Muse

I hope all is going okay on your end, Nancy. I know how much stress it is when the babies are sick.Warm thoughts and prayers are being sent your way.

My latest Parrot Bite Me Club "dues". Since a picture is worth a thousand words: Bite to the arm given on Wednesday. I was sick and she was on her stand in the bedroom. She kept climbing on her sleep cage next to the stand and heading for the floor. I put her back a few times then finally decided she was going in the sleep cage. She decided she was going to make me pay for putting her in the cage. Luckily we had the needle-sharp tip of the beak trimmed just a week before. It barely broke skin but left a dime-sized knot under the skin and a bruise. This picture was taken tonight. The knot has gone down but the bruise is still turning pretty colors and is tender. Then there was the thumb. We'd gotten up and I was taking her down stairs perched on my left hand, and she decided she was going to bend down and chomp the tip of my thumb. Only a tiny scratch but the thumbnail throbbed for a good long time. The first picture is from Wednesday and the next one from tonight. I am guessing it has something to do with Daddy being gone more the past couple of weeks. Somehow this must be my fault.

I am sure another opportunity will come along. This kind of situation happens more often than not (birds being given up because they aren't "what (was) expected." When the right bird comes along, I think you will know it is right for you.

^Good advice. I have found that having more than one actually takes LESS time because they want to interact with each other. A good example is Maks and Alex. Maks was WAY beyond clingy with me before he and Alex made up. Alex originally had an instant mutual attraction with our male Green Cheek (Conner) but after the female Green Cheek lured Conner away from him and after Conner's untimely death which he mourned deeply, Alex then turned to Maks, perhaps for comfort. At the time, Maks was initially kind of snippy with Alex, but Alex was very.... persistent. Once they made up to each other, Maks found he would rather spend time with Alex than with me. He still comes to me at being called. He still likes to sit on my shoulder, or my head. But if Alex flies to another room I am instantly left behind. The only time Maks wants to be with me is when Alex is with me as well. The Green Cheeks have their own little flock dynamic and don't want or need me except as a food dispenser unless the babies want to climb in and preen my hair. And Megan, since Mar died, has been my almost constant companion. She takes FAR more time, energy and attention now that she does not have her companion and playmate. Is this my perception out of guilt? Perhaps. But she approaches ME far more often now. She *never* used to fly to me or land on me. Now it happens often. I think having another bird they can be comfortable with is what every bird needs. It doesn't have to be a "mate" necessarily. Maks and Alex (not for Alex's lack of trying) are not 'mates' in that sense as Maks just does let Alex get too physical with him (unlike Conner, who evidently 'swung both ways'). Maks will allow Alex to preen but sadly will not preen Alex back, which seems to bother me more than it bothers Alex. But they are emotionally bonded to each other and get absolutely hysterical if they are separated and out of each others' sight - even for a moment! The bonds that these birds have with their flockmates is amazing to see, and I wish every bird could have another bird in its flock. I just think it is emotionally healthy for them.

Thanks, Judy. We intend to get another Grey, not so much for ourselves but for Megan. Our last vet said, and I have personally witnessed, that the birds get something from having a close companion that they cannot get from humans, no matter how much time, love or attention you give. We are currently looking for another Grey. Megan is very territorial so it will probably have to be a male because I cannot imagine her allowing a female to 'crowd her space' OR share her Daddy. She is the ultimate Daddy's Girl.

That was the problem. The cere when she was young was a pale blue. I thought it looked male (having had budgies before). But then it started changing to a flesh colored hue. So we thought maybe 'it' was female. Then we moved. The cere again turned partly blue. However, at the time we were feeding the Goldenfeast Austrailian blend, the smell which makes my mouth water. She loved it, but it seemed to stain her face and beak and cere, so we thought maybe that was causing the respiratory issues. We discontinued feeding it, the respiratory issue went away, and the cere returned to blue with pale cream edges. She was seen by one vet, who even examined her nares very closely at this time and said she felt the bird was male. Then a couple of weeks ago, the cere got VERY dark, like a deep purple blood color. I was hysterical and rushed the bird to the vet. This vet said this was a normal color change for a sexually matured female. I would not call it cherry red, but more of a deep reddish purple. I had found on the internet that male birds can have this change, due to a testicular tumor. (This only fueled the panic). The only way to tell which was which was to go ahead and have the bird sexed, so we did. If it had come back that it was a boy, then we'd have had to go further with treatments for the cancer. I was so relieved when they called me and said "It's a girl!". The second vet said she wondered if her pale color mutation did not have something to do with the unusual cere colors. I have personally never seen a female with a blue cere before, but then again I am no expert. I am just happy that she is a little girl, and healthy. Now if I could just get the little stinker to consistently eat fresh food. She refused to touch Harrison's pellets but did compromise and eat the Roudybush crumbles. It looks like we are adopting a re-homed friend for her later this week! I just hope they get along.

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement. It's 'birdy quiet time' at the moment and as I sit here with Megan perched on the back of my chair with one foot drawn up, all I hear are many rustles of preening and lots of little beaks grinding contentedly. I love them all. Mar was just very special and we shared a really strong bond. I do believe that the depth of our love also is proportionate to the grief we feel when we lose the ones we love.

Thank you. I am sure I will be around more in the coming weeks.

Everything seems harder right now. He was so much a part of my life that I see memories of him everywhere. I just have to keep telling myself that I am not the only mother who ever lost a son, and try to go on for the others. He really did enrich my life. He was my light and my joy. It didn't matter to me that he didn't talk. He loved me, and I loved him. He used to make this adorable cooing noise for me every night when I came to bed, so that I would kiss him. I would give anything to hear that one more time.

So true! The really hard thing is, that when you replace having human children with non-human ones, others do not seem to understand how profound the loss can be. You don't get bereavement leave from work. You don't get all friends and family traveling across country to comfort you. I did get some beautiful cards from our vets (one wasn't even our avian vet!). I keep wondering each day if this will be the day I don't cry. So far, it hasn't been. Thank you for your kind words.

I made a batch of these last week with Harrison's bread mix (the hot pepper one) and sugar cones. They came out pretty well and Megan loved the fact that it was something to destroy as well as food! Tonight, I made some from-scratch corn bread, subbing red palm for the oil, and used the regular cones. I made my own 'cone baking tray' from a disposable foil "deep" roaster and a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil with holes poked in it for the cones to sit in. The recipe calls for baking the cornbread at 425 degrees. I reduced to 325 and added ten minutes time and got good results. The first batch were plain, the second has walnuts in (those spilled over, as you can see in the picture!) and the last batch was baked into a cake pan as I ran out of cones. It has mixed berries in it. I tried some of the 'spillage' (the broken piece in the foreground) and it tasted pretty good! You can definitely taste the red palm oil it was still pretty tasty. I hope the birdies like it! I used plain corn meal (House-Autry brand) and followed the recipe on the back, with the exception of subbing the red palm oil and changing the temp. I use almond milk instead of cows' milk, and use aluminum-free baking powder. The cones are no longer 'crisp' as they seem to draw moisture from the bread. We will see in the morning how they have held up and how the birdies like them. UPDATE: I let the cones sit out over night and they did firm up a bit. They are not brittle crisp but are not soft either. The bread in the cake pan (actually a pie plate, now that I look at it... silly me!) turned out delicious. It is loaded with berries and walnuts. The birds had that for breakfast today and loved it!

Hello, all. It's very hard to come to the forum, but I figured I should at least drop in and say hello from time to time to everyone here. You have all been so nice and so supportive. It's been horrible in the weeks since my baby died. I still cry every single day. My entire life centered on our Greybies and the void that is left is huge. Marden was more than a pet. He was my son. I loved him as much as I would have had I given birth to him myself. I never even imagined that I might lose him. Megan has done extremely well, better than expected. She actually even gained weight since I tend to be indulgent with her out of guilt for her being not having a companion. At some point we plan on finding her a "friend"... but not yet. I just can't deal with it yet. We did find out our "Little Budgie" is a little girl so she now has a proper name - Aria Marie. The cere changed to this horrible dark blood color, and I panicked and took the poor thing to the vet. She examined the bird and said she thought I had a female budgie. Evidently the blue cere was some freaky result of her color mutation. Had she been a boy, the color change would have likely meant cancer, so we had the DNA testing done to see if we needed to prepare for the worst. It turns out to be good news. She is just merely a healthy girl going through sexual maturity. We had a great trip up this weekend to visit the Central Virginia Parrot Sanctuary aka Project Perry. Matt, the founder, was extremely gracious in giving us a tour and answering all our questions. He gave us a lot of great advice on planning our own aviary. What a wonderful person and what great work he has done there. The birds were all so happy and well cared for. I was amazed. They are definitely on our list of charities that we support now. Other than that, I am just taking life day by day and trying to get through each day with a minimum of breaking down. Hope all is well for all of you. -- Muse (aka Dee)

Thanks to Talon for answering in the Forum chat box. Megan is now happily crunching away on a skewer of rind pieces, and throwing the bites all over the room. I put some on the 'scary thing' on the bird stand and Maks (cockatiel) and Alex (sun conure) are also having lots of fun. I cut up one cantaloupe and one "personal" watermelon, along with a very ripe mango for breakfast this morning. I anticipate lots of cleaning later...

I have been told cantaloupe rind is not good for birds. Can they eat watermelon rind? I know humans (and pigs and chickens) can. I have had some delicious watermelon rind pickles before with no ill effects. I just cut up a little 'personal watermelon' and was wondering if it was okay to offer the rinds to the birds. Thanks in advance for any wisdom shared on this subject.

That last reply was meant for everyone who posted. I have no idea why it threaded under Inara's post. I clicked "+Reply to Thread" and even "Go Advanced" to check and make sure it said I was replying to thread. I do thank each and every one of you who posted. All the kind words and prayers are appreciated.

I want to thank all of you for the outpouring of comfort and love. I am still in 'doing just enough to get by' mode, crying a lot, and am spending a lot of time with Megan. We spent our week without daddy as he was traveling. It has been a very hard week. The kind thoughts and prayers mean so much to me. Thank you all again. I will be back once I am functional again, I promise.

The vet was really concerned about how Megan would react. We have been very blessed. She never stopped eating. She more subdued for a couple days, and she gives me the strangest look when I burst into tears (which is most of the time). But she has held up very well. She even napped on the recliner chair with me the other day. The worst part of all this is when she calls for him, which she did the first couple days. She would do her 'come here' whistle, then call "C'mere Mar" which would instantly bring on a bout of sobbing and tears. She hasn't said that for a couple days. I think she noticed its effect on me. She has been far less bitey with me, and has even been affectionate, which she is normally not towards me. I have been giving her all the attention I can, as well as special treats. I think we have been kind of therapeutic for each other. I know one thing, if she so much as sniffles, she will be getting a very thorough vet check.

It is with an absolutely crushed and broken heart that I must reply that my baby boy did not pull through his illness. Despite numerous visits to the vet, two nights in the hospital, one at the regular vet and one at the emergency vet, he died Monday afternoon. He continued to get sicker and sicker despite the treatments. I think we caught the spike in WBCs far too late. At least, thank God, I had forgotten to bring his meds with me, and since he was going to be hospitalized, they suggested I bring them back and save from paying for a whole new prescription for each medication. I drove home and returned, and when I did, I asked to spend some time with him. He was weak and having trouble balancing. He pulled a tiny fluff of white feather loose. I took it from him. Something said "Keep this as a memory." Within an hour he was gone. At least I was there with him but that is a very small consolation. I have been beating myself up over and over. What did I do wrong? I tried my best to protect him and keep him healthy and I somehow failed and now he is gone. I haven't stopped crying. The past few days have been a blur. I can barely function, but God has given me enough strength to take care of the rest of our babies. I got the results of the necropsy, and it was worse than we feared. The fungal infection was systemic, affecting every system. We just caught it too late. I just wish I had insisted on a blood panel back on the 2nd. I think the reason they did not run one was because they had just done a full panel at their yearly, less than two weeks before. You'd better believe any of the other birds that shows even a sniffle is going to get a full work up every other day until well. The humidifier is going to be trashed. If they need humidity, I will just steam-clean the floor. The CDC says that evaporative humidifiers do not put pathogens in the air, but I am not ever taking that chance again. Thank you all for your advice, concern, and kind thoughts, but it may be a while before I am able to return to the forums. If it were not for our other babies, I think I would curl up and die of grief.

Well, after a glowing physical and doing very well despite a recent move, Mar has gotten sick. The history of his illness: He had some unknown injury to his left leg. He and Megan were rough-housing on her veranda, flipping upside down and taking turns climbing up and biting at each other through the bars. They've done this since they were little so I did not think much of it. I don't know if she got a bit too rough and bit down on his leg too hard, but that night, I noticed he was not fully retracting it when sleeping, but rather just kind of laying his semi-curled toes against the perch. The next day, he had a bit of a limp. I decided to just have their yearly done early and made appointments for both at the vet. They treated him with meloxicam (NSAID) for inflammation and pain. When he was still favoring the leg after his medication was done, I made another appointment. He had also started showing less interest in food and was losing weight. X-rays were done, they were unremarkable, and he was given another course of meloxicam. The next day, he did not eat hardly anything for me. I panicked and called and they said to bring him by and they'd check him. The vet herself recommended hospitalizing him for feedings. I really didn't want to leave him there, but when I arrived, they'd had three other emergency walk-ins, and were not going to be able to see him until after closing time. I left without my baby and bawled my eyes out all the way home. That evening, the vet called and said he had been eating non-stop since they put some food in his cage. He was eating Zupreem pellets and Harrison's pellets. (All the stuff he will NOT eat at home!) I am sure the vet thinks I am crazy or a liar. So I picked him up the next morning and took him home. They sent some formula home but said not to use it unless he stopped eating again. He was eating, but food did not seem to be his main focus in life, as it had always been. He continued to lose weight, and Wednesday, he spit up on the bed and then began making an odd squeaky sound. I called again (by now I am sure they think I am crazy) and tried to explain the sound. They said possibly he could have aspirated, and gave me an appointment next morning. I took him in, and the vet said the lungs were clear, but was very concerned about his demeanor and his weight loss. She got his chart and began going over the tests and said "Everything was normal" then she mentioned his WBCs were at the high end of normal. I requested they run a new set of labs, and she did. He blessed the table with a nice stool sample, so she checked that as well and ran a urinalysis. All was fine. She gave me an antibiotic more as prophylaxis, just in case he had aspirated and said she'd call with the CBC results. She called me today and said he WBCs were 30, when the normal is 10. She said often in Greys this indicates a fungal infection, which she said they were prone to. So today, I went back and picked up an anti-fungal medication to add to his regimen. And she reinstated the formula feedings. The first day, he loved it and ate it from a spoon. Today, he spit a lot of it out, and I wore most of it. It has always amazed me how quickly a bird's health can turn around. It was the same way with Maks when he got sick. One day he was flying around the house like crazy, the next morning he is puffed up on his perch and quiet. (Maks is NEVER quiet - this was the only time). I feel I have really good vets, but I still worry. She gave him a B12 shot yesterday, which made him perkier and more hungry. In fact, he flew off the play stand and landed in my dinner last night. (Feet first, then a beak... yum.) I will just feel much better when he is back to his old self. I have been trying to figure out how he might have been exposed to a fungal infection. I keep the cages and play stands clean. They get fresh water bowls at least once a day, often more than that. I check their food constantly for freshness. The only thing I could think of was the humidifier, which I suspect due to me keeping the room so warm, had a few tiny spots of black around the rim of the water. I cleaned it immediately when I noticed it, and am going to start putting some lavender essential oil, just a drop or two, in to inhibit fungal and bacterial growth. Or perhaps I will just stop using it and use the steam cleaner and mop more often, as they really make it humid in the house. Has anyone else been through this? Is there some route of exposure I may be overlooking? Any suggestions? Thanks, Muse

Actually, from research I have done, another problem (besides lead in wicks) is that most candles, if they are not labeled "100% Soy" or "pure beeswax" are made with waxes of petroleum origins. Many of they heavy oil synthetic perfumes used in candles are also not healthy. I have sensitivities to some heavy scents, a good sniff of the wrong candle can ruin the rest of my day. I can only imagine what this stuff does to a bird. I would say safety for birds depends on several factors: 1. The candle base material. Ever wonder why the melted end product of a used candle is much smaller than the candle before being burned? Part of the wax is actually turned to vapor by the combustion. That means minute particles of the wax, whatever type, is then present in the air near the candle. This is why we can smell them. Those tiny particles, unseen by the eye, are deposited on our olfactory receptor cells. If we can smell it, that means there are tiny particles hanging in the air that are also being inhaled into lungs. 2. Type of scent. Many are based on petroleum products, and other harmful synthetic compounds. The difference between aromatic oil and essential oil is that essential oils are plant based oils. Aromatic oils may come from various sources, including potentially toxic or carcinogenic chemicals and compounds. Here is an interesting like on fragrances - it is based on fragrances as they apply to perfumes, colognes and body sprays, but remember many of these same 'scents' are also put into candles. http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2010/05/something-stinks-secrecy-and-health-hazards-courtesy-fragrance-industry The trend with candles also seems to be moving towards more and more scent products per candle. Buyer beware. 3. Proximity to birds and volume of air exchange in the home. Sadly, in our quest for energy-efficiency, we have made our homes into tightly closed eco-systems where in we then introduce all kinds of toxins to the air we are breathing. From formaldehyde to PTFEs, what used to be diluted due to air exchange with outside air, they are now held within the rooms where they are released as homes become more tightly sealed against the outside elements (including the element of fresh air). The good thing is that many scents are large enough molecules that they will 'drop out' of the air over distance. If the scent is still strong where birds are, it is probably too close. Having had problems with environmental asthma and having a sister with full-blown asthma, I know it is very important to monitor 'scents', especially heavy ones - no matter how good they may smell. As a nurse, I have to believe that if things can affect the breathing of a set of human lungs with asthma, it stands to reason that they cannot be healthy for birds. Even lighting the beeswax candles and use of essential oils here are not done in close proximity to the birds, just because I am an over-protective, paranoid nut case. YMMV. That being said, I do have a friend who has had birds for years with no apparent problems and with better than average life spans, who has regularly used regular candles in the same room.

Megan says her own name, but usually when she is chastising herself (often for something she is either in the process of doing or about to do). "Megan! No! Get off the door" right before she flies up on the french door and proceeds to chomp a bite out of it before I can get across the room! Her new favorite phrase is "Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy..." usually with a lot of head bobbing. It usually has the desired effect, and she is learning that, so I expect the behavior to increase. Hehehe. The only "mama" I get is "Wanna come to mama?" usually when she wants me to pick her up.

Okay, we had our follow up appointment today, and I asked the vet about using essential oils. She said that some are stronger than others and she would not recommend using them in a warmer or candle right next to the bird cage and not in a heavy concentration, but said that essential oils are often used, specifically lavender, for their calming effect on animals. I am going to order some of the lavender candles beeswax tealights from Candleshop Creations. I have used oils in a 'wick' warmer before, but not right near the birds, as I had read they are actually beneficial. And if you think about it, they are smelling essential oils in nature when they smell fruits and flowers as these are the 'essences' of what makes things smell good. And those are the candles from petcandles.com that they sell (and use) there. They highly recommend them and said they are safe. I have decided to rehome mine, but that is just because I am a fanatical paranoid nutcase, hehe. I am going to move to all beeswax, and of course my trusty little crock pot. I have been making spiced teas and infusions, then when they are spent, I dump them in the crock pot and let them simmer to scent the house.

The first clue is that the person is advertising in a city that is NOT the one they live in. Why put an ad in Detroit's CL instead of Dallas, where surely there are parrot lovers who might be able to pick the birds up? The only answer I can think of that makes sense is that there are no birds. Hence the 'delivery' scam. CL always recommends dealing locally, and this kind of post is exactly why.

Smart Misty! So cute. Thanks for sharing.

They have some very nice toys. I wonder why they don't weld the rings? I notice they have a disclaimer on a lot of the stuff. Marden loves to dis-assemble bells. He rips the clapper right out of them. I have to give him the sturdier toys. Is that one the major mayhem?