natural pet

Feathered Friends

The Pros and Cons of Keeping Birds as Pets

by Julie Peterson

Kata May is a 30-inchtall, blue-and-gold

macaw. “It’s nice to come home and have a conversation with a snuggly bird,” says Joshua Luther, who took over care of the avian when he was 13 years old and she was 11. Now 17 years later, Kata May holds a commanding presence in Luther’s home in Columbus, Wisconsin. “She’s set up where our dining room should be, so my wife and I can sit and talk or play with her.” Luther notes that the cherished pet has a bit of a temper and can bend the bars on her $1,000 cage if she’s bored or angry. Considering the bird has a bite force of 1,800 pounds per square inch, it’s sensible to keep her happy, which could be for another 50 years.

Complex Commitment

Birds follow only dogs and cats as the country’s favorite companion animals, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Lovebirds, budgies and canaries have an average lifespan of eight or more years, but can live to be 20. Typically, larger birds live longer. Because it’s common for birds to outlive their owners, the Avian Welfare Coalition, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, helps ensure these pets are included in wills and estate planning.

Birds need to chew, and if they play outside their cages, must be kept away from hazardous items. Besides droppings, birds also create dander and dust. “Cleaning her cage and the room is a two-hour project every week,” says Luther.

There’s also the potty mouth. Kata May learned some unsavory phrases from her previous owner. She sometimes screams, “Shut the hell up!” or, “Turn that #@%&ing thing up!” to get the TV at the desired volume.

Babette de Jongh, an animal communicator and romance author in Bay Minette, Alabama, once knew a bird that routinely screamed, “Fire!” resulting in 911 calls.

“Birds can be loud,” says de Jongh. “They generally try to be louder than the ambient noise in the room.”

Luther agrees, saying, “You can hear my bird yell from a city block away.”

Happy and Healthy

Talking birds are delightful. Some mimic human language, others understand word meanings and use them appropriately. “Birds are as intelligent as a young child and as emotionally temperamental as a toddler,” says Mary Miller, who has raised budgies and the small- to medium-sized parrots known as conures at her home in Buffalo and has worked with other birds in rescue facilities.

Luther agrees that birds don’t just mimic what they hear. “They understand like a 2- to 3-year-old child. When we are cooking dinner, she will ask, ‘For me?’ or, ‘Can I have some?’”

Kata May also articulates her fondness for the pizza delivery person with, “I love you!” Then, “Mmmmmm, thank you,” in anticipation of a treat.

Even without words, birds are excellent companions. “If raised correctly and interacted with on a regular basis, birds can be very affectionate. They are highly intelligent and social animals, so they form deep and lasting bonds with humans,” says de Jongh.

Nutrition is key to a raising a bird. Leslie Moran, a Reno-based holistic animal nutrition and care consultant, is working to end avian malnutrition through the Healthy Bird Project, which conducts nutritional research on exotic species. Traditional grain and seed mixes lack essential nutrients and contribute to unbalanced protein intake for caged and companion birds. Moran’s goal is to move the food industry toward the inclusion of more wholesome choices. “Fresh fruits

and vegetables can be purchased at the grocery store, but parrots need specific, high-quality, tropical bird food, which can be hard to find,” says Luther.

Keeping a tropical animal healthy also requires bathing, temperature control, clean air and water, exercise and mental stimulation. Costs vary. Owning a small parakeet could include the purchase or adoption price ($12 to $65); cage ($30 and up); food; toys; and checkups (typically less than $200 a year). A large macaw might cost $500 to $5,000. Supplies, food and vet care could top $2,000 the first year.

Don’t Shop, Adopt

Birds are available from breeders and pet stores, but there are many needing adoption. Sanctuaries struggle to care for animals with such long lifespans and complex needs, including diet, space, intellectual stimulation and emotional bonding. Lacking proper care, birds may develop mental illness and pluck out feathers or bite, but happy birds can be snuggly, social and fun.

Rosemary Wellner, of Mountainside, New Jersey, has owned parakeets, cockatiels and lovebirds. Currently, she has two parrots, the oldest is 24. “Many people do not understand… but birds feel true attraction for their companions—and who doesn’t want to be loved?” she says.

Julie Peterson is a health and wellness writer. Reach out at JuliePeterson2222@gmail.com.

Cappy, a 23-year- old white-eyed conure, resides in

Mountainside,

New Jersey, with his lifelong human companion, Rosemary Wellner.

HERPES: CAN IT BE CURED?

From the Desk of Dr. Howard Robins at The Healing Center in New York City…

Imagine . . . You’ve got that first date with him or her. You’ve got an interview for that new job you so very much need. You’re getting married today. You’re meeting that new client, the CEO of the biggest account you’ve ever had.

And you wake up in the morning with a huge, red, ugly blister on your lip.

It’s a herpes outbreak—it couldn’t have picked a worse time to appear. There’s no way to cover it up. You couldn’t be more embarrassed. Do you cancel? What do you do? same thing that could have happened with Grandma could have happened then. If you’re diagnosed with herpes, you may be inclined to blame the last person you were intimate with, but unless you had a blood test proving you were herpes-free right before you were with that person, you may have already been infected.

Herpes can be dangerous.

The problem isn’t complicated.

As scary as this may sound, an outbreak on your lips or inside your nose can travel up your face to your eyes and literally blind you. Believe it or not, this is not an uncommon situation. Besides being painful, as it attacks the sensory nerves, and putYou caught a virus, the herpes virus, which comes in two variet- ting aside the small scar a lesion can leave (though most lesions ies, Herpes Type I and Herpes Type II. The CDC says that more fade away), herpes poses a specific danger during pregnancy. If than 50 million out of 350 million Americans have it. But it a woman has it internally, it may break out during birth, causing appears that those numbers are really reversed. In truth maybe the baby to be born blind. only 50 million Americans don’t have it, as most people aren’t blood-tested for it. Stress of any kind may bring on an attack or outbreak, as your immune system How can you get rid of herpes permanently? weakens for the moment. Please don’t believe the TV commercials that say her-

While there are many other types of herpes pes can only be suppressed. The drug manufacturers’ viruses, these two—Types I and II—are the most only interest is to keep you on expensive medication psycho-socially embarrassing ones. They’re ugly, for the rest of your life. Either they don’t know about painful and at times dangerous. Years ago we the treatment I’m going to share with you, or they’ve generally ignored cold sores (or “canker sores”). chosen to ignore and suppress its existence. That’s not the case today. Relationships have Intravenous ozone therapy uses ozone gas as a ended, or never even started, when it’s revealed or medicine, effectively destroying these dreaded viruses discovered that someone has herpes. While Type Dr. Howard Robins completely. Over the past 70 years, some 45,000 physiI is generally considered oral and Type II genital, cians in more than 50 countries have safely used it for it has been proven by testing that you can have this purpose, although its use has been suppressed in either in both locations. this country—obviously for the financial gain of Big Pharma. In truth, herpes is a very, very hard virus to kill. The good Here’s the truth about how you got it. news is that ozone used as a medicine intravenously will Believe it or not, Grandma might have given you herpes. Or it penetrate its defenses and completely eradicate it without the might have been your best friend. possibility of a mutated or resistant strain developing. It does this

Wait, you think. How is that possible? Isn’t herpes sexually safely, with virtually no adverse reactions. transmitted? What you don’t know could get you infected. Believe it or not, it’s even possible to rid your body of herpes

In truth, while herpes often is sexually transmitted, it can also so completely with ozone therapy that you will stop manufacturbe passed on by contact with silverware while dining or even ing antibodies for it (the body’s normal defense mechanism). sharing a water bottle at the gym. It’s that easy. You will test negative for it, as if you never had it. Cured!

One morning years ago, when she fed you your oatmeal, Grandma may have had a little brown or pink dot on her More information about this amazing, safe and effective tongue—not the full-blown blister that we all recognize as an treatment is available at OzoneWithoutBorders.ngo, on my outbreak. She tested it, found it too hot, blew on it and tested it website OzoneDoctor.net, and on my radio show, “Functional again before feeding it to you. Unfortunately, she transferred the Medicine with Dr. Robins,” which is archived but live each week on virus to you too. VoiceAmerica.com’s Health and Wellness channel. Questions? Call

Have you ever shared food in a restaurant with a friend, a my office at 212-581-0101. See ad, page 3. family member or that special someone? Ever shared a soft drink with a friend or allowed your date to taste your cocktail? The Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.