Tuesday, March 4, 2008 

Birds - How To Tell If Yours Is Sick

In this article we're going to discuss how to tell if you've got a sick bird on your hands.

Unlike people, birds can't tell you when something hurts or they just feel like garbage. So how do you tell when your bird is under the weather?

Most sick birds get that way because of poor nutrition and stress. Poor nutrition is more from what a bird eats than from how much, as birds don't need a lot of food. Stress can come from a number of things such as poor environment and rapid changes in temperature. A happy bird is usually a healthy bird.

A problem with identifying if your bird is sick is that birds tend to hide their health from you. This is a built in ability that birds use to keep other animals from attacking them. It is part of their survival instinct. Because of this ability it may be a couple of weeks before a bird owner even knows that his bird is sick. Therefore, in order to determine that there is a problem with your bird you have to be observant at all times. There are signs to look out for. These include discharge from the eyes, change in eye color, closing of the eyes, swelling around the eyes, discharge from the nose, soiling of the feathers, sneezing, trouble eating, reduced appetite, fluffed up feathers, inactivity, droopy wings, change in routine, change in vocal habits, weight loss, problems with equilibrium, inability to perch, limping, swollen feet or joints, change in droppings, open mouthed breathing when at rest, lumps on the body, and any sign of bleeding. Some of these symptoms are very serious.

If you notice any of the above and suspect your bird is sick, immediately make an appointment with a vet. Take him there in his cage or some suitable container. Don't ever take your bird to the vet with him perched on your shoulder. Your pet will not be protected. Whatever container you use make sure it is covered. If you take it in its cage don't clean the cage. This can present evidence to the vet that can help diagnose the bird's problem.

After taking the bird to the vet and a diagnosis is made, take the bird home immediately. Home care at this stage is very important. Keep your bird warm and try to encourage it to eat. Sick birds have usually stopped eating so it is important for them to eat well to get their strength back. If they are unable to eat then they may need to be hospitalized.

Unfortunately, by the time an owner realizes his bird is sick, the bird is more than likely seriously ill. Therefore it becomes even more critical to give your bird the best care possible. Most owners go to pet stores first to try to treat the bird instead of going straight to the vet. This only makes the problem worse. However, if you catch the bird's illness quickly enough you'll have a very good chance of getting him back on his feet.


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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Birds
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Dynamic Meditation Yoga

 

Free T-Mobile Ringtones

T-mobile is a multinational mobile service provider with a large presence in Europe and America. Its a subsidiary of the german company deutsche telecom. T-mobile stands for telecom. It has more than 120 million subscribers and is the third largest telecom company in the world. Naturally, it provides various features and services for its subscribers.

One of the most popular services is the T-mobile ringtone. now, being the official mobile carrier for the world Cup football 2006, many new ringtones are now available for T-mobile users. Most of the ringtones available for T-mobile users are free and also compatible with most of the handsets. With newer and better handsets coming on the market, T-mobile is always looking for newer and jazzier ringtones to be uploaded on their Web site so that the subscribers can download them.

Many times, the ringtone code numbers are sent to the subscribers via text messages. There are also ringtone offers that are part of the marketing for the latest events sponsored by T-mobile, as it has various sports teams participating in events worldwide. With the increasing popularity of T-mobile and the increasing number of subscribers, many freelance composers also compose lot of tones and make them available on various portals for free. This strategy is also used as an advertisement to promote other events, services or products. The most popular ringtones downloaded include latest hits, music videos, sports events, themes, and video ringtones. And with the growing number of subscribers and networks, the T-mobile ringtone market is growing faster than it ever expected.

FreeRingtonesNow.net is a website that offers visitors the ability to find free ringtones and specific information on free t-mobile ringtones.

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Woodland Verses Links Golf Courses - Which One Wins?

Many people believe that the word 'links' refers to the way the end of one golf hole defines the beginning of the next - rather like the links of a chain. This is not so but it actually comes from the Old English word 'hlinc' meaning a stretch of flat ground along the seashore. And that is exactly what it is like. Sea on one side, land on the other (often the houses on the edge of the town form the boundary). It is a naturally occurring terrain usually on a well drained sandy soil.

The parkland course on the other hand is 'purpose built' and is often much more hilly and varied in terrain than the links course. Also, the presence of trees offers a different kind of hazard from those found on a links. Each course has its own type of problems and challenges but the links course probably calls for rather more 'invention' or 'adaptation' in the way the shots are played.

Parkland courses are usually set in an area not infrequently wooded to some degree and often with heather, gorse, sand bunkers and sometimes water in the form of ponds or lakes. However, the main difference between links and parkland is that the latter is much more obviously manufactured. This is not said by way of criticism since inland courses by definition have to be manufactured. The quality of the course though is more to do with the skill of the designer and how much this "manufactured-ness" shows. The optimum use of the space available and the incorporation of existing natural features - woods, trees, water, ups and downs - are where the architect can bring his creative powers to bear.

A links course on the other hand is usually a much more rugged proposition. It's a completely natural setting - too 'natural' for some people - where the wind from the sea plays a much more prominent part in the game. The nature of the terrain forces you to adapt your shots to the prevailing conditions and the lie of the land. One great advantage though is that being on sandy soil it does tend to drain well and very quickly so the surface remains firm and playable all year round.

Nevertheless it is no place for the complaint 'It's not fair'. Life isn't fair on a links and you have to brace yourself for that. You could hit a perfect drive straight up the fairway only to have it finish up on a hanging lie with three huge bunkers between you and the green two hundred yards away.

The distances on your scorecard will be accurate but useless. I have played at Turnberry where one of the par threes is an eight iron in the morning but a three wood in the afternoon - and it was nothing to do with the port at lunch.

Playing out of the rough is a different game; the whins and other grasses can twist your clubhead and make the ball behave in quite a different way when trying to chip on to the green from the rough. Don't expect to play to your handicap on your first visit to a links course - even in sunshine and no (apparent) wind. You need to be able to 'read' the elements and this comes only from experience. Why do you think so many canny golfers chip and run from so far off the green?

Unlike the parkland course where the course is manufactured, the links course demands that the shot is manufactured.

But all in all it's a great challenge - never the same from one day to the next. One compensation however for these difficulties is that you will not encounter many trees. Which brings us back to parkland golf.

Essentially, unlike the natural design of the links, this is down to the skill of the architect. Everybody accepts that golf courses are 'constructed' but the trick is to make them look as natural as possible and, in the case of some of the great inland courses, it works! It requires a number of criteria to be fulfilled: first and foremost it must be a challenge to the world's best - and must be accepted as such. It must have variety - every hole must be individual but the 'whole' must have a personality. It must be fair and not just playable by top championship players and, lastly, it must be aesthetically pleasing. Such a course would be Sunningdale - a club blessed with two of the great courses where every hole is a world unto itself. So whether your preference is for links or parkland I hope you manage to get the round you've dreamed about on the course of your choice.

Good golfing!

Peter has been playing golf for over 5 decades, when he is not writing about playing golf he is writing about it. You can access online golf lessons and pick up valuable tips by visiting his website.

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