December 2016
Issue No 12
Water is probably the most important overlooked nutrient of any animal, id you know that A bird can live a lot longer without food than it can without water. Approximately 75% of a bird’s body is made up of water. Each day an adult bird needs to drink enough water to make up 5% of it’s body weight to replace the water lost from its body weight to replace the water lost by waste removal, respiration and evaporation. Water performs a number of important functions. “ The normal physiological processes that go on need water to occur. The insides of the cells are water, so if a bird doesn’t drink enough water, then the water that’s inside those cells leaches out and the cells dry up like a raisin and die. Water is also needed to flush out the parrot’s body, remove excess minerals and other wastes, to transport nutrients throughout the body and help to regulate body temperature. Without enough water, the blood volume will drop and the kidneys, liver and heart will not function as efficiently as they should.
Clean Water is required But for pet birds in particular, often the bigger issue is not so much being provided with enough water as it is making sure they have clean water. (Most pet owners make sure there’s water in the cage.) An owner may get busy and forget to change the bird’s water dishes in a couple days. Meanwhile the bird may have defecated in the water, taken a bath in it, shredded newspaper from the bottom of the cage and put that in the water, rinsed its beak in the bowl after eating, dunked pellets or biscuits in the water to soften them, or perhaps a fly flew into the water dish and is now floating on top.
Any debris in a birds water dish can create an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. Bacteria love to grow in dirty water. Most birds will also poo or dunk food in their water dish. Thes organic materials feed the bacteria and cause them to grow even faster. Bacterial growth is measured in doubling time — the time it takes for bacteria to double in number, doubling time for many bacteria is two to three hours. In practical terms, this means if you put a clean water dish in the cage at 8 a.m. and at 9 a.m. the bird takes a drink, any food material that was on its beak — any bacteria — gets in the water. “By noon, whatever amount of bacteria that’s in there has doubled, and that doubles again and doubles again so that by 5 p.m. there’s enough bacteria in there to make any bird sick. Of course it depends on the quantity of the water that the bird drinks as to whether it makes him sick or not. There are a number of diseases which your bird can get from unclean water. Probably the most common waterborne bacteria is Pseudomonas. Other types of bacteria, such as E.coli, Klebsiella, Giardia and Salmonella, can also grow in water. Any of these can cause diarrhea or other digestive tract disturbances, as well as more serious infections. Generally it’s pretty obvious that your bird’s water dish is dirty: You can see the crud floating on top of the water. But even without any obvious debris, the water may very well be contaminated. The way you can tell, if you rub your finger on the inside of the water dish and it feels slimy, that means bacteria is growing in there. Or, if you see discolored areas in a plastic dish, that’s probably bacteria as well.” One other issue relating to your bird’s water has to do with adding vitamin supplements to the water. Vitamin supplements in the water may provide necessary nutrients in the water container for bacterial growth to occur, so of course we now look at another issue, do we give vitamins, and if we do, how do we give them to the bird? That’s perhaps a story for another day.
On the 6th December The Government Chief Vet declared a Prevention Zone introducing enhanced bio security requirements for poultry and captive birds, helping protect them from a strain of avian flu circulating in mainland Europe. So what does this mean to you and I.? The prevention zone has been put in place through out England with Scotland and Wales taking the same stance. Anyone who keeps poultry or captive birds are now required to keep their birds indoors or, (now that’s the word) “OR” ensure that they are kept separate from wild birds. This applies even if you only have a few chickens in the garden. Outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N8) have been confirmed in poultry and wild birds in several countries across Europe. No cases of H5N8 have been found in the UK and this order is a precautionary measure to help prevent potential infection from wild birds. However at present there is a very low chance of you or I getting bird flu. Whilst there are no cases (at the time going to print) reported in the UK, the decision has been made as a precautionary measure and to give poultry and captive bird owners time to put in place the necessary bio security measures. Even although birds are housed, there is still a risk of infection, so the most of important thing is to ensure that everything is disinfected thoroughly, including clothing and all equipment. The movement of poultry should be reduced to avoid contact with wild birds. During previous outbreaks we have had major panic situations and rescue centres were inundated with unwanted parrots. Most companion parrots are kept indoors, therefore we as parrot owners are at a very low risk. That does mean though that we still need to ensure cleanliness. Even taking our birds to the parrot club there is a very low risk of infection. Talking to DEFRA on Wednesday last they were happy to say that at present it is “Business as Usual” There is no need to panic, however just keep your eye on the DEFRA website for any updates.
Poultry keepers are advised to be vigilant for any signs of disease in their birds and any wild birds, and seek prompt advice from their vet if they have any concerns. They can help prevent avian flu by maintaining good biosecurity on their premises, including: cleansing and disinfecting clothing, footwear, equipment and vehicles before and after contact with poultry – if practical, use disposable protective clothing reducing the movement of people, vehicles or equipment to and from areas where poultry are kept to minimise contamination from manure, slurry and other products and using effective vermin control thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting housing at the end of a production cycle keeping fresh disinfectant at the right concentration at all points where people should use it, such as farm entrances and before entering poultry housing or enclosures Minimising direct and indirect contact between poultry and wild birds, including making sure all feed and water is not accessible to wild birds
Last month at the Leicester Parrot Club meeting, Lynda announced that the Nott’s Parrot Club was to close it’s doors and the last meeting has now taken place. It is very sad that after such a
long time run by Rosemary Low that the decline in support has caused the decision to end the club meetings. Hopefully some of the members will come along and join us.
We had over 20 members attend last months meeting and it was lovely to see some new faces come along as and be made so welcome by the regular members. We are looking forward to the new year and would like to get some suggestions from you as to what you would like to have at the club. Bear in mind that most guest speakers only want to come to larger audiences and have knocked the smaller clubs on the head to promote themselves and their products to more people, and of course they can charge more, which sadly nowadays is what it is all about. On to this evening, and it’s that time of year again,
It’s Party Time. Last year member Claire Laxton did us proud with a fantastic buffet and we are lucky to have Claire organize this year’s Christmas buffet again for us once again. So a big thank you to Claire for her time spent to make sure we have a great night. We will have the normal games and Grand Raffle, just to finish off the evening, we will also a prize for the best Christmas costume. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and hope that next year is a better year for everyone.
Thank you to everyone for your support this year and we look forward to your support again through 2017.
The November meeting at the Leicester club was very well attended after a couple of lean months. Lynda asked the members what she should do, after finding an African Grey in a residential home, It was not being cared for properly and was really just a feature in the home. Nobody really takes responsibility for him and he appears to be just fed as and when. There was some very helpful comments from the members and Lynda is going to keep everyone updated. Due to the Christmas break, the club are holding their Christmas party on Thursday the 15th December. There will be a buffet and some party games, as well as the usual Christmas raffle. The club have asked everyone that attends to take a little something for the buffet, come along and support the club if you can. As always Midland Parrots will be there with Christmas goodies for your parrot, and they would like to thank Lynda and the Leicestershire Parrot Club for their continued support. Lynda is starting to put together her program for 2017, so if you have any suggestions or ideas for any of the meetings, don’t hesitate to pass your ideas on to Lynda., Any help in trying to fill the diary will be greatly appreciated. Don’t forget as a member of The East Midlands Parrot Club you can attend the Leicester Club at members prices. The club meetings are held on the last Thursday of every month at Leicester Co-Op and Sports Social Club Birstall Road Birstall. Leicester LE4 4DE
As normal Heather will be here with your parrot supplies and some Christmas Goodies.
Avian Vets It is always worthwhile to know where and who is your local Avian vets are and keep their telephone number handy. Craig Hunt. Chine House in Sileby. Nr Loughborough 01509 812446 Yvette Rowntree, Ambivets, Ilkeston 01159 309729
Just In Case Need to get in touch with the club? 01530 263399 - 01159 725965 E: - mail@emparrotclub.org
Larry has decided to retire again, After over 30 years in the car trade Larry retired, he then came along to help us here at Midland Parrots for a couple of months at the Market in Coalville and ended up helping us at Long Eaton and has stayed with us for over 3 years. A very keen gardener, Larry still works his allotment before he comes to the shop and has done 3 days a week, never having a day off sick and of course is instrumental in the running of the Parrot Club, but will still attend the meetings. Larry will be sadly missed by both staff and customers alike. We would like to thank Larry for all his help and loyalty. We all wish him well in retirement, enjoy life and THANK YOU