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Suggestion for an AA wiki on parrot ownership

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GlassOnion

Biking along the boulevard
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I would like to propose an idea.. A thread geared to newcomers that covers all the basics and different views on successful parrot ownership. It would be a wiki that is continuously updated, where a number of us can contribute and offer varying methods that we practice. ie- diet: we would cover the basics and include blurbs on how some of us promote a diet heavy in pellets while others believe in a more natural pellet-free approach, etc.

The reason I suggest this is because I truly think this forum is one of the best resources for aviculture and its new and improved methods that continually evolve. (I was recently gifted with a guide on parrots that was published not too long ago, and it still contained practices that we would deem as outdated or have better alternatives for.) We have an amazing archive for people who want to dig through, but I think that if we made a master thread where we can offer a slice of all that we promote and discuss as a community, we would be able to get the information out there even more efficiently. The best thing is that because it would be a community wiki, we can offer a variety of unbiased information that newcomers can read through and take away what they feel works for them.

I know it would be a lot of work but the good thing is that this thread will continually be updated and its something we can contribute to as a community. What do you guys think? Is it too much? :p
 

aparrotly

Walking the driveway
Joined
7/6/12
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225
Location
New York State, US
Real Name
Catherine
What a wonderful idea! An overview of proper nutrition/diet and diet options with links for more info would benefit many birds, I'm sure. AA does seem to have the most information out there, but it's often scattered among threads. (That's a forum for you.) What other topics were you thinking about? I'm thinking:

  • Toys (this would probably be a category, not a single article): how different toys satisfy different needs (like puzzles vs. shredders), how many toys to provide and when it's appropriate to exchange old toys for new ones, toy safety, suggested materials and configurations for DIY, link to The Parrot Enrichment Activity Book
  • Cage information: correct minimum cage sizes and bar spacings, overview of brands, summary of cage styles, furnishing cages correctly (e.g., perches)
  • Veterinary care (another category): what makes avian-certified vets different from vets without avian certification; finding AC vets; what routine and common tests and treatments are provided during vet appointments; how to prepare a bird for a trip to the vet; information about payment plans, sliding scale prices, and Care Credit; avian medications
  • Better health at home (category): the signs and symptoms of a healthy bird vs. the signs and symptoms of an unhealthy bird; collected information about first aid supplies and administration; environmental dangers; care and environmental needs of disabled birds
  • The ins and outs of adopting rescue/rehome birds; how to go about rehoming your bird if rehoming becomes necessary (and how to determine if rehoming your bird is appropriate)
  • Behavior (category?): parrot psychology
  • Training: definitions of common approaches to behavior modification whether those approaches are bad or good (this serves as a baseline education), emphasis on positive reinforcement
  • Flightedness vs. wing-trimming/-clipping from an objective standpoint
 
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GlassOnion

Biking along the boulevard
Joined
2/8/11
Messages
5,275
Catherine, you basically covered everything that I would've said! :D Another one would be sexual maturity and mate bonding, and "Knowing you're a bird vs thinking you're a human."

We have so much information on here and we often have new members asking common (yet important) questions like diet, cages, behaviour, etc. and if this idea went through, we could help them faster and with more info.
 
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