Hello all,

As some of you know I am currently looking into grad schools for next fall. I hope to study behaviour and welfare of captive birds. I recently attended a lecture given by Dr. Don Brightsmith from the Tambopata Research Center. This lecture was hosted by Phoenix Landing so the audience were all bird owners. There was an overwhelming interest in nutrition in captive birds (i.e. pellet vs. seed, how much fresh foods should they get and what kinds, how much fat should they get, etc.). This made me think about the possibility of continuing research of the nutritional needs of our FIDS. So my question to you all is what is most important to you to know about your FIDS? Things that you may not know about that you want to know? Things that are important to you but there just aren't any resources out there for? Things you think should have more research? I am interested to hear what you all think and hopefully I can persue one of these topics in grad school to better the welfare of our birds.

Thanks,
Shannon

Oh Shannon! That sounds so interesting!
I often think about how my birds relate to me (in captivity) and how that differs from the way they relate to their bird flock in the wild. Their intelligence just blows me away.
Think about it .... Their ancestors only related to their own kind. And now, our pets understand our language, adapts to our world, and even communicates with us appropriately.
Wow. It is truly amazing.

Have fun with that research - I would love to do what you're doing!!

Kim

Wow sounds very exciting and rewarding.I just love everything about birds,so any area of study would be great.I would agree about wanting to know more about nutrition.We all know how important that is in all living things,so I would think it would be a high priority to everyone who wants their fids to live a long life

Hey Shannon that sounds cool.
Maybe you could do research on feather plucking.
It seems that a lot of birds pluck.
You could do some intensive research into this.

Good luck in whatever you choose to research.

Tricia

yes, nutrition and stereotypical behaviours are probably the top concerns right now. I think I will most likely try to understand stereotypies, like feather plucking, and how to prevent or eliminate them. There really aren't many people out there doing this kind of research!

Interestingly, I recently read in the latest Bird Talk magazine that moving feather plucking birds to a position where they can see people coming into the room/door reduces feather plucking. When I emailed the author of the article and asked her what research she was talking about she told me she couldn't find it but it was from UCDavis....so I searched and the only thing I found was a study done in 2006 that said moving feather plucking birds to a position where they can see people coming into the room/door increased feather plucking...hmmm, makes you think huh?...

WOW
It certainly does make you think.
That sounds like it is your study topic.
looking forward to reading the results.

Tricia

I don`t think we will ever figure out our captive fids ..
I try to give my guys the very best of food , freedom but I don`t think it ever will replace their complete freedom and belonging to a flock of their own spieses..I sometimes feel so sad about my boys and reall don`t believe in Birds being kept as pets at all.. strange isn`t it how we can have conflicting thought I adore my guys but would rather see them happy and free but its not possible at all so I give them all the fredon I can and I hope they aren`t too sad ...
Good Luck with your research and Feather plucking/mutilation is terribly sad...Humans have a lot to answer for in regards as to our tretment of many animals....

Aww Majj, don't feel too sad about keeping your birds. I agree with you; I don't think birds should be pets either, but I have my guys because they needed homes and deserve the best possible life. I don't think it's a conflict of interest if you aren't going out and collecting birds for your personal entertainment, but rather taking them into your home to provide for their needs. Unfortunately our birds have been in captivity to the point that they would do worse in the wild because most of them woulndn't be able to find food, and would most likely come to a person if they saw one (which is a big problem for larger parrots because this makes them easy targets for hunters and bird collectors). You are doing the very best you can for your birds by allowing them to express natural behaviours, providing for them, and loving them

I've always wondered why someone hasn't studied the nutritional needs of birds from so many different parts of the world. I mean captive cockatiels get fed pretty much the same diet as quakers and they come from opposite sides of the earth. Do lovebirds from Africa really require the same diet as parrotletts from South America?

Just my thoughts.

Hmmm--very interesting topic Shannon...I'm enjoying reading this and wishing you much success with your studies.....

Good luck on your research and your grad school experience
For me personally its not really what I want to know but a comment that allot of birds if taken care of have the potential of outliving us. I intake some of those birds and I really wish I knew more of their history so that I would be able to care for them better from the start. In my perfect world I know I know lol...

In regards to plucking there is no one size fits all diagnosis for why its happening. It becomes one of the most costly issues to diagnose because of the series of tests involved to rule out common problems. It can be diet, enviromental, behavioral,parasite, infection or viral..the list goes on and on yet it can also be a combination of elements that create plucking as well.

The problem is humans love the quick fix. Its like searching for a diet pill so that one doesnt have to take the necessary steps to correct it because its just too much work.

There is a big new world out there with avian medicine thats constantly changing. The more we know the more we realize we dont know. Its fun learning it all the same.

You are exactly right. Pelleted diets are based on chickens, not wild parrots. The truth is, there really isn't any research on the nutritional needs of wild parrots, although that is currently being researched right now as we speak. And you can certainly monitor what wild parrots are eating but we can't get most of the fresh foods they eat in the wild, so we just do the best we can! I do think that pelleted diets as well as a variety of fresh foods that we give our birds is a good diet, but not 100% true to what they would really be eating. Just recently (and not published yet) it has been found that clay licks are an excellent source of sodium, and macaws eat loads of it, however; pelleted diets have low sodium because the amount chickens eat is very low. The amount of sodium macaws may be eating in the wild may kill a chicken...so they definitely shouldn't be the model organism for parrot diet construction!



I completely agree! Most people are not properly equipped to take care of birds because they are so different than our more commonly kept pets, dogs and cats. Plus the professionals don't know all the answers! So it's a learning process everyday! I think research is getting better though, and with the recent surge of people concerned with animal welfare on past 20+ years , we are making great strides to understanding the needs of all of our captive animals; birds, mammals, reptiles, etc. It is definitely fun and rewarding learning new and better ways to care and provide for them!