{"id":8807,"date":"2018-05-11T23:33:20","date_gmt":"2018-05-12T04:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/windycityparrot.com\/blog\/?p=8807"},"modified":"2018-05-11T23:33:20","modified_gmt":"2018-05-12T04:33:20","slug":"12-youtube-avian-influencers-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/?p=8807","title":{"rendered":"12 YouTubers For Parrot Lovers You Need To Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

At first I thought to myself “this’ll be fun.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Once I started the project it was a bit more difficult than I forecasted.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I originally started with 9 YouTube channels but some favorites needed to be included not simply based upon numbers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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For those who are not following on us Facebook or our YouTube channel<\/a>, you’ll note that we are ramping up our use of Fid-eo to better communicate caged bird care.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Our goal is not to replicate what was being said but to bring more valuable information to the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I get alerted to every new fid-eo about pet bird care from the list of experts I’m going to be exploring with you shortly.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I’ve curated a list of what I subjectively feel are the 12 top YouTube channels to watch for captive bird care.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Channels are reviewed in alphabetical order.<\/span><\/p>\n

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My goal is to identify these YouTubers for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re not familiar with them, I’ll share my thoughts on what they do and what they bring to the table<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The old joke is “because it’s on the Internet it must be true.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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I wish that was the case because unfortunately I see information being disseminated that can be harmful to the bird(s) in your home.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I use the term harmful<\/em> very specifically.<\/span><\/p>\n

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At Windy City Parrot, we answer dozens of one on one questions about captive bird care sharing the majority of these answers in our Sunday Birdie Brunch email<\/a> which has links to all the posts on our blog.<\/span><\/p>\n

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If I’m wrong I’m always ready to man up and have done so numerous times. <\/span><\/p>\n

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It’s important to understand that caring for captive birds and the universal knowledge base, required is just now beginning to fully emerge.<\/span><\/p>\n

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There still is doubt and some disorganization in the minds of avian veterinarians on many fronts.<\/span><\/p>\n

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One fact I’ve come to realize is avian veterinarians have never been given classes on nutrition based upon bird food brands.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Thus they tend to have a narrow view when recommending nutritional regimes for your bird.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Another common disconnect I see:<\/span><\/p>\n

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I’ve heard two avian veterinarians say “we’re not sure if dark or light is necessary to reduce prolific egg production”.<\/span><\/p>\n

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And yet I speak to my friend Josee Birmingham<\/em> who manages HARI<\/a> with responsibility for hundreds of pet and breeding parrots having a bat phone line to the University of Guelph Ontario veterinary school.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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I don’t make things up, I don’t guess.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I am a fact-checking hunting dog, <\/span><\/em>which goes beyond “Googling it”.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I go to seminars, club, and organizational meetings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I call veterinarians and the CEO’s of bird food-cage-manufacturers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Our livelihood hinges upon the accuracy of information we provide to caged bird keepers globally.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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If I have a question that perplexes me , \u00a0I will find a real expert to get the information from like Dr. Lori Hess who’s been an avian veterinarian for 30 years and is currently the spokesperson for Zupreem bird food<\/a> – as an example.<\/span><\/p>\n

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My point is that I’ve been driving for 50 years and still can’t do a brake job on a car.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This means just because you have had birds for 50 years, <\/span>you are not necessarily an expert<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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My review of each influencer is based upon what they bring to the table in terms of how much information of value they provide.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Unfortunately, we saw lots of bad information which we did not curate.<\/span><\/p>\n

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We eliminated channels that were simply about acquiring new birds, building aviaries and “how cute my birds are”.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Watch any YouTube creator below and you will walk away more empowered about engaging with that 200 bpm (beats per minute) feathered 99 million year old evolutionary dinosaur with wings sitting in your living room.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Here is my designated list of avian influencers on Youtube – \u00a0in alphabetical order<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Editor\u2019s note<\/b>: All YouTube channel data is current as of 05\/08\/2018.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Adventures of Roku<\/span><\/a>
\n<\/span>51,000 YouTube channel subscribers
\n<\/span>Joined Oct 12, 2015 – 15,019,772 views
\n791 videos<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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One of the more interesting comments is “you have to be concerned about Hawks and Falcons – my bird will never fly free” (like that’s something to be proud of).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fun feathered factoid: A Peregrine falcon can see a “mouse at a mile.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Doves are hard bills\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Not much of a threat to a hawk but a hook bill like the hundreds of feral monk parakeets we have here in Chicago managed to stay out of trouble in spite of the dense population of Peregrine Falcons in the area.<\/span><\/p>\n

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We keep telling you birds are smart but when you drill down some of the things we learn are amazing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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