| Caring For Your New Bird | NetPets® |
DISEASES AND INJURIES
Preventing health problems is a better way of handling them than waiting for them to appear. I can't cover every disease and injury here, but I can generalize and refer you to other reading material to learn more. I am not a vet, and I will not give medical or first aid advice here. If your bird is having a problem, call the vet first!
In general, most bird diseases are spread in the air, either by dried droppings being blown about by flapping wings or breezes, or spread by close contact (several birds in one cage or eating off the same piece of food, etc.). Many diseases can be carried home on the owner's shoes, clothes, hands or hair from places like bird shows, pet stores and other people's homes. Be conscious of this, and make an effort to wash, change clothes, and remove your shoes after going anywhere around other birds. Don't allow strange birds in your house. Never bring wild birds inside around your birds.
If you must take your bird somewhere, don't get too close to other birds. Never take your bird into a strange pet store or to a bird club meeting.
Most injuries are caused by inattentive owners (sorry, but I feel it's true!). If you watch your bird carefully, it will not have a chance to get into harmful substances or dangerous situations. Closely monitor any interaction your bird has with kids, other animals, or other people, and step in as soon as you think trouble might be brewing!
Be very cautious when taking a parrot outside, even with freshly clipped wings. Some birds are extremely strong fliers, and can still fly with clipped wings if startled. They could be motivated to take off by any distraction. Even if the bird doesn't get away, there are a lot of things outdoors that can hurt a bird-strange animals, lawn fertilizers and weed killers, weird neighbors. I really feel that prevention is the best medicine when it comes to good bird care!
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