ $55.00 for 1 yr

BOX AD - Includes a box outline to make your ad stand out from the rest – $7.00 per month

DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING ADS for newsletter: 16th of each month.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

**TO PLACE AN AD E-MAIL: SABRA: sscotton1954@gmail.com.com

(In subject line put NWBC) or call (541)941-7844 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DISCLAIMER:

The Northwest Bird Club makes no warrantee as to the health, condition, or availability of any

birds advertised in this newsletter or on our website.

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FOSTER HOME NEEDED FOR: 22 year old female Macaw that he needs to have fostered. It’s really sweet bird. Their home burned during the Paradise fire. Contact Mike Motschenbacher, DVM.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FOR SALE: My cockatoo name is Snuffy he is in his early 20’s I have had him since he hatched. I

was told he is a male. He talks, but he prefers my husband and is very protective of his cage he has a small cage for a carrier and his cage he lives in. I would like $1,200.00 for him and his cages

**CONTINED NEXT PAGE**

***CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE***

Tiki is my macaw she is female dna , talks has never bitten anyone, is around 10 years old has acrylic

carry cage and her large breeder cage they are both on Harrison’s pelleted food and some nuts and

fresh fruit. Price $1,500.00 and she also has a manzanita stand for outside her cage

Contact: joannwhisnant@yahoo.com or contact information home phone 541-560-1142 text

5415009996.**

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WANTED: Lovebirds. Contact Jacqueline at (541)415-4037 ** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Birds need new homes: A lady in Grants Pass has some birds that she can no longer take care of

due to health conditions. She has two cages, with toys, etc. She has 2 parakeets in each cage, a

blue and a blue white in one cage and a green and a yellow in the other cage. She also has around 8

finches, not sure of their ages. Her name is Mary Engel, phone number is (541)471-4680.

She lives by the grange in Grants Pass.** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following parrots are needing homes: Unsure of ages.

Amazon(Siska): not tame

Quaker (Jupiter) color: green…has been hospital therapy bird for (hasn’t been handled for a few

months)

Parrotlets: Yellow – This pair were breeders (feathers are a little rough on one of them)

Reason for rehoming: Involved with other things – showing dogs, etc

**CONTINUED NEXT PAGE**

No charge for the birds. Cages are available for sale if you want to buy them.

Mikie (541)530-4882**

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FOR SALE: Nine month old yellow, male cockatiel (minimal gray on wings), handfed/tame. $100.00.

Contact Pauline Foster at (541)500-8335 (best to call after noon). **

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In home trims by Jen Watkins (she trims nails, wings and beaks): Very Resonable prices. A few

members have had her trim their birds and said that she is WONDERFUL! Please contact her

at (541)892-6387 or jen.08.jw@gmail.com

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SLEEK AND SASSY

Distributors of Wildwood Seed Sleek and Sassy

Premium and Standard Millet, Bird Toys

Wholesale pricing for members! (SMALL HANDLING FEE ADDED FOR SHIPPING)

Contact Linda @ (541)772-2959

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SLEEK AND SASSY

Sleek and Sassy bird food offered ONLY to NWBC members at wholesale prices.

(NO HANDLING FEE) Contact Elanah @ (541)535-4700.

Bird Quotes…..

Birds are like potato chips…it’s hard to have just one.

NORTHWEST BIRD CLUB

WANTS TO REMIND YOU ITS TIME TO RENEW

YOUR MEMBERSHIP FOR 2019

PASSWORD CHANGES MARCH 1, 2019

Please take care and be safe….

Disclaimer: The editor of the NWBC newsletter reserves the right to accept or edit any material

submitted for publication, and in the event of error, assumes no responsibility. Opinions and

experiences expressed in this publication are of those individuals who submitted them, and are

not necessarily those of the Northwest Bird Club. Advertisements are accepted in good faith,

however the Northwest Bird Club does not necessarily endorse them, or assume responsibility.

WEBSITE: northwestbirdclub.org