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WingTips In This Issue
From the Site Coordinator
One of the other blessings we have gained because of our birds is our common passion. This passion is what brings us to the BirdHobbyist community, and we hope you'll explore the many features on our site. Did you know we have a great bookstore with really good deals on bird books, magazines, and calendars? Are you involved with a bird club or are you looking for one? There is an area in Birdhobbyist that lists bird clubs at no cost - and we even provide free webhosting services to all bird clubs, organizations, and rescue groups; contact PHChristy for more information. And be sure to check out our art gallery and photo gallery, which provides 10 MB of free space to all our registered users. And we encourage you to visit the BirdHobbyist Rescue Network if you operate or volunteer for a shelter, rescue, or sanctuary, or are looking for a bird to adopt. Have you explored our message boards? Reading the boards has shown me that there are many knowledgeable bird owners out there and that they are more than willing to share their knowledge and help other bird owners. If you have not had the opportunity to explore the message boards, please visit us there. There are many boards that are active and alive and the community is growing. Chats are also a good way to get to know fellow bird owners. Feel free to come in to The Aviary and ask questions and share stories. It is fun and it is just wonderful to share stories about our birds. Our complete chat schedule is listed at the end of this newsletter, along with a link to our chat room. There is nothing to download to attend our chats, and registration is not required. Please join us! Are you interested in hosting in some area of our community? The opportunity is there to help guide other bird owners through the wonderful world of birds. If you are interested in assisting other bird owners and birds, you can fill out an application here, or if you have any questions, please contact me. We are going to be looking forward to some excitement in the new year and we want you to be a part of that. Most of all, enjoy our community. We are here for you and for your birds. Scritches to your birds and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you.
PH Coosmom
The Seventh Annual Chat Week on BirdHobbyist.com will be held a bit later in the winter than in previous years, from February 27-March 5, 2005, in order to allow our staff, users, and guests to spend the holidays with their family. We are already building our lineup of guests, but would love to hear your suggestions. (You can see the lineup from last year's Chat Week here.) If you would like to be a guest, or know of someone you'd like to see as a guest, or even a topic or subject you'd like to see covered during chat week, please use this link to let us know: Please be sure to give contact information for a guest you are suggesting, if possible. As we confirm dates and add guests, the complete schedule for Chat Week 7 will appear on our main Chat Week page, with more complete site-specific schedules appearing at the links to the right. This page will also include a list of confirmed guests who are not yet scheduled for a specific date and time, as well as directions on how to attend the chat and where to find more complete information.
A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. -Chinese proverb
One of the first things you have to decide is what cages your birds will use for the trip. You definitely want to make sure that the cages fit into the vehicle before you get very far into your planning. Small birds can probably travel in their regular cages, but larger birds will most likely need a smaller travel cage. If you find that you need a travel cage, get it a few weeks before the trip so you can give your bird time to adjust to it. When we were getting ready for the cross-country move, we put the travel cages in the living room with favorite toys in and on the cage and let our birds play in them. When preparing the cages for the trip, you might want to use perches that have a slightly smaller diameter than your bird's usual perches. My birds seem to feel more secure on the road if they can really wrap their toes around the perch. If you put toys in the travel cage, make sure they're small, light ones that won't swing around and hit your bird if you make a sudden turn or stop. If possible, use the same food dishes they have in their regular cage, especially if you have picky birds. If your car has airbags, do not put the cage in the front seat. The force of an airbag deploying, even in a relatively minor accident, could easily damage any cage and injure or kill a bird inside. Cages should be fastened securely into the vehicle with seatbelts, bungee cords, etc., so keep that in mind when picking out a travel cage. If your trip will take several days, you need to plan out stops at pet-friendly hotels. Even if a hotel does not advertise as pet-friendly, it's very possible they'll make an exception for birds, so it doesn't hurt to ask. When we stopped at hotels during our cross- country trip, we always put lots of newspaper down under their cages to minimize the mess. If your birds are not used to riding in the car, take them on short trips. Each bird seems to have a different preference for travel. The only way to discover these are by observing your birds in the car. On these short trips, watch your bird(s) and see what they prefer; some will be calmer or happier covered, others want to see what's happening around them. Similarly, some birds will prefer their cage on the seat where they can look out the window while others might be happier with their cage on the floor. We've discovered that some of our birds do not like to poop in their travel cage, so we need to make frequent rest stops to let them out of the cage to relieve themselves. None of them seem to eat much "on the move" so we always plan eating breaks for us and the birds. It's also a good idea to bring along water from home for the trip, because you never know for sure what the water will be like at your stops. We've noticed that our birds get very nervous once it starts getting dark, so we always try to plan trips so we arrive at our next stop before dark if at all possible. If your travel or moving plans will bring you to areas with hot weather, remember that vehicles can become extremely hot in a short period of time in the sun. Never leave your birds in the car unattended. As an added precaution, we had the windows on our van tinted before we made the cross-country trip to cut down on the glare of the sun while we were on the road. The tinted windows have the added bonus of making it difficult for curious strangers to see that there were parrots in the van. While I would never say traveling with birds is stress-free, a little planning can go a long way toward making it a mostly pleasant experience. Share your experiences and questions about travel with birds in the Transportation Concerns Forum.
Dear Santa,
Dis iz R Kiss Miss list: Cuddles (LSC2) - I want awl ob da birdies dat getted bitted or takked ta Be OK - speshully da little ones dat getted bitted by bigger birdies, an speshully da girlie cockatoos dat getted bitted by da boy cockatoos. An Santa, I speshully want doze birdies ta not be frade enny more. Santa, kin U hepp dem to do dis please? Blue (Hy) - Santa - I want da birdies dat had great homes but den had ta leave dem to B able to hab new great homes wiff peepholes and birdies dat lubs dem. I wud speshully like to aks dat U let peepholes know dat jest cuz dey is movin, or gettin married, or habbin little peephole, dey don't need ta gib away dere birdies who lubs dem. Santa - cud U tell peepholes dat a birdie cud lib a long long time an dat dey need ta stay wiff dere peepholes who lubs dem? Frazier (hybrid macaw) - Santa - I want da birdies whose Mommys haz died ta find new Mommys - Mommys who will tell dem ebery day dat dere Mommys both lub dem - da Mommy dats wating in heaven fer dem an da Mommy who is takin care ob us here on earth. Us birdies whose Mommys died still know R heaven Mommys name, an we lubs ta hear dat R heaven Mommy loves us. My heaven Mommy is Margaret an she lubs me. Santa - could U aks da heaven Mommys an Daddys ta send dere birdies here on earth a angel kiss? Rose and Patrick (imported CAGs) - Santa - please make da peepholes dat steals birdies' fambly members from dere famblys in der Hab A Tat ta stop doing dis - it B berry wrong. We was stoled many years ago from R famblys, an it was horrible an made us berry sad an frade ob peepholes. We still don't trust peepholes, but we R learning to. But it will nebber replace da love dat we lost when we was taken from R famblys. Santa - kin U so sumfin ta keep birdy famblys tagedder in dere Hab A Tat? LaLa (hy) - Santa - I want ebery birdie dat iz hand fed ta be properly weaned B fore it goes to its new owner. I wuzznt fed rite wen I was a baby birdie, an I iz stunted - I gots a big head an a little body cuz ob dat. I wussnt weend rite either an it made me berry skeered dat I wud nebber get enny more food ebber again. I wuz one ob da lukky birdies, cuz I met my fren Mickey (a hybrid macaw) here at da Ranch an Mickey took me under his wing an taught me ebery ting dat I needed ta know ta be a happy an healthy birdie - Mickey lubs me an perteks me an I lubs him back. Santa , wud U please tell awl ob doze peepholes dat hand feeds birdies dat we wud be so much safer an happier if dey would feed us an ween us rite? Ruffles (Triton 2) - Santa - I wud like to aks U ta make peepholes who get mad at us cuz we sometimes scream not ta hit us. I getted hit wiff a stik cuz I screemed, an I gots a broke leg dat didn't heal rite an I limp. Can U pleeze tell peepholes dat most Cockatoos sometimes make a lot ob noise, an dat ifn a peephole cant put up wiff noise, den da peephole shud pik out a diffrent kine ob birdie ta hab? We Rn't jest Dek Er A Shuns - we hab feelings an we need ta be birdies. Santa - Dis last Request is from Awl Ob Us Birdies - Santa, we wuud reely, reely preeshe ate it if N U cuud gib a little skritch an bring some berry speshul treat or some speshul food to each an ebbry birdie dat is sittin alone in ita cage wiff no one ta pay tenshun to it. An we wuud like U ta tell doze birdies dat we awl lubs dem, each N ebbry one ob dem, an dat we tinka about dem ebbery day, an dat dey R not alone in da world. An we wuud speshully like U ta put sumfin inside ob da brains an da hearts ob da peepholes dat keeps deze sad birdies, an tell doze peepholes dat leebing a birdie awl alone in its cage awl da time is one ob da worstest tings dat a peephole cuud ebber do to a birdie - we birdies need da lub an comfort an companionship ob odder libbing beans - peepholes or birdies - but jest don't leeb us awl alone ta die ob broken hearts. Santa, we hopes dat U kin gib us eberyting on dis list, but if we hab akst fer too much, den Santa, please pik out da ones dat U tink iz da most important - we cuddn't leeb enny out. Yer Frens, Cuddles (Mom's girl - LSC2 - wiffa peesa da beek missin but I don't missit) and Blue (Mom's girl - hy) and all of the other birdies at the last chance ranch, a sanctuary for abused, abandoned, and neglected parrots. The Last Chance Ranch is a privately funded Sanctuary for birds located in California. Many birds that come to the ranch come there for their lifetimes. If you operate a bird rescue, shelter, or sanctuary, or volunteer at one, please list it with the BirdHobbyist Rescue Network - all services, which include a free adoption listing service and unlimited photo gallery space to post photos of available birds, are completely free. And if you are looking for a new feathered family member, please consider a rescue bird!
The Zebra finch (Peophila guttata) originates in Australia and is commonly found in the United States. They are very active little chatterboxes.
Being active little birds, Zebras need a lot of room. If you have more than one pair consider housing them in an aviary. If your aviary is outdoors, they will climatize to temperatures from 45 - 85 degrees F., but provide a shelter for bad weather. However, a long flight cage will do quite well for a pair. The bar spacing should be no more than 1/2 inch, the cage itself no smaller than 24'X16'X16' for one pair. Zebra finches do well in a mixed aviary, however they don't mix well with all species of finches. Do some research as to what species will live side by side with Zebras. There are two types of diet requirements for Zebra finches. The normal diet consists of seeds, sprouts (also called green food), vegetables and live food. The breeding diet is richer, the difference is increasing the greens (sprouts and vegetables) and live food plus adding egg food. In the wild the breeding diet would be seasonal, dependant on the rains, however in captivity this can be artificially implemented. The Zebra finch is very adaptable to many different environments. When put together to nest, they are quite prolific breeders. Zebra finches develop strong bonds, and the male helps in the nest building as well as hatching and feeding the young. A clutch consists of four to seven white eggs, hatching in eleven to thirteen days. The hatchlings will fledge at approximately 21 days, and three weeks after that they are independent and should be separated from the parents.In many cases, it is necessary not only to remove the nest, but separate the pairs so as not to over breed. The main objective is to keep the breeding pairs as healthy as possible while also avoiding weak young. Four or less clutches a year are best to keep the pairs healthy. Not all folks that keep Zebra finches will breed them. A single male can develop a strong bond to its owner, making it easy to tame. It is not unheard of for a Zebra to come when called for, perching on its owner's shoulder or to share a family dinner, just like many parrots. Additionally, it has been determined that the male has an intricate song, the female being able to define the male with the most intricate song in about 10 - 15 minutes. The more intricate the song, the better the genes for mating. Another study has found that Zebra finches dream about their song, perfecting it in their sleep. If you are interested in Zebra finches or would like to talk with other finch owners, please visit the Canaries, Finches & Other Softbills Forum or join us in The Aviary on Saturday evenings from 10-11 PM Eastern, for our small bird chat.
Come perch and prattle in the Aviary, which is available 24 hours a day with specific bird topic chats scheduled every day. No registration is required and there is nothing to download or install! Have questions or problems accessing our chats? View our Chat FAQ! All times Eastern
Sunday 10-11 PM Macaws and Cockatoos WingTips is copyright 2004 by OnlineHobbyist.com unless otherwise specified. All rights reserved.
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Merry Christmas to everyone. It is the season for all of us to look around and count our blessings. As bird owners, one of the blessings we have is living with wonderful, funny, intelligent creatures. We care for them and love them and they return the favor by providing us with laughs and love.
Whether summer or winter, holiday time can mean travel - either for vacation or moving. A few years ago, we had to move from California to Maryland with our first two birds (a macaw and an African Grey). We've also made shorter (4 hour trips) with up to four birds. Traveling with birds can be challenging, but with a little planning, everything can go smoothly. This article offers a few tips based on our experiences with our flock.
We awl been reely guud birdies here at da Last Chance Ranch, an we hope dat U been watchin us an dat U R berry pwowd ob us and dat U will gibe us wat we aks for fer Kiss Miss. We cuddn't awl write to U Santa, cuz dere's a lot ob us birdies at da Ranch, so we lekted our Spoke Birdies to speek fer awl ob us.
Zebras are part of the Estrilididae family, and are about 4 inches long. Their original colors for the males are grey head with chestnut ear patches and black and white tear stripes, back and wings are greyish brown, a white rump that merges into a striped tail. Fine black and white barring on the chest with a white abdomen, the flanks chestnut with white spots. The beak is red. Females are the same except the breast and abdomen are a pale buff and the beak is reddish orange. There are numerous color mutations, some of the more available mutations are fawn, pied, white, black-cheeked and crested.