A Proud Moment for PSUK: Dame Judi Dench Appointed Patron
The Parrot Society UK
We review all submitted articles and the society reserve the right not to publish articles at their discretion. Their decision is final in all these matters and no further correspondence will be entered into.
Articles marked with the copyright symbol© beside the author`s name are copyright© the author. In these cases, copyright remains with the author/authors and the information cannot be reproduced without the additional permission of the said author/authors.
Understanding Psittacosis (Parrot Fever)by Alan K Jones BVetMed, MRCVS.© Psittacosis is a common and potentially serious disease occurring in both the birds that we keep and the humans that keep them, but there is still a lot that is misunderstood about the condition....
© A K Jones BVetMed MRCVS (Extract from 'Keeping Parrots - Understanding Their Care & Breeding') Perhaps the most serious of the household hazards relates to toxic fumes. Birds have a highly efficient respiratory system in order to absorb the extra oxygen...
The primary use of zinc is to coat iron or steel in a process called galvanization to prevent rust. Zinc protects steel and iron from rusting it also dissolves in aqueous acids or bases. Recently zinc powder coating has become a very popular way to finish steel cages....
Poisons and Toxins: Protecting Your Birds From Dangerby Gary Gallerstein D.V.M.(Adapted From The Complete Bird Owner's Handbook) (AKJ 2018 - an older article, and one we have published before, but still with relevance today) Keeping birds in our home...
HYPOVITAMINOSIS-A When I first started in avian veterinary practice, a common finding in pet parrots were small nodules around the face – particularly around the eyes or under the chin – and under the tongue. Expressing these nodules revealed a cheesy (caseous) thick...
by Alan K Jones© Calcium is a mineral required by all animals as an essential part of their diet, along with other elements such as Phosporus, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Iron etc.Disease conditions caused by a deficiency of Calcium (or more usually an imbalance of...
by Les Rance, UK© For a number of years prior to the 1999 breeding season I had lost the occasional parakeet due to an adult tick attaching itself to the bird and taking a meal of blood. I do not think that I ever lost more than two birds per year. Although, I aim to...
Common diseases of parrots are discussed elsewhere on this site (Common Diseases of Parrots, Psittacosis, As Sick as a Parrot), but this article deals with conditions affecting the breeding of parrots and rearing of chicks. NEONATAL (PAEDIATRIC) DISEASES...
Birds have a remarkable ability to mask signs of disease – they have to in order to survive in the wild. Any bird that is ‘one degree under’ will be easy prey to predators, and will be bullied by others of its own kind. Therefore recognising that your bird has a...
Alan K Jones October 2020. This article was originally published in the late John Stoodley's book 'Genus Amazona' in 1990, and was recently reproduced as part of a series of articles in the Parrot Society's monthly magazine. It was written by one of the...
If you have read As Sick as a Parrot, it should be obvious that a large proportion of disease problems in parrots result from dietary and environmental influences. Infectious conditions are important, and will be covered in this section, together with...
AS SICK AS A PARROT – AND WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? Whatever type of bird you keep, whether it be a single companion budgie in a cage or a large breeding collection of parrots, the objective is always to keep those birds fit and healthy. The problem is...
Obviously we all want to keep happy, healthy birds, that will live out their full life span with no disease problems. However, in reality, accident and illness will occur, and then the best person to help out is an experienced avian veterinarian. The majority of...
We depend upon information from bird keepers and avian veterinary practices to keep this listing current. Please notify us if you wish to be added to the list, or if you no longer see birds. To view a current list of Avian Vets in the UK, please click on the link...
The thing that makes birds unique in the animal kingdom is not the power of flight - many mammals and most insects can fly, while some fish and reptiles can glide, and there are flightless birds - kiwi, penguins, the ostrich family (Ratites), and the...
Wing Clipping in Pet Birds - an update 2023 ©by Alan K Jones BVetMed MRCVS (Retired Avian Veterinarian & PSUK Scientific Advisor) Free-living Lear's Macaws (Anodorhynchus leari) in Brazil 2016 (AKJ) There are few things more glorious in nature...