Birds are very interesting creatures, which is exactly why it’s important to give your new bird enough attention to feel loved but not smother him or her. As easy as it might seem to spoil your new bird, spoiled birds tend to become unhappy, uncooperative members of your family that will end up only causing ruckus in your home. In order to develop happy and healthy birds as family pets, here are some easy to follow tips.
Establish boundaries
Just like any other animal, you need to teach your new pet what the boundaries are now that they’re living with you. Birds are very quick to adapt to new environments, but you need to make sure you teach them right off the bat what’s acceptable and what’s not. For example, when taking your bird out of the cage, teach them the step up rule to avoid any biting or nipping at your hands. This will in turn teach the bird that they have to behave this way with not only you but everyone else as well.
Prevent single bonding
Unfortunately this rule is pretty backwards compared to how you’d teach a dog that you’re his master. With a bird, single person bonding does help to establish a bond between you and the bird and decreases any fears between the bird and any human handlers, but it shouldn’t just be taught with a single person. Each caregiver in the family should have the opportunity to help your bird feel secure with all family members in order for the bird to feel comfortable with each and every one of you.
Be realistic with attention
So you’re excited about your new bird and you want to spend as much time with it as possible, but this isn’t exactly a good indication of the future relationship with your bird. If you initially show your bird this much attention, they’ll get used to it and think it’s the norm. You want to be realistic with the amount of time you’ll be spending paying attention to the bird and do this from the very beginning in order to avoid giving any false expectations.
Develop a healthy diet
If you’re new to being a bird owner, you’ll learn quickly that food is one of the most abused sources of comfort and appeasement for birds. In order to help your bird grow healthy and lean, you need to be aware of the type of food your bird is eating and how much he’s consuming. Avoid spoiling your bird with too many seeds and other treats and you’ll be in the clear.
Bird-proof your home
Just like you have to prepare for any other pet, preparing the home for a new bird is imperative to ensure that nothing can get damaged in the process. Birds go off of visual, audio, and olfactory stimulation, but birds tend to use their mouths to explore and like to give everything a taste at least once. Before bringing your new bird home, put away any plants, toxic substances or anything that could prove to be harmful to your bird. Also, if possible, try to cover any electrical sockets or chords.
Lisa Podwirny is the owner of Ketchum Mfg. Connect with her on Google+!
You may be thinking to yourself, “What the heck is transfaunation?” Or, perhaps you are already familiar with the term. If you have experience with a large dairy farm, you probably already know. I think a lot of us have seen cows (usually of the dairy variety) with windows into their abdomen at fairs and perhaps even at a farm you visited. Though the idea of putting a window in the side of a cow is cool enough on its own, it does actually serve a purpose. Before we explore that purpose, let me first explain a little about the stomach and the window.
Now, the window. A healthy cow is chosen by her owner to undergo this procedure and become the source of rumen material for any cow that may need it in her lifetime. A veterinarian will cut into the abdominal wall of the cow and into the rumen, from there a plastic cannula is placed in the incision site. This cannula is what holds the side of the abdomen open permanently. A plastic screw-in plug is usually placed in the opening that can be removed whenever needed. Cows recover well from the surgery and do not even notice their new accessory.
