Parrot Society meeting

[Tiki]

I just got back from what is now a quarterly Parrot Society meeting. I had stopped going to meetings because they were on a Wed night and always finished late and I had to work the next morning. Plus they were boring. :bored:

They are now doing it on a Saturday evening with 2 sessions-the first one has 2 options, one for companion parrots and one for breeders. Then they have dinner which was over priced at $25 so I went to KFC instead. Then they had an avian vet give a lecture. I will do a full report tomorrow, just too bloody tired tonight.

I really love that they are considering companion parrot people!! :woohoo:

[Tiki]

OK, here's more about the meeting. The companion parrot lecture was about foraging toys and how to make the bird work for his food. They showed several toys that you can hide food in or cheaper ways like twisting it in paper cups or newspapers.

After dinner one an avian vet-Bob Doneley gave a very interesting talk on the different expectations of aviculturists/breeders (A/B's) and pet bird owners (PBO's). The A/B's think that PBO's expect too much like life time health guarantees and are over the top with the way they treat their birds like surragate children. PBO's think that A/B's are experts on all aspects of bird care and will sometimes call them when they should call a vet.

He also emphasized that it is illegal to sell unweaned baby birds. It is rarely done to the public anyway and never at a bird fair, usually it is done bewteen breeders "I have a cock, will swap for a hen". He said it is the responsibilty of the A/B's to sell quality, healthy birds-but it isn't the A/B's who frequent bird club meetings who are the big offenders, it is the ones you see at Sunday flea markets who sell sick birds who then take them to the vet and are very upset to find out their bird has psittacosis.

He also said that A/B's need to make sure they sell the right kind of bird to the right kind of owner and that the buyer knows what they are getting into as far as commitment and care are concerned. Some people think cockatiels only live 5 years and are shocked to hear they can live anywhere from 15-30 years with good care.

[Tiki]

Chaska came with me in a flight suit and she was a perfect little angel. Everyone fell in love with her, even at the KFC during the dinner break!