Hi Bird Friends,

I increased the clamp lamps to 4. I put 3 40 watts ones outside the cage and one 25 watt inside the cage. So far so good. I have a temperature gauge. It reads anywhere from 65 to 85 at different points inside the cage (taken when is was 30 degrees F out). I have plastic wrap over much of the cage with towels and blankets on top of that.

They seem all pretty content, not leaning into the lamps like the first night when I had only 2 clamp lamps on outside of the cage.

Only my female tiel is interested in the huts. She got in an odd ball shaped one that has a circle opening. I think she is in love with it. Peaks her head out whenever she knows I am outside.

Have a great day bird friends!

Hi everyone! In my ongoing search for old art with parrots, I stumbled across a painting by Gustave Courbet with a blue-fronted amazon. You can view it by clicking here! [NSFW artistic nude]

I was going to post more but instead I want to point you to a HUGE collection on the subject, Kiwi's Angels blog, which is a treasure trove, from old advertisements to black and white photos and contemporary art. (You can find posts by species by clicking on the word on the left.)

I hope you guys enjoy!

So I got married last year. Husband likes the birds; but was not crazy about the mess they make in the house. And he thinks birds can go outside. We are in north Florida (not tropical, not snowy).

The first year I dragged them in from the patio. The second year, after we were married when I dragged them in he was upset. And I thought tough. I do not put him outside.

Well he has a spot on his lung that is not cancer now. And we had somewhat of a brawl as you can imagine. My mother said nobody with a thing in their lung would want birds in their house. My dad has inoperable lung cancer.

So I left it at his responsibility to get warming devices set up. But worrying about pets has never been his thing. It has been an accomplishment for him to assume taking care of my shih tzu. We had a brawl after that after we got married. You get married; and they think they can start saying whatever they want to about your pets. Warning you unmarried folks.

So last week I bought the medium sized heated perch and put it in their cage. I did not plug it in until this mornings. Temps had been in the 70 this past week. But they are going back to cold today. My best way of describing the perch is that like one third of a hot bath. It is warm, but not hot. And it is only 4 watts....good for warming sensations like a bath. But cold is coming on.

I was surfing home depot and lowes sites. Husband thinks you can put tin over the 25 watt bulb. I was thinking about not tin, but not bright either (talky talky talk at night). Do you have helpful suggestions? I will post a picture of their cage. Thanks!!!

I'm going to just imagine it flew out a window before impact.

R.I.P. Negotiator!

  I had a budgie named Jimmy for 8 years. A few weeks ago he was acting sick (fluffed up and less noisy although eating and drinking fine). I immediately took him to the vet where I learned Jimmy was not a male, he was a female and he was egg bound. I had Jimmy for 8 years and always thought he was a male, he never laid an egg his entire life.
  The vet thought minimal intervention was the best course at first since Jimmy was still eating and drinking well. They lubricated inside Jimmy's cloaca and kept him in a humidified heated cage. After 24 hours the egg still had not passed so they used a needle to suck out the insides of the stuck egg, they hoped that by relieving the pressure Jimmy would be able to pass the egg. 24 hours after they drained the egg Jimmy had not laid it. Before this point Jimmy had still been eating and drinking and acting well considering the stuck egg. At this point Jimmy's condition was beginning to deteriorate so the vet said the only option was to use a little gas to put Jimmy under and surgically remove the egg. The vet had been trying to avoid this since anesthesia on a small bird is difficult enough and 8 years old is not a young budgie. Jimmy's surgery was a success, the vet was able to remove the egg and Jimmy seemed to be recovering well from the gas. 
  Sadly, 20-30 minutes after the surgery Jimmy stopped breathing while in the recovery cage. The whole situation was pretty shocking. I didn't even know Jimmy was a female before the incident. Jimmy was hand tame and liked to hang out with people and I have been truly missing his company.
 Here is a picture of Jimmy.


Now that it has been some time I would really love to get another budgie. However, Jimmy was a hand fed baby and I would like to get another hand fed budgie. Does anyone know anywhere in Denver or Colorado that breeds and hand feeds their budgies?

Thanks

Hey all.

Thank you to everyone that offered their opinion on my sister and her husband getting a lovebird. I plan to speak to her about it and delicately suggest that maybe they wait until their daughter is a little bit older.

Anyway, I've been reading online that aloe vera is parrot safe, and that it can be applied to irritated areas when they pluck. Is this true? I'd be happy to find anything that'd help my little guy. He has polyfolliculitis, and there are times when the back of his neck gets really painful/aggravated.

Have been away from LJ due to PC problems.
I have a question for the house. I have a Toy that despences small nutrabery like pellets, but it is too small for nutraberys. I got it with a smaller food, do not recall the name, just that Peter hated the toy, the food ect.
It has been in rotation on and off, and Now Maggie, my near blind bird has fallen in love with it, wants to have food in it (I give them too Nurta berrys every morning, along with there rest of foods.
The problems is now there fighting over it, and half the pellets break up when I fill it.
The one I have is ab out 5-6 in round and had a maze thaqt the pellets are to b3e slid down by the bird till it gets out of the opening at the bottom. I am looking for the larger one with bigger openings thatg is like 9-10".
I have troled the bird petshops and internet. Any one have a clue were I might find one?
Hugs and thanks. you will make a small near blind bird very happy.

Sorry this isn't a parrot post, I can remove it if it's not appropriate, but I've been shopping around for a new seed diet for my canary and was wondering if any of you guys had suggestions on good seed mixes? Organic would be nice but I'm not holding my breath.. I'm hoping for a good healthy mix that doesn't have potentially GMO junk in it like corn and soybeans (which I don't think canaries eat anyway!) though most mixes seem to have canola/rapeseed in it. I'll probably pick up some harrisons in addition to the seed and fresh vegetables i give him currently, but in the seed mix I have currently, he doesn't seem to like/eat a red millet that's in the mix..

I currently give him a Volkman's Avian Science Super canary mix (with the red millet he's not fond of):
http://birdseed.com/shop/search/?keywords=canary

Should I try some of the other volkman products, and just stick to volkmans in general?

Also, have you guys heard of 'Golden feast?'
https://www.birdsupplynh.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_25_122&products_id=2339

Here are some other canary seed mixes that this particular store carries: https://www.birdsupplynh.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=22_25_122 I'm a bit appalled that they would put titanium dioxide in the l'avian mix (ugh!).

Any advice would be appreciated!

I don't know if there are many people from Melbourne, Australia on this com, but just a heads up:

there has been a spate of bird thefts over the last few weeks, particularly in the Eastern suburbs. It seems like mostly macaws and cockatoos have been taken, but who knows.

If you keep your birds outside, keep a close eye on things. Apparently the thieves have been breaking padlocks and cutting wired fences, so they've obviously determined little buggers. D:

For parrot people in the Boston and surrounding areas - in the unfortunate event that you need a necropsy done - Tufts no longer does necropsies. Angell Memorial does them in-house now but they cost over $500. The Littleton Animal Hospital does them for $50.

Does anyone know of an avian vet in Massachusetts or New Hampshire that will see a bird in an emergency in the evening, on weekends, and/or holidays?

We lost a beloved bird New Year's eve. Angell Memorial emergency did not have an avian vet on staff and they wouldn't be back in for 4 days. They gave us a list of several other avian vets that we could contact if theirs wouldn't be able to see us in four days. Unfortunately, as we all know, when a little bird is sick - they don't usually have four days to wait before they can be seen. Our little guy passed in the morning after the visit. They gave him fluids and he was eating up a storm. They did a gram stain and found nothing. They said there was nothing they could do for him - they couldn't tell what was wrong and he was acting fine.

His symptoms were: lethargy, weight loss, vomiting undigested seed. We suspect heavy metal poisoning - probably from dollar store items (ceramic bowls or paint/dyes used on toys).

My sister and her husband are seriously contemplating introducing a lovebird into their home, and she's asked what I think of the idea. She grew up with my own lovebird, and is my official bird-sitter, so I'm not worried about how she'll care for the bird. I am curious about a couple of things though.

The first is where she's getting the bird from. She plans to purchase a lovebird from Feathered Friends: http://featheredfriends.ca Does anyone in Southern Ontario (or elsewhere) have an opinion of the establishment? I've decided never to buy from pet stores or breeders in future. Until now though, I haven't had reason to explore other options in the area. Are there alternatives that I could suggest?

I've also never read about introducing parrots into a home with a small child. They have a 4 month old, and it will be their first pet as a family. Are there any particular resourses I could offer them about how to make this a safe and happy experience?


Edit: I also thought some of you might enjoy the awesome ( birthday cake my friend made me. )

I recently acquired a GCC and it was A Bad Decision from the start. I shouldn't have done it.
He was the lonely stressed out guy at work that I have been trying to get friendlier. It was bizarre because hes the bird no one likes because he 'yells a lot' and isn't bold like the sun conures but I thought he was amazing and just a sweet bird that no one gave a chance. So in the end it was a pity purchase and we all know how bad those are. Its true though, he is a sweet bird and is very tame after getting past the 'hands are scary! phase.

I came to the conclusion that I probably couldn't handle larger parrots (ever) which is sad and thought I could settle with a small conure. I've been considering another 'tiel for a while to keep Pichu company(I have no idea if Pichu would even want a buddy, or if its just me thinking she does). Maybe a greencheek would work? Thats the main issue in the end, the GCC is always wanting to be near her, climb/fly to her cage and its kinda scary! I dont want them to be buddybuddy with each other, just.. be in the presence of one another if that makes any sense. Thats my idea of company- since Ill be at work and my family doesnt really handle 'Chu. Its honestly this article that has gotten me so paranoid, I can't keep my eyes on the birds 24/7 and SOMETHING is going to happen. I rotate their out time and when the conure is out, the second I'm not looking, hes going to try to go to Pichus cage. Im picturing bitten toes and faces here. Ive had them both out at the same time, opposite ends of a table so I could watch and he ended up charging her and tried to bite her(she had some food he wanted) before I could get him to step up.
For introductions, they are in separate cages.. they were able to see each other from further apart and after that I tried moving the cages closer. The GCC is always wanting to get to her. He could be just friendly, but I can't read the behavior very well so I wont ever know whether hes being beaky or bitey. Dot want to chance it either!

So in the end, I dont think I am ready for keeping an eye on the birds every single second for the rest of their lives because I am paranoid that the conure will injure my tiel between cage bars or if they are both out. Theyre similar in size, but he can obviously do a lot of damage to my girl if I am not careful(and I dont think I am). Right now I am just taking each bird out (they are in the living room) and going to my room. I dont want to have to do that forever either.
I know you guys have a lot of birds, if theres anything special you did or have any advice. I know Bloolark had a whole post about the macaws too. I'm torn between returning the bird, rehoming the bird, or keeping him. Returning him means hes just stuck in a cruddy environment for a longer time and I only have a week left to do so, rehoming means I could still take care of it (trying to convert to pellets, getting more used to people) until I find somebody, or keeping him. I don't have any attachment yet, he doesn't even have a name :( because all I can think of is some sort of emergency vet incident occurring. At work, we have a bigger aviary with a GCC and 2 cockatiels and they get together fine, maybe I am just being absolutely paranoid...but I don't think I am? I feel bad that I had gotten him without considering this would happen, it just never occurred to me that he would want to get to her all the time.

Not a complete post without photos of course
( Read more... )

where do you guys buy your bird-safe toy parts for toy-making? is there someplace where you know for *certain* that they get their parts from genuinely bird-safe places?

i have noticed that on a lot of parrot forums, people are all excited about getting toy parts at the dollar store (like Dollar Tree). however, most of this stuff is made in China or Thailand, etc and could have lead-paint, or zinc, etc. the ceramic dinnerware could be glazed with lead - the ceramic itself could contain lead. who knows what chemicals the paper products are made/coated with - same for their plastic. what were the vine wreaths and vine balls treated with? what are the playing cards coated with?

i am also not sure what to line the cages with now that i know newspaper, grocery paper bags, and paper towels are coated with formaldehyde.

here are some foods that would also be fun toys for birds:
fresh corn on the cob
peapods
broccoli
pop corn (no salt/butter)
corn husks

what can we use to make toys that we will know for certain are really bird-safe?

ideas?

Just a note to say my little freak-out over my cockatiel breaking his toenail and bleeding the other day ended well. He's been totally fine since that night. Thanks for everyone's responses!

We dabbed liquid bandage on the end of the toenail in the morning after just to make sure it stayed shut. I looked up and didn't see any problems with using liquid bandage and even found references to usefulness in field work with birds (they just preen it off) so it didn't seem harmful, although it had a smell so I moved air around as much as I could.

( [ here's a pic from a few minutes ago - his inner front toe on his right foot was the one ] )

In other news my oh-god-only-one-bird-this-one-is-a-terror boyfriend actually got deeply enamored to GCCs (without me even doing anything!) so he's open to getting another bird in the future once we get the resources together.

We had house guests the last few days and Gideon LOVES the company so he definitely would like some friends. One of the guests apparently was deathly afraid of birds, like the ones flying around outside (which I had no idea about), but she warmed up to Gideon quickly! (His no sense of personal space helped) She wasn't even afraid to get beaked trying to pick him up before she left! I think he did some good.

I am getting ready to make our next batch of birdie mash and I need to ask a question of the community before I do. I use the shauna roberts mash recipe that bloolark posted at one point (btw bloolark the link for the list of calcium rich veggies is broken) and it says towards the end that you can either add freshly ground flax seed daily or the oil a few times a week.

I personally make this recipe and freeze it into individual servings (aka use my small ice cube tray) for my cockatiels. I don't generally add anything per day because (via Dr. Fergusons advice) I give it to them frozen before I go to work and throw it away immediately when I get home.

So after the long winded explanation, is there really anything wrong with just adding whole flax seed to the mash recipe and freezing it with the rest and letting them pick at it like they would any other seeds?

Edit: And while I am thinking about it, is spirulina OK for birds too? I know I put it in my cats food when I make it, and I thought I saw it referenced in a parrot diet on this forum but I haven't been able to find it since.... (Here's a laugh. My cats eat my bird mush small quantities in their diet too, minus the hot peppers.)

My cockatiel Gideon broke of the tip of one of his claws leading to bleeding - the quick was visible sticking out a little . I have no idea what precisely did it as he was hanging with me, he flew off, then he came back and he wasn't resting on his right foot. I looked and there's blood spots on his foot and a short nail. He probably snagged it on something while taking off and it broke (which is entirely my fault that his nails were too long and I am going to clip the rest down). I can't find any blood stain anywhere.

The bleeding stopped quickly on its own (I never actually saw it bleed) but I sterilized it and got some flour on it. I tried to get a bandage on him but I need an extra pair of hands and my boyfriend is at work. (I can get a ride if it had been a more immediate emergency.)

He was fine afterward to walk on his foot and go about his day normally. He climbs around fine with some favoring of that foot when he perches.

I put a blanket down on the bottom of his cage with food and water if he doesn't want to perch and put him on "bed rest" : in his cage when he'd normally be out.

I am watching for any signs of bleeding, plus I will be home to observe him all tomorrow. Boyfriend is bringing home styptic powder.

1.) Should I let him out of his cage like normal? (he's usually out when either of us are home)

2.) Should I get a gauze bandage on the nail, something else, go to the vet, or just watch it? If I bandage it, any particular way? (I've been looking up first aid methods)

3.) How long should I worry about bleeding from the area?

I feel horrible I let this happen.

UPDATE: I let him out of his cage and he did something and the toenail started bleeding profusely. I staunched the bleeding best I could but it bled a while before I could wrangle him to stop it.

UPDATE 2: Blood has stayed clotted and he's been sleeping. Going to re-apply styptic in the morning just to be safe. He didn't bleed too much so I am going to see in the morning how he is doing.

I just got a call back from my vet after taking Sage in the other week.  I did kind of worry when she didn't call me back Friday... or Monday.  She said she'd call me back Friday so I could only assume either there was something weird or it was the holidays, but me being paranoid, I worried there might be something weird.

Basically, what she just told me is her lymphocytes were at 79%, while the heterocells were at 19%.  The usual ratio for a conure is 50/50.  She said not to worry yet, since she's not acting weird and seemed otherwise healthy, but she also spoke with a vet in Florida to get a second opinion.  That vet said that sort of lymphocyte count was indicative of a bird with a virus- but Sage has never been around other birds, really, except when she was younger and I birdsat two budgies and a cockatiel.  But all of THEM had recently been to the vet and were known to be virus free, and I kept them in quarantine from each other anyway as well as I could.

I'm supposed to take her back in in 4-6 months to get her blood tested again, but of course now I'm going to be paranoid and watch her like a hawk and assume that every little thing is actually her getting sick.  I'm worried for my little featherbutt.  I was wondering if anyone else know anything about this, as my knowledge about blood and things is limited to my undergrad biology major... and I never paid a ton of attention to blood stuff anyway, since it was always taught last.  I can go read things, probably, but I didn't know if anyone might have had experience with this.  The only virus I know about is pbfd, which she certainly doesn't show any outward signs of having.

I've had my Sun Conure, Loki, for nearly six years, and he's very strongly bonded to me. Recently I've had the opportunity to take on a three year old rainbow Lorikeet, Kratzy, and after much consideration of the circumstances I've agreed to a trial - he's been here since the beginning of December.

The integration of Kratzy into our lives is going extremely well - I was prepared for screaming matches, anxiety, self-harming, but they've both been amazing. They're totally relaxed in each others' presence, occasionally eat and bathe at the same time, and chat to each other in their cages.

I didn't think I could have them both out of their cages at the same time for months but already I've been able to have them out at the same time for as long at a time as my nerves can stand - Loki on my shoulder and Kratzy playing on the floor.

There has been one minor scuffle so far over a favoured armchair, where they both moved faster than I anticipated. Noone was hurt but Loki was a bit leery after so it's taken a little while to get back to where we were. They're now starting to show interest in each other when out of the cage - leaning towards each other and attempting to move closer together. My nerves aren't that steady so I've been stopping them.

My question is this - should I start letting them get closer, given that they seem to want to? Or rather, how should I continue the process I've started? I keep having visions of vet visits and I'm scared to take the next step, even though they seem to be showing signs of being ready.

Have you gotten your bird DNA sexed? I never realized that it required PLUCKED feathers (preferably 2 inches?) and I think I'd be too much of a baby to do that... where did you pluck them from, or did you do the blood sample (which sounds even scarier to me)?

Next summer or Fall there's a better than even chance I will be moving to another state for more schooling. According to this website on Quaker parrots, a number of the states I'm considering require all parrots to have bands. Kappa is a dusky conure so the rules about "all parrots" apply to her. She does not have a closed band, as she kept slipping it off while a chick and then her foot grew too big to put it back on. I'd rather not give her an open band because I hear that they can get tangled in fabric and lead to injury. I'm under the impression that people who study wild birds put closed plastic bands on adult birds, does anyone know if that's an option for pet birds?

Does anyone here live in a state with banding laws and have any experience with enforcement? I'm particularly worried about if Kappa and I have to fly when we move or on vacations, that airport security might take issue with her not having a band. Of course if we do fly I'll look into things like a vet health certificate, and if we don't fly I'll probably ask my vet for some document stating her species name (so if I run into an overzealous law enforcement agent on the road I can show she isn't a Quaker and isn't here illegally or anything). Anything else I should consider now regarding moving an unbanded parrot to another state next year?