An Aviary Manual For Bird Sitters
BY LAURELLA DESBOROUGH
Copyright Laurella Desbrough (eclectusbreeder.com).
All rights reserved by the author.
Most bird breeders and keepers have
no problem remembering and doing all
the tasks related to the care and
feeding of their birds, servicing
cages and equipment, and cleaning
their facilities. However, there are
times when the principal keeper will
be away from the facility due to
conferences, travel, illness or
other reasons. When this happens
someone else must care for the
birds. Since there are many
important details to this task, it
is extremely useful to have an
instruction and information manual
prepared. This manual becomes a
guide and resource document for the
interim bird keeper. Whether the
owner is away for a couple of days
or for several weeks, having such a
written manual is extremely helpful.
Preparing the Aviary Manual
One must consider what information
is essential for the person
substituting for the owner.
Certainly, the first consideration
is the food service: what is to be
fed, where is it stored, how is it
prepared, how much is served, how
are the food bowls cleaned, along
with serving the food. What
protocols are followed in term of
maintaining the health integrity of
the aviary birds? If there is more
than one set of aviaries or
buildings or if birds are set up in
several different locations, is
there a method for disinfecting the
service person's feet, hands and
clothing? What disinfectant is used?
How is it prepared? Where is it
stored? Are there special clothes or
boots worn for this work? How are
the aviaries cleaned? Are they
cleaned daily, weekly or different
levels of cleaning at different
times? Where are the cleaning
supplies and equipment located? Is
some sort of log maintained on the
aviary? Will the interim service
person be utilizing this log? All of
these questions should be addressed
in the aviary manual.
Preparation should include dividing
the various activities or topics
into different sections. Suggested
sections would be Food Service,
Aviary Cleaning, Bird Identification
and Cage Location, Important Phone
Numbers, Supplies and Storage, and,
of course, how to reach the owner.
One might also include a bird log
that indicates when a particular
bird left the aviary, whether it was
sold, died or took a trip to the
vet. In order to make the manual
easy to use, each section should
include simple sentences separated
for easy reading, written in large
capital letters and accompanied by
the appropriate photographs. The
purpose of the aviary manual is to
assure that the birds receive
excellent care and the bird sitter
can avoid serious problems. With
careful planning, the aviary manual
will provide the guidance and
information needed by the service
person.
Important Phone Numbers
Of course, the bird breeder will
want to leave phone and fax numbers
where he or she may be located in an
emergency or just to answer basic
questions. In addition, information
on the avian veterinarian's phone
number and hospital address should
be included. It may be helpful to
include the phone number of one or
more nearby trusted bird breeder
friends who are knowledgeable about
the collection and could provide
assistance in an emergency. A close
friend or family member’s phone
number and location may also be
helpful. Although the bird breeder
may not expect the service person to
order foods for the birds, having
these numbers in the manual, along
with the phone numbers of other
service providers, is very handy.
Bird and Aviary Identification
Important information to keep in the
manual includes bird identification
and cage location data. This makes
it easy for the service person to
correctly identify a bird or cage
when discussing the birds over the
phone with the absent owner.
Information on special care, such as
hens sitting on eggs or potential
problem birds, should be included in
the manual. Any information that the
breeder feels is important to convey
to the interim service person should
be included. It should be recognized
that everyone does not remember the
spoken word and everyone does not
remember what they have read. When
the information is written down and
readily available, the information
is readily accessible when memory
fails.
Photographs
Using photographs in the aviary
manual will help clarify
instructions for the service person.
For example, how much food is
routinely served? Written
instructions accompanied by a
photograph are very valuable in
making the information more easily
understandable. Inexpensive
simple-to-operate cameras are
available which make it less costly
and very easy to provide this
helpful addition to the aviary
manual.
Additional Benefits
Not only is the aviary manual
extremely useful for the service
worker, it can also be useful when
the bird breeder discusses problems
with the avian veterinarian. An
aviary manual is a handy resource
for the bird breeder when ordering
supplies, performing an annual
review of the operation including
cost analysis and when planning for
the future. It requires work to plan
and assemble an aviary manual.
However, the clear and detailed
information in an aviary manual
provides greater assurance that the
birds will be well cared for during
the short or long period when the
bird breeder must be absent from the
facility.
