Caged Birds

Question 1

How long can cockatoos live?

Answer 1

80+ years

Question 2

What are some characteristics of psitifformes?

Answer 2

Upper beak is hooked, prominent cere, vocal mimicry

Question 3

What are some examples of psitifformes?

Answer 3

Cockatoos, galahs, eclectus, budgie, lovebird macaws, lorikeets

Question 4

What are some characteristics of passeriformes?

Answer 4

Perching birds, complex singing

Question 5

What are some examples of passeriformes?

Answer 5

Finches, canaries, crows, magpies

Question 6

What are some characteristics of galliforms?

Answer 6

Legs are large and stout, terrestrial- poor at flying

Question 7

What are some examples of galliformes?

Answer 7

Chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quails

Question 8

What are some characteristics of anseriformes?

Answer 8

Webbed feet, short legs, dense waterproof plumage, flattened dorsoventral bills

Question 9

What are some examples of anseriformes?

Answer 9

Ducks, geese, swans

Question 10

What are some characteristics of columbiformes?

Answer 10

Fairly uniform in body size and shape and wing aspect , crop milk

Question 11

What are some examples of columbiformes?

Answer 11

Pigeons and doves

Question 12

What are some characteristics of falconiformes and strigiformes?

Answer 12

Curved talons, carnivorous and eject cast (undigestible material) before the next meal, stout sharply curved beaks

Question 13

What are some examples of falconiformes and strigiformes?

Answer 13

Hawks, falcons, eagles, and owls

Question 14

What is ideal concept in breeding for the aviary?

Answer 14

Closed aviary- disease is controlled through basic principles of control of movement of animals, people, and materials. However, you often have to bring in new stock for genetic diversity.

Question 15

How do you declare a cage clear of worms?

Answer 15

2 clear samples 6 weeks apart

Question 16

How do you declare a cage clear of coccidiosis?

Answer 16

2 negative tests 14 days apart

Question 17

How long should you quarantine a bird before introducing it to an aviary?

Answer 17

6 weeks

Question 18

Cages?

Answer 18

Concrete floor (not dirt), bigger the better, shelter from rain, wind, and sun, nesting, foliage, perch, don’t use lead or zinc (heavy metal toxicity)

Question 19

Best cage type?

Answer 19

Long with a draw bridge door

Question 20

Perches?

Answer 20

Not too smooth, hard, or too soft. Tree branches, eucalyptus or other Australian natives. Ideal width is so that the bird’s toenails touch about 2/3rd of the way around

Question 21

Cage cleaning

Answer 21

Everyday wash, rinse, and dry the food and water dishes and change the papers; weekly- clean the cage, scrape and wash the perches, wash toys and disinfect dishes; twice a month/ monthly disinfect the cage, perches, and toys

Question 22

What are good disinfectants?

Answer 22

Hot water, 1 in 20 white vinegar, avisafe or f10

Question 23

Budgie as a pet?

Answer 23

Easy to feed, lots of fresh fruit and veggies and a good seed mix or pellet. Cope with smaller cages, happy without constant human contact. Prone to obesity on seed diets and bacterial infection when cage is not kept clean.

Question 24

Cockatiel as a pet?

Answer 24

Easy to feed, lots of fresh fruit and veggies, good seed or pellet mix. Very active- need large aviary. Cope well by themselves and without company. Can become aggressive and possessive especially when bound to one person. Prone to psiticosis and toxicosis.

Question 25

Cockatoos as pets?

Answer 25

Lots of fresh veg and native plants, pellets make a better base than diet seeds. Require a lot of space. Can be destructive and noisy. Highly sociable. Desire 24 hour a day contact. Beak and feather disease is a huge problem- worth screening new birds. Obesity is a common problem with sunflower seed diets. Heavy metal poisoning common too. They can live for 80 years.

Question 26

Princess/ regent/ superb?

Answer 26

Do okay on seed and veg diet. Good fliers and love to fly but can cope with periods in smaller cages. Okay with periods alone. Inquisitive and affectionate. Relatively quiet and generally not aggressive.

Question 27

Lorikeet as pets?

Answer 27

Nectar feeders, fruit and veg and blossoms too. Won’t tolerate small cages. Need a lot of attention. Messy dropping and can be destructive around the house.

Question 28

Eclectus as pets?

Answer 28

Need a lot of fruit and veg with pellets. Need a lot of space. Quiet birds. Calm. Gentle, trusting. Need plenty of attention.

Question 29

Sun conure?

Answer 29

Requires fresh fruit and veg- will cope with seeds. They are an active inquisitive parrot. Need lots of space. Can be destructive, demanding of human contact, get aggressive as they get older.

Question 30

Macaw?

Answer 30

Need a varied diet of seeds and nuts; pellets and fresh fruit and veg. Very large and make a lot of mess and can be very destructive. Ideally need a large purpose built aviary. Highly intelligent and very social. Constant companionship. Long living. Sensitive to pssitacosis

Question 31

What occurs with proventricular or ventricular parasitism? What species?

Answer 31

Psittacines, passerines, and columbiformes, waterbirds (anseriformes), and galliformes

Worms of these species burrow into the glands and mucosa of the proventriculus and the koilin and mucosa of the ventriculus. Deep burrowing causes necrosis and reactive fibrosis of the damaged tissue. This causes anorexia, pasing of whole seeds in the droppings, weight loss and death.

Introduced by wild passerines.

Treatment and husbandry: added worming medication to their drinking water 5 ml per L, using “bird-safe” insecticide on aviaries.

Question 32

What is PMV1?

Answer 32

Pigeon Paramyxovirus is a viral disease that causes diarrhoea in pigeons, tremor, staggering, crash landing, difficulty picking up seed, paralysis, can kill.

Highly infectious.

There is a vaccine. Depends on the strain. Australia stopped movement of pigeons for a while.

Question 33

What is French Moult?

Answer 33

Polyomavirus. Serious disease of budgerigar. Feather abnormalities are often the only sign. Permanent damage on the immune system that cause secondary infection likely. Affects budgerigars under 3 weeks of age. Can kill babies. Affects the whole aviary because it compromises the immune systems of the young which likely to keep diseases going throughout their lives.