mas

Awww... Di he/she is just precious! I know you want a boy - but even if it's not a boy Monty will be wonderful - Zahzu is a girl, and when we got her we had 3 to choose from - i just chose at random! ) Enjoy!!

thanks so much guys!

<br><br>Post edited by: mas, at: 2008/06/23 14:40

<br><br>Post edited by: mas, at: 2008/06/23 14:37

Hi Here are finally some photos of Zahzu. <br><br>Post edited by: mas, at: 2008/06/23 14:34

Oh, another thing I've done is I notice she goes in the corner of her cage and grabs her wing in her foot and plucks the feathers - so I've put toys in the corners of the cage in the hope that if she can't access the places she goes to pluck in, it might reduce her plucking - or she might play with the toys instead. -S

Well, in that case it seems Zahzu's beak and toe nails didn't even need a file. I didn't actually even ask for them to be filed down - her beak was a tiny bit sharp and so were her toes - but it meant she could climb myself and my husband easily! Up our jeans and tops onto our shoulders etc - now she slips off us if she's sitting on our knees poor baby. And, she can't fly at all - she just drops like a rock.... Humans often develop depression after traumatic injury, so for a bird that doesn't understand what's happened its no surprise she's upset. Anyway - I am on the right continent to get palm nut plants - so will do a bit of research and see if I can get it here - fingers crossed! I think it'll also be much more nutritious than the bottled palm fruit oil she has. Thanks everyone....will keep you all posted!

Yeah, I think that is probably a good idea - only thing is the vet we currently take her to has not been so gr8 - he recommends when we see her plucking we should spray her with water so she associates 'something bad' happening with plucking. I was like EEEEK NO WAY! and then in his next sentence he tells us bathing is important and we can use a spray bottle to mist her!! Also, Dave007 pointed out when Zahzu broke her beak that sometimes this can happen when her beak is filed too much - and sure enough her beak was filed down a LOT, also, after her feathers were removed under anesthetic her toe nails were also filed and I noticed one of them was very short and had been bleeding when I picked her up from the vet. So I'm not keen to take her back to the same vet, and in the town we live in there are no Avian vets I think the nearest would be 2 hours away. Also, she really gets stressed going to the vet... but I have heard of a vet here who breeds African Greys; however he is not an Avian vet - what do you think about trying him rather? For Zahzu I think there are mulitple causes for this plucking: 1. Bad wing clip 2. We went away for a week - she had 2 ppl checking on her and cleaning her cage daily 3. Toe nail and beak filed down too much & having damaged feathers removed under anesthetic 4. Possible dry skin from not bathing enough I'm home with her all day and she's out of her cage most of the time... and I'm trying sooo hard to stop this...its really upsetting - I feel like I've let her down. -Sameera

Hey everyone, Zahzu has plucked out more feathers from the edge of her left wing - from her shoulder down - can see the skin - its awful! Trying to keep her really busy. Was reading up and have read that something that can help is filling the cage up with foliage for the bird to chew through and also putting loooots of toys in the cage. I have about 10 toys in her cage - plus newspaper and paper to chew and she LOVES to chow macaroni! That keepps her really busy. So, my question is: is it a good idea to put foliage in her cage for her to chew up? And what type would be good for her? I just really wish this plucking would stop - Its really really awful! -Sameera

aaaaaaahahahaha! That's so cute! Wouldn't you have loved to have caught that on camera huh? -Sameera

OH MY GOSH! What an awful experience. When they talk about human doctors -there is a concept of 'bedside manner' - that means etiquette; ensuring your patient is spoken to well, comfortable etc. This vet has absolutely no social decorum! Instead of coming to speak to you and getting your side of the story, apologising for the cut, reassuring you - you received nothing of that. Geez. I'd be writing a letter of complaint to that vet and telling everyone who the vet was. That is really awful. It was obvious you and your baby were distressed, and the staff there should have recognised that and reassured you rather than aggravate the situation. Uh, I'm so cheesed off with them-whoever they were! :angry: Anyway, now that's off my chest - the main thing is that you are both ok now. Give your baby lots of treats and special attention-he deserves it! All the best for your recovery -Sameera

Thank you everyone for your tips and advice. We are on a mission now: Mission Bathtime! We need to get this brat soaked even if she bites me ;-) I haven't seen or heard her pull out any feathers since the tantrum after being sprayed by me this afternoon, so lets hope we continue to improve. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a quickfix?? Hmm.. -Sameera

Well, we bought a humidifier last week for her to avoid having to spray her - so I'm keeping the humidifier on most of the day. Is this going to be a substitute for misting her with the water? The humidifier is right next to her cage and she gets the mist from it directly on her sometimes.... This is really frustrating - but I guess it's one of those things...gotta deal with it! ;-)

I"m trying so hard to ignore it - I walk away when she does it - maybe she knows I'm walking away because of the plucking???

Hmmm... I also always thought aloe juice was meant to be clear - ohhh...it's whole leaf pulp - is this going to be a problem? She really hates the spray - I tried again with the stream and she was crashing around her cage a great deal...dear oh dear. -Sameera

Thanks so much guys.... I had to mist her with aloe juice (it's brown - is that normal???) because she wouldn't bath in it. She was screaming blue murder while I misted her- it was awful and after it was done she pulled out a shread of down feather! I'm wondering if that forced misting is going to increase anxiety? But I am also really worried if I stop it her skin will get even more dry than it already is... Should I start by misting once per day only? Or try a few times per day if that'll help get her used to it quicker? I know I need to persist till she's used to the misting, but i feel like such a meanie! Thanks again..... -Sameera

Hey everyone, Since having damaged feathers removed at the vets - in the last 3 days Zahzu has started pulling out soft downy feathers and soft little grey feathers from her left wing shoulder. We are trying to get her to bath more, have renovated her cage so she's got more things to shred and chew up, are making sure we walk away whenever she pulls out the feathers etc...... Have read all the posts here with advice re plucking, but just wanted to share this worry with you all! I know worrying about it will make it worse also, I try not to let on to her that I'm worrying, but inside I am! Will she stop plucking?? She's doing it less than day before yesterday as far as I know.. -Sameera

We bought Zahzu a flight suit - and she didn't like putting it on - I thought I could persist with trying, but on second thoughts felt it is quite unnatural so decided to give it up and work on toilet training her which has been pretty good - a few poo's have landed on us, but nothing serious! -Sameera

awwwwwww... I'm melting!

The vet said we have nothing to worry about and there is no need for any treatment. Zahzu is still fine, happy as ever... just can't wait for her to molt and get back her flight feathers! -Sameera

Eek - silly woman to carry on in front of the bird! She really underestimated Ziggy! But the poor bird - they could have worked on changing his speech to something else...hope he has found a loving new home!

Hi Scorpio, I'm sorry to hear about the poor baby bird, I can't really offer any legal advice, but like DanMcQ said - publicly name this breeder, make it an issue wherever you can. Write to the local newspaper too - tell local pet shops - tell everyone you see! It's sad that some people care more for the health of their pocket than the health of the living creatures they are meant to care for! Anyway, focus your energy on getting this baby better and love him/her to pieces - you hopefully will have a long and fulfilling life together. Keep us updated... -Sameera

Everyone is welcome to come eat cake - I'll even make coffee - only catch is you need to come over to my place in South Africa to get it! ;-) Zahzu is 100% - I emailed the vet a picture of her beak and he will hopefully email back this evening...keep you all posted! -Sameera