Lambert58

""""""PS he does not get monkey nuts any more have managed to replace them with walnuts and Brazil nuts (not much better but at least they have vitamin powder on them??? """"" The vitamins that have to do with nuts-------The vitamins are located in the nuts. There is no powder that contains vitamins on the nuts. To get the vitamins, the bird has to eat the nuts. If you eat chicken, bake or roast one ( no frying) and afterward, take the wings and scrug them in water until all the grease is off. Give your bird the bones that have the knuckles on either side. That provides calcium and many like them. They're safe and actually good for the bird. If you eat turkey, do the same thing but the bone may be a bit too big for your bird to hold it while eating it. We provide an alternative to this, for calcium: get oyster calcium pellets, grind it into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle, and offer it up in a mix of baby parrot food + crushed pellets + oats + palm oil and mix with hot water to an oatmeal consistency. Basically an oatmeal for our fids, they love it and the vet checks have proven the diet is great. Less work than the above, and still very nutritious. We also provide a variety of fresh nuts and fruits (they LOVE almonds and grapes!) as treats daily.

Our fids wake up when the Sun peeks over the ridge (0630) like clockwork, and we put them to bed when the sun goes down and the great room is dark. We try to provide 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep whenever possible.

About 6 weeks ago, we noticed our baby Sun Conure (10 months old, pet store rescue) wasn't acting as energetic as usual. Less energy, just depressed behavior, in general. Off to the vet. Vet said she was showing early signs of malnutrition, did a crop swab, found some bacteria, upper GI only, lower GI was fine. We started a 10-day run of antibiotics. No progress, after 8 days we contacted the vet again. She'd been losing weight and given the previous malnutrition diagnosis, we were concerned. She spent 2 days at the vet being tube fed and received antibiotics via needle as the vet was concerned that the meds were irritating her crop. She came home after the vet said she'd made progress, but once we go her home, she continued to decline. We have an avian heating panel (at 85F) that she wouldn't leave, and continued to lose weight. Back to the vet. Discovered a yeast infection, likely secondary to the bacterial infection, in her crop, and also in her lower GI tract. Started her on a 10-day run of anti-fungal and an anti-inflamitory for her likely irritated crop. No progress, she continued to lose weight and become more listless. Day 22: Vet thinks the original antibiotic was not effective toward the bacterial infection, so we start a new round of separate antibiotics + antifungal to keep the yeast at bay (when you treat bacteria, you run the risk of a yeast infection). We feed her every 2 hours with a mix of kaytee baby parrot food + peanut butter (to increase caloric intake) by hand. She's reverted to infant-type behavior, but has increased her feeding over the last 2 days, and appears to be improving. Why did I write all that? Vet told us that without us catching it early, and our constant, hourly care, she'd never have made it this far. It's just FYI. We're not out of the woods, yet, but she's improving, so far (I'm not happy, yet). If we'd have waited another day, we'd have lost her. So: if your fid changes their behavior, pay close attention, and don't put off going to your avian vet.

That could very well explain it. She'll adjust, just be patient with her and lots of loves and scritches (AND TREATS!)

As folks have mentioned, our greys don't get aggressive unless we're ignoring their signals. Meaning, if I get a drink of water and one flies to my shoulder and nips me on the ear it's because he wants a drink, not because he's being "mean." We have a pretty large flock, so our dynamic isn't probably the same that you have. Our fids get a great deal of their attention needs met by interacting with each other. All I can offer is: be patient, and remember that they don't behave in a certain manner unless they think it's in their best interest. Good luck

Willow was pre-clipped at the pet store, so her earlier ventures into the world of flight involved a few encounters with the walls. She got nicked up a bit, but nothing horrible and she learned to navigate. Only our fids that were clipped before we became parronts had trouble. The ones that were flighted from birth never had any navigational issues.

We don't clip, but I know people that do and have fids that are completely happy. We like allowing our little ones the freedom to zip about, but as has been pointed out extensively in this thread, safety is paramount.

Here's an option: I feed my flock a mix of: 1 part kaytee baby parrot food 1 part oats 1 part harrison's fine adult food little peanut butter or dash of cinnamon Mix with warm water until it's the consistency of oatmeal. I offer this twice daily. They go crazy on it. They get a full bowl of harrison's pellets and other organic pellet mix 50/50 filled every morning. I supplement this with ShanLung's mash, fresh fruits (grapes, bananas, apples) in the afternoon and fresh peas/green beans/boiled yams in the evening. All the vet checks over the last two years indicate that this is fine, and they're all pretty healthy (meaning: omg they're huge... but not FAT huge:) ). Occasional almonds and seeds for treats and variety.

totally agree with Judy here. When you eat, they need to eat. You need to provide a healthy alternative or eat elsewhere. Excluding them from the experience by caging them isn't going to help, and will only frustrate your fid.

Have you made any changes to her external environment? Sometimes they can be very sensitive to what we would consider small changes. Something as seemingly innocuous as changing the color of your curtains, a new rug, etc. If nothing has changed then I defer to the previous commentors and say just weather the storm, give her love, and press on.

We cover the cages of our conures and our greys once they go to bed. Having said that: Our fids have large cages in a great room that is open to 7 very large windows so the light bleed from town dictates that we cover the cages. That, and we make about 3 trips per night to the fridge for water or ice cream

Lamenting his lack of pomegranates, I guess:

Whrew! LOL! I went through this with one of my GCCs. He had burrowed in between two of the couch cushions and was quite content to call it his cave. Took 20 minutes to finally locate his little feathered butt.

We live in hawk/eagle/owl/falcon country. Our GCCs are usually the ones to raise the alarm when they spot a raptor, and the entire flock turtles up inside their respective cages. Long story short: Don't #*&^ with the raptors. There's no benefit and it won't end well.

What a beautiful girl! My favorite is the last picture as well. So cute!

Here's a shot of Leo... He's a Timneh/Congo cross. Note the auburn tail, and the very dark beak.

Just as a data point: We got two greys, two GCCs and three sun conures because we'd anticipated being at work for 8 hours a day. they all have large cages (the suns can fly easily in their cage: 7' tall by 5' diameter), and they all have company in their bonded buddy. Nonetheless, we provide at least 5 hours out of cage time for everyone a day, often more. I know that not everyone can do that but the point is that if a grey doesn't have a buddy, he needs a buddy (you), and that equates to out of cage time. Our daily routine on a tough day is: 1 hour out in the morning during breakfast/cage maintenance/mommy & daddy getting ready for work. 1 hour at lunch. 3-4 hours in the evening. Of those last 3-4, I make an effort to play/snuggle (1-1 contact) with all the fids for at least an hour. Yeah, being a parront is demanding

six of our seven are fully flighted. The only one that isn't is a result of a broken wing. We've not regretted it, and seeing them flit through the house freely is very satisfying (minus the poop clean up!). We have a 2-door policy when the fids are out, though: no one leaves the house except via the garage, and that can be a 3 door policy if things get wild. We take no chances. We're in hawk/falcon/eagle/owl country. Too many raptors to risk anything. Having said that, I realize not everyone has the luxury of a 2-door barricade, so just be careful, disciplined, and your fid will be fine.

So, in a nutshell: It depends lol

I make it a point to smell my fids' breath at least once a day. That and poop checks

Just offering a data point: Our greys spend a good 6+ hours a day (during the week) out of cage. On the weekends is more like 14 hours out.

A busy beak is a happy beak

Ours, when presented with a molted feather, will mangle it.

no no, lol. He's had that scent since he was a baby. Every one of my fids has a different scent. He gets check-ups every 6 months just like the rest of the flock, and he's just fine. It's just simply what Leo smells like.

Don't feel bad. Willow and Leo have each gotten the accidental toe caught in a closing door. Once by the wind, blowing through the house and once by me. They both came out fine, and both were a little worse than what you showed. Watch for swelling, but if there's not much he should be fine. I felt horrible too, now I always triple check before closing doors.