think parrots show 2014

[marie83]

I think we dont have mant brits here anymore on the forum but was wondering if anybody went this year?

I did and parted with a small fortune this year but more on that later

Think parrots was held at a different location this year, in some ways I think this improved it a bit, the layout seemed better and made it harder to miss anything, also the room they used for the talks were bigger so nobody missed out. There was only 3 educational talks this year and 1 talk/display, these seemed more heavily attended this year, im not sure if that was due to the change of location or because there was less talks people felt they could attend them all and not miss out on the trade stands. Previous years always felt very rushed if you wanted to attend all the lectures (which I did of course) .

The first talk was done by avian vet peter scott. The subject being avian first aid and advances in avian medicine. To be honest I was expecting much more from this talk, it barely touched the basics and I got very little from it. I've learned far more about first aid from a dvd I have, he did make a lot of emphasis on getting to a vet immediately though which I liked, I was just hoping for more detail- he talked a lot about stabilising a sick bird but not really any info on how to attempt that. There wasnt really any info on first aid kits etc either. I appreciate this is something we should all have and have a basic knowledge on how to use it but lets face it far too many pet keepers dont...
regarding the vet medicine advances there wasnt a lot of info there either but did touch on what equipment could be used to help reach diagnosis and that there was only 1 medicine licenced for use on birds. Fair enough , maybe a lot of people dont know these things but I was left wanting to know much more.... Otherwise the talk was excellent and very suitable for those with little experience/knowledge on the subject.

The second talk was given by rosemary low on feather plucking. Again I felt this lecture lacked the quality of previous years. Rosemary herself is very knowledgeable with parrots and I felt this talk could have been more in depth without scaring off the newcomers to the subject. I did enjoy the talk a lot but it did feel very repetative in places, a lot of emphasis was made on the importance of foraging, a little on bathing etc. Personally whilst various causes were touched on I think a lot more could have been said in the alloted time, particularly stress management, medical issues etc.

The third talk was by sally Blanchard, she has a wonderful way of talking to her audience, I enjoyed this talk the most. The subject was behavioural problems a serious matter but had the audience laughing at her case studies and her personal experiences. Various subjects were covered from cockatoos chasing toes to screaming. Again I personally didnt get any new info from it but I do feel this lecture was excellent for new parrot owners or those experiencing problems. The only downside is she supports wingclipping with owners that dont feel they can manage a flighted bird.

As for michael simmons from a world of wings and his flight display im afraid I missed the whole thing, I was having a debate with greg glendal about wing clipping at the time, I say a debate but it wasnt really a debate since we both flat out disagree with it.

money money, I spent a small fortune on the trade stands, food, toys, disinfectants oh and a massive bargin on a liberta cage for harlie. The cage didnt quite end up being what I thought though, it looked loads bigger than her currant cage at the show when in actual fact its the same size inside, just the measurements differ slightly- next time I take a measuring tape instead of using my inaccurate eye measurements lol. Even stood side by side with her current cage it still looks bigger so just goes to show how looks can be deceptive.

I do wish they would put the show more central in the country though to give everyone a better chance of attending, we did a 6 hour round trip.

[marie83]

Just wanted to add, I had a chat with neil forbes whilst I was there, he is one of the top avian vets in this country. I just wanted to say for anyone struggling to find 24 hr care for their birds in case of emergancy that his vets always have an avian vet on duty at all times and if your not registered there they will see you if you call up although their fee is significantly higher for people who have a regular vet elsewhere.

[Wolf]

Hi
I live in the US so it is unlikely that I will ever go to this meet in the UK, but I wanted to thank you for doing such a good job of telling us about it. Made me wish that I could have gone to it.
Thank you for sharing this with us.

[Pajarita]

Yes, indeed, I second the comment! Great and very comprehensive review, Marie! I am always so envious of people attending these events as I never seem to find the time for it but I often hear the same comments you made from other knowledgeable bird keepers, namely that the lectures are only good for people with no or very little knowledge and do nothing for the better-informed. But meeting these learned people on parrot keeping might be worth the effort of attending.

[JaydeParrot]

I'm from the UK and really wanted to go (I saw the advertisement in PARROTS magazine), the distance put me off. Glad to hear it was good though, is that the only humane bird show on in the UK? There's loads of other bird shows like Stafford but youtube videos mention that those kind are just giant markets for breeders to sell their unsold stock, sick, disturbed and wild caught birds.

[marie83]

I'm from the UK and really wanted to go (I saw the advertisement in PARROTS magazine), the distance put me off. Glad to hear it was good though, is that the only humane bird show on in the UK? There's loads of other bird shows like Stafford but youtube videos mention that those kind are just giant markets for breeders to sell their unsold stock, sick, disturbed and wild caught birds.

Ive been to both newark and stafford which are both rubbish imo, lots of "under the table" selling going on etc, no education. They are basically just trade and personally I wouldnt go back to either of them. I havent been to any others apart from think parrots every year its been held but they are definitely worlds apart. I'm not sure where your located but I would certainly consider a car share there and back if we go next year. I've 2 seats in the car and possibly a 3rd smaller person if you dont mind it being cramped.

[marie83]

Yes, indeed, I second the comment! Great and very comprehensive review, Marie! I am always so envious of people attending these events as I never seem to find the time for it but I often hear the same comments you made from other knowledgeable bird keepers, namely that the lectures are only good for people with no or very little knowledge and do nothing for the better-informed. But meeting these learned people on parrot keeping might be worth the effort of attending.

Definitely get yourself to one if you can find a good one at some point, its a good day even if you dont learn much extra from it. I know what the other people are saying about the talks though, its a shame really as the talks the previous two years seemed to include a bit for everyone rather than just beginners or less educated people.