Pika

Can you spot the budgie? This is Opal trying to blend in with our new comforter.

i read over the pinned topic (thanks), but there are only 2 foods listed there and i don't think any of the stores around me sell Trill. Anyone know any specific foods that are good or what iodine in the ingredient list will be listed as, ie. just iodine or some iodine salt compound. I've seen calcium iodate listed in the food i have but i don't believe that it is a supplement just an ingredient to bind stuff or something.

Opal's appointment was originally because of some feather loss on her chest which is caused by something unrelated to iodine. (I adopted Opal from a pet store because she had "leg issues." I took her to the vet to find out what was causing her to not be able to perch and use her toes to grasp. The doctor told me that her problems were probably caused by lead ingestion when she was young, prob at the breeders. The lead damaged her peripheral nerves innervating her toes. So to compensate she has limited use of her front toe and uses that to climb and subsequently lies a lot on her chest because she can't sit up properly. So from lying down all the time the feathers on her chest wear down.) So anyways while i was there getting that checked out I also pointed out to the vet some stress bars on her tail feather. He looked her over and noticed some discoloring dark pigmentation on other feathers. He told me that her thought it was probably related to nutritional deficiency. A combination of possibly old seed and her lack of interest in using her mineral block. I also told him that once in a while she will stretch her neck out, open her beak, and make a squeaking sound, almost like she had something stuck in her throat (but she didn't). He said that that is related to iodine deficiency which causes thyroid hyperplasia causing the enlarged thyroid to push on the trachea. So like i said before he gave her some iodine and told me to buy a fortified seed mix. I would appreciate any good food suggestions, iodine supplements, as well as suggestions on how to get her interested in her mineral block. :hap:

I took Opal to the vet today and he said that she is low in iodine. He swabbed some iodine on her wing web to be absorbed by her body and told me to get some seed mix that has iodine fortified. Opal has a mineral block but is not very interested in it and im going to get her new food but i want o know if any one else can give me suggestions for food with iodine supplement, or other supplements you use. My vet suggested Hagen for food but what others are out there? I'm in the US so our brands may be somewhat different. Also if you give some king of suppliment how often etc. i dont want to over dose her. Thanks!

thanks for the suggestions.. i found this place online http://www.bundabergvet.com.au/home/index.cfm has anyone heard of it or know the area? winters here in NY are around 20 degrees F and snowy so any thing warmer is more like spring time to me. What is the temp. range there in winter?

I have a question for those of you who live in Australia. I am in vet school right now and between our third and fourth year we have to work with a veterinarian that does both companion animals (cats and dogs) as well as agricultural animals (cows, horses, sheep, chickens, pigs). I was thinking about going to Australia for the summer to do this so i can travel and learn at the same time. Can any of you give me suggestions of places that fit these criteria. Names, numbers, and any information would be appreciated. if they also did avian medicine, even better. The place must treat both companion and one of the agricultural animals listed above. Thanks so much! PS i would be going during my summer... may, june july, august.... is that you winter and what is the weather like there?

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thats a good insight on it...

I have noticed that Opal is petrified of her own feathers for some reason. If I pick up one of her moulted feathers and hold it any where near her she freaks out and flies away. Also if she is preening and one of her down feathers gets stuck to her beak, she starts shaking her head. Then if she is in her cage she might fall off her perch to try to get away from it and then fly away. The problem is that most of the time it is still stuck to her when she lands and that makes her even more upset. It is really quite funny to watch... lol Does anyone else's budgie act like this?

yeah the hyacinth was very snuggly and wanted to stay close to you when you were holding her. the quaker and caique were my favorites ... very playful!

thank you..

Today I went to the canadian parrot conference and attended a couple lectures about parrots but best of all the was lots of different types of birds there that i got to play with! Here are some of my new friends. hyacinth macaws me with the hyacinth hawk-headed parrot almost lifted his head feathers for the picture severe macaw cute fluffed up quaker he loves head scritches blue and gold macaw cute white bellied caique african grey munchin away more caique i think indian ring neck parakeet sleepy time after a long day of playing with everyone caique was the only one awake to play with me hope you enjoy them as much as i did!

thats amazing!

I work at a petstore and our finches hatched some chicks the week of july 4th. I'm not sure exactly what day they hatched though. In any case, I will be bringing them home soon because we can't sell them at the store. I have never really taken care of baby finches (or any young bird in that case) and I was trying to figure out how long I should wait until I could bring them home. In the past couple weeks the parents have been taking very good care of them. There are two babies and one is developing faster than the other. The one baby is fully feathered at this point and on sat 7-26 was the first day I saw him (her?) out of the nest. The other baby was still in the nest on sat and mostly feathered, mom and dad seemed to be trying to nudge him/ her out of the nest as well. Once again my first question is: how long until I can take the babies home? Also, How can I tell male and female apart? Do they moult out and get their adult feathers later or will they stay the colors they are? If there ends up being one male and one female should they be caged separately or will they be okay together as long as there is no nest in the cage? Any other suggestions or advice, Thanks!