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BirdCast - "Pet Shop" is not a dirty word!

"Pet Shop" is not a dirty word!

03/18/21 • 6 min

BirdCast

Although many people are quick to condemn the pet shop trade - pet shops offer a valuable contribution to aviculture overall.
Firstly they provide a great visual presence to the general public, in that they show a variety of birds and also place these birds within the realm of more widely accepted domestic pets such as cats and dogs - how often have we all heard people say "set them free" - when in reality these birds are domesticated; just like a cat or a dog - and if they are set free they will simply perish either from starvation (because they are domesticated) or from predation (hawks, cats etc). Placing them alongside other widely accepted pets helps reinforce to the general public within the store that these birds are in fact not wild birds, rather birds that have grown up in a captive setting.
Secondly, birds in pet stores, particularly in the dedicated bird stores or the independent bird (and generally fish included) stores offer a showcase to customers of what birds are available in the local area, and give bird owners, or want to be owners, some idea of the variety of birds. It is essentially a type of window shopping. Many a time the Birdman Dad team take a drive to go and see one of the independent bird speciality stores in Perth, just to see what's there - sadly in Perth there are not really any bird parks or wildlife parks that have a great selection of birds on display. The exception to this would be Caversham Wildlife Park (listen in to our 2 episode visit to Caversham in Season 2).
Thirdly, the local bird store offers an outlet for those whose birds breed - whether intentional or not - a place where they can sell the offspring. Some bird stores will buy the young outright and sell them, others will offer a commission type arrangement. For a smaller city such as Perth, where the bird trade is so much smaller than in the eastern states or overseas; this aspect to the local pet shop is a great option. Not everyone wants to deal with "customers" face to face; add in the security concerns of having unknown people to your home and this "pet shop" option is often far more attractive.
Finally, and by no means exhausted in a list of reasons, the pet store offers a multitude of avian related products for every bird type kept - from aviaries, to seed, to avian supplements, to enrichment activities to a huge variety of associated products.
Added to this list; in the smaller, independent bird stores - the humans working in the stores have a great love for birds and in general an extensive knowledge concerning most things avian. If you are unsure of what bird would be best for you and your situation, and you are not wanting to attend a bird club, or ask anyone on social media; just have a quiet chat to the humans behind the pet shop desk. If you choose your time well; that is when the shop is quiet and the customers are not knee deep at the counter; you will find most bird pet shop humans are happy to talk to you about birds, their needs and what bird might be the best match to your lifestyle.
In Perth we do not have the huge selection, or volume of bird and pet stores compared to other cities. Despite being small there are still some independent bird speciality pet stores and it was one of these stores the Birdman Dad Team visited in today's episode.
The anti stress product mentioned by Birdman Dad in today's episode:
Quick Gel - a product created and distributed by Dr Rob Marshall of Carlingford Animal Hospital NSW, Australia.
https://www.birdhealth.com.au/quik-gel
Another similar product would be Vetafarm's Spark product:
https://vetafarm.com.au/product/spark-liquid/
or
D-3 Vita
https://www.pigeonandbirdproducts.com.au/online-shop/cage-aviary/d-3-vita-detail
or
Vita Stress
https://www.afrimash.com/shop/veterinary-products-and-services/vet-medicine/vita-stress-multivitamins/

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Although many people are quick to condemn the pet shop trade - pet shops offer a valuable contribution to aviculture overall.
Firstly they provide a great visual presence to the general public, in that they show a variety of birds and also place these birds within the realm of more widely accepted domestic pets such as cats and dogs - how often have we all heard people say "set them free" - when in reality these birds are domesticated; just like a cat or a dog - and if they are set free they will simply perish either from starvation (because they are domesticated) or from predation (hawks, cats etc). Placing them alongside other widely accepted pets helps reinforce to the general public within the store that these birds are in fact not wild birds, rather birds that have grown up in a captive setting.
Secondly, birds in pet stores, particularly in the dedicated bird stores or the independent bird (and generally fish included) stores offer a showcase to customers of what birds are available in the local area, and give bird owners, or want to be owners, some idea of the variety of birds. It is essentially a type of window shopping. Many a time the Birdman Dad team take a drive to go and see one of the independent bird speciality stores in Perth, just to see what's there - sadly in Perth there are not really any bird parks or wildlife parks that have a great selection of birds on display. The exception to this would be Caversham Wildlife Park (listen in to our 2 episode visit to Caversham in Season 2).
Thirdly, the local bird store offers an outlet for those whose birds breed - whether intentional or not - a place where they can sell the offspring. Some bird stores will buy the young outright and sell them, others will offer a commission type arrangement. For a smaller city such as Perth, where the bird trade is so much smaller than in the eastern states or overseas; this aspect to the local pet shop is a great option. Not everyone wants to deal with "customers" face to face; add in the security concerns of having unknown people to your home and this "pet shop" option is often far more attractive.
Finally, and by no means exhausted in a list of reasons, the pet store offers a multitude of avian related products for every bird type kept - from aviaries, to seed, to avian supplements, to enrichment activities to a huge variety of associated products.
Added to this list; in the smaller, independent bird stores - the humans working in the stores have a great love for birds and in general an extensive knowledge concerning most things avian. If you are unsure of what bird would be best for you and your situation, and you are not wanting to attend a bird club, or ask anyone on social media; just have a quiet chat to the humans behind the pet shop desk. If you choose your time well; that is when the shop is quiet and the customers are not knee deep at the counter; you will find most bird pet shop humans are happy to talk to you about birds, their needs and what bird might be the best match to your lifestyle.
In Perth we do not have the huge selection, or volume of bird and pet stores compared to other cities. Despite being small there are still some independent bird speciality pet stores and it was one of these stores the Birdman Dad Team visited in today's episode.
The anti stress product mentioned by Birdman Dad in today's episode:
Quick Gel - a product created and distributed by Dr Rob Marshall of Carlingford Animal Hospital NSW, Australia.
https://www.birdhealth.com.au/quik-gel
Another similar product would be Vetafarm's Spark product:
https://vetafarm.com.au/product/spark-liquid/
or
D-3 Vita
https://www.pigeonandbirdproducts.com.au/online-shop/cage-aviary/d-3-vita-detail
or
Vita Stress
https://www.afrimash.com/shop/veterinary-products-and-services/vet-medicine/vita-stress-multivitamins/

Previous Episode

undefined - Sharing the wealth of experience - aviary design and construction

Sharing the wealth of experience - aviary design and construction

Today's episode epitomises the core philosophy behind the very creation of BirdCast - the sharing of information between bird keepers and owners.
We are very grateful for today's guest who was willing to share the knowledge he has accumulated over many, many years in the keeping of finches. Our guest,Les, who lives in a tropical area of Queensland, Australia explains to the BirdCast team the aviary finch keeping issues particular to the climate in which he lives, as well as his own aviary design. He also shares with us all a wealth of information about how he looks after for the finches in his care.
If you keep finches, this is a "must listen" episode with many fabulous and informative hints and tips.
Les mentions several particular products and the club in his chat and these are listed below.
Again if you have any feedback on BirdCast we would love to hear from you!
Melaleuca Irbyana plant: https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=26403
Black Parrot small bird food with turmeric and fish oil: https://www.lauckemills.com.au/products/category/BGFIRCTN-birds/7973
Avian Pro Vita (bird pellets): Noah's Avian Health: https://www.facebook.com/NoahsAvianHealth
Queensland Finch Society: https://qfs.org.au/
Polly's Calcium Grit: a blend of shell grit, oyster and Canundra shell, vitamins and other goodies. Contact John (02)49383552 for orders.

Next Episode

undefined - Come Chat with Bruno Mars

Come Chat with Bruno Mars

The human fascination with birds and keeping them in their homes has been part of human existence for 1000's of years.
The surviving frescoes and mosaics of ancient civilisations such as Pompeii shows the prominence of birds in people's homes. Chinese historians suggest that birdkeeping became an established social event during the time of Qing (1644-1912) when the nobles of the Qing dynasty and the court eunuchs kept birds in their homes to fill in time, giving them something to do. So the notion that birdkeeping, as in keeping birds in the house with you, is a modern Western society phenomena is simply not true.
Today we chat with Bruno Mars and his owner, Ruby Smith. Bruno is a cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) aka weiro bird. Bruno is actually a re-homed bird and Ruby has owned him for some 10 years.
If you love "teils", or have your own companion bird, or are considering getting a companion bird have a listen in to what Ruby has to say about her 10 years of living with Bruno and how she lovingly provides this boy a forever home.
Birdman Dad will be posting video and photos of Bruno and Ruby on his Instagram page:
Birdman_Dad
and on his sub-reddit-
u/birdmandad
and pintrest
Birdman Dad
so if you are keen to see their pics we hope we have them up on a platform you can access!

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