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I'm SOOO lucky with my birds I think...Pichu (tiel) ate harrisons the moment I showed em to her. When I got Bart, he ate seeds- I use the higgins sunburst one so theres 'stuff' in it.. and tried the harrisons.. not too much luck but I bought zupreem fruit ones last week, the tiniest size and he eats em! Now he'll eat the harrisons too. I think the green pellets they'll eat last  My GCC wasnt hard either, he'll eat all pellets too now.I do a big YOU EAT THIS OR STARVE transition (not really) but they DO go a lil' bit hungry with no seeds in the morning - Ill leave pellets and fruits/veggies.. offer a lil bit of seeds at night. Do the cup filled with mostly pellets, then a sprinkle of seeds too.
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Nov 2, 2012 05:37
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Seriously Kaytee is the shittiest thing, it has the fake rear end colouring of Zupreem fruit blend but without the nutrition and tastyness. So terrible. Harrison's and Zupreem seems to be the top two brands, I've seen some people here use Pretty Bird too, apparently it's pretty ok.
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Nov 2, 2012 07:09
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I'd love to get some nutritional break downs for bird food.. From learning dog/cat nutrition its like CORN BAD WHEAT BAD BAD GRAIN STOP THAT but then you look at bird food and its like. oh. What should a bird diet be in a complete pellet? Avoid food colouring, try to avoid by product mill run off stuff, ... and...? I didnt want to use zupreem fruit for fear of rainbow poops that I see from store birds on kaytee but I dont seem to have that problem yet. I love the size though. For birds on seed, any resources for comparing how nutritional different seeds are? Obviously you want a good mix but you know how they say, oh sunflower seeds- high in fat.. etc. If you get the nonsunf. seed mixes, youll see em have more safflower. Is that good? etc. Do birds die from all seed diets from the fat content or is it lacking in some other sort of nutrition?
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Nov 2, 2012 07:43
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Malalol posted:For birds on seed, any resources for comparing how nutritional different seeds are? Obviously you want a good mix but you know how they say, oh sunflower seeds- high in fat.. etc. If you get the nonsunf. seed mixes, youll see em have more safflower. Is that good? etc. Do birds die from all seed diets from the fat content or is it lacking in some other sort of nutrition? All seed diets are bad for birds since they lack certain factors of nutrition such as Vitamin A and C. They can also lead to obesity, heart disease, and fatty liver disease due to the high fat content. I give Cheeky and Baby a little seed everyday in addition to pellets and fresh food and I try to find ones with a high millet and safflower content as well as some dried veggies and fruit. I did a quick google search to see if I could find comparative analysis of types of seeds but the results are only taking about why an all seed diet is bad. So one of the the two local rescues in our state has a blue Indian Ringneck up for adoption and I wish we were in the position to adopt him so bad! We both love the way they sound and have expressed a desire to get one in the future, but now isn't the time. Too bad because they are so cute!
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Nov 2, 2012 11:48
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Here's what we offer our macaws and greys: Zupreem pelleted diet Crazy Corn mixed with frozen mixed vegetables. Macaws love green beans!
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Nov 2, 2012 13:17
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We feed Nutribird pellets to Ohtori, nothing else is sold here but they don't seem terrible, just not as good as Harrisons and the organic brands. Pretty much just mixed them in with his crappy seed mix of the time and he started eating them. He likes dunking them in his water, either to soften them or lick the water off afterwards, not sure as he sits and eats them dry too. I once brought from the UK a giant bag of Harrisons, but Ohtori wouldn't eat it (he didn't like it) so it all went to waste.  I think Steve may like Harrisons, but not spending that much money on something to be wasted again, so will maybe get a little big or samples or something.
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Nov 2, 2012 13:27
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You should try some Crazy Corn if your bird seems to prefer a wet food. You have to cook it, and it's all sorts of tasty.
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Nov 2, 2012 13:32
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How easy would it be to get a stubborn,spoiled 17 year old Grey converted to a pellet diet.
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Nov 2, 2012 14:04
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Joe Don Baker posted:How easy would it be to get a stubborn,spoiled 17 year old Grey converted to a pellet diet. 
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Nov 2, 2012 14:07
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Ladies (or guys too, I guess), I have a question about small birds (GCC, cockatiels) and earrings. I don't have my ears pierced, but I would like to start wearing earrings, and I don't see very many clip-ons that don't look super tacky. Was it hard to teach your birds to leave your earrings alone, or do you just take them out when you handle your birds? I would probably never plan on wearing dangly ones around the birds, but I keep having visions of Ozzy or Nugget ripping a stud right out of my ear because OMG SHINY!!! Actually, there's probably a 50/50 chance that Nugget would decide I am TERRIFYING or that she must eat the earrings 
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Nov 2, 2012 15:42
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We've had the 'too rip out some studs before. In my experience, smaller birds don't feel the need to remove the object to explore it. For a stud, I'd expect them to tongue around it rather than remove it for closer inspection.
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Nov 2, 2012 16:06
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My dad's cockatiel just likes nibbling on earrings and glasses, it can be a weirdly pleasant feeling. The only time it hurts is when the bird pinches some skin against the metal. My sister's conure is much the same. He'll beak things, but he hasn't really tried to yank anything out.
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Nov 2, 2012 16:16
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My conure just tugged the gently caress out of my mum's earrings and apparently it hurt quite a lot. Just take them out, it's safer.
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Nov 2, 2012 17:00
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Cheeky sees earrings as things to be pulled out with ferocity, while Baby likes to chew on them, roll them around in his mouth, then pulled out. You can always train them to leave earrings alone of course and if that fails just leave them out if you are carrying a bird on your shoulder.
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Nov 2, 2012 17:50
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Novolo figured out how to unhook dangly earrings from my ears. That was a fun moment. Buddy, our last GCC, actually crunched up one glass bead.
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Nov 2, 2012 18:54
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Less than 24 hours until we get to bring Zippy home. We've got our place all set up with a play corner and various nice perches around the house. I'm really excited.
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Nov 2, 2012 19:22
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Pip pip pip posted:Was it hard to teach your birds to leave your earrings alone, or do you just take them out when you handle your birds? I personally have my ears pierced three times, all three holes stretched at least a little, so just taking them out for all the time they're out of their cages isn't really an option. I also have my cartilage on my right ear done and 'spider bites' I think they're called on the right side of my lower lip. Finn and Marceline never bother them at all. Occasionally Finn will do his hissing and harmless cockatiel lunging at my bigger shinier pairs because he can see himself in them but that's it! It was 100% training though. I guess Marceline bit my lip piercings once. Only one time and I guess I reacted so quickly and was so upset that she felt bad? Because she has never ever ever EVER bitten them again. Occasionally she'll tongue one with her beak before I tell her that she knows better and she scurries away. Keep in mind this is with both of my birds loving to lick my ears to death for whatever reason? So it IS doable, just be ready to teach them that no means no.
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Nov 2, 2012 19:27
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I think I may have ruined training Nugget forever. She loves to fiddle with my wedding and engagement rings and I let her because the stone is a garnet so it's not like she's going to break it. Ozzy doesn't seem to have a very intense attraction to shiny stuff the way that she does, though. When Nugget sits with me, she usually prefers to sit/nap on my laptop keyboard or sit right underneath my chin instead of on my shoulder, so maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Maybe I will get some really tacky shiny clip-ons for a test run.
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Nov 2, 2012 19:46
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DarkHorse posted:My dad's cockatiel just likes nibbling on earrings and glasses, it can be a weirdly pleasant feeling. The only time it hurts is when the bird pinches some skin against the metal. My cockatiel Looloo (sadly long deceased), became briefly obsessed with my ears. As in, ignored them for 18 months then realised ears were amazing and then spent about a week nibbling my ears gently every day, all day. It was weirdly pleasant 
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Nov 2, 2012 20:01
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Word on crazy corn: We got a pack for Ritz from our bird club, and included in the mash were about 50 baby roaches. Check before you cook, but other than the added protein, it's a really good mix of stuff. We've used it in the past with great success.
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Nov 2, 2012 20:40
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SaNChEzZ posted:Word on crazy corn:  I just sat down to lunch.
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Nov 2, 2012 22:44
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Sorry, but it's true!
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Nov 3, 2012 00:05
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Archer loves to rip my glasses off and throw them, Elle will nibble on them, and Charlie will try to break them with his furious poicephalus powers if given half the chance.
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Nov 3, 2012 01:24
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So when my boyfriend and I decided to get him a bird I was reluctant to get a baby. All my birds have been previously owned, done with puberty, and 'rescued'. I was really nervous about getting a bird that does a complete 180 on us in a year or so. Plus, how much cuter can a baby bird be? I was wrong. I was so very utterly wrong. How the gently caress do people not just come home with baby birds in their pockets every day? This is Leeloo:  She is a cinnamon GCC from a clutch that included two turquoise, one normal, and I think one yellow sided. The parents were normal.  I don't have a picture of it, but she even has little orange streaks above her legs that look like her namesake's suspenders.  Basically she is the cutest. When she's angry about not being let out of her cage she takes it out on her jingly bell. Whenever she's bitey we distract her with scritches and she suddenly forgets what she was so pissed off about. She is determined to drink my beers and she loooves snuggling in pretty much any manner. She tried to feed our fingers a few times- would that make her a Leelad? This is Rufous:  She has decided that boyfriend is A-OK  We hope that someday her and Leeloo will be BFF, however the current forecast is not good. Although she is still getting over her broody snit and is currently a jerk to me, she is my fluffy little bitch. Quaker for life y'all.
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Nov 3, 2012 03:41
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I'm happy to report that Zippy is safe and sound moved in with us. She's happily messing about with a new toy added to her cage and seems pretty comfortable.  Lenswork will probably add pictures of her cage & play area soon.
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Nov 3, 2012 18:40
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Q has a love-hate relationship with my earrings. Sometimes he totally ignores them, or he nibbles them a little. Other times he does the whole cockatiel insane-screechy head butting trying to make the earrings listen to him bit. When he is just nibbling it is weirdly pleasant. Goldy takes them very gently and turns them, but always have to move him because a Jenday's joyous scream in the ear is too much of a good thing. The worst birds I've ever had issues with earrings would be lovebirds (with budgies a close second). The lovebirds want to take them and run off with them, like a dragon hoarding gold, for they are shiny and not theirs and lovebirds are adorable little kleptomaniac assholes
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Nov 3, 2012 18:52
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Apparently one of my neighbors also own a green cheek. What do you guys suggest to do for a birdie playdate? How would I go about introducing the birds?
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Nov 3, 2012 19:09
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Well I bought Hannah a couple pounds of that Zupreem pellet stuff. Wish me luck. I bet the little bastard is just going to toss it all on the floor. On a different note I gave Hannah a giant wooden log thing to chew on this past Thursday. He took a few nibbles of it yesterday. This morning I gave him his breakfast and within a couple hours he completely demolished the toy. 
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Nov 3, 2012 20:38
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That is a toy that has done its job. Rest well, toy.
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Nov 3, 2012 20:56
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I always buy the wood toys rated for Amazons for Charlie because he destroys anything smaller in a day
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Nov 3, 2012 21:19
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Zippy's home!  She's been very quiet, which is unusual for her but not unexpected considering the circumstances. She's been willing to step up though, and came out to play after a few hours with encouragement and sunflower seeds. I'm also pretty sure the new play corner is Zippy-Approved™  After busily rubbing her scent on the whole thing and chewing her new toy she is fast asleep
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Nov 3, 2012 21:59
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That corner looks awesome, I wish we had the space to do something like that. Maybe it would actually distract Ohtori for a while. He had a hazelnut shell and was quietly chewing it, and I took it from him so I could move him and it to the top of a cage. Putting it on the cage, it accidently fell through the bars-and Ohtori, who was previously chilled, instantly pinned his eyes and started banging his beak against my finger while bitching until I picked it up and gave it back. Only for him to instantly lose interest and drop it anyway.
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Nov 3, 2012 22:47
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 that corner... Zippy approved, that's great! Congrats guys 
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Nov 3, 2012 22:50
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That thing looks awesome. You should either post the steps here or PM me with them, as I am pretty clueless with how to make stuff like that
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Nov 3, 2012 22:59
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For reference, here is what the corner (and her cage) looks like in our living room: That plastic stuff over the rug is just the same mats you get at an office supply store to go under your desk so that your desk chair rolls easily. It makes for very easy cleanup and keeps the rug safe.
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Nov 3, 2012 23:16
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Honestly there's no real steps to setting something like this up. I purchased the net with toys already attached through amazon pretty cheap ($45 for the whole net was cheap in my mind). I got some eye screws and screw-shut hooks of the type that come with bird toys to stick it to the wall and picked up the chain and ropes at the hardware store. It's all interchangeable (and cheap!) so she can chew the gently caress out of whatever her little heart desires and I can change it up at will. The only issue I've had is trying to figure out how to get some rope perches like this: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...517&cagpspn=pla on the wall. I really want them up, but the screws are metric and I'm in America where all stud screws are fractional. I finally got some conversion mounts so I can get one end in the wall easily, but screwing the other end on is a problem (PS, Zippy finally ate one of the various mashes I had ready for her, YAY!)
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Nov 3, 2012 23:22
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Welcome home, Zippy! Echoing that the corner is fantastic, I wish I could do something like that for my birds.
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Nov 3, 2012 23:57
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Oh that's easy. I thought you knotted the whole thing by hand.
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Nov 4, 2012 00:05
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Joe Don Baker posted:Oh that's easy. I thought you knotted the whole thing by hand. I wish! Sadly I have a thing called a day job.
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Nov 4, 2012 01:53
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Lenswork posted:Honestly there's no real steps to setting something like this up. I purchased the net with toys already attached through amazon pretty cheap ($45 for the whole net was cheap in my mind). I got some eye screws and screw-shut hooks of the type that come with bird toys to stick it to the wall and picked up the chain and ropes at the hardware store. It's all interchangeable (and cheap!) so she can chew the gently caress out of whatever her little heart desires and I can change it up at will. The home depot by me sells metric screws and bolts, they even have a little thingy that tells you what size/pitch your metric bolt is.
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Nov 4, 2012 02:42
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