How does a Bird's Lungs Work? By: Petey & Petunia Birds have extremely delicate respiratory systems. a bird breathes is circulated through the bird's body. The lungs in birds operate quite differently than those in humans Birds have two relatively small lungs and in the lungs are bellows-likeThese air sacs keep the lungs perpetually inflated. Bird lungs have an opening on each end through which air flows into the interconnected air sacs in the neck, chest, andMost birds have four paired air sacs, plus a single unpaired sac for a total of nine. Some of the air sacs also Birds require two complete inspirations and two complete expirations to circulate air through their respiratory tracts. Humans, by comparison, require one inhalation and one exhalation. There is a one way flow of air in their lungs...thus the lungs receive fresh air during inhalation and again during exhalation In the bird's respiratory system, air first flows through air sacs

that direct fresh, oxygenated air into the lungs where gas exchange occurs, both when the bird inhales and Why Bird's need better Lungs Bird lungs are much better at getting oxygen out of the airThis is important for birds, because they use up a lot of energy when they fly, so their cells need more oxygen to get the energy out of the food they eat. Also, birds sometimes fly very high up, where there is very little oxygen in the air. Birds can fly up that high without any help, because of their special lungs. The bird's respiratory system takes up 20% of a birds's volume (our respiratory system takes up only 5% of our volume). Birds breath much more rapidly than humans do. at rest requires 25 to 40 breaths per minute, compared with 12 to 16 breaths per minute for us. A canary requires 60 to 100 breaths per minute. Because of the way their lungs work, birds can even sing and fly at the same time. Respiratory problems in Birds

However, because of their respiratory system being so sensitive, it is vitally important that the bird's breath fresh, pure air. Toxins or pollutants in the air can quickly become a major source of problem and even death for the bird. Fumes, especially those from cooking and cleansers, can sicken and even kill house birds. Birds can inhale mold spores, those nasty little organisms that grow on surfaces. We can't see them, and usually don't smell them, but spores float through the air and into our When it comes to our birds, one type of mold seems to cause more problems than all others: If you have powder-down birds like Greys or toos, other birds could develop respiratory infections from the dust and dander of these birds. Compounds in cigarettes that are on smoker's hands can end up on bird's feathers', causing itching and feather pulling. same is true with sweat, dirt, food residue, etc. Not only smoke from cigarettes can be fatal to birds, but also

smoke and irritants from things like wood stoves, kerosene heaters, incense, exhaust fumes from vehicles and air Dust can contain spores and is a general respiratory irritantmountain air furnace duct cleaning Vicks Vaporizer, the medicated vaporizer contains phenol, aair purifier humidifier air freshener powerful disinfectant and bacteria killer. air cleaner assembly chevy it can kill cats and birds Human houses, closed and well insulated, are not designed for birds, whose intricate respiratory systems need fresh, moving air to stay in peak form. Fresh, pure air in your home or aviary is vitally important for the health of your pet bird. The Solution to keeping your Bird Healthy

Our Air Purification Systems remove up to 95% of the irritants like bacteria, mold and viruses from the air Using proven technology that literally destroys germs, mold and mildew,  We offer the only air purification system that combines ultraviolet germicidal light with ozone and ionization to cleanse the air. The Environmental Protection Agency says indoor air is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, greatly increasing the risk of illness caused by these irritants. What about HEPA filters? Our Air Systems do what expensive HEPA filters cannot. addition to removing airborne particles, OurAir Systems actually purify the air you breathe by killing bacteria. result is cleaner air � without replacing costly filters! Our Air Purifiers remove up to 95 percent of airborne contaminants and irritants including pollen, fertilizers, dust and pet dander that can trigger allergies. They allow you to breathe clean and healthy air wherever you are.

Find out more about our This week on Sawbones, it's Part One of our series of putting pet-centric illness on BLAST. This week, live from Seattle, we finally give birds their due. You can subscribe to their show right now on iTunes! Then tweet about or follow the show on Twitter (@Sawbones) so all your friends and family can be as horrified and entertained as you. Music: "Medicines" by The TaxpayersIn mid-2015 we moved house and so I had to make a new living space for the birds. Eventually I will build a custom bird house outside, but until that time comes, the birds are housed in the attic. It's not the biggest of rooms, but it's light, bright and fresh. The room has opening windows on two of the walls allowing plenty of natural light and fresh air inside. The room is closed off from the stair case, keeping any dust and dirt upstairs.I currently have 6 italian-style breeding cages measuring 120x40x44cm. They can be divided giving 12 cages measuring 60x40x44cm.During the 2015 season I used all 12 breeding cages, although normally I would only prefer to use 6-8.The cages sit on an aluminium stand with wheels and a shelf, which I made myself.

I have 3 large flight cages for resting and young birds. I made them myself from powdercoated (anthracite) aluminium and 4mm UV-reflective PVC. They also sit on a stand with wheels, making it easy to move them around for cleaning purposes. They measure 170x60x60cm each. For the young birds I place the perches on the left and right side of the flight cage - this encourages them to fly from perch-to-perch, getting more exercise and developing better.Each cage has one or two drinking bottles. These drink bottles work on gravity and don't have a ball bearing in them like common hamster bottles. The nipple is stainless steel so it can't be chewed. I find these work very well, birds take to them very easily and it means they can have a constantly clean supply of drinking water. Be careful though, don't just expect birds to understand how to use them. I always give bath water and other drink fountains to new birds, until I am 100% confident they use them. I have a plastic carrying tray which is very handy when it comes to cleaning and refilling the bottles.

My bird food is kept in large white bins with a removable lid that partially lifts. I bought these from the Ikea and the are perfect! The model I use holds around 25kg of seeds.My nestboxes were custom made by a friend. They are made from 18mm multiplex with a sliding lid. They measure:After each breeding round I gives the nest boxes a proper clean with Halamid D (chloramine T). I then spray them with an anti-mite spray (Ardap) a few weeks before using themThe large windows have outter shutters which I can roll down and black out the room if I want to. This allows me to control the light and thus mimic the season as and when it suits me. In the resting period the birds get around 10 hours of light per day. During the breeding season they get between 14-15 hours per day. There is a large 58w full spectrum TRUE-LIGHT lamp to illuminate the room. Although the birds get plenty of light from the windows, this lamp offers them that little extra during the darker days. It is connected to an automatic dimmer by Quiko.

The dimmer also controls a small dimmable bulb which allows me to mimic sunrise and sunset, whilst also acting as a night light.Along with the 4 windows which I can open for fresh air, I have added an air purifier. The birds are kept in our house, so this is very important for own health as well as the birds. The air filter has a carbon pre-filter, True-HEPA filter, UV filter and an ozone-free Ionizer.The air purifier came from www.progenion.nl and the model is PR-950UV. It has a digital display allowing me to control the fan speed, UV mode and a timer function. It really is a great bit of kit and I would never be without it now. The air smells fresh and inviting and the dust is really minimised and manageable. During the breeding season (at least when eggs are present) I limit the air purification to avoid lowering the humidity too much in the room. Low humidity (and high) is a common cause of DIS (dead in shell), so naturally that has to be monitored by the various hygrometers in the room.