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Friday, November 30, 2012

The Budgerigar (AKA The Budgie or Parakeet)

General Info: This cute little parrot is one of the most popular of all captive birds here in the United States because of it's small size and easy upkeep. It's a great bird for first time parrot owners. Although it is well known as a parakeet or budgie, the bird is actually called a budgerigar (budgie is just for short, and the name parakeet is really a name that includes a wide variety of small parrot species). This bird is native to central Australia, living in terrains that include wooded areas, dessert, and scrub. The wild variety are a lovely green and yellow color with a light tan beak. Captivity and a whole lot of selective breeding has produced a whole rainbow of colors in these birds, including light-blue, white, and yellow. There are also two distinct types of budgies: The American budgie and the English budgie. The English budgie differs from the American budgie in overall size. The English budgie is a few inches larger. In addition, the English variety has a very distinct "puffy" appearance to the feathers that surround the beak (almost as if the English budgie is sporting a beard!).

Size: They are small birds under 10 inches in length. The average length is about 8 inches.

Lifespan: These birds typically live about 8 years, but have been know to live up to 15-20 years. Of course, a happy bird on a nutritious diet will have a greater chance at a long life.

Dietary Needs: All too often, budgies suffer from malnutrition. This is in large part because first time owners will be told that a simple seed diet is adequate for their budgie and they will not deviate from this seed-only advice. Seeds, high in fat and low (or even lacking) in many essential nutrients cause many health problems. A budgie will thrive on a diet of a MIXTURE of seeds, pellet, fresh fruits and veggies, and sprouts. Although fresh fruits are great as a snack every once in a while, veggies, especially those that are dark green in color, are fantastic additions to your birds diet. An example would be fresh spinach leaves (be sure to take out any uneaten fresh veggies or fruit after a few hours as they can spoil quickly. Spoiled food may cause illness in your bird). Have fun with variety. Who knows? Perhaps you will start to experiment with different types of fresh fruits and vegetables right along with your bird. Be adventurous!

Cage Size: For a single parakeet: no smaller than 18 x 18 inch cage. However the larger the better. They need 1/2 inch bar spacing.

For two or more birds we suggest a 30 inch wide cage or larger. They need lots of branches to perch on and a wide variety of toys for mental stimulation

Train-ability: These intelligent parrots are among the top 3 "talking" species of birds (the other 2 are the African Grey and the Yellow-headed Amazon). Usually, it is the male budgie that learns to mimic human words (you can tell which bird is a male by the blue cere. The cere is the area on the birds beak that contains the nostrils. The cere in females is brown). Their tiny little voices sometimes make it hard to decipher what is being said, but they are capable of repeating words that are taught to them. Budgies are very friendly and make great pets. Sometimes you must tame your bird to make them friendly toward you. This can be done by simply spending a lot of time with your bird for the first two weeks of his or her life with you (for example: 4 or so hours a day of holding, talking to, or interacting with your bird in any way). If you want to minimize the need to tame your bird, you can get a bird that is very young and hand-raised. In my personal opinion, the hand-raised birds are the very best for use as pets.

Health concerns: Watch your bird closely for health problems. Illness in birds is very serious by the time a problem is noticeable to you. This is because birds developed in instinct, in the wild, to hide their illnesses because predators tend to target birds that show illness as they are the easiest to capture. Common diseases/illnesses that budgies suffer from are tumors, diabetes, malnutrition, gout, mite infestations, polyoma and liver disease. "Scaly face", caused by mites, seems to be the most common.

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Umbrella Cockatoo

General Info: The Umbrella Cockatoo, native to Indonesia, is a large, gorgeous, white parrot. On this bird, the underside of the wings and the tail have feathers of a delicate yellow color. The tail feathers are short and squared at the end. The beak and feet of this bird are a wonderful contrast to the light coloring of the feathers as they are a grayish-black color. There is a ring around the eyes that contains no feathering. This ring is often tinged a light blue. The Female of the species often has eyes of a reddish brown color, whereas the male almost always has eyes of a very dark brown. The head holds a crest of feathers that lay flat against the head when calm and stand straight up when excited or frightened. This, in the wild, gives the bird the illusion of being larger than it really is. In this way, the bird may be able to frighten a predator or impress a prospective mate. In captivity, these feathers may play a perfect role in the comical antics shared between the bird and his or her family. It is (I say this from experience) quite amusing to see an Umbrella Cockatoo dance and "sing" with those "umbrella" feathers standing tall!

This bird is incredibly sweet and loving. It usually becomes very close to its family and will usually be especially close to one person in particular (often this person is the main caregiver of the bird).

It is important to give cockatoos a lot of attention and training. They get bored very easily and can feather pick if board or upset.

Provide lots of toys to chew and destroy Change them often to combat boredom.

Before getting an Umbrella decide how much attention you will be able to give on a consistent basis. Stick to a routine with the attention you give your cockatoo. Giving a young bird tons of attention and then cutting off the amount of attention will cause behavior problems and can cause feather picking.

Size: The average length is somewhere around 18 inches, give or take an inch or two. The average weight is about a pound and a half.

Lifespan: The Lifespan of the Umbrella Cockatoo is similar to that of many large parrots; about 80 years. This lifespan, as with all birds, can be lengthened or shortened, depending on the quality of care that the bird receives.

Dietary Needs: A high quality pellet is a good base to the diet. You may lightly mix this with some assorted parrot seed. Everyday, try as hard as you can to give your bird fresh fruits and veggies (stay away from Avocados and chocolate). Great fruits and veggies include apples, cantaloupe, grapes, broccoli, peas, carrots, etc. As is true with humans, the less processing the food goes through, the better. Pellet, though processed, is great as it is nutritious and has vitamins and minerals that may be missing from one or another fruit or vegetable. But there is nothing better than a scrumptious freshly sliced apple or a delectably sweet bite from a crunchy carrot.

Cage size: 36 x 28

Train-ability: These birds are very easily trained. All that is needed is time and patience. These birds are actually great acrobats, so it's common to teach them tricks, as well as the usual "step-up" (perch on your hand) command. Tricks include flipping the bird upside down or "dancing" to music. Teaching your bird tricks is a fantastic way to get your bird to trust you. It takes a lot of trust for a bird to allow you to flip them upside down. I remember my family's Umbrella Cockatoo. He absolutely loved to do his tricks. It really helps them to feel like a part of the family.

Health Concerns: Umbrella Cockatoos may be susceptible to the following:

-Psittacine beak and feather disease

-Fatty liver disease

-Obesity

-Bubblefoot

-Feather-picking

-Sarcocystis

-Cloacal Prolapse

-Poor eating habits (finicky eater)

-Miscellaneous bacterial and fungal infections

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Parrot Illness Symptoms

It is important to be an observant guardian, make an effort to get to know your bird's everyday, healthy behaviour so that you'll be able to tell when something is wrong. Parrots are masters in hiding an illness, they do this so that they wont be picked out by predators. This is why it is very difficult to tell when a bird is sick until he is very sick and often too late to be saved.

An observant owner will be able to see early signs of illness:

Excessive Sleeping: A parrot that is feeling ill may sleep too much, especially during the day. Sleeping on the bottom of the cage is a significant symptom. Look out for any odd changes in sleeping patterns.

Sleeping on two feet: A healthy parrot normally sleeps with one foot tucked inside against the belly.

Fluffed-up Appearance: A fluffed-up parrot may be trying to maintain his high body temperature and fight off an illness. Or it just may be too cool in the room.

Loss of appetite: You should know what food and how much your parrot eat each day. If you notice that your parrot is not eating or eating far less than usual then it could mean that the parrot is sick.

Change in attitude: If your parrot seems listless and not behaving normally or has become very cranky or limp then it is good to see a vet.

Lameness: If your parrot cant use his feet or hold up his head then there is something very wrong.

Panting or Laboured breathing: It can be sign of respiratory illness or overheating.

Discharge: If you notice runniness or discharge on the eyes, nares or vent then the parrot is ill.

Change in droppings: Your parrot's droppings should consist of a solid green portion, white urates and a clear liquid. If the droppings are discoloured and there has been no change in diet then there is a problem. If there is a pungent odour or the droppings seem far more liquid than usual then it is good to see a vet.

Debris around the face or on feathers: Indicates poor grooming or vomiting, potential signs of illness.

Bobbing tail: A bird sitting on the perch and panting will have a bobbing tail. This is often a sign of respiratory illness.

Messy vent: If the vent is crusty or damp with droppings then there is a problem.

Plan Plus Dental Plan

A Plan Plus dental plan is a great way for you and your family to enjoy discounts of as much as 50% off on dental services. Plan Plus is a discount membership program that offers its members big savings on a wide variety of health services, including LASIK eye surgery, hearing aids and chiropractic and podiatric care, as well as dental services such as teeth whitening. All you have to do is present your Plan Plus card to a participating health care provider and you can avail of the discount when you receive the service. All of the member's immediate family is allowed to use the Plan Plus discount card, whether they are living at home or away from home.

Here are some of the services on which you can avail of Plan Plus dental discounts:

Teeth cleaning for $17-$43 for children and $26-$59 for adults Full mouth dental X-rays for just $30 - $62 Periodic oral exams for $16 - $30 Emergency oral exams for $18 - $50 10% - 15% discount on certain specialist services including cosmetic surgery, oral surgery, orthodontics, pedodontics and dentures.

Plan Plus currently has a network of over 20,000 providers all over the country covering all plan services. All new members will receive a full list of providers with their membership kit. The kit also includes a fee schedule that lists all preventive services and the fixed fees the listed provider has agreed to charge. Fees, however, will be subject to change from time to time. For services that are not listed in the schedule, the member can avail of a 10% discount off the dentist's regular charges.

Apart from Plan Plus dental discounts, members can also avail of discounts on vision care services, hearing care services from audiologists and services from licensed chiropractors and podiatric specialists.

plan is a great way for you and your family to enjoy discounts of as much as 50% off on dental services. Plan Plus is a discount membership program that offers its members big savings on a wide variety of health services, including LASIK eye surgery, hearing aids and chiropractic and podiatric care, as well as dental services such as teeth whitening. All you have to do is present your Plan Plus card to a participating health care provider and you can avail of the discount when you receive the service. All of the member's immediate family is allowed to use the Plan Plus discount card, whether they are living at home or away from home.

Here are some of the services on which you can avail of Plan Plus dental discounts:

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How to Find the Best Dental Plans

Your dental health is important so you want to look carefully for the best dental plans. The first thing you must decide is whether you want a dental insurance policy or a dental discount plan.

Since most dental insurance policies are offered by employers this article will focus on the steps a individual or family can take to find dental coverage if it is not offered by your employer.

If you are looking for an affordable plan with low out of pocket costs for dental procedures you should start your search on the internet. Your objective will be to compare a variety of plans for benefits and affordability.

During your search you should find a website that will compare at least 30 plans. This will save you a lot of time and keep you from flipping back and forth between sites.

Once you find a website that will allow you to compare a number of dental options it is time to do some research to find the best dental services that will fit into your budget. Also it is very important while you are exploring your options that you take a look at the dentists practicing in your area.

In order to do this the website you are using should have a box that you can type in your zip code. This will allow you to view the plan specifics, dental savings available to you, participating dentists, and discount dental plans offered in your area.

Once you type in your zip code and hit go all the dental discount plans and participating dentists in your area will be ready for your viewing. If you would like to get a quick summary of benefits in spreadsheet form you can hit the compare all plans button.

To get a detailed analysis of each plan you have the option of looking at each plan individually. This will give you a complete list of all the procedures and the amount of money you will save. Also listed will be the dental clinics you can use with each plan.

Another good feature of this type of dental program search is that you can hit the dentist look up button to find a particular dentist. Just type in the name of the dentist and you will be able to view the plans on the list which are accepted by this particular dentist.

For additional information on an easy method to find the best dental plans on the internet keeping reading on to the next paragraph. The author of this article will give you a helpful tip.

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Dental Insurance Plans Are Your Only Option

You have health insurance but your employer doesn't provide dental insurance plans to their employees so you are on the search for your own. Luckily you are one of the smart ones that realize that dental health and hygiene is just as important as overall health and that they are intertwined. You can't have overall health without taking care of oral health. That has been proven over and over in recent years. The good news is that there are plenty of resources out there today that will help you find and select the right dental insurance plans for you and your family. The bad news is that it'll take two minutes. Okay that isn't really bad news, but hey, it will take a little bit of your time.

With the invention of the internet sites have been created by third parties that allow for insurance plan searching consumers to put their information in one time and receive multiple quotes. These sites are the fastest and easiest way of finding the most affordable dental insurance plans out there today.

If you don't like these sites for some reason (who knows why?) then your next best bet is to go to each insurance provider's website and request a quote from each prior to purchasing. Either way you choose to go; make sure you do your research and read the fine print before purchasing a policy for yourself or your family. With recent technological advancements and a little bit of reading you can find an affordable plan in no time.