You couldn’t say there is a more vibrantly coloured bird than a Gouldian finch. They can be found in the northern region of Australia which is a tropical area.  They live in the savanna woodland near the mangroves and water.  Unfortunately these stunning birds are an endangered species.  The Australian government said that as a best estimate the Gouldian finch population living in the wild is about 2500 mature birds.  Australia has banned the exportation of finches for decades.

The Gouldian finch is about 5” to 5 1/2 inches in size.  The male of the species has a more stunning coat than that of the female.  He also carries a longer center tail feather.

Gouldian finches are more trouble to breed and care for than breeds like society finches and the zebra.  If you are a first time owner then a Gouldian finch is not for you, especially if you have never owned any birds at all.

Like many other finches, the Gouldian finch has a lovely, soft chirp.  There aren’t many finches that like to be handled or held.  If you are looking for a pet bird to share in your family life, then the Gouldian finch is not the bird for you.  If you decide that such a beautiful bird as a Gouldian finch should be seen by you everyday, then buy them in pairs to allow them to satisfy their social needs as they are sociable birds.  If you are looking for a finch that sings, only the males do and not all sound terrific.

Colour variations of Gouldian finches occur ……. (more…)

Popularity: 42% [?]

A pelleted diet is the ideal diet for all types of birds.  When you feed your birds a seed exclusive diet they will tend to pick out the ones they don’t like and only eat their favorites.  This can make it difficult for an owner to know what essential vitamins and minerals their birds are missing in their diets.  Of course you can buy a supplement, but ingestion of the supplement can be dubious at best.  When your bird is fed a diet based exclusively on seed, there are health risks such as obesity, fatty liver disease and many other serious medical conditions. 

An owner is usually unaware their bird is ill, because as a prey animal, they know full well not to show any sign of weakness or illness lest they be thrown from the flock as predator fodder.  It is typically when the illness progresses to a dangerous level, or even death, that the owner becomes aware there is a problem.

When you feed your bird a pelleted diet supplemented by fresh fruit and vegetables and whole grains, you can be sure your bird is eating a nutritionally complete diet.  Each pellet is made as equally nutritious as the next pellet, no matter what the color or shape.  Birds can be picky about what they eat and with a pelleted diet you can be certain that even if your birds hate the color red or star shapes, he will be getting the complete dietary requirements to ensure a long and happy life.

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Popularity: 15% [?]

Until fairly recently, companion bird owners were offered a very limited choice in the food they fed their pets.  The only formulas available were seed mixes and birds were generally fed that.

Mark L. Morris DVM was the founder of Raritan Animal Hospital, which was only the second small animal hospital throughout the whole United States.  He discovered in 1928, that cats and dogs that were sick could benefit from a change in their diet.  What these changes were would depend upon what type of sickness the animal had.

It was here that Dr. Morris began the development of the “Prescription Diet.”  There were specific formulas for certain conditions and diseases to be fed to cats and dogs.  This tradition of animal nutrition continued with his son Mark Morris, Jr.  It was when he received a call from a director of a local zoo that he began the research that led to a line of food that could be fed to exotic animals and birds.  The tradition of quality and research goes on today with the third generation led by David Morris whose father is Mark Morris, Jr.

Dr. Mark L. Morris, Jr. was born on February 3rd 1934 and died on January 14th 2007 at his home in Topeka, Kansas at the age of 73. He was educated at Cornell University, and at the University of Wisconsin where he studied veterinary pathology and biochemistry.  He was co-author of the renowned book “Small Animal Clinical Nutrition.”  He followed in his father’s footsteps to develop nutritional needs not only for cats and dogs, but for captive exotic animals in zoos and captive exotics in the pet trade as well.  It is because of them that our pets are able to live longer and healthier lives.

Dr Mark Morris’ son David is now president of Premium Nutritional Products Inc which owns the ZuPreem line of diets for both exotic pets and zoo animals.

Popularity: 33% [?]

African Greys are one of the most popular breeds purely for their astonishing vocabulary capacity of 2000 words! Grey’s have the intelligence to speak in sentences and respond correctly to questions like any 5 year old. That said this should never be the sole reason for buying an African grey as like most parrots, they require the same amount of care and stimulation. 

We know most of you have probably come across Einstein the African Grey before but it has to be one of our favourite parroty videos. Enjoy.

Popularity: 35% [?]

Hello bird owners,

We have been extremely busy the past few days upgrading our servers to cope with the amount of traffic we are now receiving.

We hope these improvements will allow quicker browsing and submissions of both your comments and classified ads. If you have any suggestions or ideas you would like to put forth to the BirdTrade team please do not hesitate to leave your comments in reply to this entry.

Best Regards,

BirdTrade Staff

Popularity: 8% [?]