Although blackbird is good at singing, she is timid and neurotic by nature, and often bumps into cages, and her life is not good. Therefore, they are also called "immature baiwenhang" in the pet bird world. Of course, this statement is actually a misunderstanding of thrush. Mr. Thrushcross Turtle made a special analysis in the article Misunderstood Thrushcross: Kuzu is not an immature baiwenhang, and Thrushcross collided with the cage for other reasons. Interested friends can click on the article link to check it out.
Although it is a misunderstanding to say "baiwenhang", it is an objective phenomenon that blackbirds love to hit cages. Therefore, the tail and wings are often injured, and the bald tail is almost a sign of black birds in captivity. So it is difficult to raise a blackbird with full wings and tail. If you can still wear shiny black feathers, it will be even more enviable. Is that really the case? The wings and tails of blackbirds are black, and the feathers are black and bright. Is it really difficult? Actually, it's not. It is not difficult to keep herring feathers intact and oily. The key is to raise it well. Today, I will talk about how to raise a blackbird with plump wings and tail and shiny black feathers for the reference of interested blackbirds. The blackbird mentioned in this paper refers to the male blackbird.
First, how to raise a blackbird with full wings and tail?
Blackbirds' feathers break easily because they often bump into cages. Most people think that the reason for the cage collision is that the blackbird loves reincarnation and is an immature "baiwenhang". Actually, it's not. Cage collision is mainly caused by his timid, alert and neurotic personality. This kind of character is born with it and brought from nature. In fact, it is very necessary to be vigilant in the wild. After all, blackbirds are not birds at the top of the food chain, and there are many natural enemies such as various raptors. The blackbird living in the city also has to deal with the harm of stray cats and other animals. So once something happens, blackbirds will fly to high branches, which is an adaptation to the living environment.
After closing the cage, this alert and neurotic character has not changed, but the living environment has changed, so the problem of cage collision has appeared. For example, when you change clothes, when you hold something it has never seen before ... In short, as long as it is a stranger or something before, it is timid and neurotic, so its first reaction is not to pay attention to who and what, but because it is extremely afraid to fly away as soon as possible. Yes, they do that in nature. When they are frightened, they will fly away. This is just an instinctive reaction. But it forgot that it was in a cage, so we saw the phenomenon of "bang" hitting the cage. The more we hit it, the more afraid and desperate we are, and we will continue to bomb it. It is conceivable that if this happens often, how can its feathers be intact?
Blackbird is like a timid and neurotic child. It takes longer to adapt to a strange environment. In fact, just wait patiently for it to convey this "crazy" power. It didn't hit the cage because it didn't recognize its owner, but because it was too timid and afraid of strange things. Although Mr. Thrushcross Turtle's black thrush is very cultured, it occasionally collides with the cage. For example, a few days ago, the birdcage was monitored, and the camera scared it into the cage. However, in this case, it usually calms down after a few words with it. In other words, a blackbird can recognize its master's voice, but it loses its mind when it is afraid.
In order to keep the feathers of the blackbird intact, the most fundamental thing is to reduce the chance of it hitting the cage. So how can we reduce cage collision? Since the cage collision is due to cowardice, the solution is to practice courage and let it see more of the world. Take a small river as an example. In the first two or three months, it was semi-caged and semi-free-range, so it has been better. But this is also limited to family members. If you meet an outsider, you will still be scared. The performance in the cage is to hit the cage; If it is a free-range state, it will fly to a high place and then secretly look at strangers. Usually about two or three days, after getting familiar with this person, I am no longer afraid. In other words, blackbirds are only afraid of strange people or things, so long as they are familiar with them, they will not bump into cages. Knowing this, we can solve the problem in a targeted way. In short, it is to find ways to familiarize blackbirds with strange things.
A thrush friend keeps a thrush whose tail is bald because of cage collision.
If possible, it is recommended to hang the snakehead outside often, especially in places with heavy traffic, such as street and roadside. If you meet more people, you won't bump into the cage slowly. Never take punishment measures as soon as you see it hit the cage, which will only make the situation worse. Because blackbirds are smart and have a good memory, they will hold grudges when they are punished. There are many such situations, even if you meet your own master, you will "see people in ghosts." Timid and neurotic children are only suitable for comfort with patience and love.
If you run into a cage because you are afraid of something at home, there are two solutions. One is not to let these things appear in front of it; The second is to put these things in front of blackbirds. The first way is obviously centered on the blackbird. If it is afraid, we will take nothing and do nothing. In this way, blackbirds are born, but we will be very tired, and keeping pets is likely to become a burden and even a fuse of family disharmony. I suggest you choose the second method, that is, what is the blackbird afraid of? Just bring it something. As a result, it will hit the cage at first, but when it calms down, it will observe this strange thing by itself and gradually find that it is not dangerous to it, so it won't hit it next time. Doing so is actually a process of practicing bravery, which is to let blackbirds gradually adapt to more strange things; Otherwise, if it is not allowed to see anything because it is afraid of hitting the cage, the situation will only become more and more "disturbing".
In addition, the blackbird is a medium-sized bird, and the feather defect is also related to the size of the cage. It is generally recommended that the diameter (round cage) or the shortest side length (square cage) of the cage should not be less than 35cm. If it is too small, the blackbird can't turn around in the cage, so it is easy to damage its feathers, especially its tail feathers, and it is difficult to cover its wings and tail.
To sum up, snakehead didn't hit the cage because it was rebellious, but because it was too timid and sensitive. Choosing a cage of moderate size and regularly training the courage of snakehead can significantly reduce cage collision behavior, and it is not difficult to raise a snakehead with full wings and tail. Then, on the basis of full wing and full tail, how to breed black and shiny blackbird?
Second, how can we make the blackbird feathers black and shiny?
As a blackbird, black shiny feathers are the most beautiful dress of blackbird. At the same time, the color of feathers is black and shiny, which is also a sign of the health of blackbirds. Therefore, just like having a full wing and a full tail, raising a black and shiny blackbird is something that all thrush friends are looking forward to very much. So, how can we make the blackbird feathers black and shiny? According to Mr. Gui's breeding experience, there are mainly the following three methods:
1, ensuring balanced nutrition.
Feather is the cover of snakehead's body, and its color can reflect its health. Generally, snakehead lacking nutrition has a dull coat color; And the nutrition is balanced, and the coat color is generally not wrong. Take Xiaohe as an example, it will be exactly two years by the end of May this year. Among them, in the first year, it was carefully raised and cared for. In addition to the staple food, it often goes out to catch live food (small fish and shrimp) for it to eat, and its coat color is very black and bright. The next year, I was not so dedicated. I just gave some finished bird food and rarely went out to catch live food for it, which led to a poor coat color for a while and the contrast was still obvious.
So how can we achieve a balanced nutrition? It's not difficult to say. It is suggested to choose myna feed, myna feed or thrush feed as the main feed, and at the same time, we should often feed some complementary foods such as vegetables and fruits, as well as live foods such as Tenebrio molitor, earthworms and freshwater fish and shrimp. As long as there is no shortage of nutrition, the coat color can basically remain black and bright.
2, often bask in the sun
Birds have colorful feathers. Some are relatively simple, either black or white; Some feathers are more complex and colorful. The reason why feathers are different in color is that the pigments deposited in their bodies or the physical structure of feathers are different. The color formed by pigment is called pigment fineness (also called chemical color), and pigment is mainly synthesized by birds themselves or obtained from food. The color formed by the physical structure of feathers is called structural fineness (also called physical color), which is formed by the reflection and scattering of natural light by the microstructure of feathers. For example, we are familiar with the hummingbird, whose feathers shine with rainbow color or metallic luster, and the color will change from different angles. The reason is that the special microstructure of hummingbird feathers scatters natural light.
The black feathers of blackbird are due to melanin. Melanin is produced by melanosome in the melanocytes of birds, and then enters the feather epidermis with the growth of feathers, where it is deposited and appears black.
From the root point of view, the production of melanin is actually a stress protection response of organisms to ultraviolet radiation. Melanin protects deep tissues from radiation damage by absorbing or reflecting ultraviolet rays. In other words, ultraviolet rays in sunlight contribute to the formation of melanin, and the stronger the ultraviolet radiation, the more melanin is formed. We humans have a deep understanding of this. When the ultraviolet radiation of the sun is strong in summer, our skin tends to turn black, which is the reason. In fact, this is the skin's protective mechanism against excessive ultraviolet radiation, at the cost of our skin blackening.
Therefore, more sun exposure can promote the formation of melanin in snakehead, thus making its feathers darker. In addition, ultraviolet rays in the sun also have the function of sterilization and disinfection. Regular sun exposure also helps to clean pathogenic microorganisms and parasites on the surface of snakehead feathers. Feathers can be healthier without their interference.
Step 3 take a bath often
The blackbird is a bird that likes playing and bathing in the water very much. According to Xiaohe's observation, he washes almost every day, whether in winter or summer, as long as he is released from the cage. If you don't come out for more than two days, then when you come out again, you will basically wash it three or four times in a row, which shows how much blackbirds like to take a bath.
Bathing is good for snakehead. First of all, it can clean the body and feathers. Just like us, there will be metabolic waste dander (commonly known as "ash") on the skin surface, and there are similar things on the feather surface of blackbird, which is one of the allergens that cause allergic asthma and cough. Therefore, it is very important to remove the feather fragments of birds in time. Bathing snakehead often can effectively remove feather debris, and ectoparasites such as mites and feather lice can also be removed by bathing.
The second advantage of bathing is that you can keep your feathers black and shiny. The reason why the feather of snakehead shines with black metallic luster is that there is a tail gland at the tail that can secrete oil. After each bath, the blackbird will soak its mouth in the oil secreted by the fat gland at the tail and smear it on its feathers. Taking a bath every day is equivalent to applying grease to feathers once a day. It's hard to remember without shine.
The third advantage of bathing is that you can test the quality of feathers. Healthy feathers have the function of lotus leaves to avoid water. Water sticks to feathers and falls off when it is shaken. If feathers are found to be wet and stick together, it means that feathers are unhealthy and need to be nourished.
If possible, it is recommended to bathe the snakehead every two or three days. Frequent bathing not only helps to clean the body, but also helps to promote the black and shiny feathers. The method of bathing varies according to whether the snakehead is ripe or not. The blackbird, who is already familiar with it, can be released from the cage regularly every day and let the blackbird bathe by itself. If you keep it in a cage and it is not cooked, you can bathe the snakehead by soaking the cage, that is, soaking the bottom of the cage in water for about 3-5 cm. When the blackbird sees the water, it will jump down and take a bath. Under no circumstances is it recommended to forcibly bathe blackbirds. This kind of bird is timid, nervous and easily frightened. Once frightened, it may not want to take a bath for a long time. Moreover, compulsory bathing is also easy to catch a cold, which is not worth the candle.
Third, the conclusion
Many thrush friends say that thrush is an immature baiwenhang, and it is easy to bump into a cage. In fact, this is only caused by his timid and neurotic personality. Too timid and vigilant, the result is that it often collides with cages, which makes it difficult to keep snakehead in captivity. To solve this problem, we must practice the courage of snakehead and often take it to crowded places to "see the world". At the same time, if there is something that blackbirds are afraid of at home, let them see it often. Being familiar with the environment and objects can reduce the chance of cage collision, and it is no longer difficult to raise a snakehead with full wings and tail.
Many thrush friends also think that it is not easy to raise a black and shiny thrush. In fact, this is not difficult, as long as you ensure a balanced and adequate nutrition, take a bath frequently and often bask in the sun, you can do it. Feathers are keratinized products derived from epidermal cells of birds, and their quality can reflect the health status of birds. Dull feathers usually indicate that birds are in poor health and lack nutrition. Therefore, ensuring adequate nutrition is the basis for feathers to appear black and bright luster. The reason why blackbird feathers are black is that melanin and ultraviolet rays can promote the growth of melanocytes. So often basking in the sun helps blackbird feathers to be darker. The luster of feathers is related to the oil secreted by sebaceous glands at the tail. After each bath, the blackbird will dip the oil here and smear it on the feathers. Therefore, if you want the blackbird feathers to be black and shiny, you should always bathe the blackbird.
As long as the above methods are mastered, it is not difficult to raise an enviable snakehead with full wings and tail, black feathers and metallic luster.