Pet Fanciers Turning to Fine Feathered Friends

America is for the birds, literally. Some veterinarians and avian authorities estimate there may be as many as 200 million pet birds--nearly double the combined number of cats and dogs.

And the bird population is expected to continue its rapid growth of the past several years.

“There is no question there is huge growth in the pet bird population,” said Dave Dufour, a spokesman for American Assn. of Animal Hospitals based in South Bend, Ind. “We can see it through the high demand for information about pet birds.”

He and others involved in treating animals say the pet bird phenomenon developed because of restrictions on dogs and cats in apartments and condominiums, the increase in the number of childless couples using birds as substitutes for children and the popularity of the prancing cockatoo on the “Baretta” television show.

All pets combined, according to the pet food industry, are responsible for $7 billion a year in business, including food, health care, grooming and the cost of the creatures themselves. The portion spent on birds is estimated at $1 billion.

In addition to their companionship, birds provide an interesting hobby and a source of income to many breeders, who can find ready markets for the birds among private buyers as well as among outlets such as Frank Miser’s Magnolia Bird Farm in Anaheim.

Magnolia Bird Farm, considered one of the nation’s largest bird businesses, every year buys birds from 1,700 people and sells to 300 pet shops throughout the country. It has 22 employees and grosses $4 million a year.

The fascination for exotic birds has prompted breeders to concentrate on parrots and macaws rather than on love birds and canaries, according to Dick Schroeder, former president of the Long Beach Bird Breeders Club and now vice president of the 2,000-member Avicultural Society of America, a group that promotes the study and breeding of birds.

Schroeder contends, however, that “the day is coming when this country won’t import exotic birds because deforestation in many countries is reducing their bird populations and forcing bans on exports. Breeders here are taking note of that and are preparing for the bird demand.”

He says there are 50 bird-breeding clubs in California alone and that there are at least 20,000 breeders nationwide. The 500-member Orange County Bird Breeders Club is the largest in the country, he said.

The soaring popularity of birds as pets seems to have caught veterinarians by surprise, however.

“I can honestly say there may be only about 15 (of the 4,000) veterinarians in California who are fully knowledgeable about bird medicine,” said Dr. Walter J. Rosskopf, a Fountain Valley veterinarian who specializes in avian medicine.

Dr. Alan Fudge, a Northern California veterinarian who is immediate past president of the worldwide, 1,500-member Assn. of Avian Veterinarians, concurs.

But, he said, “the old adage that a sick bird is a dead bird is starting to change, if for no other reason than a demand by pet bird owners for medical care.” Some pet birds cost hundreds and thousands of dollars, he pointed out, “and when you have that kind of investment, you want to protect it.”

The 5-year-old avian veterinarians association points out in its literature that although more veterinarians are now taking classes in bird care, there are many areas of the country that do not have anyone practicing avian medicine.

There is no question, reports Dr. Richard Shackelford, president of the Southern California Veterinary Medical Assn., that most veterinarians are not equipped to treat birds.

“Most of us had little training in school and had to find our way through special classes or by seat-of-the-pants training,” admits Shackelford, who says that some veterinary schools are changing their curricula to add avian medicine.

Further, he said, “pet owners wait until their bird is practically at death’s door before getting help because they don’t know much about their pet and fail to recognize the bird is having a problem.”

Part of the difficulty, he said, is that birds tend to hide their illnesses, a method of survival in the wild, where other birds will attack the sick ones. Everyone doing business with birds must do some homework, he believes, such as attending classes conducted at UC Irvine by Mission Viejo veterinarian Kendal P. Svedeen, an avian medicine practitioner who often gives lectures at veterinarians’ conventions.

Svedeen, a licensed falconer whose veterinary practice is 80% birds, said the 50 students in his class include veterinarians, pet shop owners, breeders and owners. Because more interest has been expressed, he said, a separate class will be offered in the spring for veterinarians.

Christine (The Bird Lady) Davis also has a bird practice--she tames, trains and gives lectures about birds to owners looking for help in adapting to their pets.

“People try to approach a parrot like they would a dog, and that doesn’t work,” said Davis, a former trainer for the parrot show at Lion Country Safari in Irvine. “Birds have a much more developed self-image because they’re still wild animals and remain individualists.”

Despite that quality, most birds offer the same kind of companionship that a dog or cat can, said Dr. Aaron Katcher, a psychiatrist studying man-animal relationships at the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school in Philadelphia.

“Talking to a pet is less stressful than talking to a human,” he said, “and when you talk to a bird and it answers you, it isn’t the words you say, but how you say them that’s important.”

One of the reasons for the study, Katcher said, is the increase in bird ownership and a decrease in dog ownership. “We find that a bird, like a dog, can be as helpful to people during a crisis such as a heart attack. Birds, too, can have a calming effect.”