HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: chajek@qa1.WichitaKS.NCR.COM (chajek)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: CANARY BREEDIING
Keywords: Tuire Valta - post your E-mail address and I'll send
Date: 5 Nov 92 21:05:57 GMT
Reply-To: chajek@qa1.WichitaKS.NCR.COM ()
Followup-To: Tuire Valta, Helsinki U. of Finland
Organization: NCR Corporation, Wichita KS

you more info than this.

Mine is colleen.hajek@wichitaks.ncr.com       

First, I suggest getting several books on canaries because one book
will not tell it all.  Each one will have new info that the other
book did not contain.  Also, subscribe to Bird Talk Magazine and
American Caged Bird Magazine, both regularly have canary/canary
breeding articles in them regarding mating, incubation, hatching,
baby formulas, and tricks of the trade.  One trick I use is replacing
the real egg when laid with a white marble, then returning all the 
real eggs back to the nest the same day, thus all the chick hatching
the same day.  If you don't do this, they will hatch one a day for
several days and the last ones hatched will probably die.  Canary
babies almost double their weight every day, when they are tiny.
So you can see that the tiniest, weakest baby will get stepped on,
trampled in the nest, and would be the last one to have it's mouth
open for food in a nest of older babies.  This one thing makes a
big difference in raising baby canaries.

E-Mail me some questions and I'll try to help you out.  Colleen Hajek
                                                        Marion, Kansas
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: feathers@eskimo.celestial.com (Cheryl Owen)
Subject: Re: Lethal cookware?
Organization: =>ESKIMO NORTH (206) 367-3837 SEATTLE, WA.<=
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 14:07:12 GMT


  Non-stick cookwarem, when overheated, does release highly, and I mean
HIGHLY toxic fumes that can kill all the birds in the house within
minutes.  I know several people who have lost birds this way.  Howver,
However, in every case, they left food or water in the cookware on the
stove and then forgot about it and let it burn or boil away so that the
flame was badly overheating the pan itself (having not enough food in
the pan to work on), and thus the toxic fumes were released.  I've been
using non-stick cookware for years and never had the slightest problem
because I've never let the stuff overheat.  It should be perfectly safe
to use your T-Fal, teflon, or whatever as long as it doesn't get hot
enough to release the toxic fumes that kill birds.
From: dowzycki@andromeda.rutgers.edu (Ken Dowzycki)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: Budgie "flap attack"
Date: 10 Nov 92 21:17:10 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

whisnant@iastate.edu (Kerry L Whisnant) writes:

>A friend of mine has three budgies, and they all have a strange behavior
>that we call a "flap attack", where they furiously flap their wings while
>hanging on to their perch. They seem very agitated and sometimes emit
>squawking noises at the same time. The whole episode lasts for maybe
>5 to 15 seconds, and then they seem perfectly normal. It happens fairly
>regularly, at least once a day for each of them, and usually they're
>inside their cage when it happens.

>We've been specualting that they're just exercising their wings, since
>they're clipped and don't get to fly (although they do try to fly
>sometimes when they're outside the cage). Either that or they all have
>a case of bird epilepsy :-)

>Does anybody know what this means? It must be common since all three
>birds do it regularly.

Well, I have three budgies in one cage too and although they do not all
do this at the same time, I have seen them do it.  It seems to me that
when one or two are at the feeding "trough" the third gets agitated in
the sense of saying "Make room for me" or "get out of my way."  I am
sure that it is not epilepsy or other disorder.  

My birds wings are not clipped so that also take advantage of flight 
"spurts" within the cage.  It is approx. 2 x 3 feet so that have some
room to fly from perch to perch or top to bottom.  What a mess they
create!  The feathers come flying out and I keep the "Dustbuster" handy.
Now they are talking about cancer from feather particles so I  try
to suck up the feathers as soon as they come out of the cage.  
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: fease@dkas.enet.dec.com (Andrea Midtmoen Fease)
Subject: Re: Budgie "flap attack"
Organization: Digital Equipment Corp., Marlboro MA
Date: 11 NOV 92 10:04:56    


In article <Nov.10.16.17.10.1992.2018@andromeda.rutgers.edu>, dowzycki@andromeda.rutgers.edu (Ken Dowzycki) writes...
>whisnant@iastate.edu (Kerry L Whisnant) writes:
> 
>>A friend of mine has three budgies, and they all have a strange behavior
>>that we call a "flap attack", where they furiously flap their wings while
>>hanging on to their perch. They seem very agitated and sometimes emit
>>squawking noises at the same time. The whole episode lasts for maybe
>>5 to 15 seconds, and then they seem perfectly normal. It happens fairly
>>regularly, at least once a day for each of them, and usually they're
>>inside their cage when it happens.

     My chickens, who are not clipped and not caged (but held within a barn), 
do this all the time, though usually when standing on the ground.  They don't
make any noises, though.  Sometimes, they just shake themselves like a wet dog,
fluffing up their feathers and creating more feather dust ;^) .

     I think this may be equivalent to our stretching (which I've seen them do
too, stretching out a wing or a leg), maybe something just to get the ol' 
circulation going 8-) !

					- Andrea
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: gerard@caliban.soest.hawaii.edu (Gerard Fryer)
Subject: Re: Avaiaries (and cats)
Organization: Scum Of the Earth and Senile Tenured
Distribution: rec.pets.birds
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 18:50:30 GMT

In article <1992Nov2.202145.20397@ultb.isc.rit.edu>, kdc5072@ultb.isc.rit.edu (K.D. Colagio) writes:
|> Rich Feingold writes:
|> ->
|> ->Also, what does one do about cats.  We put our cages out on a table so
|> ->the birds could get used to the outdoors and it didn't take long for
|> ->some neighborhood cat to climb our six foot wood fence and terrorize
|> ->the birds.  How can we avoid the same thing happening with an aviary?
|> ->
|> ->Any help will be greatly appreciated.
|> ->
|> 
|> What my mom did was just let the cage outside.  The cage was about 5
|> foot 6 inches tall, a foot and a half deep and 4 foot wide.  The cats
|> would climb it, but there was enough inside for the birds to sit on that
|> they could be safely on the braches (that were inside).  After a few
|> days, the birds knew that the cats couldn't get to them...it was just a
|> matter of the birds getting use to it...
|> 

I once built a big aviary (10'x14'x7') and was worried about cats.  The
main thing that seemed to terrify the birds was if a cat got on top of
the thing, so I made horizontal outriggers around the top to make a
horizontal screen continuous with the roof netting which stuck out
about a foot all around.  Cats sometimes jumped up the walls but looked
up and saw the obstruction and never attempted to climb further. The
birds and cats soon started ignoring each other.  What the birds
never learned to ignore was the occasional hawk soaring overhead.
-- 
Gerard Fryer  (g.fryer@soest.hawaii.edu)
School of Ocean & Earth Science & Technology
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: ammg2052@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Aaron M. Moy)
Subject: Administering Medication
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 17:42:15 GMT


After I feed the babies (handfeeding diet with a syringe), I give the leftovers
to my pets (a Timneh Grey, Quaker, and Lovebird).  This seems to keep their
'handfeeding' behavior active, which should help in giving any oral medication
in the future. The few cc's I give them also seems to help maintain their
'sweetness.'  Now, whenever my Grey sees me with a cup and syringe, he walks
over and tries to climb up my pant leg.  If he's lucky, I'll make too much food 
and he'll get his treat.


Aaron Moy
ammg2052@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
"The Baby's Nest," Hand-Fed Birds
Urbana, Illinois
(217) 328-1838
From: rdmiller@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Ruth D Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: latest (December) BirdTalk
Date: 6 Nov 92 04:03:42 GMT
Article-I.D.: matt.1de50uINNmib
Organization: Kansas State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: matt.ksu.ksu.edu

Barbara asked in one of her posts if the latest BirdTAlk was out yet.  We
received our December issue about 2 weeks ago now.  It has a special on
cockatoos and their behavior, a section on vitamin supplements and one on
upper respiratory infections.  The "Covering the Cage" section highlights
some reportedly full-spectrum incandescent lightbulbs for birds, sold by
a firm in Arizone (whose name I forget--read the magazine!)  I thought the
lightbulb info might be of special interest after all the discussion here
a month or so ago.

HAppy reading!

Ruth
From: distef@carson.u.washington.edu (Sandra Distefano)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: Naughty Budgies
Date: 12 Nov 92 18:32:43 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov12.183243.28488
Organization: University of Washington

lskinner@emr1.emr.ca (Lauren Skinner) writes:

>I have four budgies: 2 male and 2 female, living happily and communally in
>one cage.
>Whenever I put gravel or charcoal into cups and hang them inside the
>cage, the two little girls make a bee-line to them, and have a great old
>time heaving all of the contents onto the floor of the cage.

>Any ideas why the females do this and not the males?  

>Is there any harm, in the long run, to the digestive systems of my two males,
>since they rarely get to consume any of the charcoal or gravel?  Once it's on
>the cage's floor, all of the birds forget that it is there.  

Since female parakeets are usually quite dominant, perhaps they
just don't let the males play with the gravel.  Maybe if the 
girls weren't there, they would do it too.  Just a thought.

My vet (actually 3 avian vets (I moved)) told me not to give the
parakeets unlimited gravel like that.  They feel that it can 
cause a lot of problems in the crop.  They all suggested getting
that gravel that is made up of stones and shells and sprinkling
a little on top of the seed once every week or two.  They will 
ingest a stone or two once in a while.  They all said that budgies
(and I imagine a lot of other psitticines) don't clear their
crops of stones very often, so they can make do with very little
gravel.

Sandra
distef@u.washington.edu
From: kelly@cco.caltech.edu (Kelly F.)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: How To Trace Bird Bands
Date: 10 Nov 1992 03:24:06 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
NNTP-Posting-Host: sandman.caltech.edu


Recently we found at work (and caught) a conure (?) of some sort, it
might be a 'green' conure...its about the size of a small Severe macaw,
is green all over with red splotches on head and check and tops of wings
and any help IDing this bird would be great. However, it has a metal
band with three letters followed by three numbers, and we've heard this
identifies the breeder. Since it was still attached, we assume that
it was lost while still at the breeders, since don't most stores recommend
the band be removed immediately after purchase...? Anyhow, how can we
trace this band...? We called the USDA and they just said it sounded like
a private breeder. Big help. Any input from the wisdom of the net?

Kelly
kelly@cco.caltech.edu

Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: wiegand@rtsg.mot.com (Robert Wiegand)
Subject: Re: Lethal cookware?
Reply-To: motcid!wiegand@uunet.uu.net
Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 16:19:52 GMT

jberry@brutus.ct.gmr.com (John Berry CT/90) writes:

>Does anybody know anything about this business of fumes
>from non-stick cookware KILLING the birds!!??

>I live in an apartment (not real large) and have "T-Fal"
>cookware, which appears to have some kind of teflon-like
>coating. Should I get rid of this stuff? 

It does happen, and its something you should know about.
It can happen very fast, your birds can be killed by fumes that
don't even bother you.

The problem is with overheating the cookware. This can happen if:
	1) You heat an empty pan
	2) You allow the food to "boil away" or burn
	3) Your stove contains non-stick burner pans

If you are very carefull you can use non-stick cookware, but I do
mean *very* carefull.

If you use it you should stand in front of the stove and watch.
Don't talk on the phone, don't walk away, just cook.
If you have to leave the room turn off the stove.

Many bird owners don't want to take a chance and get rid of all their
non-stick cookware.

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert Wiegand - Motorola Inc.
motcid!wiegand@uunet.uu.net            uunet!motcid!wiegand
Disclamer: I didn't do it - I was somewhere else at the time.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: twollnik@aud.alcatel.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: link between birds and lung cancer?
Date: 11 Nov 92 18:30:28 GMT

richman@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu (Mike Richman) writes:

>I recently heard the last part of a news story reporting some link
>between having pet birds and developing lung cancer.  Does anyone have
>more information on the study?  Is this some wacky chance correlation or
>something more substantive?

Well I have been monitoring this subject for a few days, and there doesn't
seem to be anyone that is giving any great amount of detail on the subject.
I am about to be the proud owner of a greenwing Macaw, and I am curious      
about this topic also.

Should I keep the bird cage immaculate, deordorized, feed them anything
special.  What's the current information on this lung cancer issue.  Is
it one of those things were a person had 45 birds for 30 years, and theu
developed lung cancer.    

IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE !!!!


Ted Wollnik
twollnik@rdxsun11.aud.alcatel.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: ammg2052@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Aaron M. Moy)
Subject: RE:Clipping wings
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 20:30:55 GMT


In response to TANYA OLSEN's comment on wing clipping:

The incident with clipping her Amazon's wings stresses how important it is 
to clip their wings as a baby and KEEP THEM CLIPPED.  Indeed, birds who
have grown accustomed to flight will often suffer anxiety or depression when
they suddenly lose that ability.  I clip all my babies after their maiden
flight, so they'll never know really what they're missing. 

Without bringing up a clip vs non-clip argument, I must say that the birds
are much safer if they are clipped.  It may not be totally natural, but
it does provide a greater sense of security.

Aaron Moy
ammg2052@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
"The Baby's Nest" Hand-Fed Birds
Urbana, Illinois
(217) 328-1838


From: billg@hpspdla.spd.HP.COM (Bill Gingras)
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 16:45:52 GMT
Subject: Re: Budgie "flap attack"
Organization: HP Stanford Park - Palo Alto, CA
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds


My cockatiel does this too.  I do seem to notice that he seems agitated
when he does it and he'll often bite while he's flapping.  He ALWAYS
does this when I'm on the phone, which makes me think that he's mad that
he's not getting any attention.

- Bill G
From: dowzycki@andromeda.rutgers.edu (Ken Dowzycki)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: mirrors and budgies
Date: 6 Nov 92 15:59:11 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

wiegand@rtsg.mot.com (Robert Wiegand) writes:

>astro@silver.lcs.mit.edu (Phillip Vyp'ev-Zakusim) writes:

>>My budgie loves sitting in front of mirrors, in fact that's his favorite
>>thing to do.  I was wondering if there was something I could do to make him
>>lose his habit (other than hiding all the mirrors in the house).  Is this
>>normal behavior?

 This is normal behavior as the bird is kept "company" by the
image of himself in the reflection.

>>Also, when I come into the room where the bird is, it always spreads its
>>wings... Is this a sign of some sort or just something random?  Thank you.

My three budgies do the same thing.  It is almost like a security
thing.  Right after that they start to "pick up" the action where
they left off.  That is, resume chatting, head for the food, and
clowning around.  Budgies are very sociable characters and they
love noise, (TV, vacuum cleaners, music, etc.)

  Think of him spreading his wings as "GLAD TO SEE YA."
From: MBALAN@rohvm1.rohmhaas.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: this is a test
Date: 5 Nov 92 20:16:13 GMT
Organization: Rohm and Haas Company


  this is a test please ignore
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: feathers@eskimo.celestial.com (Cheryl Owen)
Subject: Re: How To Trace Bird Bands
Organization: =>ESKIMO NORTH (206) 367-3837 SEATTLE, WA.<=
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 14:34:06 GMT


   It sounds like you found yourself a mitred conure, or a cherryhead,
or one of those closely related conures.  As for the band, there are a
few different organizations that issue bands and keep track of them. 
One of those is SPBE, or Society of Parrot Breeders and Exhibitors.  I
don't have the information with me, but if you e-mail me I'll try to
find out what you need to know if SPBE is involved.  Good luck!
                      - Cheryl at feathers@eskimo.celestial.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: davec@Autodesk.COM (Dave Cooper)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: Clipping wings
Date: 13 Nov 92 18:56:54 GMT
Organization: Autodesk Inc., Sausalito CA, USA

ammg2052@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Aaron M. Moy) writes:
> 
> In response to TANYA OLSEN's comment on wing clipping:
> 
> The incident with clipping her Amazon's wings stresses how important it is 
> to clip their wings as a baby and KEEP THEM CLIPPED.  Indeed, birds who
> have grown accustomed to flight will often suffer anxiety or depression when
> they suddenly lose that ability.  I clip all my babies after their maiden
> flight, so they'll never know really what they're missing. 
> 
> Without bringing up a clip vs non-clip argument, I must say that the birds
> are much safer if they are clipped.  It may not be totally natural, but
> it does provide a greater sense of security.

Hello Aaron,

I have had English Budgies (not the American dimunitive "parakeets") since 
my childhood in Central Africa. I have never cut any of my birds' wings.
For highly nomadic flocking birds such as Budgies, I think it is pathetic
to cut their wings. Their flight is what they are all about.

In Africa, my Budgies were raised from chicks and eventually flew not
only freely about the house, but on the property as well. One bird
would accompany me to school, frequently flying off into a nearby tree,
and then returning when I called him. If you read some of the literature,
you will be aware that certain breeders in the UK allow their Budgies
to fly free in the outdoors.

Here in America, I can't afford them the luxury of dry tropical bush---
San Francisco is too urban! My birds can only fly free in my flat---
happily it's large and spacious.

Budgies are extremely precise flyers, and once they know their space,
they will NOT fly into windows and they manage to avoid even moving
obstacles (like unseen people coming around corners). In the two years
that my two birds have been flying in my home, they have never crashed
into anything. It is quite amazing. And when I read the literature
such as recorded in Joseph Forshaw's book "Parrots of the World," it
all makes sense.

Perhaps for larger birds, like the big cockatoos or the South American
and African parrots, allowing free flight is impractical, unless you
have extremely large aviaries. However, I do know of people in Australia
and in southern California who allow their large birds to fly free.

Care is, of course, highly necessary --- accidental escapes in a city
like San Francisco might be disastrous. However, this requires that the
owner be conscientious. If he can't be, then he shouldn't really keep
birds at all.

Cheers

DAVE
From: dxk21@po.cwru.edu (DaveK)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: Budgie "flap attack"
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 21:07:14 GMT
Organization: Case
NNTP-Posting-Host: b63535.student.cwru.edu

In article <BxIKG5.FDr@news.iastate.edu> whisnant@iastate.edu (Kerry L Whisnant) writes:
>From: whisnant@iastate.edu (Kerry L Whisnant)
>Subject: Budgie "flap attack"
>Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 18:52:44 GMT
>
>We've been specualting that they're just exercising their wings, since
>they're clipped and don't get to fly (although they do try to fly
>sometimes when they're outside the cage). Either that or they all have
>a case of bird epilepsy :-)


      While birds will hold the perch and flap their wings as thought 
they are flying for exercise (btw- this is a good sign that the bird 
would like to be let out for a while)...  what you have mentioned sounds
like a psycological thing where parakeets suddenly feel threatened by
an invisible enemy.  You might also notice them dipping their head 
quickly as though something is attacking from above... mine do this all
the time...

Dave

Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: Diana Bray <djb@tadtec.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Budgie "flap attack"
Organization: Tadpole Technology plc
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 12:05:15 GMT
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d1
     <dxk21.161.721516034@po.cwru.edu> <BxKBoM.D33@lsilwm.uucp>
     <50740025@hpspdla.spd.HP.COM>

Re: Budgie "flap attack"

This is interesting.  Over the years I've had several avery bred budgies 
all of which have done this wing flapping thing - usually but not 
exclusively to attract my attention.

I now have an avery bred conure who stands on the bars of his cage 
and wing flaps and squalks purely for attention getting purposes.

I also have an incubated & hand fed Amazon who doesn't do this at all.  
She hasn't a clue what wings are for since she has been clipped since 
egghood :)   When she desperately wants to be picked up she sort of 
raises and lowers her shoulders (lifting her folded wings slightly away 
from her body) as if her birdy instincts are sending her messages she 
doesn't understand telling her to fly.  Sorry but its hard to describe. 

My other bird is a budgie runt :)  She was a rescue mission and even 
now remains a really wierd bird.  Funny that everyone falls in love with 
her.  She dosn't do any of the normal budgie behaviour things and 
doesn't do the flapping thing.

So maybe its an instinctive attention getting thing?

Anyone have birds that have been unflighted all their life that actually 
do do this?
From: rdmiller@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Ruth D Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: full-spectrum lightbulbs
Date: 13 Nov 1992 12:52:43 -0600
Organization: Kansas State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: matt.ksu.ksu.edu

I posted a bit of a summary of Dec. BirdTalk last week and someone asked
me for the address of the full-spectrum lightbulb distributor.  I went
off to sunny San Diego for a week (nice place.  Nicer zoo.  The native US
parrot, the thick-billed, is being bred there for release back into the 
wild and it is a _beautiful_ bird!) and lost the e-mail address of the
person who asked me.  So I'm posting here.

The place is BirdSafe Co. 
             Dep't BT
             P.O. Box 396
             Humboldt, AZ 86329
      (800)358-9041 or (602)772-2472.

I called and they mailed me info.  The bulbs are $13 each or so, incandescent
(ordinary light fixtures) and marketed as "full-spectrum".  But I can't tell
from the lit they sent whether that's just full-_visible_-spectrum or if it
includes the uv wavelengths we need to make vitamins. (We =humans & birds)
Anyway, hope the info is useful to people!  (I have no connection to this
co., just public service announcement.)

Ruth