Life In A Cage Can Be Lonely
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday February 7, 1991
ROSS Perry does not subscribe to the view that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush - especially if it is a wild bird.
Dr Perry treats birds of all feathers at his veterinary practice at Thornleigh, but wild birds that have been injured are always returned to the bush if they recover fully.
Wild birds that are permanently incapacitated, he says, are better off in cages.
"I don't like having to destroy a bird that I believe has quality of life in a protected environment if there are people who want to take that bird on and care for it," he said.
"Birds with slight incapacities can still live very well and make great pets or great breeding birds in captivity."
Dr Perry kept pet birds as a child and, after qualifying as a veterinarian, went on to specialise in bird health. His patients range from cage and aviary birds to backyard fowls and native birds.
Birds suffer from a wide range of bacterial, fungal and viral diseases, ovary disorders and behavioural problems. Many of their problems are caused by the ignorance of their owners.
Recently he had to amputate a canary's gangrenous toes because its owner had provided it with unsuitable nesting material.
"It had very fine thread wound round all the toes and it was cutting off the circulation," he said.
Humans can catch many diseases from caged birds "and there are also quite a few diseases birds can catch from us", according to Dr Perry.
Chlamydia psittaci, common among wild birds and in young birds coming through pet shops, can be passed on to humans and is often not recognised by doctors, he said. It has been known to be fatal.
"Anyone who keeps birds should mention the fact to their doctor if they are being treated for a disorder which may not be responding to treatment."
Feather dander and feather dust can cause respiratory problems for bird owners who breathe in particles of dust from cages and dusty aviaries.
"These particles are not necessarily infectious but they set up changes which, over a period of years, will result in chronic lung disease, a bit like being exposed to asbestos."
Dr Perry's advice: "Minimise dust and wear a mask."
He is particularly interested in the behavioural problems exhibited by caged birds.
"We get some weird and whacky ones," he said. "We get many birds self-mutilating, chewing or plucking their own feathers. Sometimes they chew holes in their skin."
Most of these disorders, he believes, are brought about by the ignorance of owners.
"If we are not fulfilling their needs while we keep them in captivity, we are likely to get disease and behavioural abnormalities.
"Caged and aviary birds need things to chew on, such as natural wooden perches with bark on them.
"A lot of people put in hardwood perches or pipe perches because they don't like having to replace them every week. They are actually not fulfilling one of the bird's needs, which is to chew and to mutilate, so they turn on themselves."
Many birds are sexually frustrated.
"You get those poor birds that are reared alone from their own kind. They have sexual and companionship needs that we can't fulfil and they end up quite neurotic, introverted and frustrated.
"Very often they pluck their feathers, particularly during the breeding season."
Some bird lovers are under the misapprehension that paired birds will not talk.
"You only have to go to a fauna park or a zoo to see a whole aviary of talking birds and each one will have its own repertoire," Dr Perry said.
He sees birds of all shapes and sizes in his practice. He treats emus with great care - they can be quite dangerous.
"Unless you know how to handle them, you are putting your health at risk,"he said.
One of the most demanding surgical procedures he has performed was pinning the femur of a silvereye, a tiny green bird weighing about 10 grams that had been rescued as a nestling and reared by hand. It had somehow broken a bone in its leg.
With careful anaesthesia and the aid of a magnifying lens, Dr Perry gently inserted a fine hypodermic needle down the shaft of the two bone fragments to mend the leg. The bird made a successful recovery.
© 1991 Sydney Morning Herald