News/Events

Pet parrots can eat virtually any common "people-food" except for chocolate and avocados. Both of these are highly toxic to the parrot and can be fatal.

Birds do not sleep in their nests. They may occasionally nap in them, but they actually sleep in other places.

Some male songbirds sing more than 2000 times a day.

Lovebirds are small parakeets who live in pairs. Male and female lovebirds look alike, but most other male birds have brighter colors than females.

The average adult male ostrich, the world’s largest bird, weighs up to 345 pounds.

Hens need about 24-26 hours to produce one egg. Thirty minutes later they start the process over again. In addition to half hour rests, some hens rest every 3-5 days and others rest every 10 days.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

The shell constitutes 12% of an egg’s weight.

The typical hen lays 19 dozen eggs a year.

Chickens can’t "swallow" while they are upside down.

Roosters can’t crow if they can’t fully extend their necks.

Chickens absorb vitamin D through their combs from sunshine.

Domesticated turkeys (farm raised) cannot fly. Wild Turkeys can fly for short distances at up to 55 mph. Wild turkeys are also fast on the ground, running at speeds of up to 25 mph.

Turkeys originated in North and Central America, and evidence indicates they have been around for more than 10 million years.

Between 260 & 300 million turkeys are slaughtered annually in the United States, according to USDA statistics. Of these, approximately 45 million are killed for Thanksgiving, and 22 million are killed for Christmas.

The first house rats recorded in America appeared in Boston in 1775.

A rat can go without water longer than a camel can.

A Hindu temple dedicated to the rat goddess Karni Mata in Deshnoke, India, houses more than 20,000 rats.

The world’s largest rodent is the Capybara. An Amazon water hog that looks like a guinea pig, it can weigh more than 100 pounds.

All pet hamsters are descended from a single female wild golden hamster found with a litter of 12 in Syria in 1930.

Many hamsters only blink one eye at a time.