Animals are important in my life!
That is why I would
like to share information with you through this column each month. Also, if
you have some ideas or comments you wish to share, please let me know
through the above email.
I would like to start
by writing about one of the smartest animals you can keep as a pet . . . the
parrot.
The parrot has a mind
which works in much the same way as that of a five year old child, which
means whatever you can teach that child you can teach your parrot . . . if
you spend the time with it. Just putting the bird in the cage and giving it
food and water is very boring for parrots. They like to learn new things and
they love to play with toys.
There is a nice
variety of toys for parrots, but if you use your imagination you can make
some good ones yourself.
Also, there are many
different types of parrots, and all of them seem to have their own
character.
But, one thing they
have in common is that they need the proper food to stay
healthy
and active.
In captivity, we tend
to put parrots in the group of seed-eating animals.
However, in the wild
they also eat insects, flowers, fruit, leaves, and the bark of trees. Only
in the winter, and during dry periods, do they eat seeds.
Because seed is
relatively cheap, it is used and sold as a complete food. But it lacks a
minimum of 21 nutrients. To make a good homemade diet for your parrot, mix
together equal amounts of seed and egg food (used normally for canaries).
There are many excellent egg food recipes on the internet.
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However, be careful. Many times parrots pick
out the seeds and don’t eat the egg food, which is very important in its
diet.
There is ready food available for parrots, which is a pellet
food and rather expensive. But the good thing is that they cannot choose
only the bits they like . . . they must eat the whole thing!
Besides the regular diet, you can feed
your parrot some snacks like fruits and vegetables (organic), plus meat,
fish, a chicken or steak bone, egg, cheese or small pieces of bread. But
remember . . . these are just snacks so don’t give them too much.
A seed-only diet
lacks Vitamin D, which can cause a change to the mucous membrane; bacterial
or mould infections; egg-laying problems, and feather loss.
In other words, many
problems can be avoided by providing the proper diet for your bird.
Pet Puppy Making
Legal History: In what
is considered to be a “first,” a judge in the U.S. issued a restraining
order for a dog against a human. It seems the pup, a golden retriever
named Riley, was kicked by the ex-wife of the pet’s owner when she went to
drop off their kids.
This is the first time a pet has been
given an order of protection under a new law just passed in the state of
Connecticut, and now many other American states are rushing to pass similar
laws to protect pets. Hopefully, other countries will get the message and
start taking animal cruelty more seriously.
(Editor’s Note: Ms.Karreman is the
newest member of the growing
Khronicles staff, and, in addition
to the pet column, she will contribute occasional feature articles for our
new Hersonissos section. An expert on the care of pets, she’s been running
Pet Planet in Hersonissos with her husband, Dimitri Kakoudaki, since moving
to Crete almost nine years ago. Prior to that, she worked as a vet
technician in a veterinarian hospital for 15 years. And, of course, her
hobby for the past 20 years was related to animals, too – she always loved
to ride horses.) |
