Ask The Bird Experts

Irena Schulz was a guest speaker on Ask The Bird Experts on Sunday, June 22nd at 9pm Eastern. You can listen to the web cast at the link below.

http://instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=1656048

Irena and Bird Lovers Only Rescue Service, Inc. would like to thank TheBirdTalks.com for inviting us on their show.

Snowball in NATURE NEWS

Snowball has officially entered into the scientific world. Please click on the link below to read the article in "Nature News."

http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080625/full/news.2008.914.html

Music and the Mind

In this edition of "Grey Matters," Aniruddh Patel, of the Neurosciences Institute, discusses what music can teach us about the brain, and what brain science, in turn, can reveal about music. Series: "Grey Matters" [4/2006] [Science] [Show ID: 11189]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKFeuzGEns

Please paste the above link into your browser to watch the lecture.

About 35 minutes into the lecture, Aniruddh Patel discusses the biological significance of moving to a musical beat, and why it's interesting to find
out if animals (other than humans) can do it. He even discusses a bird that moves to music (from the film "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill"). Of course, this was all pre-Snowball!

Irena and Charles of Bird Lovers Only Rescue Service, Inc. would like to thank Dr. Aniruddh Patel for his visit on April 3rd, 2008 and for our continued collaboration on this very exciting and interesting project!

A very special thank you to Dane, for none of this would have been possible without you!

Pictured above is Aniruddh Patel, President of the Society for Music Perception and Cognition, with Snowball.

Fundraiser at Steak and Shake

Please join us for great food and help raise funds for Bird Lovers Only on Sunday, April 27th at the Steak and Shake on Rt. 41 in Schererville, IN. Steak 'n Shake will donate 20% of what you spend on the Fundraiser Day between 12 noon and 8pm but you need to bring a voucher with you.

Click one of these links to download vouhcers, then print them and bring them with your appetite PDF File or JPG File

FOX News Chicago w/Mark Saxenmeyer

A very special THANK YOU to FOX News and Mark Saxenmeyer for a wonderful piece on Snowball and Bird Lovers Only Rescue! The episode aired on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Thanks, Mark! We love you!

http://community.myfoxchicago.com/blogs/SaxInTheCity/2008/04/02/Becoming_a_Star_on_YouTube

Water Filters

We recommend that birds be given bottled water (please check for quality) or water from a good home-treatment system. Home-treatment systems can be confusing, though. Here is a brief description of several types.

The type of treatment system to acquire depends on what problems your water supply has; therefore, it is best to have your water tested. Alternatively, public water departments should have an analysis on file, and you can request a copy of it.

In general, the types of contaminants to be concerned about include:

• Bacteria, Giardia/protozoa, cryptosporidium
• Inorganic chemicals (such as nitrates)
• Organic chemicals (such as pesticides, industrial chemicals)
• Chlorine and fluorine
• Minerals (hard water)
• Sediment, particulate matter

Reverse Osmosis: Filtration generally removes inorganic contaminants, such as nitrates.

Mechanical Filtration: Removes sediment and microbes, such as Giardia, bacteria and cryptosporidium.

Activated Charcoal: This is best for removing organic materials such as pesticides, herbicides and the trihalomethanes formed by chlorinating water. Some systems combine all of these types of treatment and would be the right choice if your water supply has problems in all three areas.

Water Distillers: These are available as well, but we do not recommend them. They tend to remove healthy minerals and may not remove volatile organic compounds (pesticides) and microbes, such as Giardia cysts.

The last type of water treatment is a water softener. This is good at removing minerals, including lead and iron, but does nothing for bacterial contaminants, Giardia cysts, nitrates, or pesticides. If the only problem you have is hard water, these devices are effective. But the advice would be to check with the public water deparment for a water analysis

To determine the best type of home-treatment system for your specific needs, please ask your public water department for a water analysis or have it professionaly tested yourself.

Reference: "Holistic Care For Birds" by David McCluggage, DVM and Pamela Leis Higdon

Necessity of Avian Veterinary Care

The AVMA survey indicated both good and bad news for avian practitioners. On the negative side, pet bird owners overall are not likely to seek veterinary care. In 2001, only 11.7% of bird owners in the USA reported at least one veterinary visit. In comparison, 83.6% of dog owners and 65.3% of cat owners reported at least one veterinary visit in 2001. On the positive side, however, a 6 year survey indicated the average number of veterinary visits for pet birds actually increased. An estimated 2 million avian veterinary visits occurred in 2001, compared to 1.6 million in 1996. This represents a solid increase in demand for the services of avian veterinarians. More evidence for this conclusion can be seen in the fact that veterinary expenditures for bird owners increased dramatically from 37 million dollars in 1991 to 135 million dollars in 2001.

It is interesting to note those veterinary services most commonly purchased for pet birds. Examinations are purchased most frequently, followed by laboratory tests, then emergency care. While many bird-owning clients appreciate the value of preventive medicine, far too many others consult the avian veterinarian only in time of medical crisis.

Slightly more than half of surveyed clients selected their regular dog and cat veterinarian to provide care for their avian pets. Encouragingly enough, 24.2% made their selection based on the fact that the veterinarian was a bird specialist. (Note that this survey does not distinguish between veterinarians who are board-certified avian specialists and those claiming a "special interest" in avian medicine.) Discouragingly, just as many clients chose a veterinarian based simply on location.

It is obvious avian practitioners have a great deal of work to do to catch up to our fellow dog and cat practitioners. While bird owners who do seek regular veterinary care are generally seeking a higher quality of care and more frequent visits for their pets, it is obvious the great majority of bird owners either are unaware such services are available or not convinced of their value.

Reference: "Cinical Avian Medicine - Vol I & II" by Harrison and Lightfoot.

Speical Note from Bird Lovers Only Rescue: Birds are expert at masking their illnesses and many bird owners believe them to be healthy because of it....until they wake up one morning to find their bird dead at the bottom of the cage without any previous signs or warnings to indicate that something was wrong. Dogs and cats do not mask their illnesses as birds do because birds behave instinctively to demonstrate health and strength in the wild to avoid appearing vulnerable to other birds and predators. This instinctive behavior does not change in your home. Please take your birds in for yearly exams and tests to a board-certified avian veterinarian. You can find one close to you by going to www.aav.org. We thank you!