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Relax. It's over to the Vector,
Brandon and Mark.
Welcome to the Brendan here with Mark,
Entertainment. Mark Just listening to the intro
entertainment. We've got to entertainment a bit more.
How are you, Mark? I'm great, Ben and
I'm really really well.
Excellent. Well,
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What more could you what, Mark? Make you
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Well, it would if I was supporting speaker
definitely makes me feel good inside. Yes.
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And with that, Mark, enough have advertising in
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to pay for all our costs.
Let's jump into news items, Mark and
I like the 1 I have marks. So
I'm gonna use,
do at my 1 first.
Ants using
antibiotics mark
Ads recognize
infected wounds and treat themselves with anti.
Biotic.
I love this. Science news markets it's it's
a a little study that was done
regarding the, and I'll butcher the name of
these ants marker,
meta metabolism amps,
matter.
Ants,
which are widespread
south of the Sahara,
and they have a pretty narrow diet mark
these ants only eat. Termites.
And as you could imagine that termites
do not like to be eaten, so
they have pretty powerful ama and they chomp
on some of these ants. So if the
wounds become infected Mark,
they found that pretty The ants have developed
a sophisticated
system where they can distinguish
between non infected it and infected wounds,
and they treat the infected wounds, mark, the
ants with antibiotics.
So which they produce themselves.
So I think this is pretty amazing. Isn't
it? So they've I know I agree with
you. I think it's out damp amazing. And
and and
and the fact that they they
recognized by changes in the the nature of
chi
the degree of damage and the nature of
the pathogen that might be infecting animals and
they
apply
antibiotic laden
well, I suppose they chew it up and
spit it out onto the wound.
Yep. That is
Jesus,
I think. I think this article says that
only humans and ants are known to
provide care wound care of this
sort of this sophistication. It... It is amazing.
Yes. And they take antibiotics from the meta
pleural gland mark, As you well know, the
meta pleural gland is located on the side
of their thor.
And the secret creation apparently contains 112
components,
half of which have an
microbial or wound healing effect and
researchers have found the therapies, highly effective the
mortality rate of individuals infected
was reduced by 90 percent mark. So there
we go. Interestingly enough mark, they mentioned in
the article that
1 of the, prom
pathogens mark in these wounds is pseudo minus.
I know. And
which is reason why they were undertaking this
study because obviously, they're looking at these secretions
and trying to work out new,
potential anti microbial compounds.
So I thought there was a amazing little,
article there mark you were correct. That is
outstanding and and I can't wait today when
I get some
antibiotics.
Yes.
And
even better is, it's from the test the
sources from the University of Was mark.
And,
what more could you want? The University of
Words?
I want to head over there and
look at this study. So what have you
got Mark? Well, minds a very approximate topic
given that I've been doing some work with
Crocodile,
Queensland
wildlife life officers
investigate
a particular case where a crocodile
leap
into fisherman tin
he narrowly escaped a attack north of Mckay
in North Queensland.
He's fished the spot for decades. Like, you
need to stop that.
You need to explain what a tin is.
How what a. Doesn't it doesn't everyone around
the world. Know what a 10 is.
No.
Okay. A 10 years, a small,
generally,
aluminum water.
Employed by Australians to
go into est
locations for the purposes, primarily
of fishing and sometimes drinking.
Yes.
So a little a little water, a little
a little boat that's made of, you know,
metal or around, aluminum and hence the name
Tin. Timmy. Yes. Go ahead Mark.
So l intrepid fishermen,
who demonstrates 1 of the characteristics of many
of these attacks.
Familiarity with the area. I think familiarity breeds
confidence and contempt that sometimes people
do these things often and Are not attacked
by crocodile that they keep doing them,
maybe a little bit dangerously in the expectation
that they will never be attacked in obvious
the some days.
The crocodile decide today is the day.
The man jump, then jumped the crocodile after
the crocodile jumped in the boat,
and jumped over it to get to the
bow
so that he could retrieve the anchor. I
suppose he's
like thinking. I don't know what I would
have just
jumped over the crocodile to get the anchor
just since like a remarkably
She trying to pull up the anchor so
he could head off or donkey the product
on the head with you eyes.
The crocodile as he's being jumped over pivoted,
over unbalanced and fell back into the water
and bent the rails of the side of
the boat as he did so.
Look Brandon, I think that 1 of...
You know I've
come into close contact with a number of
crocodile up here. We've been catching them. And
they are pretty keen to get away from
people in most instances
unless
they think there's a meal in it for
them. And
I worry. Not... I'm not accusing of this
fisherman of having done anything,
but if efficient people in general,
cutting their fish, tipping
bait over the edge, then Crocodile learn,
that that that's an easy meal, and that
at a location they should hang around for
a meal that's not gonna cost them a
lot, A lot of energy.
And sooner or later,
if they keep finding food that's falling out
of boats, they're gonna think,
maybe I should check what's going on in
that boat.
And so, yeah, I think
this story just makes us all think that
don't get comfortable and in crop country, practice
crop safety and certainly,
make sure that any bait or waste
waste
the fish as they filtered,
the remnant bits are not just tossed overboard
so that the crocodile becomes familiar with
with bo as a source of food, make
sure you take them. I think the same
thing happens around the world with animals like
bears in North America that once they become
familiar with humans as a food source, they
become dangerous. And so let's just let. Let's
just not let it happen.
Yes. And be careful in a tin mark.
And
while you're were chatting there, I've, I've looked
up the definition of Tin,
in the Oxford
dictionary, and it says it's a informal Australian
noun, and it has 2 main men Mark
as as you and I will know. A
small boat with an aluminum hull as who
chatting about now, but also a can of
beer. There's a lot of people would know
and their overseas listeners.
You know, that the old catch trays let's
crack open a tin mate. Is what the
their quote is in the dictionary there. So
there we go. And interestingly
enough Mark,
the mass production
aluminium run about,
was very much an Australian
invention. That
should be proud. It can be traced back
to a New South Wales builder Terry Quan.
I called to the sea music museum. Wow.
There we go. So you'll learn something every
day, Marc.
So, yeah. So be careful in new tin.
Maybe maybe don't go out in a tin
in
cro infested waters would be my recommendations. Although,
I think
it's probably a penny that you head out
in... Is it?
Yes. It is.
Well, I,
I was gonna say Rest my case, but
hopefully not.
Yeah. Be careful, Mark.
And
keep hold of your anchor when you're are
out in opportunity that's all I can say.
So let's jump into my main topic, Mark
this week. I'm going to quiz you about
mark's
5
top tips concern in
sulfur crest cock
in a veterinary hospital. So this is a
fairly specific
top here mark so
what's specific amount. It is specific. Definitely specific.
But and
of I've listed 5 for the sake of
B, But there's a whole bunch of things
we can talk about with sulfur roasted cock
two's and
and it is a peculiar
Australian
thing to see them as frequently as we
do. I know they I kept around the
world and other
trains or see them. But
they they are a a particular
case of of pet here. And and I
thought there might be some tips that we
have
about the way that we think about them
and look after them that might be applicable
so These are 5 of my ideas.
Okay. So
let's go with number 1 Mark.
Number 1 is to get a behavioral hand
out completed if at all possible.
Now I've the reason, you know, more broadly,
I like to get some those hand outs
and questionnaires
filled out before we do a consult with
many of our art animals, particularly the first
time and particularly for complex problems.
And I find that sulfur christian cock consults
fall into this category more often than average
across their unusual species.
I think that they have a number of,
behavioral
abnormalities
that often feedback into their health.
And if you can get a handle on
those things at, the very first time
you get to see 1 and be aware
of it before they come in,
you're gonna be a step ahead also,
handling the way that you handle the animal
when it comes to the hospital,
can be affected by the answers to those
questions. So
knowing that a cock 2, I've had a
case where,
a cocktail was dragged from its very small
cage to be put in a large larger
enclosure.
With gloves and
unsurprisingly, that the poor formed a permanent
disinfection
for
leather things in the shape of hands and
fingers. And
And, yeah,
obviously, if you knew that in advance,
definitely,
don't be trying to get that bird out
of the cage with your gloves on.
Find some alternate means,
tau or
something else so that the bird is less
distressed. So, yes. Number 1, get a behavioral
hand out
questionnaire
completed if at all possible.
Great. Idea, Mark. Now, I'll stop you before
number 2 there. My
question is, should these
birds be kept as a bed?
Questions without notice I've gladly accepted.
That that no. No should not be.
And and look at the this... You you
raised the paradox
of the the Avian
veterinarians professional life, that
that I think
that many of the birds that are kept
as pets
Have their quality of life compromise that their
life in captivity is less than it would
be otherwise. And they are just so poorly
to captivity.
That they currently be a small
chime
of the life they would have in the
wild,
a s
no less. But
I think that
I don't think once they have been brought
into captivity once they've been hand once
someone's great grandfather, chopped down a gum tree
in the pad that had a nest of
cock twos in it, and they've hand read
them.
I think
we're obliged to care for those animals that
are in that situation. While also advocating that
for the fact that maybe no more should
come into that. Situation. Does that make sense
for?
It makes perfect sense mark as you're very
very thoughtful and very wise.
Now number 2, Mark,
what do we need to think about?
We need to manage their diet. I have
gotta say, Brendan that
of the sulfur for Kristen.
Cock 2 consults that I've done
less than 1 in 10
have a bird being fed a diet that
I would be considering as appropriate. And, of
course, the biggest culprit
sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds
you know, various described as the Mcdonald's of
the cock, the Mcdonald's food with Cock 2
world, the
you know,
mars bars there,
high in fat and high in energy and
and very palatable on the birds love them
might become obsessed with them. But as we
would if we ate nothing, but that style
of food,
and, you know, didn't have the natural ability
to fly fast distances and spend large amounts
of energy.
There are health consequences that will come home
to roost.
The key thing I'd say about this
tip
manage their diet, learn what the birds are
reading and manage their diet.
Trying to establish changes slowly
I've I've run into problems several times where
I've denounced the evils of Sunflower seed to
clients who have then
withdrawn them.
Absolutely because they wanna do nothing but the
best for their bird. Yep. And, of course,
the bird goes on an absolute hunger strike
won't eat any of the very healthy,
wonderful mix of food that the client then
goes to the trouble of preparing and gets
very sick because it has inadequate dietary and
intake of anything.
So
make those changes slowly and measure the birds
weight to make sure it's continuing to ingest
food is my tip with respect to diet.
Excellent tip, mark. And I think it increases
the chance of the client actually
completing your
recommendations if you say do it slowly.
I it's that whole
distress and likelihood of success. The slower you
go with changing the diet... The more likely
you are to come out with a good
result at the end and not be frustrated.
You are quite correct.
Number 3 Mark, which is the tip. This
is a bit of a
Like
I I had 2 thoughts about this. I
like to do most of the stuff that
I do with people's pets in front of
them. I don't generally as of of veterinarian,
I don't
like to say to a client. I'm gonna
take your animal away and do something to
it.
I like to
demonstrate to the client that I have the
ability to safely handle their animal,
and that I'm gonna handle it in an
empathetic caring way.
And that the procedures I do to the
animals are not going to be distressing.
Because both the animal and the person
presenting the animal are...
To a certain extent stressed when they come
in.
But sulfur crust cock are 1 of the
animals that I would not hesitate in saying
to the owner look,
your beautiful
cocky.
Is very attached to you and feels very
strongly about your proximity.
And if you are happy if you trust
me,
I'll tell you exactly what I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna gently wrap the bird in a
towel to perform a physical exam. But if
you trust me to do that,
away from you. I think
the bird will be more accepting over it.
It will feel that it's got to stand
up for itself and it'll feel that you
as
It's
it's friend. It's flock mate. The person that
lives with are gonna help are going to
help it fight me off as I gently
try wrap it in a towel.
And it's a little bit less likely to
be had grown upset if you guys are
separated. So I would in in
Most instances asked the client if they'd be
happy with me taking the bird away from.
Yep. The other thing I would do
is considered taking a hit for the team,
Brendan.
So what I mean by this is that
sulfur crust cock
do what I call a test bite. And
so if you stick your hand in the
cage, they will lung at you with things
and with a parent, fierce intent.
But almost always,
they're testing you. They're going. There they wanna
see what you're going to do. Now if
you
rapidly
withdraw your hand from the cage
because they're gonna latch onto you.
They know they've got you, and they're gonna
keep doing that particular behavior repeatedly,
and with more intent until they actually bite
you.
Whereas if you leave the back of your
hand
exposed to a sulfur crust car,
and they bang on it with their beak
and you don't move,
then probably in my experience, 80 percent of
the time, they will actually go well. That
didn't work with Mark. So I'm not doing
that anymore.
I'll just climb on his hand. I've had
some wonderful experiences where
people mistakenly think that I'm some sort of
bird with bra because the bird will
climb onto my hand after
realizing that,
pretending to bite isn't gonna work. The only
downside of this Brendan. How many fingers do
you have 80 on nature. Is that I
need the send figure of these that 1
5 times. You are gonna take a hit
for the team.
Which is where I started.
But if you're careful,
you won't lose any fingers.
That is both
inspiring and very scary
but
very interesting approach. They might. Number 4
Number 4 is to never allow clients to
enter the wedding room or the concert room
with bare cock 2 on their shoulder or
free roaming.
This is an
a thing that pirates are layout. Nope.
Hard.
No.
Because the birds,
fact it's it's an interesting phenomenon. I think
that
the birds
They don't have a clear view. They don't
have as scientific and analytic view of humans
as we have of them.
To us,
we are very
lab,
volatile
perceptions of beans to the bird. So when
we
stick our hands in the hands,
I think they literally separate those from the
rest of us and think of them as
predators hands. When
they
sit on our shoulder.
They think they're up in a tree and
the human they are with the third slash
human they with is your head.
They perch on your shoulder as if it
was a branch, and they feel
because they are up high because they are
perched with their
flock mate. They feel more confident and aggressive.
And they are much more likely to,
bite. They're much more likely to,
be upset at any... Even minor inconvenience.
That confidence that comes from just being on
someone's shoulder can be very
negative in terms of getting anything done in
the concert room. So making sure that they
are housed in a
in a box saw a, a cage that
some stout and make some feel protected. A
cage that has big doors,
I find works well.
So that you can get in and out
of it relatively
easily and and you're not just sort of
sticking
your hand through a small door trying to
get the bird out through a small door.
Yeah. Don't let them sit on your shoulder.
That's my tip.
And you also mentioned about in our show
notes mark, free Roaming,
I have
I've mentioned it several times to you sent
in the offer air. We have a a
local...
Let's call him a character that
likes to parade up and down
the local shopping center was a
sulfur crest on a very
thick rope
that's heavy rope that's attached to a to
a, you know, at at a leg ring.
Yep.
And it lets it wander up and down
the the street
It's a formula for trouble. And this one's
a little bit the reverse I reckon,
and it does happen in the waiting room
just the same.
That,
I've had more than 1 time where, very
large dog has lung at a free roaming
cock 2 and only.
Yeah.
Luck has prevented that poor bird being
terminated.
So so I think those free roaming birds
that don't have the normal
behaviors that don't recognize the normal things that
are dangerous,
and wandering around
maybe restricted by a harness or a leg
ring,
particularly in a veterinary waiting room where there's
anxious dogs and cats around. That's a formula
for disaster and I I
discourage it profoundly.
Yep.
So number 5 Mark?
Yes. This is
1 that over the years I've come to,
think that there are some species, we we
routinely
defects our dogs and cats
to provide them with,
better captive life to remove the
the
complications,
both health and,
behavioral that come with
reproductive
hormones and reproductive cycles.
And I think female sulfur crust cock fit
into that category there likelihood of serious life
affecting problems that comes about,
from,
cat ti,
loan life of captive female bird
is such
that it's good to
prevent it. If at all possible. Now we
do use our
gon
agonist
implants to to try and control this, but
they're not
great, And they do tend to
you know, a cock is gonna live maybe
50, 60.
Occasionally, 80 or 90 years
I often find that I start to run
into trouble with those implants if I use
them for, you know, 4 or 5 years.
And so
And by the time I do get to
4 or 5 years, I've spent the amount
of money
on implants that I would have swore than
I would have spent on a
cell inject
surgical procedure. And so much more frequently these
days, I'm recommending to sulfur crust copper owners
while their bird is healthy.
Let's consider a d sex procedure eric reckon
tip 5,
d your female soul for Crest Cock two's.
Well, Mark, some rapid fire advice for
our sulfur crust cock twos, which
can be a bit of a challenge can't
they as far as I'm dealing with and
as I
made you spit out at some stage early
on in the podcast, perhaps not a species
that should be kept.
As a regular pet. And unfortunately, here in
Australia, certainly, there are there are species that
are not
are not expensive are they to purchase so
they they
they're AAA
fairly commonly kept bird. Aren't they?
Surprisingly common. And and I'm pleased to say
that at least
you know, a generation ago, they were kept
in those
very tiny square
zinc zinc plated
cocky, the so called cock cages.
And
you you know my feelings about those things
they're akin to torture.
As far as I'm concerned they they don't
allow the birds to be birds in any
way, shape or form.
And
Look, I think that certainly the attitude of
many people that do have cock
has changed over the the, the last few
years, and they are looking for ways to
enhance their quality of life. Look, I think
if people have a choice, there are better
pets to get
for a captive life and than those large
very intelligent birds.
But I know that there are always going
to be some in activity and trying to
put these things in place to improve their
quality of life is a good thing I
reckon.
Well, said, Mark, and
Thank you for those 5 top tip tips
concerning its sulfur requested copies,
especially when you see them in the veterinary
clinic there, Mark. Any final comments?
No.
We're out of here. Talk to you all
next week. Thanks for listening.
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