Shamrock19

I would go to the vet for the tests, but my original vet even suggested it might not be worth it because even then you might not know the exact cause. I guess I what I meant to say was I have had him for almost 6 years. He was a pet store bird so I am not sure how old he was when I first got him. He definitely was not a youngster though since he lacked the full barring. Is there any type of food or something that might make him feel a little better? He eats anything from seed to veggies to fruit. Or any suggestions on what might be causing the issue.

Hi all. I have a question regarding my budgie Shamrock. He is getting older now, he is about 5-6 years old and lately had some beak issues. He has been to the vet about four times to get his beak trimmed within a span of about 6 months. The vet wasn't exactly sure why his beak was growing so rapidly and thought it could be liver/kidney issues. She said the only way to find out for sure would be to run several tests which are both costly and stressful for the bird. She suggested some vitamins to put in his water which I gave to him a month ago and his beak seems fine now. However his droppings are very strange and are not related to the added vitamins. They seem associated with the beak issue.They are very runny and smell like urine (ammonia). His vent is also a little "sticky" because of the watery droppings. I am wondering if he might have a kidney issue. I am very concerned for his health. Any suggestions are welcome.

Yeah we are heading to the vet first thing in the morning. I will post about his status after. Thanks for the help!

I think I have a definite sign it might be liver disease. I just checked my bird and his vent area is very wet looking and his droppings are lighter than usual with hardly if any white portion. I think his beak issue is related to this. He is an older bird, I am not sure how old he was exactly when I adopted him, so could it be old age?

I noticed his beak was long towards the end of September/beginning of October and since I have trimmed twice, now going for a third time. So about once a month? I don't mind going and getting it trimmed, it just costs about $18 (US dollars) to trim it at my vet each time. I am not sure if this is a good price or not. I think posting pictures of her progress would definetly help. I have always noticed with Shamrock his beak seems fine until it isn't. I should take a picture of him to show his beak condition. It also seems he is in a molt because he has a lot of pin feathers on his head, but the feathers seem not to grow in as quickly as they used to. I guess a sign it might be a liver problem?

Oh I have branches and other wooden toys too for chewing and such, but I was going more for the nutritional aspect of things. I read somewhere about traces of mercury in cuttlefish and I figure a mineral block would offer more minerals that could not hurt, only help.

My bird Shamrock seems to have the same issue. I was wondering whether or not the issue seems improved. I have trimmed his beak twice and now going back to the vet for the third time. I have been giving him a lot more fresh foods and working on getting a calcium block (all I have been using are cuttlebones). Just wondering if your bird's health has improved from the above advice. Thanks!

Well I think he gets plenty of sunlight since his cage is by a window. In the morning it is sunny, but as the day goes on the trees provide some shaded relief. I will try a calcium block and see how that works. I used to have an iodine block, but it wore down and I never thought to replace it. Thanks for the advice!

It is a small animal vet, but she specializes in exotics. Shamrock is not overweight, in fact he is probably the smallest of the three budgies I have. The vet thought the all seed diet could be a reason and a change in diet was really all the advice she gave. I used to feed fresh food everyday and never had an issue, but I guess looking back when I stopped feeding fresh food everyday the overgrown beak issue did start. If it is a liver issue is there anyway to correct the issue? Does changing the diet help along with exercise help? I will be taking him to the vet again, but I was just wondering if anyone knew any more information on this.

Hi everyone, it has been a long time since I have posted. I have a question about my pet parakeet Shamrock. Since October I have taken him to the vet twice to get his beak trimmed. Again his beak has grown and is long again, so for the third time I will be taking him to the vet. The vet thought it could be his food, but he has been eating that food for years without a problem. I recently switched him back to the original food he ate when I first adopted him. He now eats Kaytee Forti Diet, before he was eating Ecotrition along with some grocery store brand food when we ran out of Ecotrition just to hold us over until we made it to the petstore. I will admit I have been slacking on the fresh food aspect of things although he used to eat fresh food every day. I am now starting up again to see if it helps. He also has a cuttlebone in the cage, which he shares with two other parakeets. He is about 5-6 years old and I have a feeling it might be something more. I read online that it could be he can't digest the right nutrients he needs or it could be a kidney problem. If anyone has any idea what might be causing his overgrown beak please help!

Thanks for the replies. I will try removing the hen once the babies are old enough. I really appreciate the quick response.

okay I will do that when I get a chance. Thanks.

Sorry for wating so long to update, but here are the babies now much older and colorful. Oh and they have names. Baby 1: Buddy, 27 days old Baby 2: Ace, 25 days old Baby 3: Uno, 23 days old Baby 4: Holly, 21 days old Baby 5: Tempo, 18 days old We still aren't sure on gender so if you have a guess feel free to give it a shot!

Hi everyone. I was just wondering, the first clutch we had is nearing the end as the babies are getting older and are soon to be fledging and the mom might start to lay eggs for a second clutch in the near future. I do not want to have a second clutch so what do you recommend doing in order to end the second clutch? Do you just remove the eggs or leave them until 18 days (shake them first so the eggs don't fertilize) then remove them? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Here are some pictures of the 5 newest additions. Luna (female) is a dominant pied and Komet (male) is a normal cobalt blue. There were 5 eggs and now 5 babies. Luna (mom) and Komet (dad) Baby 1: 15 days; dominant pied blue? Baby 2: 13 days old; green and yellow some sort of pied? Baby 3: 11 days old; normal blue? Baby 4: 9 days old; green and yellow not sure on mutation? Baby 5: 6 days old; too young to tell (the pink one next to eldest) Group Shot If you can tell the mutations of these babies it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Thanks for the information and the link. I will definetely be doing inspections of them everyday now. Just one question when you pick them up do you just very carefully pick them up with a few fingers and place them in your palm? I just want to be careful because they are soo tiny.

okay. Thanks. I definetly want to handle them because I want them to be hand tame. Everything seems okay, but I agree a quick look over will make sure everything is okay.

Hello Everyone! It has been some time since I posted, but I always keep up by reading. We recently had some babies hatch (4 so far 5th due soon). I have read from some sites that you should wait until handling the babies until about 2 weeks old, but I have read else where that they are strong and can be handled after 1 day. What do you suggest for handling the babies? The oldest is 1 week old. The youngest is a day old. We were going to clean the nest box out after the last baby hatched because it really is starting to get gross. I am just curious what your thoughts are for handling age. Thanks.

I love lutinos. I can't wait to see them when they get a bit older!

I have had her for about 2 years now. A little while after I got her she got sick (the poop was clinging to her vent and not dropping to the floor and it was very hard droppings) we talked to a vet and he said give her rest and keep her comfortable. She healed, but I wonder if that sickness early on is what is causing her not to come into breeding condition.

Here are some more pictures. I could not very close because she is not tame and the zoom on my camera is blurry. Why would her cere not change to a darker brown? My other female's changes and she is a dominant pied.

Hi again everyone. I have posted here in the past probably months ago, but I am stuck on the gender of one of budgies. I have a supposed female budgie (recessvie pied) whose cere has never changed to brown color, but if she is a male it has never changed to a purple color. What could be happening? Is my budgie a male or female? The cere has not changed at all since I got her and she is at least 2 years old as I have had her that long. Here is a picture of her. The cere is more white in color than the picture shows.

As I started looking at more cages I agree that, that one is to small. I found an all wire one which seems quite roomy. It is 30 X 18 X 18 inches. Here's a picture: Does this one seems more appropriate size? And could be a suitable breeding cage? I took Daz's advice on not to go smaller than the 24 inches. Thanks for the responses.

Hi Everyone! I was looking up breeding cages as I have a pair I am thinking of putting together in the next few months and I have a question regarding the size of a breeding cage and how to attatch the nest box. Is a 24 1/4" x 15 3/4" x 12" a good size for a breeding cage? Here's a picture of the one I like: And also I had my normal cage that I tried to breed them in last time and I used bungie cords to support the nest box, but I was wondering is there an easier way to attach it for instance to that breeding cage? Thanks!

I was curious does the liquid vitamins and calcium flavor the water? I was thinking about using them, but my birds have never had them before and was curious if they wouldn't drink their water because of it.