armchairangel

That's just too cute!! Yes, I've read about many acrobatic birds here. Its really quite amusing. My Baby will perch upside down and stuff, but she hasn't ever done flips like that. Enjoy his antics!! As much as quarantine is important, I think its kinda sweet that Harley got out of his cage and spent the night with Blue. I'm sure it eases your mind in reference to his happiness and getting along with each other.

Beautiful!!! Congratulations and I hope he'll be just what Harley needs!

I used to live just a mile or two from a bird shop that sold Harrison's pellets and stuff. But since I've moved, its now a good half hour away. Since I'm running low and its time to get more, I decided to do a little research to see if I could find a place that sells it closer to home. On harrisonsbirdfoods.com, there is a link to a search engine where you can find places near you that sell it (where to buy). Yes, they include countries all over the world! Now in my state, they just had vet clinics that sell the stuff and didn't have the store I'd get it at listed, so the list is not the end all be all. I was going to call around and figure out what clinic was closest to me (and the list could give me good ideas of where to look for a job at a clinic that does birds!) and run out and get some, but I decided to look online a little more. You can order the stuff right from the company! I did some price checking including shipping and ordering online directly from the company was cheaper than buying it at the store by several dollars (particularly considering the price of gas these days)! Granted, this was using the cheapest shipping method and of course overseas shipping would be significantly more I'm sure. I thought I'd let people know that buying from Harrison's directly can be a cost effective way to get high quality pellets. Of course, your mileage may vary, but take the time to check it out if you've ever wanted to try this food but don't know where to get it. Or even check to see if you can get it cheaper than where you're currently getting it from. :budgiedance:

I use frozen veggies from the supermarket too. There a nice mix of carrots, peas, corn, green beans and lima beans that I typically get. But I take it a step simpler even. Since I just have 3 little guys, I take a small handful of the veggies and run them under warm water to thaw them and then I blot them dry before putting them in the dishes. It takes just a few seconds, doesn't dirty up any more dishes and they get a decent variety of good stuff. :budgiedance:

Shane is quite the shepherd in his actions. Once I've gotten used to him pacing and stuff, I can let him do his thing and it makes me smile. Sometimes it drives me crazy though. I wish he'd just lay down and relax! *L* It would be nice if he could learn how to see the birds as part of his herd to protect too. *L* I took Baby into my room while I was putting away laundry and made Shane stay out. He whined for about a minute and then I remembered to praise him. I opened the door expecting him to be right there, but he wasn't! I called out that he was a good dog anyway. Then he came back and whined again. *L* But as soon as he quieted down I praised him again and he remained quiet for the rest of the time. I poked my head out and told him he was a good boy a few more times. I made it a point to spend some time with all the birds this afternoon and I rearranged and cleaned all the cages and put up some new toys. I discovered that Baby LOVES jingle balls! So a fun in-cage activity we can do is play catch with her. I really should make it a point to spend more time with Cupid and Psyche because they didn't seem as nervous as they usually have been when I change their cage around. Maybe they liked the attention.*L* A few good things that have come of moving to the house is that they can make noise all they want and it feel SOOOO much less annoying than it used to in the apt. Also, we have a great deck that we're able to take them outside on. They really seem to like hearing their voices outside and they just eat up the fresh air and sunshine. They don't get out every day, but it would be another simple thing I can do most days if I just put my mind to it.

Shane started training this past Monday, so that's already started and it has helped a bit too. If nothing else, its helping teach my husband how to deal with him. I've had a lot of experience with dog training and behavioral issues, so I know all about how to desensitize them to separation anxiety and our comings and goings. He does well at times, and not so good at other times. He's learning that we can go to the bathroom and he doesn't ahve to be *RIGHT* with us. He's learning who's in charge and that the birds are off limits rather well too. The first night we had him, Baby made some noise and he put his paws up by her cage to investigate. He got a very stern talking to about it. A few days later we were playing fetch with him and the toy went over by the birdcage. We have boxes stacked along the wall from moving still and the cage is on top of them. He started nosing around them and kind of climbing up looking for the toy. He got to the area where Baby is and he paused and looked over at Jared to see if he was going to get in trouble before he put all 4 paws back on the floor and left her alone. It was VERY impressive! I've let him sniff Baby while she was encased in my hands and he was fine. I'm just worried that he'll think she's a squeak toy if she's out by herself. Thank you for enforcing that we're doing the right thing by keeping them safe over having more freedom. I'm feeling bad because I haven't been doing simple things like working with Cupid and Psyche in their cage or changing their toys and furniture around though. That's just something I'll have to make a committment to do if I'm that bothered by it. And yeah, I could take Baby downstairs with me while I'm doing laundry and keep the dog upstairs. Or a million other things. I think talking about it might help keep it in the front of my mind so I'm more likely to do it. Things are just so different now, with a house and a yard and a dog to take care of in addition to the birds (and the reptiles!) that I really am going to have to make an effort to do the right things. Thank you for your support and suggestions!!

About 3 weeks ago we finally got a dog. He's a rescued 1 1/2 year old German Shepherd. He's a really nice, good dog, but he's still a puppy and has his hyper moments and doesn't have any awareness of where he's putting his paws. As a rescue, he has a few issues, namely lack of training and separation anxiety. Because of this, we've been neglecting our birdies! My husband said to me this morning that I should post here asking for advice on how to have dogs and birds co-exist safely. I had to laugh because how many other people have asked the same question here and I've answered? I wanted to post right away when we got the dog, but I knew it would just have to be a matter of following my own advice. Don't let them out of the cage around the dog until he has a very strong 'leave it' command. It works better with well socialized puppies as opposed to older dogs without experience with other animals. Etc etc So in short, the birds can't be out unless the dog isn't around. And even if he was on a good solid down stay, we can't trust that the birds wouldn't fly over to him. Sure, Baby is flighted and technically could fly away from him, but he's so big that he could just jump up and get her. We would never ever forgive ourselves (or the dog) if anything happened to Baby while she was out, so she hasn't gotten any out of cage time for a long time. The poor girl! We feel so guilty. So put the dog in another room (or the birds) while they're out. The whole separation anxiety thing makes this a rather noisy and annoying thing. So far it hasn't been a destructive thing thankgoodness, but god only knows how long that will last. He HAS to be right by us or he throws a fit. We feel so bad the birds haven't gotten the out of cage time they've been used to. Actually, since we moved, we haven't let them out much at all. Baby was good once she learned the new space, but we haven't had Cupid or Psyche out at all. I fear they're becoming more like aviary birds than companion pets very quickly. *sigh*

Yes, the vet needs to see him. It would be mighty tempting to trim it yourself with a nail clippers, but the beak has a blood supply like nails do. It can be trimmed too short and bleed. I have seen this happen even when the vet trims them with a dremel, but at the clinic, we can stop the bleeding. Also, beak overgrowth in budgies usually does indicate an underlying problem, particularly if its chronic. Please get your little guy seen because as it was already said, it can affect his ability to eat, and if its growing into his chest and its pointy, it can injure him too. Good luck and let us know how he's doing!

yeah, i would make an appointment to be sure he's not hiding something. Budgies can go downhill so fast, even with treatment that I wouldn't wait. Good luck and let us know how he's doing!

Working at a vet clinic that specializes in birds and reptiles, I have a hard time suggesting surgery. Little tiny guys have about a 50% success rate of any surgery, and while I haven't seen any budgie operations, I've watched plenty of surgeries where the little bodies just stop breathing. My vet doesn't recommend surgery for budgies because the risks are so high. Talking to your vet about the synthroid treatment would be a great idea. If he's hesitant, ask him to do some research on it. If her quality of life diminishes and you think you want to consider surgery, educate yourself on the risks of the procedure. Ask your vet as many questions as you can think of so you can make a well informed decision. You might also want to look into treating symptoms at that point, just to make her as comfortable as possible till the end. If she has trouble flying and getting around, perhaps changing her daily routine to minimize those things might keep her happier. Good luck!! It sounds like you've provided her with a WoNDERFUL life in spite of her issues. Way to go!!

Cheeky, I even outdid you! I only got 2 right the first time. *(Laughing out loud)*

Giving them a call would be a good idea. Depending on what his issue was, the doctor may be expecting different rates of improvement. He may be satisfied with how he's doing, or he might want him to be doing better. If he thinks that the fluffiness means he's not getting well fast enough, he may want to see him again to refine the treatment. Otherwise, it could just be the stress of it all and bringing him in would be unnecessary. Let the vet decide. And yes, putting clean paper under his perch to bring in is good idea too. Good luck (and whatever you do, don't stop the baytril unless the vet says *L*)!!

oh wow! They look frenzied! *(Laughing out loud)* Too cute!

I have a picture in mind to enter, but Jared has it somewhere and he has been putting on a conference this weekend so I couldn't bother him to get it ready for me to post. I hope he can do it before the time is up!

I've had to give medication to my birds a number of times and it hasn't affected their tameness. Baby doesn't really count in this example because she's tame beyond belief and her contact didn't have to be limited to just getting her meds. Cupid however, isn't very tame and he had to be on strict cage rest in a small cage for over a week. The only time he got to really interact with us was when we gave him his meds. Of course, he wasn't too happy about it, but he didn't resent us either. I did my best to talk with him and offer him millet through the cage bars at other times of the day too. After its all over, he's still willing to step up and has even let me kiss him a couple of times. Elly has good advice about ending on a positive note too. Good luck!!

Our 16 year old hen is a great mimic. She doesn't talk, but she sure does some great imitations. She makes the front door squeak, native bird calls, kisses and several months ago she started copying Cupid's warbling and babbling. Elly, i wanted to hear Pretty talk, but the link said the page didn't exist.

Yes, Elly has good advice. And make sure that you keep an eye on his overall behavior too. If he seems fluffed up at all, or less active or vocal, that could also be signs that there is an infection or he's having an issue with it. Another thing you could check on that could indicate a problem is the temp of his foot. If its warmer than the other one, that is a sign of inflammation and being cold would indicate poor circulation. Continue to keep an eye on it for blood or the nail getting chewed on more. If it hurts, he might chew at it more, so keep an eye out for that. Any changes for the worse would warrant a vet visit. If you want to, you can wrap a soft towel around some of his perches (that he won't get his nails stuck in) to give him a softer place to rest his foot. Good luck and keep us posted!!

Yeah, I used to do that with Cupid and Psyche very regularly, but after Cupid's wing got funny, I stopped cuz I didn't want to stress Psyche out even more. I keep telling myself I should do it again, but never think of it at a time when I can do it. *L*

Wow... what a decision to ahve to make! I think you made the right choice; your reasons are all very valid and important to consider. I'm sorry for your huge loss.

I took the offending perch out and a toy that was between a perch and the wall that she scoots by all the time which was teh same distance away from the perch as the length of her shortened tail. She didn't seem to be mad about the change in her cage. She spends enough time out of it that it shouldn't matter anyway. We'll just ahve to wait until another feather grows out to see if it doesn't break off.

I'm so sorry that she didn't make it. It must be tough to have to rely on your parents when they aren't able to help you in times like this. Perhaps your mom will understand the importance of getting a sick bird in to the vet asap now, and if you get another bird in the future she will be able to help you right away.

oh, he's a cutie!! Seems like a good choice.

I think that birds can feel pain. They try to hide it because its a survival instinct. The weak one of the flock is an easy target for something that wants lunch. It seems like it would be hard to do, especially for humans. However, birds are very different creatures. Their minds are wired differently than ours. I would imagine it would be hard for them to SHOW their illness and pain because its against a big instinct. Birds that live with us don't understand that they're not in danger of being eaten, so they do the same things as their wild counterparts. I would still try to do my best to keep her quiet and warm until you can get her to the vet. She very well may seem to be doing better, but she's just hiding it better today. She still needs vet care if she's going to get well.

Ya know, it was probably the combo. Their respiratory systems are very sensitive, and with the irritants, they probably had to fight. The cold probably reduced the energy they had to keep their lungs clear because they had to use more of it keeping warm. Painting is something that worries me with my little guys. We haven't had to worry about it in the apartment, but then one day they painted the halls in the complex. It made our place smell up SOOO bad! It wasn't warm enough even for us to open the windows, and I was worried for them. I moved them into another room and took Baby to work with me. Luckily, they didn't seem to have any issues with it. However, moving into our new place has me worried about a few things. The old owners smoked in the house for the 50 years they owned it. We didn't notice it till after we had our hearts set on it cuz they had candles burning. Supposedly, you can remove the smoke smell from houses though. We're planning on putting in a few air purifiers and running them on full blast for a couple of days before even moving anything in. At that time I'm going to wash all the curtains too. I heard that bread and onions can soak up or neutralize smoke and paint fumes (can't remember which is for which), so we're gonna put out that stuff in the rooms too. I'm just worried that if we don't get all the smell out, will it be bad for them? Heh, and even if we can't smell it, I bet they could still be sensitive to it. I think I'm going to start a new thread for ideas. I'm so sorry that one of your guys didn't make it. It can be so difficult owning such sensitive little creatures.

If it were the beans, I'd think that Cupid and Psyche would be having the same issues. Their tails are almost always beautiful.