Attended the 15th annual Mardi Gras Avicultural Conference in New Orleans all day today. This conference is the brain child of Dr. Greg Rich who is himself nationally known in avian medicine. If you ever have a chance to attend a similar function or go to a national parrot convention such as the American Federation of Aviculture I would recommend it strongly.

This conference had a blend of scientific findings presented by Dr. Drury Reavill, an avian pathologist from West Sacramento, CA, Dr. Mike Murray, an avian vet from Monterey CA, and Dr. Tully, the head of avian medicine at LSU. There was also an interesting interpretation of bird behavior by Steve Martin of Natural Encounters, Inc. of Lake Wales, FL.

Everyone who attended may not be an "expert" but we have all been given new humbling insite into the challenges of maintaining the physical and mental well-being of our favorite pets.

One of the comments that came from Steve Martin was interesting. He said that parrots in the wild are Never Alone. He has 40 parrots and each of his birds is caged with a buddy. It may be two same sex birds or two birds of different species but he feels the companionship is a requirement for the wellbeing of the birds. So...each of you who only has one parrot needs to begin thinking of buying a second bird.

It just so happens that Debra and I got 6 Congo Greys out of the nest today and three more will come in next weekend. For you Eclectus fans, we have a three week old Red Sided cutie. Just trying to help keep your birds happy....Craig
- posted by J-Birds @ 9:09 PM |