dblhelix

I am a bit frightened here if we are referring to Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein was completely literate. He was a professor, college educated...there are numerous writings by him available...He was one of the most highly educated and influential people of his time and probably of all time. http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein#Works_by_Einstein<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/12/16 03:20

Congrats Judo! Keep us updated and post some pics...babies are so cute!

Pears are fine, its "avocado pears" (aka avocado) that can be poisonous to them. Cooked potatoes are fine too. I am not sure about raw potatoes as it is much more common to feed them cooked. ***Others have posted information regarding potential danger in raw potatoes. Please read more in this thread***<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/12/26 18:40

WELCOME Baillor!

Raw garlic in small quantities is "probably" ok for birds. Garlic on garlic bread is most likely cooked (even if slightly) so it would be less toxic. I am a strong supporter of the benefits of raw garlic for humans. But even if a human sucked down a whole clove of raw garlic my guess is your tummy would not feel so great and your throat would burn. Raw garlic is pretty harsh and it can be hard to digest. Again it is all relative, think of the size of our birds. Many things are possible with the very sad and unfortunate story of the bird that passed where garlic was invovled. Maybe something unrelated to the garlic was the cause? Maybe this particular little one was alergic to garlic? Maybe if a bird eats an entire clove (or at least picks away at most but eats enough to fill the crop) in one sitting it is not possible for the bird to digest and the garlic eats through the insides? Have you ever cut fresh garlic and seen how it gets real "sticky" as it dries out? Maybe if they get too much in the crop and they can't barf it up? The statistics seem to favor the likely hood that the garlic was at least in some part related to the death. Everyone needs to decide what is best. I, for one, will keep fresh garlic away from Kip, but if she ate a little I would not panic.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/12/13 02:22

Pat, I am so sorry to hear about this incident with your poor little Sprout. I hope for a speedy recovery and send my best wishes to Sprout and you. It sounds like you are doing everything you can under the circumstances. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to see the little one in this condition but you should not blame yourself for an accident. Please keep us posted as we all hope for the best recovery possible.

Congrats on quitting. I hope you stick it out. Best for you and your family (pets, birds in particular included!!). B) Are you smelling something offensive? I guess as you indicate with more time you may be able to better identify the smell. A perceived breath smell is affected by what they have eaten, just like us humans. In addition, birds definitely have a distinct "bird smell" that may well have been overpowered by the smoking. Some people may be more or less sensitive to the smell. I note a very similar smell on just about every parrot I have handled.

Onions can be contaminated with E.coli. However they are less susciptible to E.coli contamination than leafy greens (lettuce, spinach etc) and all things growing on or near the ground could be contaminated. It is more likely that uncooked onions are toxic to our birds. Some studies have linked onion consumption to red blood cell damage in certain animals. This is not yet conclusive in birds, but generally raw onions should be on the "prohibited" list as should raw garlic. As most know, some raw onions are very sharp tasting. There are compunds in there giving them that bite. Birds are small so a little could easily be more toxic to them than to us. Cooking the onions breaks down these compounds substantially and converts starches to sugar (that is why cooked onions taste sweet). Below is a general link with some good info on E.coli http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/escherichiacoli_g.htm

WeLcOmE! B) Super cute one there, thanks for sharing!!

I have read that birds are affected by THC (the chemical in Hemp that produces the high) and they have been observed in parts of the world where Hemp grows naturally feeding on the seeds and loving it! I have not heard of feeding Hemp seeds as a particular cure to plucking, though I can imagine it "may" help. However, there also may be negative effects to the animal over the long run so it would be best to investigate more. As Judy suggests, I would confer with an avian vet. http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/hemp/hempseed.htm

HOORAY!! Congrats! B)

Provided the grapes are well washed I dont think the skin should be problem. I usually give Kip 1 or 2 grapes/day. She loves them. She also wolfs down 2 Almonds, a few pine nuts, broccoli, carrots, fresh corn, bean supreme, dried figs, green beans, a few other bits of seasonal fruits every day in addition to the seed and pellet mix she always has available.

I agree, something does not sound right here and you should have Kimi evaluated by a vet. You indicate Kimi is happy etc , so the most important thing is to understand what may be going on so you can continue to provide the best home possible for him. Keep us posted on the status. B)

Lusya, Others have provided additional valuable information here. While it is hard to know exactly what you are dealing with just from your posts, the impression I get is you may be worrying over nothing. Stop worrying! From what you have indicated so far everything sounds perfectly normal with your little one. It is absolutely expected that you should be able to feel their keel bone. In fact if you cannot feel it that is a problem (they are fat!). Stop worrying for now, it does no good. Get more weight data. As we have indicated, the key is to watch for drastic weight changes in short time. Your bird weight will change over time and as Dan indicated may go up and down as they get older, put on muscle, exercise etc. The key is to watch for more than 10% changes in a very short time. B) Try not to worry, you will only make your bird nervous as they key off your energy. Chances are all is well...

Lusya, You need to monitor the weight and determine what is normal for your bird. If the weight is stable for Izzie at an average of 380g then there is no reason for concern or sign of illness based on weight. If you read the information and link I posted you will see that 380g may be perfectly normal for a CAG. The healthy weight can vary quite a bit from bird to bird. As stated in my last post here, a 10% drop in weight is considered a possible sign of illness that would warrant professional review. <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/12/08 01:43

400g can be perfectly normal for a CAG. They are all different. Kip is 18 months and now weighs 390g. From about 1yr to present she went from 360g to 390g. Normal CAG weight range is considered from 350g to 500+g depending on the bird. Much of their size is dependent on ancenstry and the geographical part of Africa their lineage is from. Below is a link I have previously shared that provides some size related info http://www.africanature.com/Project%20Africa/wildgreys.htm

Once you have some data to reasonably understand what the "normal" healthy weight is for your bird, it is a good idea to weigh once/week or at least once/month. Weight is one of the things the bird cannot hide if sick, but they are pretty good at hiding many other symptoms that people may not key in to. If you note a 10% or more change in weight in a short time its considered significant to warrant further health evaluation.

Tail feathers certainly do drop out during the molt. Are other feathers dropping as well besides tail feathers? The age you mention is in the expected range for a molt to happen. I would keep my eye out for pin feathers coming in around the tail as replacements. If you see that soon then its almost certain to be a natural molt process. During her most recent big molt, Kip would be preening and then come up with a full feather (tail, flight etc). She would proudly hold it in her foot and sometimes gnaw on the end or just play with them like a prize for a minute.

Most birds in captivity care for their beaks and there should be no need for any filing. Provide them wood and other chewing/beak exercise material. They also keep their beaks perfectly tuned by grinding the upper and lower parts together. Unless there is overgrowth or an actual problem, trimming can produce problems by limiting your birds eating and climbing ability. A ragged looking beak to us may be perfectly normal and natural for a bird. Again, unless there is an actual problem why trim at all?

I have not had to deal yet with broken bloods, but read (again) that in most cases the bird will be able to care for a broken blood feather w/o much need for us to intervene. If a blood feather is severly broken, bleeding does not stop on its own and we cannot help it stop then pulling may be required. However, in most cases pulling should be a last resort as it is painful, traumatic and often not necessary. There seems to be a hyper sensitivity to birds and bleeding. I recall that some here have had hands on experience with this and hope they weigh in on this issue. This is a fairly good and short list to review: http://www.avianweb.com/bleeding.html

Glad to hear the good news. BTW - I have read that stiptick powder (aks quick stop or silver nitrate sticks) in general is dangerous. If it is ever "accidentally" applied to the skin or feather root it can cause permanent damage even to future feather growth and if it gets in the eyes somehow big trouble. In addition this can cause systematic poisoning. Obviously if it were a choice between bleeding to death and using the stiptick powder to stop the bleeding the choice should be pretty clear. But, there are safer options like cornstarch and flower that should do the trick on most common bleeding injuries. B)

Hmm, there are feathers growing around the gland area. Certainly could be a sensitive blood feather there. However, its just so tough to really know what you are seeing w/o seeing ourselves. I would think chances are give it a little time and it will probably resolve, but again, not really clear what you are dealing with and I dont have much experience with the preen gland. Hopefully others can provide more insight, but you may need to see a vet if it does not heal up. I will see if I can find anything out about the preen gland.

Totoro is gorgeous....super cute, what a camera model! Thanks for sharing!!

Hi all, Just thought I would share an observation with you, particularly newer owners with younger birds... Kip is now 18 months and about a month ago we noted that something was clearly changing with her beak. The beak is constantly growing in an ongoing process but it became visually very evident that something was going on. The "ridge" many have noted past the apex of the curve in the beak was much more defined and the beak color around the apex of the curve became very light horn colored. We were joking that she was turning into a TAG since she's on the small side Anyways the area continued to get lighter and then a pretty large piece just flaked off! Now there is beautiful new, really smooth beak beneath (all black). Very shiny like when she was a baby! I know this is a normal process birds go through but this was the first time I really got to watch the whole thing and thought I would share my experience in case others observe something similar. B)<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/12/04 04:07

We usually call Kipusa "Kip", but often use "Kippy", "Kipper", "Kipster" and we call her "Ruby" sometimes too in honor of the pretty tail, and just to confuse her!