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Wing Tips

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Bird Care Tips to Make Life a Little Easier

ball.gif (1653 bytes)On Almonds

Submitted by Larry Gasner

Almonds are a favorite bird food, a great source of calcium and are relished by macaws in the wild. Medium birds, such as African Greys, prefer shelled and halved almonds, and the empty shells make fun chewies. Large birds shell their own. One unshelled almond per day for one year (365 nuts) is about 3 pounds.

Almonds are cheapest in early January, when stores clear out bulk holiday nuts (about $1 per pound). I stock up and buy 6 pounds per medium bird (2-3 nuts per day) and 9 pounds per large bird (3-4 nuts per day). I store them in 5 quart ice cream buckets (about 4.5 pounds each) and freeze treat each bucket twice to eliminate insects.

 

ball.gif (1653 bytes)Removing Insects from Seeds

Submitted by Larry Gasner

Little Moths were flying around my house and I identified their source as sunflower seed infestation.  I buy sunflower seeds in a huge bag and immediately repackage them into reused 5 quart ice cream buckets.

I solved the insect problem by freezing each container for 24 hours in my kitchen refrigerator which killed any insects and their larva.  I then waited two weeks for any remaining insect eggs to hatch and gave each container another treatment.  I have found freezing to be as effective for removing insect infestations from other nuts, pellets and freezable foods, as well.

 

ball.gif (1653 bytes)A Toy-Riffic Idea

Submitted by Larry Gasner

My birds love to destroy chewable wood blocks.  I retrieve discard 2x4 (and other sizes) new lumber pieces from construction projects, carefully avoiding any pressure treated" wood which is toxic.

I use a crosscut miter saw at about an 11 degree angle to make a slanted cut.  I flip over the board and make another cut to get a triangle block which tapers from about 1.5 inches at one side down to a point at the other side.  I drill a pilot hole at the center of the 1.5 inch side and screw in a large threaded eyelet.  I then thread a chain through the eyelet and hang the chain in the birds cage.

The little birds remove the tips from the blocks which are then moved to a larger bird's cage for total destruction.   When a block is gone I screw on another.

 

If you have any helpful hints to simplify and ease the duties of birdkeeping please

Email them to me with your name and I will place them on this page.