birdmom

not related nevermind.<br><br>Post edited by: birdmom, at: 2007/12/29 06:32

Dan, I can't even look at the pictures. I am crying. Those poor birds. Tied to a stake to lure their flock into a net. Kept for 40 days on corn and water. Stuffed into boxes on top of each other. Caught in nets clawing and biting each other to get out. Broken wings. Broken birds. I am just sick. I've seen these pictures before, and I just get nauseous. No wonder animals don't trust man.

Yep, in fact, i don't call it human sugar, its also verrrry bad for humans. Its known as white refined sugar. Until man started refining white sugar and sold it all over the world, there was no such disease known as Diabetes. We have white refined sugar to thank for that. (and cavities in our teeth.) I haven't even bought any white refined sugar since I learned that about five years ago; if I need sugar, I buy the raw cane sugar, or I sweeten things with natural maple syrup. I am now using Stevia in my coffee, don't know if its safe for birds yet.

THanks Kibibi, I'll check out the links u posted. joanne

Wow! Thanks so much Dave, this is great. Even if I cant drill a hole in the blocks, I could still use those as foot toys. Maybe I should invest in a small drill....

Hello Deb! wow ur having a time of it alright. Have u tried buying a shower perch, one of those Pvc things with two suction cups that stick to the tiles in your shower? Why not try just putting her up on one, far away from the spray, up high about eye level, and go in there and take a shower with her on it? She will benefit from the steam, and she will see u showering, and maybe after 5 or 6 times, she won't be so afriad of water, if you start to splash just a bit on her while u r showering? If she freaks about going into the shower stall, then start by putting her onto a stand up T stand in the bathroom, while u shower, and let her see u in there and make like u r having a grrreat time in there! joanne

Hello! Does anybody buy toy parts and build ur own toys? I recently went thru a basket of leftover toy parts from the toys they destroyed. u know, some chains with bells, a alphabet letter block rope toy that was half chewed up etc. So, I bought more of the colored wood blocks with holes in the middle at the bird shop and bought a cotton rope mop replacement from Walmart. Then I reconstructed the toys that were half destroyed with new rope and added some blocks, and I make a new toy out of the bell with a chain, and presto, I got a new $20 toy! Anybody wanna share toy building ideas? I found alot of toy supplies on featherfantasy dot com. Where do u guys get ur toy parts? I bought a bag of pine cones safe for birds a the bird store but they won't play with em. Charlie chewed on one of em but thats it...

Hi Deb. May I suggest a nanny cam? Perhaps there are things going on when you're not at home that upset her. I know u sd u have kids and Im sure they are wonderful. But maybe when u r gone they attempt to entertain her. Perhaps it is a family pet? Or maybe she just hates the sight of hubby. Where is her cage kept? Do u have a cat? Maybe it sits and stares at her. I would like to suggest that when you go out for a short while, put her in a sleeping cage in a safe room and close the door and put the radio on. Tell the others to leave her totally alone. See if she still destroys feathers. She may need some privacy. If that doesn't reveal anything 2 u, then get a nanny cam from radio shack to find out if something or someone is annoying her while u r out. Do not tell ur family about the nanny cam. Over here the aloe baths and red palm are helping buddi. her feathers are growing back in and she isnt plucking as much. I'm spending more time with her and give her special time each nite b4 bed and she gets to stay up after Charlie. I'm letting her chew on all the toilet paper rolls she wants. Good luck I hope this helps. joanne

Thats cute heather. Harrison will learn more things to add on to it..... Charlie started with What? Now he does Whhhhattttt? in a whisper. And What what what what waht? and then he shakes his head its hysterical. He also says What are you doing? in a whisper... its sooo cute especially when he wants to see if I'm up yet in the morning. Happy new year!

hi sandra, my birds too clear their throats or sniffle and it's because of hte same thing I usually get a sinus infection once a year. Luckily not yet but i've had a cold during the holidays and Buddi keeps coughing and sniffling becuz she hears me doing it. Once I stop it, she usually stops it. It gave me a scare the first time tho! hope you are feeling better soon and hve a happy new year. birdmom

danmcq wrote: I just may need to switch to hew electronically switched ballasts for my fluorescents. They have them available upto speeds of 27,000 cycles per second. Another fix, would be to switch to DC powered lighting, which is not cyclical and remains at a constant voltage. Hi Dan,and thanks. This is verrry interesting! Can u please help us to understand about : Hew electronically switched ballasts for flourescent lights? Also, I don't know waht DC powered lighting means, so sorry! Can you explain or is it too complicated for the forum? joanne, thanks.

Well, that's what people keep telling me. But, I've had her since oct. 2003 and I've never seen this b4. And it happens to coincide with using the ZooMed light more now that I'm home more. I noticed it last week, so I turned off the lamp and used it for a shorter time the rest of the week and didn't turn in on every day. Then yesterday, I noticed her sitting right under it, about 18 inches away. Now today, guess what? She is very pink again on her face. I think she is getting too much sun. Actually my new vet told me about a month ago that there is developing research that those avian full spectrum lights that have been touted for Parrots--most of them are perceived by the bird's vision like a strobe light and she said the new research is being done by an avian opthamologist. So she told me not to use them, that it bothers the birds eyes. Since these are preliminary studies that I have not seen published, I thought it was poo-poo but guess what? Buddi's eyes look like she didn't get any sleep, like she has dark circles around them or like she's tired. So....I think I'm gonna stop with the Zoo Med light. I'll post again if the pink skin fades again. joanne ps: yes, I use only the bulbs made by zoo-med for this avian lamp I paid alot of money for.

what state r u moving to?

Post here what books you read over the last 12 months in 2007 and what you're reading now or next. Any movies you wanna see? Me: Michael Crighton: Next Dan Brown: Da Vinci Code (second time) Steve Berry: Alexandria Link Lauren Weisberger: The Devil Wears Prada Dan Brown: Angels and Demons (reading now) Books on my 2008 list are: Stephen Flynn, The Edge of Disaster Stephen Flynn, America the Vulnerable John Taylor Gatto, Dumbing Us Down Movies on my list to see: (DVD) Michael Moores, Sicko (just saw it) The Hoax, starring Richard Gere Al Gores new movie, An Inconvenient Truth

I'm taking a poll: How often do you eat fast food? eg: drive thru eateries such as McDonalds, Carls Jr, Taco-Hell, etc. Me: I go to fast food places as a last resort about once a month at the most. Sometimes months go by and I don't eat there. If I must I get either a chicken sandwich or an all-bean burrito. No beef. Do you feed it to your Parrot? Me, no.... I take it back, I think a few years ago I got some french fries and I slipped one to Buddi. Do you eat chips and cookies at home? How often do you give them to your bird? Me: Cookies I rarely eat 'em, none are in the house. I only buy corn chips, blue or white and I buy the ones with very low sodium content. I give my bird maybe 2 chips a week when I have them-- but I don't always have any. Right now I have organic white corn chips, they have a sodium content of 75 mg or 3%/ per a serving of 12 chips. I figger if I shouldn't be eating it, neither should the Parrot.

No more than one a day according to what I've read by Sally Blanchard.

From your Librarian-in-Training I have read mixed info on grapes or their skins. My birds usually peel them, but a vet told me last spring to ease up on the sugary fruits, since all that sugar can prevent the good digestion of other foods. I did some research and found some info about the Oligomeric procyanidins found in red grape skins, but it all seems to look like its good for people.... However, when I went to the ASPCA website under poison control for pets, I found that grapes are reported to cause extreme gastric upset in dogs, if they eat alot of them. No reason was given. Sooo...then I found an article by Liz Wilson who is a vet tech in Philadelphia. Its all about the myths of parrot diets and human foods, entitled:LET'S TALK ABOUT NUTRITION AGAIN OR A NON-NUTRITIONIST'S POINT OF VIEW: Is Your Parrot REALLY Eating A Good Diet? This article was found at: http://www3.upatsix.com/liz/articles/nutrition.html On page four she indicates that grapes contain twice as much phosphorus as calcium, which means that for every grape a parrot eats, it has to find a source of calcium to counteract that, (since I believe it is phosphorus that impairs calcium absorption, or something like that). Anyway the article has great info on calcium vs phosphorus, and what foods have them in ratios. So read it if you want theres the link. Hope that helps. She says that "one grape to a bird the size of a cockatiel [approximately 100 grams] was equal to 49 grapes to a human. And that, my friends, is A LOT OF GRAPES." *Sally Blanchard recommends only using grapes as a treat, 1/2 of a grape per day eg: as a reward. birdmom

Hey, i like baked chicken.

Hey Joe, When I bought my Buddi CAG they did her talons with a big nail file, trim the feathers and used a manicure dremel on the tip of the beak. I am told now that it is considered cruel, that it is very painful. Does anybody know on that? In Orange County CA I went to a shop that used a manicure nail file the big ones that they make for acrylic fingernails, and they brush it over the sides of the beak a few times. I think maybe these practices are used to simulate the bird's natural wear and tear. I think in the wild maybe they are rubbing their beak on trees to clean it off and keep it sharp. I know my guys are always rubbing it on their manazanita perch or the bars to clean it off, which in the wild would cause it to sluf off old beak.

Could it be the full spectrum lite by her cage? I wonder if its a sunburn.

karma to you, Good Bird!

Where did you get him. Is it a new bird? Try to contact your breeder or the place you bought him. But I suspect he is sick and needs a vet badly. Keep the bird warm, away from drafts. Calcium as a cure for an ear infection is nonsense.

yes. just keep the routines exactly the same. Same food, same cage, same nite time, same schedule. I recommend a pro biotic in case of stress it'll prevent an unbalance in the intestines. Like acidophilous, you can sprinkle it on the food. I would take her around and show her the new house and I suggest playing music in the new place. Mine seem to loosen up when the radio is on. And until her cage arrives you may want to let her sleep in the same room with you.

Hello Joe. We are blessed with the presence of a Schmoogie. Schmoogie: = term of endearment.

You deserve great Karma for taking in this very deserving one. :cheer: Cheer to Janie! Now that's commendable. :woohoo: I know of one reallly lucky birdie this Christmas. Now he/she doesn't have to be alone anymore. Merry Christmas Echo! ps: I don't knwo where u live, but some parrot shops will take a toenail clipping when you go in for grooming, they'll give you a little form and envelope to fill out and you enclose around $30 for a DNA gender test. That is how I found out that my Buddi is a female. I thought she was, she has a small rounded head, it's not big and flat on top like many males and she has grey edges on her under-tail coverts. happyhappy Friday joanne