BirdChannel Forum / Life With Birds / Bird Health Forum

Any Ideas For Alternative Heat Sources???

satansrevenge777 — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:51:29 GMT

I've been looking for safe yet effective ways of keeping my fids warm enough when "the lights go out". I know kerosene heaters are out of the question and propane isn't top on my list either. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

full spectrum lighting

luvmycadillac — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:59:46 GMT

How much heat does a 26w full spectrum light put out? How far should I keep it from his cage top and how long should I keep it on(I assume 8 hours)?

Right now from the actual tip of the light to the top of his cage it is about 28 inches to the top of his cage further from his perches obviously

Tweety Bird has a Bad Cold

MissTweetyBird — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:34:36 GMT

My only bird, Tweety is sick with the cold, this usually happens when it starts getting colder. This time it's pretty bad, we are going to try to get him an appointment with his vet today, but what can I do before then to make him feel better? He is very puffed up, he has been drinking water and eating, he has his towel halfway over his cage so that he can see out, but still sleep, I am playing music for him, and I am changing his food and water often. Is there anything else I can do to help him out?

HELP!!!

Caique — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:44:39 GMT

This afternoon I came to check on her and she had a little blood near her right thigh. she is my only bird. It stopped bleeding but I can't see what caused it because she won't let me touch her. I tried to towel her but nothing worked. Please reply.

Fred is sick!

Gex2006 — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 07:38:40 GMT

Yesterday my sister told me how Fred was all fluffed up and then he was on the bottom of the cage so they took him to the vet on an emergency basis. Now he is being hospitalized with fluids, antibiotics, and heat until they get a chance to run a gram stain as there are no other symptoms (the microscope just broke and so they need to stop by another clinic to run the test). I am just so worried about him and can't wait to see him tomorrow when I come home for break. My poor little blueberry.

Avian Vet referrals

mangos momma — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:06:57 GMT

I am hoping one of the moderaters can sticky this post.

Post your vets information for your fellow fids.

I will start.

Dr. Denish of Rawnhurst Animal hospital.

7905 Bustleon Avenue

Philadelphia PA

215-333-8888

Here is another vet I actually took Mango to see him today because I had to cancel my appointment witH Dr.Denish due to my car acting up.

Street Road Animal Hospital

Dr.Esteban Baeza

4869 Street Road Trevose PA 19053 phone 215-396-4747

www.streetroadanimalhospital.com

Please help!!!!!

sfelker — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:38:59 GMT

I just noticed a few days ago that he was acting like his chest is really itchy or hurts. I finally got a look at it today and by his crop, right on top of his chest bone, his skin is hard. Is there anything I can do or is it from him bitting it???? Thank you.

BIRDIE PROZAC

scott thornton — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:45:23 GMT

has anyone ever treated bird with clomipramine,[birdie prozac].screech seems better today.not as much nervous shaking.better personality,still long way from cured.but better.spose to talk to vet tommrow.spending alot of extra time with screech monitering any changes.BONATI ISNT HAPPY ABOUT IT.SCREECH IS A LOVE BUG.LOVES TO BE HELD.

Mold?

emobeast88 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:02:40 GMT

Not too long ago my mother was given a little cockateil that someone had had for years, so its kinda old. I was sitting tonight playing with it and i noticed that the bird had just a tiny bit of what looked like mold on his nostril and just above his nostril right where the feathers start, its like a really dark green (like mold)and i'm just wondering if anyone knows what this is? thanks

laboratory animal tech.

ickybird — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:06:59 GMT

I just got back from an open house at a vet's office and was browsing through animal related jobs on the net and came up with one that would be very helpful training for people interested in running a sanctuary or rescue. It is an Associates Degree in Laboratory Animal Tech. With the degree, you learn about animal husbandry that is needed for large groups of dogs, cats, rabbits, birds....the groups of animals that are normally found in research. You learn management, basic health and nutrition, illnesses that can run through a group of animals, medical administration and pharmacology. animal behavior,Record keeping and how to chard and record trends etc.
It sounded like it would be very interesting and helpful.
Since we have young members who are often asking about animal related jobs, I thought you all would be interested in it.

EATING CROP/birdie vomit

sweetpea05 — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:32:58 GMT

Sweetpea-Peachfaced Lovebird... is now 5yrs old and lost her/his (not sure) cage mate about 6months ago. They were best buddies and Leo just Died out of no where...no real indication that he? was sick. About a month before he died Sweetpea started doing this whole spit up and feeding him thing. Now that he is gone and shes alone it has started up again. Does this have anything to do with the RUB RUB of her privites and breeding season. When Sweetpea first started doing that act -the eating of regurgitated food never happened.

Is she sick and should I take her to the vet?

Droppings watery or more loose than usual

lucylu216 — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:08:35 GMT

Lucy, my 9-year old dusky conure, has been having more liquid in here droppings for the past few days. I have been reading some of the things about droppings on this site and poopology. I really cannot tell the difference between the urine and the urates. I am wondering if anyone could help me out with this. I called her vet's office and they were asking me about that. Also, if i thought it was diarrehea. I am really not sure. All I know is that it has been wetter than usual and I am not sure if I should be concerned or not. The vet's office told me they can't really tell anything without seeing her. I'm not sure what to do.

breaking tail feathers part 2

ozzy's mom — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:05:06 GMT

k, i have an update on ozzy with no tail (see breaking tail feathers), he's molted a month or so ago just like clock work, first week the weather turns, feathers are all over, well now 5 of his tail feathers are growing back!!!! yay.. however, im keeping a close eye on them, trying not to have him flying all over hanging out on the floor but the tail feathers are definately not the best looking feathers, my biggest concern is that he has holes in them, they've got some lines in them, but my boyfriend (he used to own a senegal) said the holes are from him chewing on them! some holes are right in the middle of the barbs, some on the edge, if anyone was following, i wasnt sure from the beginning if they were breaking because of him or other reasons (flying onto the floor and landing butt first). i still dont know.

another question that may or may not be related, when i give him baths and get him yet he just sits there and lets himslef drip dry, i thought when i bird gets wet he preens himself, somewhat a bit of the point of the bath?

cooking thanksgiving dinner

calagarden — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:23:54 GMT

I'm concerned about cooking dinner...do I need about the oven being on all day? I have stainles pots and pans.

What about those non-stick pans? I've heard everything from thrown them out to they should be fine unless something starts to burn.

thanks

Calagarden

PLEASE HELP!!!

myjazz28 — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:39:13 GMT

My mother has a Blue and Gold that is 16, her name is Tutu. This morning Tutu was found sitting in the bottom of her cage unable to move... of coarse my mom rushed her to the nearest Vet immidiately. As most people know times are VERY tough right now financially- the vet wanted to treat her for lead poisoning but they wont do it without a $500 down payment... my family doesn't have that kind of money. The vet basically told my mom that they couldn't help her and that she need to just take her home. We called every vet that we could find in Washington and Oregon and there isn't 1 single vet that will treat her without an minimum down of $500. Does anyone know of ANYTHING that she can do to help treat her at home to at least buy a few days to figure SOMETHING out?!?!?! Please HELP!!!

Winter Blues

JimACNFH — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:26:47 GMT

Hi all, we have two fairly new parakeets (see my posting in "Human/Bird Bond" Forum) and with our first winter coming up only a few months away, the thoughts of keeping our new pets happy and warm this winter is starting to cross our minds.

We work most of the day, and have an timer on the thermostat. Last year, we had the heat kick on an hour before we got home to save on our heating bills.

Blasting the heater all day is going to cost a lot of money, and I'm not convinced that it will keep the birds as warm as they need to be.

I am looking into other options. My concerns are saftey (for both the birds, and not burning down the house).

A few options I am considering are: 1. A Space heater to be left on 24 hours. 2. A heat lamp to be on durning the day when we aren't home.
And/or a combination of these.

Does anyone have any suggestions, ideas, or thoughts on this subject?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

Disinfecting the Cage?

Digitsez — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:06:31 GMT

Ok, so I know I'm supposed to disinfect the bird's cage monthly and all, but I need to know, what brand or whatever won't hurt my birds, but still will kill the harmful germs?
And I have two parakeets, and one cockatiel, if that info helps any. XD

PDD

ickybird — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:36:46 GMT

I was just reading from the Avian Health Network ( stop PDD) that PDD is on the rise. It was a pretty good article and easy to read. I would suggest that we all read it and become familiar with the information.

Concern for Keenan

moon — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:03:51 GMT

Our family has adopted 2 parakeets, Keets and Keenan. Keets joined our family in August, Keenan in early Sept.

My concern is for Keenan, since we haven't had allot of experience, the only way I can detail what I see , it is like he has "hot spots" under his wings. The skin is red and the feathers are few. Otherwise Keenan appears very healthy, enjoys eating veggies, fruits, seeds and pellets. He is active and will step up on to my daughter's finger. (they seem to have become fast friends)

We have our birds in separate cages, and have not seen any signs of this on sweet little Keets. We want to be able to put them together, but I want to make sure Keenan is alright before we take that step.

Any help on the situation would be most appreciated.

~Moon

Do you vaccinate your birds

luvmycadillac — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:21:48 GMT

I ask this question because my birds have routine vet checks (they go again in Feb) but are not vaccinated.. I guess I never asked the vet about vaccines for birds. She does a physical she takes blood but we do not vaccinate.. She hasnt mentioned it either I guess she feels its up to the individual to make the decision, but she does push for vaccinating dogs-cats-horses-cows and so forth

Nail falling off.

QuakerLuv127 — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 06:23:46 GMT

So Cosmo somehow hurt his toe. We don't know how, but he was very sore on it for awhile. We decided not to take him to the vet because we figured it would heal on its own and the vet would probably tell us to keep an eye on it. Well it did heal but now his toenail is falling off. Whats the story? Pip [parakeet] is missing a nail as well and my uncle said he found her with her foot bleeding then a few days later the nail fell off. Cos never bled.. we really have no idea what happened. Now his nail is dangling but I don't feel comfortable pulling it off because its kind of red where it is still hanging on and I know it will probably bleed and hurt a little. So I'm letting nature take its course and just supervising him abnormally much haha. Any input?

Clipping cockatiel's nails

mamie1019 — Sat, 31 May 2008 10:54:02 GMT

I have three cockatiels who need their nails cut. I bought the clipper's for birds but I am afraid I will cut their nails too short. I also bought the powder that if I do cut one of their nails too short it will stop the bleeding. I was wondering if it would be possible to trim their nails with baby nail clippers or just use a nail file to file them down? I have put sand perches in their cage which has helped a little.

"Baldwin" is HOME!

QuakerLuv127 — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:05:54 GMT

.. because this is the saddest thing ever. The girl has never touched him, is terrified of him and admitted to him needing a better diet. I want to take this bird in to rehab him and get him vetted!!! This poor guy will probably have to stay in my basement (I still have my keet quarantined in our only other available room) but he needs OUT of where he is. She has had him for a yr and a half and has no idea what his history is. He came with two others, one bird was 100% healthy and the other passed away a few months later. What do you think is wrong with him from the looks of things? She said he is blind so I am wondering if he fell into some sort of chemical? Only his head lacks feathers and as mentioned, he is blind. Feedback PLEASE! I will give him to a shelter or something if I can't do this myself but I just can't leave him there. He needs love and a vet more than anything, and probably a better diet too.

I am going to include his picture. I just want some opinions from other people on what they think might be wrong with him. There are so many wonderful smart people on here.. maybe someone has seen this before?? And yes, he will go to the vet first thing. And he will be quarantined on another floor of the house.

Holistic medicine for parrots

Pepper's Pa — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:38:40 GMT

Tonight's topic on TheBirdTalks.com is on holistic medicine for parrots. It may be of interest to members here. Below is information about the webcast and a link to it.

EVENT: The Bird Talks Training Webcast
SPEAKER: Pam Groetzenbach
DATE & TIME: Sunday, Sept 21 at 8:55pm Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast -- it's your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW...
http://www.AskTheBirdExperts.com

An animal lover by nature, Pam Groetzenbach has taught classes
in Holistic medicines in health food stores and worked as a practioner
for Avian Vets. She resides Newark, IL and is available for private consultations.

Feel free to cross post this is a free call,
so all who want to attend are welcome.

strange actions

Elder18 — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:15:09 GMT

My 5-6 year old green budgie has been puffed out for 3 days now. He has been eating normally and even makes noise in the morning but not as much as he would make before. His nose is clear and him colors are very bright so i don't think he is sick. I thought he might be cold so I tried to put him in a warmer area of the house and it didn't help. Does anyone have any idea what is going on with him?

Oh NO!

ditty — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:20:39 GMT

Ok so Yoshi swallowed an earring just now. It was a small sapphire stud. Do you think he will be able to pass this? I will call the vet but I assume he is not the only bird on here that has done something like this.

preen gland

ickybird — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:47:33 GMT

I took the girls to the vet the other day for their quarterly spa treatment. Toodles also had to get her sinuses hosed out. This had a good outcome in that the water came out clear, instead of the usual murky and chunky.
But they found her preen gland to be swollen and hard and hot. Infected or something. They could not express it like a zit...the usual problem...but they did take a biopsy and excised it. The stuff was cheesy and looked like ear wax, but not particularly stinky.
I will find out about the biopsy in a couple of days. For now I have to put hot compresses on it.
I have been reading about the preen gland and it helps to develop D3 when the oil is spread on the feathers and skin. the D3 helps in the absorption of calcium. Vit A deficiency can be the cause of this process breaking down, since you have to get enough A to start the ball rolling.
So, Toodles gets a lot of Vit A foods. Could she not be absorbing the nutrient? What can I do to help that phase of the problem?
Her poops look normal, as does has her blood work in the past ( they abused her enough that they did not do that, too, this time) she acts normal and looks as healthy as can be. She really is outwardly the picture of health.
She eats pellets, fruit veg and yogurt daly as well as a couple of nuts and some seeds ( she is not too hot on seeds) a bit of salmon a couple of times a week. She has a light for UV light on a few hours each day.
so, what is going on?????

Milk Thistle

JackandZazu — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:07:44 GMT

As some of you know, my CAG, Zazu, was just diagnosed with liver disease. The vet suggested he start taking milk thistle. So far he has taken his other medicines very well and we have done nothing to hide the taste.

Today I decided we should start trying to hide the taste before he gets sick of this whole medicine thing. First, I gave him a few mL of straight grape juice in the syringe because I don't want him to associate the syringe with bad things. He loved it. Then I mixed his anti-nausea medicine with some juice and he drank it right down.

Then I decided to try the milk thistle... I smeared a tiny bit on my own tongue and was shocked by the taste. My husband suggested I give it to him straight first, just to see if he happened to like it. I stuck the dropper in the cage and he didn't even hesitate. This was all well and good for about two and a half seconds until he realized that not only was it not grape juice, it was nasty. He pitched a little fit, bit all his toys, and finally accepted a piece of watermelon. Now I realize I destroyed any trust he had in the syringe.

With such a strong flavor, what do you do to get your fids to take milk thistle? Zazu needs to take 60mg per day.

HELP!! My Cats brought FLEAS in my house!!!!

denised — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:59:13 GMT

I'm desperate please - does anyone know a safe way to get rid of these @#@#@#@# pests around my birds. I have fertile Linnie eggs and DO NOT want to have to disturb anyone (only as last resort). Any advise is GREATLY appreciated!

24 hour Emergency Care-Seacoast NH

Kermitsmom — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:07:36 GMT

What turned out to not be a good morning was made a little easier by the people at Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital in Brentwood NH.

My little budgie, Dickens, was ailing again and her regular vet is on vacation. The other vet at the clinic in Portsmouth was unavailable so they recommended the Brentwood facility. I ended up losing Dickie but the people there were wonderful-didn't even complain when I used up all their tissues!

Anyway, if anyone in the Seacoast area is in need of an avian vet in a pinch I highly recommend them. They are right on Rte 125 in Brentwood near the junction of 111A. You can call ahead if you want 603-642-9111.

I am sorry that I could not help the lady in Orlando that needed a vet after hours but I wanted local people to know where they could go.

Thanks for listening to me rant! If I save one birdie then it was worth it!

Feather Loss

LuvinBirds4ever — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:57:50 GMT

I have a question about a parakeet that I have owned for almost a year now. In the past couple of months my parakeet, Harmony, as grown quite plump and as been picking out the feathers under her rear. Needless to say, it looks like a bald spot when you raise her tail feathers. I cut back on giving her so much food hoping to slim her down a bit as directed by the vet. She is still rather plump, but she is continuing to pick out her feathers under her tail. I tried giving her bathes a little more often hoping that she was just dirty, but that didn't do much good. The pet store where I got her directed me to add Molting and Conditioning Supplement to her food and some Multi-Drops to her water and to also add a few more toys and perches in case she is picking out of boredom. I spend a good two hours if not more playing with her and what not, and I still can't figure out why she would be pulling out her own feathers. Any thoughts? I'm open to suggestions.

Buttermint my parakeet. She's squeaking and making clickey respiratory noises.

GlitterParrot2008 — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 08:05:05 GMT

My parakeet, Buttermint, is about... oh maybe five...? Six by now? And she doesn't really chirp that much anymore. She just does this quite squeak instead. There is a funny rust color above her cere, and she seems to be making a clicking sound, too. Her beak is a funny color, too. Like it's bruised, or like you can see the quick of it much more plainly than either of my other parakeets. Her nails are getting longer, too, but I think they just get longer when birds get older. Does anyone have any idea what this could be? She does live with a very very VERY hyper male parakeet named Arnold.

My bird is losing her feathers! Please help!

GlitterParrot2008 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:08:36 GMT

My pigeon, Julie, is molting... but this is unlike any molt I've ever seen. It's unreal. All her feathers are coming out. Every morning now there are feathers all around her. In their cage outside there are feathers everywhere lately. Now, around her cere she is losing feathers so that you can see along the ridge of her cere on her forehead. I'm scared about this. Please help! Is there anything I can give her? I think her mate, Romeo (another of my birds) is catching it too! Please help!

Its Junebug again

luvmycadillac — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:44:37 GMT

I am not sure what I am going to do about Junebug. As I stated in my one update post that he has rubbed the epoxy off and the wire that was put into his beak to stabilize it also came out. I took him back to the Dr and once again he has rubbed the epoxy and wire off.. I dont know what to do. It seems every few weeks I am driving him 110 miles to have this done only for him to rub it off within 2 weeks leaving him with an unstable scissored beak! He is eating fine all the usual food and even without the epoxy on he is still rubbing like mad on everything from his food bowls, cage wires, perches and even us.. Now he needs a beak trim which Im sure they will do this next time (3rd time) he goes in to have the same procedure done. I am at my wits end.. My husband says we should just have him put down which I am NOT willing to do as he is not in pain and it is not decreasing his quality of life.. Any suggestions? Also why is it even though he is using his calcium perches-lava rocks-wooden toys-cuttle bones is his upper beak in need of trim? Maybe he isnt rubbing the right way on them. Im just frustrated

Worried About My Baby

birdjoy — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:17:30 GMT

I have an appointment early tomorrow morning for my English Budgie named Dame Edna. I noticed today that she had a green stain on the feathers near her vent and upon looking closely, I could see this area is inflamed. Wish I could get her in earlier but I just noticed this and my coworker is leaving early leaving me the only one in the office.

Could use some support in hopes that all will be okay. Don't know what the problem could be and hope the vet can take care of it. If anyone else has experienced this problem, any advise would be appreciated.

Shingles?

sophiebear — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:59:25 GMT

My dad found out this morning he has shingles. If anyone doesn't know, which I was unsure, it's a re-activation of the same virus that causes chicken pox. It's just a little different. Shingles, like chicken pox, is contagious especially to those who have not had pox before. I am concerned about his fids. I'm thinking he should avoid direct contact with them untill he heals. Is there any chance his fids could get it or something similiar? I'm not finding any answers on the internet...

Feathers and Molting

jr.sasha2007 — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:25:17 GMT

SO, My gcc is named olive. He has lots of "stems" for his feathers all over, like um he has hard white feathers just no feather yet...is it his shedding time? He is also loosing his tail feathers...I cant tell if he is growing them back yet or not. He was hatched on 1-16-08 is it about that time?

Egg laying

ownedbybirds318 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:35:03 GMT

About a month and a half ago Lexie laid eggs, I let her sit on them until she abandoned them then I took them out, shes fine and goes back to being normal for about 3 weeks and then out of the blue she starts hanging around the bottom of her cage, collecting paper and putting at the bottom of her cage and she irritable! Why is she laying again so soon!?!?! PLEASE HELP!!!

~*~Emily & Fids~*~

Dehydration

Cymin'smom — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:13:10 GMT

I never seen Cymin, my english budgie drink water. I've had him for almost 2 weeks. I never see him drink, but his water in the dish is always down a little each day, I don't know if it's evaporating, or he's drinking in the middle of the night. What do you guys think? Thanks

Another molting question

jennlester — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:48:37 GMT

As I posted in another post, I took Tavi to the vet for a check up and found that she was "lean". She weighed in at 60 grams. The weight for black caps should be around 70. The vet asked if she had molted recently, and had a small, slow molt within the past month or so. Everything else looked good and the vet thought it was probably due to the molt.

My question is: Has anyone had birds drop weight during a molt and what do you do compensate/prevent it? The vet gave me Harrison's Avian Enzyme to help her use more of the food she eats and when I asked if I should feed her differently to help her gain weight, she said no.

What experience do you guys have with this?