Inara

Good morning, just checking in on Jambin to see how she is doing this morning. Am hoping she continues on this positive trajectory. ❤️

This must be so worrisome for you. You are doing all that you can and are taking great care of her. As you said, she is fearless and tough, and she is in great hands. So glad that she is eating. For the first few days of treatment, HRH Inara rested and snoozed a lot as her body was letting the meds do their job. Sending lots of love to Jambin and lots of wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

@PbaumI can't recall the name of the antibiotic, but the antifungal was nystatin given orally daily. I just placed two-three drops on a bit of porridge every morning and she loved it. She went from plucking like crazy to completely settling down with a few days. I kept the treatment up for 14 days. The antibiotic was given because she had a secondary infection likely caused by breaking the skin a bit with her beak when plucking.

@SRSeedBurners Right?! Her voice is all her own, and so sweet (most of the time. . .). It is 6:40 a.m here and she is on her big tree shouting: Hey Sweetie! Joes! -- trying to get Joe to get up. I am sure he now has a pillow over his head. I will have to look up Rosalinda. I love watching other birds. And oh my god if you had her she would be spoiled even more than she is now!! LOL My Joe loves watching you and Miss Gracie Mae (forgive spelling before coffee this morning). He gets wistful that your Miz G is such a physical character and so fun. HRH is a lover with words, but aloof physically other than loving to just perch on Joe for a couple of hours every night before bed as he surfs on his laptop.

Hi everyone! HRH Inara is doing fantastic after finishing all of her meds. No more plucking at all, and she is chipper as ever. Today she took a loooong nap, and this video is right after she woke up this afternoon: HRH Inara Saying Good Morning Sky Hope she brings a smile xoxo

YAY!!! Am so very happy to hear such great news! My Inara just also recovered from a yeast infection. She was on antibiotics and antifungal meds for about 2 weeks. She really rallied after only about 3-4 days and the rest was smooth sailing. Here's hoping that your Jambit continues to get better and better! 🕊️

If she is lethargic and her talking voice has changed from her normal, I would phone your avian veterinarian asap. Especially since she had recently gone through the problems with her foot and swollen leg. Better to be cautious and call. Hope it's nothing serious ❤️

Let's hope that it is just feeling those hormones and thus being territorial about *his* shelves! :D

Gosh, very disconcerting for you. HRH definitely gets "beaky" during her hormonal bouts, but so far has not done any fly over with the purpose of beaking me or my Joe. I am wondering, aside from your haircut, if there is anything else major that has been changed or re-arranged in the room that Alfie might be trying to warn you away from, or do you think Alfie is doing some king of mating behavior with you -- i.e., flying to your back and nipping at your neck? Or since the sofa is near his shelves and boing, if he is feeling hormonal perhaps he is being territorial for now about his area? Just some thoughts. Am sure that he will be back to his sweet self soon. ❤️

What sweet photos and I am sure that Jay likes the company and having a good old fashioned shrimpfest even if it is in bed. What's next, crawdads? Sending warm wishes for you all from our hearts to yours. ❤️

Thank you. HRH is doing so much better, I am too now that life is settling down and HRH is doing well. Whew! Can't wait until it is warm enough to take HRH outside in her little cage so she can soak up some sunshine rays and fresh air -- I think that combination does wonders for hoomans and fids both. :)

Soooo much kewtness, I can barely stand it!! 😍

@SRSeedBurners Thanks so much! I think of GracieMae so often, and your beautiful aviary -- and yep, sometimes you just have those fids that are like Scandinavians, ones of few words. I need you to come set up a birdie cam for HRH! We really *are* lucky to have such a great Vet just right up the road. She's only about 2 miles away, it's just her in a small, country practice, and HRH loves her and never holds a grudge. She is always is happy to hop right up for her. @Greytness She really loves that stand -- she calls it her "tree." It faces out our big southern windows where she can watch all that goes on "out there." She has a perch by the window in the kitchen were she watches the "quirrels," and one in our den where she gets to hang with "Joes." Why she puts an S on the end of his name is a mystery, but so darned sweet. So lots of roaming around the house time since she's my only fid, easy to keep track of her. @Timbersmom Thanks! She talks up a storm all_day_long. Sometimes I tell her, "Let's have some Q U I E T time." Alas, she does not comply. hahahaha She will, however, if she is "night night," and we are being noisy, will give a loud sharp whistle and will every once in awhile tell us "too yowd!" Naturally, we hush up and say, "Sorrrrry." LOL @neoow Awwww..., Alfie! Gosh 16 years already! It really *is* wild how we keep learning. Ever since her Vet visit, I check her new feather casings every morning and am pleased to say that after one week of medicine the new ones are all back to white and I see no signs of the black ones. Just that one little tip, had I known earlier may have let us catch this super early on. It's great to see all of our friends here, and to have life getting back to "normal," or as normal as it can be around here. HRH is snoozing away on her perch in here with me as I type, I think she is resting a lot as her body heals and she can be so relaxed because she is well on the road to recovery. Plus it is a rainy day here today, and she is always quiet and snuggle in on rain days. Wishing everyone a great Friday Junior and hope that you slide right into the weekend and into some sunshine!

Sometimes an unclosed band can mean that the bird was wild caught and then at one time confiscated when being smuggled into the US and then banded before being quarantined and then auctioned. Another reason may be someone else who originally had a domestically bred bird, cut their band off and then when the bird was rehomed the new person decided they wanted/needed a band for travel reasons, bill of health reasons for boarding, etc. Hard to tell since as far as I know there still is no universal banding standard coding in the US. So glad another Greybie has found you. I'm just south of you at the edge of Black Forest/Monument area, and HRH Inara originally came from a TX breeder, then to a Denver Bird store, from there to her original owners east of Denver, then to Craigslist where I found her at just about age 2. Her band does show TX for TX for Texas and then numbers that only the original breeder could decipher.

Hi everyone! Long time since we've been here. Life was busy and then I entered into the world of assisting with elder care for a dear 90 year old relative, who peacefully passed away late fall. Am just now starting to catch back up on my regular routine, but wanted to jump in today to give a quick update on HRH Inara and some important info. During the holiday season, I was away from home a lot helping my relative. At some point in the middle of the holidays, HRH started plucking for the first time in her 8 year old life. I kept my eye on things, chalked it up to the stressors of me coming and going -- especially since my Joe has always been the one to travel and I was always the one at home. Then she hit her usual mating/hormonal season and so I still was not super concerned but was concerned enough to give her (wonderful!) avian vet a call. Still not a huge concern because she was not doing super drastic type plucking -- just "snow flurries" in the bottom of her cage each morning and we thought that now that my routine was back to usual, that she would settle back down. However, something just kept nagging at me as things did not settle down, despite that nothing else was changing with her. Her appetite was fantastic, she was chatting up a storm all day as usual, her weight was holding perfectly steady, she showed no signs of weird poo, and no respiratory distress signs. In any event, since it was time to take her in to get her beak tidied and polished and her talons blunted, I took in her morning poo sample and jogged our Vet's memory about what had been going on. She asked me: With her new feathers that keep coming in, does the shaft casing look black or whitish pink. I said, hmmm.. now that you mention it, black. But since her feathers are grey, I just chalked that up to her coloring. Vet immediately said -- nope, that is an indicator that something is amiss. They should always be a whitish pink. So she was glad I had brought in the poo and when she was doing HRH's talons she did a shorter snip on one for a blood sample. Because she is an Avian vet and surgeon, she runs all of her own lab work herself right in the office so within minutes we knew what the deal was. Inara had a yeast infection and a bacterial infection. We could not pinpoint how she got the yeast infection because she does not get foods that are yeast based in her general diet. The bacterial infection, the Vet said was likely from her scratching herself open slightly with her beak while plucking a feather. Then, our visit became like an episode of House, DVM ! Our lovely Vet looked at me with an expression akin to a light bulb going off, and asked, "When you were traveling so much, did your guy order in a lot of pizza?" I said, "Yes!! How did you know?!" She asked further, "Did he share with Inara?" I said, "Yes, actually and was tickled because they really bonded over it." She said, "Well their pizza parties have to come to a halt (I am paraphrasing this conversation) because pizza dough is one of the worst offenders for yeast infections." The pizza crusts often don't get cooked thoroughly enough to kill off the yeast and her little bites of pizza crusts were the culprit. It was a food she had never had in her little life, and is one that is of course completely off of her menu now forever. My guy felt terrible -- I said, don't because who knew? And I felt terrible because I had fallen into the trap of "She's a Grey, Greys can be notorious for plucking when stressed." Then I conflated that with her hormonal bout and so the problem went on way longer than it should have especially because she was not plucking herself naked, just lots of "snow." And mostly some time during the night, which I now figure is because she was getting her usual shower every day, and is so busy during the days that even though she was probably itching to high heaven she was distracted all day. Then at night, when she was not distracted the itching would get to her and she was going to town on her feathers. So good news: The antibiotic in her water dish daily, and her drops of antifungal daily have cleared up the entire shebang and she is back (so far) to leaving her feathers alone except for her normal preening. She has always been a super rough preener, she actually pulls my hair out when she tries to preen me (EEK!!) unlike my Congo (R.I.P.) who was so gentle that he would preen my eyebrows and eyelashes (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!). I would never let HRH anywhere near my eyes, as she also is just a completely different personality. Very long story but the moral is: Even if you think that some plucking may be going on because of 1) Greyness, 2) Change in routine or stressful event, or 3) seasonal/mating changes, or 4) because you think it is just your bird's "habit" --- make an appointment with an Avian Vet, take in a poo sample and get a thorough once over. ASAP. Fortunately, I know that I am not a bad parront. Most of my friends say that if they come back in another life they want to come back as one of my birds. But I do feel bad that even with close to 30 years total of living with birds, that I missed what a *new* parront might have been on top of in a NY minute. I was concerned, but conflated several things, and since she did not have any bare to the skin patches, I was not alarmed. Sometimes we need to take off our "experienced," lenses and re-look as a hypervigilant new parront might see things. ------------------------------------ Usual update: OMG she gets funnier with each passing year, and is still learning more and more language and astounding our friends and family with her use of complete sentences. She now refers to herself as "Birdy" or "The Birdy." She will holler, "Hey Sweetie? Come get The Birdy out." or "Birdy wants to go out there to the tree, OK?" or "You go get The Birdy a carrot cookie, yeah!" And she argues now. If I tell her no, she will reply with, "Yeah -- or Yah!" And then she will keep asking for the same thing in several different ways, as if I am a dullard and just did not tell her No but instead did not grasp what it was that she really wants. She kills me! I have figured out how to upload to youtube, so will start posting some vids if I can get her where she does not clam up when she sees the phone/camera appear. Here is one of the two of us chatting from two different rooms (as we do) -- you may have to turn up your volume so that you can hear her. HRY Inara trying to convince me that "everybody is at the tree." We've missed you all, and have a lot of catching up to do! xoxo Jane and HRH Inara

Just popping in, and want to extend my sympathy with regard to the passing of your dad. It doesn't matter what age we are, while our parents are living, we are still someone's child. It is so sad and also a bit daunting when the day(s) arrive where that is no longer the case. I don't know if you still have your mother, but I hope that you can find comfort in family and friends during this sad time. With regard to the new format of the site? I love it! So modern, easy to navigate, and am delighted that I now feel the site is much more secure. Thank you for all of your hard work, having built and maintained several websites myself, I appreciate that it is no small task and often a thankless one. You are appreciated!

Oh this is SO wonderful!!

Could not have said it better, Danmcq! Facebook, I keep limited to close friends and family, as I don't like all of the "click bait," and the security issues with it. Plus, for me it gets to be overload. Here, I trust the information when I'm seeking something, and I know that everyone here truly cares about each other and our fids. BFFs!! Best Flock Forever! And a happy late birthday, Kevin!

Could it be grandbaby glee and David recovery that are keeping you busy busy? Miss you and are hoping all is well. <3 <3

YAY!!!! So delighted to tune in today, and see that Gracie is home and settling in. She is BEEEUUUTIFUL! She is already giving signs that she will flourish with you, Kya, hubby and crew. If she is already saying hello to her new flock, eating well, then the best is yet to come. I absolutely detest the words "step up," and the old-fashioned technique that it was/is associated with, on a personal note, and understand why many birds have a negative reaction to those words and actions. You are correct in just giving her some time to get to know everyone, and simply offering her invitations to become more physically chummy. I have a feeling that she is going to turn out to be a real love bird. HRH Inara has a buckwheat waffle each morning with pureed fruits and veggies on it. She calls it her "up cookie," because it pops up from the toaster. Kya's "floffles" is so sweet of a word. It is so lovely that both Kya and Gracie seem to be going along OK at present, and I can't wait to hear more and more stories. I love reading about Kya, and Gracie has already stolen my heart too. <3 *You* get better!! or it won't be long until Kya and Gracie are "coughing" right along with you. LOL Sending lots of love your way and am completely confident that Gracie will thrive!

HRH Inara is the same way. She looks at the camera/phone with a WTFlock?? look and clams right up. I have not taken the time to desensitize her with it, by holding it up and fake recording several times a day. I'm lazy..... Plus, despite being very tech savvy, I have yet to perfect the art of editing and uploading but am working on it.

Always OK to vent around here!! Will X fingers that it is worth the wait!!

I've used Young Living brand essential oils for many years for myself, but have not used them with any of my birds. However, I do wear the oils and HRH has never had any adverse reaction. My chiropractor was the one who recommended them for me, and this is the brand that she used exclusively in her practice. I have an immune disorder, and find certain blends particularly helpful. Stressed birds are often drawn to me and frequently want to move close to me, so who knows maybe it's the soothing oils? My wholistic veterinarian also recommended the same brand for their companion animal practice, as well as Young Living's animal products (can be seen on Young Living's website). I have not had the occasion to ask my avian vet about her opinions but will next time we're in. The Essential Bird website, and yahoo group have more information on medical grade essential oils and birds. I would definitely stay away from any hobby store, over the counter oils and products and diffusers and when in doubt would check with a vet. With my (RIP) CAG and 'zon, I used to mist them with homemade chamomile teas as a soothing feather and skin treatment. I also used to make all natural human lotions, potions, soaps, and hair rinses. For treatments for birds, I'd definitely prefer to go to a wholistic vet rather than guessing about what might be the best combo of anything, unless I was/am just making a simple tea directly from organic plants as a soothing mist, and would stay away from barks, roots, and plants that are heavy in natural oils. Here is a link to the Essential Bird http://www.essentialbird.com/

HRH Inara chiming in here. So lovely to see everyone ensuring that our hooman subjects are kept in line and on their toes. I have mine finally trained to understand that my cage is *my* castle, and that I prefer things to be left exactly as they are! When I have finished destroying one of my toys, I expect the exact same toy replaced in the exact same place. I don't run around rearranging *their* furniture, although trust me when I say I believe that I'm a much better decorator, and I refuse to allow them to do me the discourtesy of imposing their tastes (or lack thereof) upon *my* domain. I also will not tolerate anyone trying to enjoy a quiet Saturday morning. They just seem to refuse to understand that on non-bye-bye-to-work days that all attention must be directed my way! Their idea of a good morning is drinking coffee and listening to "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" Not a chance -- I will *not* wait, and *I* will tell them.......

OK, asking forgiveness ahead of time for laughing !! I'm throwing my hat into the pool that the 1st key is gone johnson within 2 weeks. :D