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Slaughterhouse-Ive posted:Cockatiels have the same power. My mom is a bit spooked by birds but I have to do a FaceTime call at least once a week so she can say hi to Ellie  Bah I've seen many birds go due to crop burn, it's a horrible, horrible way to go. A friend of mine did manage to fix up a little cockatiel with crop burn, like literally a hole in her chest, and now she's doing fine in a large cage with other cockatiels.
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Jan 5, 2013 04:09
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The other cool thing about doing FaceTime is that the tiels get really curious about it. Anais is always getting in the way because she learned that things happen when she pecks the screen so she's obsessed with my iPad.
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Jan 5, 2013 04:19
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Where do you guys usually pick up pellet foods and how much are they? My local pet store only carries seed mixes (four different brands! While they have three entire aisles devoted only to different dog foods) I get my quakers fresh fruit now and then, but this thread has me worried about the fat content of seeds.
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Jan 5, 2013 13:17
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RaspberryCommie posted:Where do you guys usually pick up pellet foods and how much are they? My local pet store only carries seed mixes (four different brands! While they have three entire aisles devoted only to different dog foods) Most people here are feeding either Zupreem or Harrison's pellets, this one is Fruitblend, one of the more popular pellets. However they are too colourful for some people, so you can either spring for Zupreem Natural Premium or Harrison's. Not too sure about which Harrison's food to use though, since I can't find them over here. Personally I use the fruitblend ones which I buy at a local bird orientated store and they seem to be enjoying them enough. Maybe you can try ordering individual bags or bags in bulk which you freeze, I'm not sure about this. 
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Jan 5, 2013 16:16
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RaspberryCommie posted:Where do you guys usually pick up pellet foods and how much are they? My local pet store only carries seed mixes (four different brands! While they have three entire aisles devoted only to different dog foods) I buy the FruitBlend pellets from Drs. Foster and Smith, or elsewhere online depending on price, but the big box stores carry them as well. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=6210
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Jan 5, 2013 18:22
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I buy these: http://www.totallyorganics.com/ Literally the best food (in my opinion) that isn't fresh. My bird ate it the first time I presented it and still loves it. Also not super expensive. A 4lb bag is only $14. I pick it up from the two specialty bird stores I frequent. They have a list on the site of stores that carry the brand, but don't be discouraged if there's not one near you as it is incomplete. You can also get it from the website it seems, even though the shopping cart is poorly designed. Edit: I am adamant about feeding a fresh, low fat diet because a seed diet with some fruits and veggies here and there killed the budgie I owned until I was 20. She lived for 10 years at a healthy weight, but fatty liver disease and tumors killed her. I still get choked up and feel guilty knowing my childhood buddy could still be alive if I had taken better care of her. Lenswork fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Jan 5, 2013 |
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Jan 5, 2013 18:59
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I just get the Zupreem FruitBlend pellets on Drs. Fosters & Smith and get one of those Goldenfeast mixes for the tiels since they don't like veggies unless they're crunchy. Charlie gets the same brand pellets but fresh veggies. Only seeds they get are from Nutriberries.
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Jan 5, 2013 21:44
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RaspberryCommie posted:Where do you guys usually pick up pellet foods and how much are they? My local pet store only carries seed mixes (four different brands! While they have three entire aisles devoted only to different dog foods) You HAVE to get your Quaker off of seed mixes if that's what he's on now. Like, REALLY REALLY need to. Quakers are even more prone to fatty liver disease than other parrots. If he/she's eating all seeds only and has been for a long time that's worrying. Try to get some pellets as soon as you can.
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Jan 5, 2013 22:08
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LITERALLY A BIRD posted:Incidentally, every story I've ever heard about GCCs/their owners indicates that the bird, the person, or both fall in love at first sight, the sort of love that moves mountains and sets the air afire. Could be confirmation bias, but I prefer to chalk it up to the fact that conures are goddamn magical. I loved Novolo from the moment she first broke skin on me.
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Jan 6, 2013 00:45
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Hmm, trying to be price conscious too if I can with food.. I feed the birds Harrisons, my last bag I ordered 5lb in october. And Im almost out(would be totally out if I didnt add in fruitblend or seeds occasionally I think) ...so thats $35inc shipping for 3 birds every ...3-4 months? That TOPs pellets sounds cheap- Ive tried their seeds before...and 4lbs for 15? Not bad..til I added it to the cart and saw $17 in shipping! Checked the site I buy my harrisons from and its equaling to $29 for 4lb vs $35 for 5lb.  Good bird stuff is expensive- even with over $10 shipping fees, the food is still cheaper online vs. buying in a store, thats crazy! Fruitblend is maybe $13 in store for 2 lb, so I have no idea if I should just switch to 100% fruitblend for pellets. Would it make a big difference? Very similar nutritionally- except Harrisons has a bit more fat and fiber. I'm leaning towards just get the fruitblend to be cheaper because I doubt there is a very big difference in the food- yet at the same time, Ive always fed harrisons and I like it  What I like about those pellets are the sizes...I use the budgie size fruitblend and ultrafine harrisons- very tiny pieces for cockatiel beaks and the conures fine with it. Dont have issues with the fruity ones being too colourful and I always thought it added some sort of interest for the birds compared to total bland tan coloured food. Doesnt make their poop colourful too unlike kaytee pellets /barf. I dont like larger sized pellets for the tiels as much- like the tielsize fruitblend or even the TOPs extruded pellets because they seem to have a slightly harder time eating them.
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Jan 6, 2013 02:14
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Lately Iro has been doing this thing where she will kind of hug my hand. She leans her side against my hand, even lifting one wing a little so her body is right there. She's so warm! It is super cute. I am wondering if there is something I can do to communicate that I want to play. She likes getting head rubs and seems to enjoy being stroked on the upper chest and her neck down to her shoulders, but other than that she just kind of climbs around. She loves nibbling on my ring and has this weird, weird habit of grabbing a fingertip and licking it all over! It's weird as hell. She will sit there for 20 minutes or more just very very gently squeezing my fingertips in her beak and licking away. She's always gentle about it and will stop without a fuss if I express that I've had enough, so I just let her. It's a nice exercise of trust I think, having my finger in her beak and her not hurting me.  I see videos of Conures flopping around on their backs and playing with stuff and I hope that will be Iro in time. She just doesn't do much except climb on me weirdly nibble my fingers and and get a frequent head rub. I don't want her to get bored of me! (The other way round isn't possible!)
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Jan 6, 2013 03:41
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Here is a conure snoozing in my hand while I watch dumb romcoms. He is a Good Boy.
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Jan 6, 2013 03:41
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LITERALLY A BIRD posted:Here is a conure snoozing in my hand while I watch dumb romcoms. Conure handcuddles are the best. @uglynoodles: When you want to play with her, try making a big show, like dancing and singing to her. You'll look like an idiot but it's ok, we all do. Don't raise the volume of your voice, but raise the pitch of your voice, somehow it makes them all excited and stuff.
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Jan 6, 2013 04:41
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RE: FruitBlend pellets. I purchased my last bag online, and they didn't smell fruity at all, and the colors were EXTRA vibrant. They smelled more veggie-like, and Ritz wouldn't eat them. They were the budgie sized pellets, which he liked before. So we tossed those and bought a small bag of the derp sized pellets, the ones that have banana shapes and stuff, and he loves them again. Birds 
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Jan 6, 2013 06:01
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I'm not exactly a frequent poster in here but I felt like sharing a little update on my budgie buddies. My very hormonal and aggressive oldest female budgie (they're all young) has really calmed down in the past few weeks. I don't know if it was introducing two new birds into the cage or just a normal hormonal change but her beak has stopped flaking so it seems hormonal. She is 100% a different bird, it's almost weird. She has stopped biting hands completely, and allows herself to be picked up, which is amazing. In the past if I put my hand in the cage when she was in a bad mood she would bite if I got too close, if I tried to pick her up she would chew my hand apart until blood was drawn. Now when my hand goes in she eagerly reaches out to immediately "give kiss" and if I want to pick her up she will try to shuffle out of my hand or very gently mouth me, but never biting. She is so eager to please I could die of her cuteness. She is constantly craning her neck to "kiss" everything. e: She has also stopped bullying everyone. She used to pull tails and bite and peck but now she doesn't do this at all unless another bird is really in her space, which is normal for them all. The epic top-to-the-bottom fights between her and Marcel have stopped completely and she doesn't even bully the youngest that much any more. My mature male, Cirrus, is still highly nervous but getting adjusted to being handled. My boyfriend takes him out of the cage once a day and I have held him in my hands and he also sat contentedly on my hand with another bird (he wouldn't do it alone) for a while the other day. But he is really anxious. If I approach the cage or stare at him he begins shaking violently and won't calm down until he has been talked nonsense to in a low voice of the perfect pitch for long enough, after which he will usually continue talking to himself (what he does all day) and flirting (hopefully with me). My youngest budgie, who could be either male or female (she/he shrieks but also mimics cirrus' talking to himself and tapping his beak on everything), cannot really be handled because of her/his wings. They must have been clipped too close because now if she is handled or rubs against anything they bleed a little bit and it's too dangerous to mess with, which will set us back. That being said she doesn't flee as violently or as quickly when a hand goes in the cage now and will contentedly sit with a foot pulled up while we move around the room in close proximity to the cage. Marcel is as good as always, she is just adorable and never runs away from hands or tries to avoid being held, she just doesn't seem to care much. She doesn't really like having her head or cheeks rubbed though which is sad
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Jan 6, 2013 06:56
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uglynoodles posted:I am wondering if there is something I can do to communicate that I want to play. She likes getting head rubs and seems to enjoy being stroked on the upper chest and her neck down to her shoulders, but other than that she just kind of climbs around. Anything past the neck is a little too romantic for comfort, but some people (coughbirdfuckerscough) are fine with that. My boyfriend talks funny to Novolo and stands up tall and crouches over and over to get her interested in him. He looks like an idiot, but since it amuses the bird (and me) I suppose it doesn't matter. We also imitate her sometimes and it really gets her attention. For instance, if she scratches her head and sneezes, then I'll scratch my head and sneeze. Then when she looks at me side-on because I made a noise, I look at her from the side of my eye. We go back and forth until one of us gets bored and boycotts the game.
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Jan 7, 2013 02:51
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Bird... fuckers? That's... A thing? Like at all? Seriously that is a thing? But their physiology is completely incompatible and they're tiny and just... What? I'm not even going to bother asking why. People are sick. Just what?
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Jan 7, 2013 03:07
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Uhhh I dunno that seems like a big exaggeration. I scratch Marci and Finn's heads and necks and backs and stomachs and they haven't even so much as tried to hump me? I'm not...a bird fucker...
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Jan 7, 2013 03:14
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Iiii.... assume that was a joke?  ninja edit: directed at PoK not Amaya
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Jan 7, 2013 03:14
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uglynoodles posted:Bird... fuckers? That's... A thing? Like at all? Seriously that is a thing? But their physiology is completely incompatible and they're tiny and just... What? I'm not even going to bother asking why. People are sick. Just what? Our female Amazon regularly "tries" to mate with both of us, mostly if we touch her anywhere below the neck (wings, back, belly) that isn't the feet.
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Jan 7, 2013 03:38
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Thank god, I was really  -ing in horror at the idea that that might be a thing. Sometimes I really think I've seen/heard of too much on the internet.ANYWAY the battle to get Iro to play with her coloured chewy vine rings is ongoing. She is afraid of them. I have tried playing with them in front of her and fake nibbling them to show her what to do with them (obviously not actually chewing them.) For such a smart bird she can be so dumb sometimes! Today she insisted on getting sopping wet by taking a bath in her little drinking water dish. What a tool.
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Jan 7, 2013 04:10
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God, I'm joking. I call my boyfriend a birdfucker if he touches Novolo in any way that makes her do that distinct "I'm humping youuuu!" noise. It's just that if I go over and move her away and stop him, she interprets it as jealousy and starts getting territorial of him. By both of us refusing to interact with her in any way she might interpret as amorous, it keeps a healthy notbirdfucking dynamic in our little flock. He just isn't paying attention to her body language and noises as closely as I am, so I'll just shout "BIRDFUCKER EW" across the room and he moves her away and laughs at me. Anyway, uglynoodles, you're just going to have to accept that you're the most interesting thing in the room for a few months while she gets used to you. I mean, do you really expect her to play with some stupid vine rings when she could be harassing you? If she can't see you, then she might resort to messing with inanimate objects, but as long as you're in the room, she'll do anything she can to get you to interact... including ignoring her toys, since that gets you to do hilarious antics with them apparently. Pile of Kittens fucked around with this message at 04:35 on Jan 7, 2013 |
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Jan 7, 2013 04:32
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Well I can happily call myself a bird crazy now.  The family got me a female Eclectus Parrot, and her name is Ruby:  I've made sure her diet is basically fruits and veggies and very small amounts of seeds (usually as a treat here and there). She's 14 weeks old so still quite young, but she's pretty comfortable now and I've taught her that using her death grip beak on my frail skin doesn't do anything. She steps up on command too unless she really doesn't want to. Any tips for taking care of an Eclectus? So far I think I'm doing pretty well, though I do need to trim her nails because holy God they are sharp right now. Not sure how to go about it though. Oh and are mirrors good for parrots? My wardrobe in my room is built in and is basically a giant mirror, so she's constantly exposed to it if she's in my room.
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Jan 7, 2013 04:45
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Mirrors are fine, though your bedroom may not be the best place for her full-time unless there is nowhere else. Because parrots are so social, it's really better for her to be somewhere where people are (unless you spend most of your time at home in your bedroom, or unless while you are home she is allowed to mostly free-roam the house and be around you and other people). You may have to towel her to clip her nails, but if you're new to this, you're best off taking her to a parrot shop/vet and having them do it the first time and showing you how. What a beautiful Eclectus! Please give us updates often, I love Eclectus parrots.
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Jan 7, 2013 04:59
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See if you can get in the habit of playing with her feet, pretend-clipping her nails, and then you can make it not as traumatic for her, too. Eclectus are really different as far as parrots go, but it seems like you're on the right track with their different diet. I love them so much, they're some of my favorite parrots, but I know nothing about how to care for their particular needs.
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Jan 7, 2013 05:27
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Pile of Kittens posted:God, I'm joking. Okay! I thought so but I was still like "Whoa that's an intense response!!" haha. IT'S SAFE. EVERYTHING'S OKAY. NO ONE'S loving BIRDS IN HERE. GOOD. In other news: while sulking over not being able to adopt that bald quaker I looked at her page again t osee if someone else had adopted her and saw that ACTUALLY the shelter that I thought had her doesn't... They were just posting up the information for the person trying to rehome her.... who's information was also there... .... ....so I emailed her instead and maybe she's not as batshit crazy as the sanctuary and I can adopt her up and get working on those feathers regrowing! HERE'S HOPING FINGERS CROSSED.
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Jan 7, 2013 05:32
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uglynoodles posted:Lately Iro has been doing this thing where she will kind of hug my hand. She leans her side against my hand, even lifting one wing a little so her body is right there. She's so warm! It is super cute. It took Leeloo a few months do play with us in ways other than aggressive nibbles. She now lets my bf hold her on her back in his hand while she uses her feet to fend off the impending Fingers Of Doom. She also really really hates pooping in her cage. The first thing she does in the morning is stand on her door and take a massive post-sleep dump. If bf tries to wait for her to poop before letting her out, she adopts pooping stance but just waits with this angry look on her face like "Let me out rear end in a top hat, you know what I have to do"  She's in her cage now and made a noise to get our attention. She did the poop squat, and when it was clear that she wasn't going to be let out, pooped, and made the angriest squeak ever. How dare we make her poop in her room! Monsters!
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Jan 7, 2013 07:01
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I saw this the other day, and it's pretty much the cutest thing ever, I feel compelled to share: http://imgur.com/a/BCkBr
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Jan 7, 2013 11:14
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Alright. I found a retailer here in town that sells pellets for birds. I hear that it can be difficult to get your birds on different foods though (and mine are rather picky, especially the female. The male loves pretty much any fruit I give him, but she'll only eat one or two things) Any tips on switching it out?
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Jan 7, 2013 13:40
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Kenshin posted:Mirrors are fine, though your bedroom may not be the best place for her full-time unless there is nowhere else. Because parrots are so social, it's really better for her to be somewhere where people are (unless you spend most of your time at home in your bedroom, or unless while you are home she is allowed to mostly free-roam the house and be around you and other people). Okay cool! Her cage is on the balcony that goes into my room and I'm pretty much always there with her, and I take her out to explore as much as possible. The family also spends a fair bit of time with her. As for clipping her nails, I think I'll definitely be taking her to an avian vet to get it done and be shown how, as I'd rather fork the money out and be safe rather than sorry and injure her in some way. I also should just get a check up anyway and make sure everything is in order. I'll definitely update on her progress
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Jan 7, 2013 14:21
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Balcony as in outside? IF so, you should really consider indoors, as predator animals can and will attack your new friend through the cage bars.
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Jan 7, 2013 14:32
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Wozbo posted:Balcony as in outside? IF so, you should really consider indoors, as predator animals can and will attack your new friend through the cage bars. Oh it's not completely outside, it's quite a large balcony and sheltered, so there's no risk of predators. It's pretty much right at the entrance to the balcony where she can see in and is about an arms reach from where I sit at my computer. I do often move the cage inside though in the day, so she can look around when she doesn't want to hop out of the cage.
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Jan 7, 2013 14:40
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Frozenfries posted:Well I can happily call myself a bird crazy now. http://www.eclectusbreeder.com/care.htm http://loveyourparrot.com/eclectusparrots.html http://www.oldworldaviaries.com/text/lewis/eclectus-care-2.htm The advice is similar to that given for most birds: various fresh fruits and vegges (no avocado, chocolate, or onion as those are poisonous) and pellets. Make sure you don't leave cooked veggies in there more than a few hours because they will go bad. One of those websites mentions that Eclectus parrots like to dip their pellets, so you might want to make sure they are located next to their water dish. Of course this means the water will have to be changed more but if it makes her happy that is all that matters! (My male conure loves making pellet soup and I usually have to change his water 2 times a day.) I am super jealous of yo because Eclectuses are so beautiful and very different looking from other birds because they don't have a ring around their eyes and because their feathers are so soft. I would also caution against having the bird on the balcony without a harness. Even clipped a gust of wind can cause them to fly off, or something spooking her might do the same, and as Wozbo mentioned a predator animal or bird that happens to be near might take too much interest. Once established, taking a bird outside unharnessed is a very hard habit to break. My husband used to do it occasionally with Baby this past summer, even though he knew we had a pair of hawks living behind our house. We have harnesses now thankfully, but god forbid if he'd lost my little one, whether to the wind of a predator. And here are two adorable talking Eclectus videos for good measure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuSS2-ZALSA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsl2gNkERIY (Sometimes it is hard to tell if the owner or parrot is talking in this one)
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Jan 7, 2013 14:44
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Frozenfries posted:Oh it's not completely outside, it's quite a large balcony and sheltered, so there's no risk of predators. It's pretty much right at the entrance to the balcony where she can see in and is about an arms reach from where I sit at my computer. I do often move the cage inside though in the day, so she can look around when she doesn't want to hop out of the cage. I'm just warning you now: If its exposed to the outside (as in something wild could POSSIBLY get in), some predator can and will get in, and get your bird. I'm not going to dig up any nightmare fuel (this does exist, and I'd rather not look at it again), but suffice to say, raccoons and hawks will get your bird even if its a huge flight cage just by being fast enough. E: I hate being "that guy," but I'd rather everyone be safe. Wozbo fucked around with this message at 14:57 on Jan 7, 2013 |
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Jan 7, 2013 14:49
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Oh lords, that first eclectus video is hilarious. I really ought to put more music on for Ruby. And yeah, she definitely dips her food in the water aplenty. I've set her cage up so that her food is right by the water, so she can happily dip her food as much as she likes. I make a fresh fruit and veggie plate for her every morning as I brew my coffee, and also replace her water as soon as I see that it gets dirty. As I said previously the balcony is very sheltered, so it's almost as if she's inside and only has access to the inside of the house (it's hard to explain it without a photo), but I might tie down the cage to something so wind doesn't shake it around at all, as I do sometimes get some pretty strong winds going on here. I will look into getting her into the house though, just need to make some adjustments so she can fit comfortably I'm definitely not worried about any predators though, as my neighbourhood is quite lively and I don't think Australia has crazy hawks and stuff. We make up for that in spiders though.  Thank you for all the advice and tips though, I'm definitely taking it all in because I want the best possible setup for Ruby. I think tomorrow I'll be putting her on a perch in the living room and play some music for her.
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Jan 7, 2013 14:57
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I hate to break up the balcony chat, but GOOD NEWS EVERYONE. We had a couple new friends over yesterday that were actually interested in interacting with the birds. (This pretty much never happens, only one person I know usually wants to play with my birds. Obviously I need new friends) They were all perfect little angels,  Nugget and Sprite were a little shy but Ozzy was the life of the party! He loved the new exciting people and apparently Ozzy is the most well-behaved conure they have ever met. I also learned that having a parrot that basically poops on command is a pretty good party trick  I am so proud of my birdums. My vet always tells me they are well-behaved too but for some reason I never believed her.
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Jan 7, 2013 15:01
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No problemo. I actually have my little dude's cage sitting about 2 feet away from my PC setup on its own plastic pad. It has the secondary benefit of making him extra calm while I'm gaming (as he can see me and then play with his toys and not be ohgodscared of every really wierd noise). If you're worried about mess, the goto advice is to get one of those big plastic computer mats and put it under the cage. Makes for easy cleanup and the bird shouldn't get any poops on anything else (some water and soap will melt it off in < 5 minutes). Of course this requires you to get a good berth around the cage, and I dunno how big your cage is.
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Jan 7, 2013 15:02
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Pip pip pip posted:I also learned that having a parrot that basically poops on command is a pretty good party trick
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Jan 7, 2013 15:05
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Got home yesterday, and decided to surprise the birds by waiting in the main room around a corner so they wouldn't see or hear me until they flew in and looked around. Ohtori flew in, spotted me, did that whole body shake they do when pissed, then flew over to my knee. He sat there, fixated on me, acting aggressive (wings drooping, eyes pinned, feathers raised and spread) while making the same sounds he makes when happy. He only bit me a little bit, between begging for pets, all while staying in his aggressive pose. Steve however flew in, saw me, flew straight to my other knee, said "hello" in that terrible little cockatiel voice, then waddled up and put his head down. Today Steve mostly wants to hang out by himself and whistle or nap, and Ohtori is alternating between MUST BE WITH YOU and apparent rage. Right now though he's perched on my neck, preening and cuddled into me. I don't remember the last time he did that. and as I finished writing that he climbed down and started biting me. Oh well 
Battle Pigeon fucked around with this message at 15:42 on Jan 7, 2013 |
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Jan 7, 2013 15:40
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Battle Pigeon posted:Ohtori is alternating between MUST BE WITH YOU and apparent rage. More for conure.txt
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Jan 7, 2013 16:30
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