auntiebethd

Lol-I totally agree Ronda! Trust me, it took everything I had to write that check!:pinch: I am just going to bring her to my regular vet next time-where we bring the rest of the animals!

Yeah, it sucks big time, but it is just money and I learned my lesson...I'm not even going to go through the trouble to not pay them b/c I don't want to deal w/ any collections problems...trust me, I work for my parents and they are State Marshals and the last thing I need is to do a wage garnishment against myself! She is a real "you know what" and I absolutely will NEVER go back there!

I live in Mystic, CT...home of the movie Mystic Pizza Cold winters, some snow, beautiful spring and fall and sometimes very hot summer, but bearable :cheer:

Thanks guys! I agree Judy-solutions would have been the better choice..I mean, it's not like I am saying I am right, I am right, etc. I would love constructive criticism-that's why I come on here! It was like she was telling me to open the cage and reach right in...I know I wouldn't want someone to do that to me! I will NEVER use that crazy woman again! Spooky-Yeah, she was very bad w/ me and didn't really do much handling of Lila-her vet tech. was really nice and really gentle w/ Lila...the vet had a really rough time cutting Lila's nails and there was alot of blood, but I am guessing (hoping) that it was b/c she has probably never had her nails cut...poor Lila...her toes must me so sore Also, she only cut one wing...what are everyone's thoughts on this? I have read conflicting statements, but my regular vet cuts both of my cockatiels wings.<br><br>Post edited by: auntiebethd, at: 2008/03/04 17:37

So, I am new here and recently wrote about my bird Lila and how we were having a vet come to my house to examine her. I will NEVER use that vet again...she was AWFUL! First of all, I was charged $170.00 ($60 for travel and I live walking distance from her office...not fair to me that I have to pay the same as someone who lives 30 miles away) and then the $90.00 for wing trimming, nail clipping and then an extra $20.00 for the stool sample. She made me feel like I am a terrible bird owner that has no clue what I am doing. I will be honest here and say that I do not know everything, but I am pretty informed about the care of birds. I went to the University of Connecticut and have an Associates and Bachelors Degree in Animal Science. I have taken nutrition classes, companion animal classes, avian medicine classes, etc. You name it, I have learned about it. Once I told her that I had the degrees her tune changed a bit. When she first got there, I felt like she was tearing me apart...you have too many toys for her, you are offering her too many different foods, you should take the grate out of the bottom of her cage, I can smell a candle (there was no candle) she is afraid of the cats, you need to get the cat box in another room, etc., etc. I have lots of toys for her b/c I want her to have something to play with, I offer her 4 different foods (2 different pellets, one seed and one seed w/ pellets) along with a large variety of fruits and veggies EVERY SINGLE DAY) I change her water 3 times a day, I like the grate in the bottom of her cage for cleanliness so that she isn't walking around in her poo and discarded food and so that she isn't playing w/ the newspaper. I change her paper and clean the grate EVERY SINGLE DAY. Then the issue of getting her out of the cage...she was chastising me for not letting her out. Well, I have only had her a month and she is very aggressive and I didn't know where to start. I though I was doing right by Lila to let her adjust to us being around and her new atmosphere and honestly, I wanted the vet to examine her and show me where to start and I explained that to her and she wasn't having it. THEN...she started in on me about how Lila didn't have any hand toys...well, I went in the other room and brought about 10 in to her b/c I HAD been giving them to her and everytime I would introduce one, she would start to sit on it and act like she had an egg. Not only did she not apologize for basically yelling at me b/c she didn't think she had any, she didn't offer any solution as to how to handle giving them to Lila...I know she likes to play, but she closes down and acts funny like she is a hen everytime she has one. Last night we did leave her cage door open and she was peeking out...we are going to do this every night and give her the opportunity to come out at her own pace...our goal is to try to handle her so that we can bring her to my regular vet who is the very best in the world!

I agree-Mr. Clean Magic Erasers (or even the Walmart brand) are AMAZING! All I have to do is wet them (no cleaners required) and they take EVERYTHING off!

That's funny Ronda that you have a bird that does the same thing! I just couldn't believe it was something soo simple! My cockatiel is such an unphased little lady about everything and Lila is so complex!

Thanks Judy! {Feel-good-00020114}

OMG...I feel like such a nerd! My fiance called me when he got home from work yesterday to tell me that there was poop in the cage (I make him keep checking!) and said "Lila must have feathers coming in on her neck b/c she keeps rubbing it on the toy in the bottom of the cage" (we have a toy that attaches to the cage that has been there since we got her)...BINGO! I told him to take it out as soon as he could get it w/out being bitten. I had a dance class, so didn't get home for a couple hours after that and she is back to her old self!! I can't believe I didn't even think of that! We are still having the vet come on Monday to do a full bird exam just so that we can hopefully get a clean bill of health and so that I know she is healthy. I just can't believe for all these days I didn't even think of her trying to mate with that toy!!!

Yeah, I know a bit about birds too and I agree- re-homing is tough stuff! Luckily we are very patient people, so we are willing to work with her every stop of the way whether it takes days or years for us to be able to handle her and have her trust us. We have seen a ton of improvement just over the period of a couple months and I agree, every step seems like a huge accomplishment to me! I call everyone even on just one new word! :laugh:

Yes Dan...VERY disgusting! Lila has definitely found her forever home with us!

Thanks guys-we do love her to death! Can you believe that my Aunt actually called to see how she was doing and then after telling her how wonderfully she has adjusted she seriously asked if/when we wanted to give her back b/c they "missed" her...I told her she would have to pry her from my dead hand :woohoo:

Thank you danmcq-We really want to give her the life she never had after all the years of abuse. Even though I'm sure she is missing my Uncle, she was in a very BAD situation in that house...there were people smoking next to her cage, she barely ever had anything other than nasy old cockatiel seed and when I brought her home she had moldy poop on the tops of her feet!!! I can't say that I ever saw her cage clean and when I brought her home, the nasty smell stayed in my car forever! The cage was in my opinion not even roomy enough for a cockatiel, never mind a CAG! We had a brandy new big cage waiting for her w/ all new toys and tons of different foods and she took the adjustment very well and even destroyed one of her new toys in a matter of 2 days! She loves to play with all the toys in there and gets very excited and paces and waits by her "veggie" bowl every morning while I am in the kitchen filling it. She always says Ooooooh when I take the bowl out and walk out of the room...it's so funny!

Thanks again-you have really helped to ease my mind! I loved getting a response from everyone, but yours was the one I was looking for

Thank you BMustee! She is still pooping and this morning when I put her veggies, fruits and applesauce (she LOVES applesauce) in her cage she basically ran up to the bowl to start eating! Everything seems normal with her except that she keeps going back to that one spot in the bottom of her cage! She will even talk to me when I talk to her, but isn't saying much otherwise. I have seen no pushing, heavy breathing, tail bobbing, etc. I have been making sure to change the paper in the bottom of the cage alot to make sure that I know that she is still pooping regularly!

Thank you all for your replies...I have been watching her very closely and will definitely rush her there if I have a problem before Monday...the vet is literally walking distance from my house, so I am very safe if there is any type of emergency at all. She bounces back and forth from her "spot" and eating, pooping, preening, etc. I will def. keep you all updated!

Thanks db-Right now she is acting very normal all of a sudden! She just climbed up onto her perch and started eating her veggies, cleaning her beak on her perch and doing her little beak grinding that she always does after she has eaten a good amount...she is now staring at me and acting silly too! I am pretty sure that she si getting ready to lay an egg b/c I have done a ton of research tonight on nesting behavior and ithis seems to be the case. I forgot to mention that she does a little funny thing with her feet too (we call it jazzercizing ) and I have read that is also a sign of nesting behavior...now all I have to do is try to figure out how to discourage her! :ohmy:

Hello everyone-So, I posted in the newbie section yesterday and wrote all about my newly acquired CAG. I contacted a vet today who is going to do a home visit this coming Monday, but I would like to get some insight from all you grey experienced people. Lila has been eating and pooping very normally and will come up on her perch when I put something in her bowl. However...she has been mainly spending most of her time in one spot on the bottom of her cage and looks to be trying to sleep at times. Also, tonight she started shivering her feathers so much that I could hear them across the room and it was vibrating the grate on the bottom of her cage! She came to us with eggs, so I have never seen her before egg behavior. I have only had her for a couple months now and I am going crazy here worrying about her! The girls at the vets office said if she is eating and pooping then she should be fine until the vet gets here Monday. Also, I have noticed that she is cleaning herself like normal, etc. but she has been sitting alot while holding one foot up. When she climbs up on the perch, etc. she doesn't seem to be having any foot problems. Can anyone tell me what types of things that their female egg layers have done while in preparation for a lay? Thanks!<br><br>Post edited by: auntiebethd, at: 2008/02/28 02:53

Thanks guys-boy everyone is really welcoming here-I think I will be staying around!!! {Feel-good-000200BB}

Lila Says: Helllloooo? Hey Lila Good Girlll Good goyle (we are thinking a mix between boy & girl?) Goooood Boy! Sheee ya later! Whatcha doin Lila? Peekaboo What?! Huh? Awww Lila girl Heyyy birrrd She also does the cabinets opening, farts, burps, tons of different whistles, etc. She's such a cutie pie!

Nice to meet you too Lyric! Yes, we are very pleased to have her in our home and hope that we can give her a much better life after the abuse and neglect she has suffered for so long. We discussed the patience issue before even having her home so that my fiance would understand why she does some of the things she does. We definitely pay a ton of attention to her and make sure to give her the space that she asks for when she seems to be annoyed or getting a little aggressive. She actually hasn't laid anymore eggs than the ones that she came to us with a couple months ago, but I am going to talk to the vet about everything that I know about her. We do fruits and veggies every single day and we try to share healthy snacks with her whenever possible and she loves to eat! We also keep several different types of cuttle bones in the cage and she picks at them as well.

Oh AND I can't believe I forgot to mention my other babies! My fiance and I have no children yet...we live in a 3 bedroom apartment with just enough room right now for us, our three cats (Tigger 15 yrs.), (Leo 3 yrs.) and Andre (3 yrs.), our dwarf bunny (PJ-2 yrs.), our hamster (Dubbie), and last but not least our sweet little cockatiel (Kiwi-2 yrs.) We are getting married in October of this year and then will be looking for a house for us and all of our babies. Right now though, we love our apartment b/c it is very roomy and we have a wonderful landlord who loves all our pets and lets us have them b/c we keep them very clean! {Nature-0002009A}{Nature-000200C9}<br><br>Post edited by: auntiebethd, at: 2008/02/27 18:20

What a cutie!!!! Love the name too! {Feel-good-0002006E}

Thanks again for the replies-I actually called my vet this morning and explained the situation and they recommended a vet that is right down the street from my house (walking distance even!) who does house calls! They said that although she is not an avian specialist, she has a BIG place in her heart for birds and deals w/ a ton of them and focuses primarily on pet parrots I am soooo excited that she is going to come to my house and see Miss Lila in her home atmosphere! I am just waiting now for the call back to see what day she can come over...I will keep you all updated!!! {Nature-00020095} Oh and PS-I am loving all these emoticons on this forum!!!

Thanks guys! I think I am going to try and find an avian vet to have her checked out. My only concern is that we have only had her a couple months now and have not yet been able to handle her. How in the world would we get her into a carrier and to a vet?