A very interesting thread. and i would think it is the combined effects of all of the above reasons. But thats not to say that the precautions we take are not necessary, i think they are necessary because we have made them necessary, even if they didnt used to be (such as in wild birds [who probably do have shorter lifespans])
It would be interesting to see in a number of years, if the australian / european / american species' of captive birds, have actually slowly deviated from each other for lack of inter-breeding...
It is really sad when it happens... but i would also think that sometimes for a sick bird who just needs some TLC (as long as you're sure it will be ok), that the vet can be the worst place for it to be. Some of the worst infections and diseases are only spread through hospitals, and i expect vets are no different, especially for an already weakened animal.
I am lucky by way of vets, that my avian vet works at the animal hospital, so i can see her in the event of out of hours emergencies as well. (have seen many terrible stories about ripoff emergencies on here). But i don't even know if she wants to see me anymore. She did not ring all last week to get us to pay her for some tests, and she said she would on tuesday... Pickles tests were positive for PBFD and i really want to get more blood work done to check for infections and his liver, but i have no idea how we are supposed to take him into that place with all the other animals that go through there every day... :/
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