The Madison Area Cagebird Association of Wisconsin Where people just like you are always welcomed and given opportunities to learn something new about their birds every day!

Q & A with MACAW President Steve Fitzsimmons Steve answers some of your toughest questions...

Do you have a question?

Questions Coming In Today

Where can I learn more about my new friend?
Book stores, libraries and bird clubs are good sources of information about your bird. The internet chat rooms offer advice and message boards for questions.

What are the nutritional needs?
This depends on the species of bird you have. There are some nutritional needs that all species require such as fresh greens like leafy lettuce, broccoli, carrots with tops still on. Be sure to wash your fresh vegetables to clean them of any harmful pesticides.

Pellets are good in that they provide most of the vitamins and nutrition your bird needs, but you can add some seeds along with those fresh veggies too to give your bird good variety. Birds also enjoy an occasional hard boiled egg broken up with the shell.

What hazards lurk around the corner to my bird?
One word - many. Certain foods like avocados and chocolate are very poisonous. Aerosol sprays, cigarette smoke, Teflon, paint, many airborne chemicals are extremely harmful to the birds delicate respiratory system. Lead paint on a window seal that they may chew on when left alone, ceiling fans, open and closed windows and mirrors if your bird can fly, boiling water, dirty water, and dirty water bowls are just a few.

What are the behavioral requirements?
Birds require a lot of attention and time with you. Birds are social animals. They need to feel a part of your flock. They are happiest in big cages, given a lot of love, lots of different toys to chew on and toys that challenge them. Birds kept in solitary confinement because they are too loud, too messy or bite, only slowly get worse.

Birds mistreated start bad behavior habits like screaming all the time and pulling out all their feathers and become sickly. Many birds and humans have a falling out when the birds needs are not fully understood. Ideally, those needs should be understood the day the bird comes into your life. There have been many birds that were surrendered to avian rescues that have recovered and been re-adopted.

There's always hope that the bad behavior you may see can be corrected with a little patience and education. It begins by understanding the needs of your new friend. Many birds live over 60 years, and some over 100 years.

What do I do with a misbehaving bird?
First step is to make sure you understand your bird's needs. Is the diet one with good sources of vitamin A, like leafy vegetables, carrots, pellets and seeds? Is your bird being harassed by another member of the family, a dog or cat? Is the cage too small? Does your bird get 10 to 12 hours of sleep every night?

If the question has still not been answered, try and find some books on bird behavior, talk with someone in a bird club, talk with your avian vet. There are people who specialize in working with you and your bird in teaching bird behavior whose services you may need.

Why are so many birds surrendered to avian rescues and shelters?
Mainly because the person buying the bird didn't understand the special needs that their new friend had or realize how long the bird will live. Some people when confronted with problems with their bird decide the bird no longer fits in their life, so they let it go, rather than work with the bird.

Bird rescues are full of heartbreaking stories. The bird rescue in Madison, WI took in over 300 birds within their first year.

I hope this helped you learn something new. If you have any questions, please feel free to write me at macaw1@charter.net.

Thank you for visiting.

Steve