Winter demands special care for exotic and cage birds

Rawalpindi

The little birds and parrots that we keep in cages with much love and care requires our special attention in this winter season as they are more vulnerable to succumb under the intense cold weather. Extra care and proper feeding for birds goes a long way for them to survive all the winter months otherwise their precious life is jeopardised.

The Consultant Jungle World Zoo, Army Heritage Foundation at Ayub National Park Brigadier Khalid Hameed Chughtai while talking exclusively to ‘The News’ here on Wednesday said that here in ‘Jungle World’ where we have kept various species of exotic birds and parrots special regime is followed in winters to make them as comfortable as possible. “At night, we cover all the bird cages with the windbreaker sheets. A proper heating system is installed in those cages where very fragile birds live, depending upon their weather tolerance,” he said.

He said that we remove the water containers from their cages at 3 p.m. and put them back the next day at 10 a.m. depending upon the sunlight. In this cold weather the temperature of water drops down and it is advisable not to give water to these delicate birds at night. He suggested that if the cages are movable then they should be kept in sunlight because it is very good for their health. “Cod Liver Oil is best for their health in winters, so we mix 2 tbsp Cod liver oil or sunflower oil in their feed and mix it well before feeding them. The feed of exotic birds and parrots is the pearl millet or regular ‘bajra’, sunflower seeds, and peanuts which they love to eat. Macau and African Grey are very fond of sunflower seeds and peanuts. Another food that we give them is some little shavings of green leaves like spinach or ‘methi’ that fulfils their daily requirement of chlorophyll which is very good for them. Seasonable fruits like banana, apple and guava are also given to them,” he said.

Talking about the indications of a sick bird, Brigadier Chughtai said that sick birds retrieve from the feed and loosely hang their head in their torso, they seem lethargic and don’t respond to movement in the cage. If any bird indicates such signs they should be immediately given treatment by a qualified veterinarian and mostly antibiotics are administered to them. “We also give such birds a complete vitamin course which is mixed in their water and then their deficiency is countered. If a bird dies because of any reason, we immediately send it to Poultry Research Institute at Murree Road or National Veterinarian Laboratory at Chak Shahzad to ascertain the cause of its death. They give us a complete picture of the cause and analysis report reveals the deficiency. This sensitivity test pinpoints the exact antibiotic that is required to counter that disease. We then administer the same medicine to our remaining birds so that we can save their lives and the disease is not transmitted among birds,” he said.