THE DERBYAN PARAKEET IS OUR BIRD OF THE MONTH: 

The Derbyan Parakeet (Parrot) is an absolutely gorgeous bird with its many shades of violet and blue standing out from the striking black collar and multi-green colors of its main body.  Derbyans make excellent companions when only one is chosen, because they are naturally shy and prefer the company of other birds, if given a choice.  They are larger than most Parakeets at 20+ inches in length and are extremely intelligent.  They can be loud (what parrot isn’t at times), but; their ability to talk (almost like Amazons) and their affectionate ways will outshine that very quickly.  Derbyans hail from the Far East (China, Tibet, etc) and were rapidly becoming extinct in the wild.  Thanks to the World Parrot Trust and C.I.T.E.S., they are finally making a comeback.  Their diet should consist of no more than 40% Organic Pellets (Harrisons Organic Pellets come to mind) and the rest fresh fruits, vegetables, and birdie bread, with some seed.  Always remember to only leave fresh foods in the food cup for about 2-3 hours to prevent illness from bacteria.  Because of its long tail, the Derbyan should have as large a cage as possible (36”x24” minimum) with bar spacing no more than 5/8” to ½”.  Your Derbyan should be allowed as much out of cage and with his/her human family as much as possible.  This will keep the noise to a minimum and bonding to the maximum.  They are not good candidates for full time caging.

BEFORE YOU BRING A BIRD HOME – CONSIDER THIS:

The following was extrapolated from a post to Craig’s list, with no copyright indicator.  It is a cynical approach to driving home the things that one must consider before acquiring a new pet.  This particular instance involves a puppy, but; one should replace puppy with bird; cat, anything that they are considering bringing into their family as a pet:

Please Help!   After two long years of being on a waiting list for a dog, we have been notified by breed rescue that, at along last, our number has come up and…..WE ARE HAVING A PUPPY!!!!  We must get rid of our CHILDREN, IMMEDIATELY; because just know how time consuming our new little puppy is going to be and it just wouldn’t be fair to the children.  Since our little puppy will be arriving on Monday, we MUST place the children up for adoption THIS WEEKEND!!!!  Their descriptions are:

One male – Tommy 4 years old – excellent disposition and doesn’t bite. Temperament Tested.  Current on all shots.

One Female – Lexis – Non-Biter; Thumb Sucker, Age 2 years. Temperament Tested and current on all shots.

We really do LOVE our children and want to do what’s right for them, but; we simply can no longer keep them.  We are afraid they might hurt the new puppy.  They must be placed by this weekend or we will be forced to drop them off at an orphanage, church or set them loose beside a dirt road.  I hope you understand that ours is a UNIQUE situation and we have a real emergency here.  Our priority now must be our new PUPPY.

As a long time companion bird rescuer/resocializer/rehomer, I have heard this story a bazillion times with a new baby, spouse, significant other, job, etc; being the reason for needing to give up that intelligent, loving little ball of feathers that has trusted them for so long.  THINK ABOUT IT PEOPLE – PLEASE – BEFORE bringing a bird into your life. (Jan)

SPECIAL NEWS FLASH: 

Genny Wall of the American Federation of Aviculture (AFA) has issued a statement to all Pennsylvania Residents and all companion bird owners, that the Pennsylvania Fish & Wildlife, in conjunction with the legislative body, in Pennsylvania is acting on a law that will make the NANDAY CONURE illegal to own, breed, sell or hold in captivity in any way without a Grandfather Clause.  This means that all Nanday Conures presently residing in Pennsylvania will be considered illegal and confiscated.  Pennsylvania Vets will not be able to treat them without reporting them for confiscation.  They are being called a health and agricultural hazard.  This writer has not been able to find any instance of any flock numbers of Nandays in Pennsylvania, so I can only think that this is just another bird to ad to the list, along with Quaker Parakeets (Parrots) so that making all companion birds illegal will be easier to slide through the legislative process, at a date in the near future.

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