COVER STORY: ZOO BIRDS
WHEN I started working in zoos in the early 1960s, the main source of accessible information on aviculture, apart from that provided by experienced birdkeepers, was a handful of periodicals and books such as the International Zoo Year Book. Today, many zoos have professional nutritionists. In those days, most didn't even have a resident vet.
The scientific model for bird nutrition was the domestic chicken: a short-lived gallinaceous bird reared for meat and egg production. Zoo veterinary science was in its early infancy. Exotic birds were alien to most vets. This was typified by one vet who thought a macaw's flushed facial skin (a natural physical response) was a sign of high blood pressure. (He was unaware that all birds have high blood pressure.)
Another vet on call to attend to an emu couldn't even recall the species he
