Dear Parrots magazine,
I am in total agreement with Sally Blanchard’s comments in her article “Healthy Feathers” in April’s edition of Parrots magazine, that nutrition through a good diet has a profound effect on the quality of feathers. But some facts seem to have got muddled when it comes to diet and its effect on feather colour in parrots.
Dear Parrots magazine,
I recently visited a friend of a friend who had a Hahn’s Macaw, which was kept in their main living room. But I was surprised to see the bottom of his cage was very dirty with debris and droppings, and clearly this elderly couple had a problem keeping the cage clean.
Dear Parrots magazine,
I read with great interest the letter from Olivia in the March issue, with regard to hazards around the house following an article by Megan Matthews previously.
Dear Parrots magazine,
About six months ago, I rescued a pair of Peach-faced Lovebirds from an elderly couple who were having problems, after a neighbour told me about them. The birds were in a dirty cage with a single dowel perch, and were clearly not being looked after properly. They were being fed sunflower seeds and millet and their feathers were scruffy and not clean. The couple were very elderly and could not cope, although said they had these birds for the past five years. The husband’s health had deteriorated and his wife was not much better. I said I would take them on as I already have some Peach-faced in an aviary and that seemed to make them happy.
Dear Parrots magazine,
My city of Hamilton, Ontario first made a commitment to parrots in the 1920s, when the animal house at Dundurn Castle, a historic neoclassical mansion, was transformed into an aviary. Many people have fond memories of seeing the birds in their Victorian-styled cages. Hamiltonians would visit the castle just to see the various parrots and finches. As Dundurn Castle faced extensive historical renovations in the 1990s, the birds were removed from the location they had called home for over 70 years. The City of Hamilton then decided to adopt a policy of benign neglect, eliminating all paid aviary positions and giving the care of parrots and perching birds to a group of dedicated volunteers. Henceforth, funding for the birds was reduced to minimal.
Dear Parrots magazine,
In the last issue of Parrots Magazine, in the Letters Section, Rosemary Low took issue with a sentence I had written in my previous Red-fronted Macaw personality sketch article. When I suggested that the purchase of a Red-fronted Macaw pet is a ‘significant statement’ a pet owner can make for world parrot conservation, I was told, “What possible contribution to conservation is made by such a purchase [of a Red-fronted Macaw pet] Can you explain?” Of course I can explain, and I truly appreciate the opportunity.
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