FEATURE


caged in the same aviaries at the same time. This clearly points to the abovementioned problems being strongly linked to the features of the modern show bird.


# When birds constantly scratch their irritated eyes with their poo-contaminated toenails, infection is eventually likely to follow. Despite claims that eye infections are very contagious, birds with no feathers poking into their eyes don’t catch these infections in the same aviaries or same breeding cages as the overly-coarse feathered birds who do catch the infections.


+ This problem has previously occurred with canaries. I refer interested people to the 1961 book “Budgerigars, Canaries & Foreign Finches” by R.B. Bennett. In the book he tells the story of Norwich canaries becoming ragged and double buff due to selection for these factors. This, in turn led to “feather-lumps’ (cysts)


associated with “over-feathered” birds: exactly what we are seeing with over-feathered budgies. Eventually, after heated arguments, the breeders returned to breeding the less heavily-feathered birds and the cysts largely disappeared. We are currently repeating the mistakes of canary breeders 51 years ago!!!


New Research New research indicates that birds’ feet (and other exposed skin areas such as around the beak & eyes) are a major source of Vitamin D3. Birds’ feet contain 30 times more Vitamin D3 precursor chemical than feathered skin on the same bird. The densely-feathered area around the feet on modern show birds plus their slouching posture shades the feet and therefore severely reduce vitamin D3 production, damaging the birds’ immune systems and calcium absorption.


BIRD SCENE 09 25 31


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48