Angelic Vampyre

Yes, freaked me out the frist time she did it but no harm came to Harley and I have even seen him climb in there sort of when they have all been out so strange. On the updated. Flame is fine however she has decided that she does not want to be handled. :mellow: Harley can't be handled. Mozzie hates it and is a biter, Blue will be IF he wants and ONLY IF he wants and even then it's not really buddy buddy and now Flame my pretty little girl who loved to come and get cuddles now has decided that it is all to much for her and she is going wild! I am coming to accept the fact that I am not going to get that buddy buddy bird like Harley was at the start. At least they are happy.

Mine are not to sure about the egg yolk but the whites they will eat. Also you can add them in your homemade honey sticks/cups. Harley has taken to the oats and I am pretty sure that he has put weight on, going back to the vet in about 2 weeks so will know for sure then.

I have been on the recieving end of this. When I was looking for another girl I was in a pet store and looking at their babies they had one female who was older almost the same size as my Harley and tried to tell me that she was only a few months old. Next thing I know they lady is asking me if it will be cash or charge, somewhere along the line I got bullied and railroaded and I was about to buy a bird that I did not want or need. Lucky I sort of pulled myslef out of my trance like state and left. But it was strange. I know how Heather feels at the time you are sitting there thinking why am I doing this but you are to scared to say no it's really strange. Heather is lucky that you where there.

I think it depends. If I am just picking up one bird and it is a short trip then a I have a small box the rescue shelter gave me years ago. It's about half the sie of a shoe box and have air holes and they sit in it happy as a lark. Now days with my four on our trek to the vet they go in the small cage (you know the ones that the petshop sell for about $20) horrible little things but great for getting them to or from a vet or restricting them from flying around if they are sick or injured.

Took her to the vets on Friday night, they said she was VERY lucky and checked her wings. When to give her a pain killer and a Vit Shot and she started to bleed from the cere/nose. Freaked the vet out, so they decided to keep her in for a few days to make sure nothing was going wrong. Picked her back up on Sunday see is a bit freaked out so will not put her with the other birds for the next week and see about getting her to trust me again. Been thinking about it, Nell may not have attacked her. A few times Harley has gotten out of his cage and Nell has picked him up and brought him to me in a sort of "Look what I found mum / Harley got out again." type thing. So maybe she saw Flame out of the cage and went to do the same thing however Flame not knowing that Nell was not going to eat her freaked out and did what nature told her to do which is to fight back. Also side note, was looking on the net and talking to people found out that alot of honey sticks etc.. are made with PVC glue to hold them together. However some birds have issues with this and can cause blood clots and one lady told me how her birds get nose bleeds from the PVC glue. So I spent the weekend baking honey cups for my babies as I will not be giving them store bought honey sticks again as this may have caused the nose bleed in Flame.

okay so last night I was watching TV when all *** broke out in the study (Where my birds are kept) I run in there to find Flame on the ground and Nell (my Dog) attacking her. Some how Flame had got out of her cage and I blame Harley for this as he is an expert at getting out of cages and gotten on the ground. Nell who I trusted around my birds (She treats Harley as a puppy and I have had them out with her before) has never shown agression towards them before. I did a ring around, the 24 hour hospitals do not take birds near me, finally got ahold of a friend who is a vet and she told me that even if I got Flame to a hospital then there is not much more they could do for her. She seems okay, spent most of last night up with her. Put her in the Quarra cage so that she does not have the room to move around, she is missing some feathers, has a little red bald patch on her back but it is not bleeding. She also bit me when I tried to extend one of her wings. If she had not had her wings clipped then she would have been able to get out of the way I feel so bad, I know she got out of the breeding box slot so I am going to tie them shut. The only thing I can think is that I got Harley before I got Nell so she sees him higher up the food chain then herself. However the new birds not so much and I have been spending alot of time with them so she is most likely not happy about that. All I know is that I am not going to take the chance again so Nell has been banned from the study. I was impressed with Flame, She managed to get a few good bites or scratches in on Nell's nose and I think she might have also bitten her tounge. So yeah moral to the story even if you think you can trust them don't!

They said that it is now close so lets hope that is the last we hear from them. Found out that the lady in number two called the RSCPA on the guy in Number one about his dog. Talk about having nothing better to do

Oh I love the Hen it looks like she has been dipped, sort of like someone has picked up up by the tail and dipped her head first into some mixed paint or something. Or it could just be the pictures. So very cute

Are you going to be working weekends cause I have been looking at my calendar and it looks like I am going to be bringing them and my puppies down on the 2nd of feb maybe I will see you there.

Thought I would update you. Yesterday my sister was home sick and there was a knock on the door and there stood an RSCPA officer who had come for a follow up visit. My Sister knowing what I went through the first time told the lady (different person then last time) that she could not come if if she was going to handle the birds, she could however look at them. (Go my sister!) The lady came in, spoke to Anna about what I feed the birds, vet visits etc... Anna showed her the vet folder, the medic box with all the wormers, blood stop, bird vet care products in it. Showed her the feed and how it was stored, openned the cage and let Blue and Flame out to fly around. Blue being the big boy that he is went and sat on her should and screatched in her ear before going and sitting on my sisters head. Harley and Mozzie used their "Fire Mans Pole" (a rope leading out of the cage onto the ground) and went to the desk to screamed at my sister to lift them up (Yes Mozzie will let you handle her IF you she wants you to and ONLY if she wants you to) so that they could get to the Millet box on my desk. The RSCPA lady was happy, called me and said everything was fine, she tried to help my sister get them back in the cage and grabbed at Mozzie who bit her so HARD that she broke skin the the RSPCA officer ended up bleeding. Anna was really upset at this as she has been the one working with Mozzie the most in the past few weeks and feels that we may have taken a step back as when Mozzie bit her the RSPCA lady flicked her hand and flicked Mozzie off onto the ground, very porfessional! Anna ended up taking Mozzie to the vet as she appeared to be a bit stunned but the vet said that she was fine just in a bit of shock. It would be strange, here she is in an abusive (and I will call her last home abusive) home and then comes to me, a month or so down the track she is starting to feel safe and we are gainning her trust then this happens. When I went to change the feed and water today she did not come over to the perches near the bowls instead hid in the corner so Anna is going to leave her for a few days and then start re gainning her trust. I almost happy that Mozzie bit her as Anna told her to not handle the bird and explained about making sure NOT to handle Harley or Mozzie and normally to get Mozzie back in the cage we use a stick to be on the safe side. So I am really hoping that is all there is. RSPCA said that they would close the case out and that's that.

You really have to watch some birds, I notice Harley chewing it and thought that was okay and then I noticed that he was a little bloated so I took him to the vet, they kept him over night and told me the next day that they thought he had eaten the paper *sighs* sometimes they just don't know what is good for them. Also if you have to use the grate then a tooth brush I have found is great to clean it with.

I am going to go against the grain here and say that I use the grate but that's cause Harley LOVES to eat the newspaper So I have to make sure he can't get it. As for cleaning, out side of the daily one once a week all my birds get moved to the quarra cage to I can do a full clean and then once a month everything gets moved, all perches are cleaned and/or replaced, all surfaces are wiped down and I rotate the food bowls.

Welcome, do you sell your birds? I am always asked if I am going to breed from mine (really don't have the time or the energy) as some of my friends and family are looking for good birds. PM me if you have some or planning on having some as I would love to come and have a look Cheers AV

I have a few ideas. There is this -> http://www.multicrop.com.au/KeepOff.htm I have sprayed that around my native trees as it keeps the dogs off the garden and also works well with possums. so you can try spraying that around or near the birds. However I would be careful as I am not sure if it is harmful to birds. There is also this -> http://www.strayban.com.au/cat-deterrent-faq.php However I am not sure the effect on the birds as there is nothing about it on the site but I do know someone who uses it to keep cats away from her place as she is really allergic. Other options are electric wiring which you can get in kits but that is a little extreme. If you are going to go down this path then I would suggest getting the wide white tape wire instead of the thin metal wire. This way it would only need to be on for around a week and then it is viable enough that you can turn it off but it is still a deterant. (works really well with Horses and dog as well) The water option, get a super soaker as this can just be picked up and does emit a large amount of water without having to fiddle around with a hose etc... and give the cat time to get away. Or you can go high tech with a Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinklers -> http://landscaping.about.com/od/helpforcon...r/scarecrow.htm There is also a product Shake Away (not sure if you can get it in Aus however) it smells like the urine of a bob cat, I always found it a little gross so maybe not a option for you Coleus canina is plant that cats do not like the smell of you could plant this around your garden which will keep them out. Also plant geraniums, marigolds and petunias, cats also dislike those plants Grow spiky plants near areas you want to keep cats from as this helps deter them as well. dried-blood fertilizer - I think there is a product called Blood and Bone, works well with possums as well but I can't stand the smell. mothballs - Make sure you put them in a jar and cover then put with some holes in the top as they are toxic. cayenne pepper flakes - Some people tell me that they are harmful to pets so you can think about this one yourself ammonia - Works really well, wash the outside of the solid wall of your cage with this, however again it's a pretty strong substance and I can't stand the smell of it. Scatter citrus peel (oranges & lemons) around the garden, this one is one of the best ideas but I find that it only works for a while and you need a fair few of them! Place pine cones around near garden borders not sure what this is suppose to do but I have been told that it works. I hope that helps. Growing up mum had cats and dad had birds so we had to think of a few different things!

So with you on this one! So many people can not believe that I would spend that much on a bird, but he is worth it to me! When Queenie got sick they vet kept talking about how much things where going to cost and I told him it was not an option, I would take out a loan to cover any of my animals vets bills but that is me personally. If you are near Kaz then I am sure she can point you in the direction of a good vet. I learnt alot about how to check things with my birds from the vets, there is a piece of mind that comes with the vet telling you that the bird is healthy.

Hey when are you doing this? That is my vets and I have to got take them in for their yearly check in the next few weeks so if you are there you can say Hi to my gang!

Hi, When I get a new one I always have a full set of tests done and a complete vet check within the first week. After that it is a yearly thing. However as Harley is getting older and has had health issues in the past we make the trek down to the vets every six months and I think if I am going to take one then I might as well take all 4. However my vets recommends that it is once a year. I guess it comes down to what you think. As for the cost, my vets is about $80 for all 4 on a yearly check up (a bit more if I want them to have vit A injections). I worked out the other day that I spent $0 to purchase Harley (he was a gift) $20 for Blue (pet store) $70 for Flame (rescue bird and I had to pay the guy to get him to give the bird to me) $0 for Mozzie (rescue bird). However for me I figure that it is a small amount to pay for the enjoyment that I get out of the birds. Harley in the past has cost me over $4000 in vet bills, I shelled out about $150 just recently on Blue, however that is me and I am prepared to pay that for them. Having said that I would recommend taking a new bird to the vet, more so that if something happens you are an existing client and alot of the time they will fit you in if you have an issue when they can't always fit new clients in, if that makes sense. Hope that helps

Flame was a bit like that she was more intrested in her stocking, I have these lolly bags that are round I let them out to look at them, Harley knows the drill and went looking for the seed stick flame got in hers and settled in, I took her out and she then got straight back in. Mozzie found the new toy and decided that was cool, it was funny watching her pull this large ball thing across the floor and then trying to work out how to get it up and into the cage!

They all did really well this year. They all got, Seed Sticks from me, Differnet hanging toys (one each) from my sister as well as those "cat balls" you know the plastic balls with bells in them, Blue loves them. Mum gave them 5kg of Canary mix from Petstock, yes Canary over their Budgie mix as it has a bigger variety of seeds in it. Dad gave them a gum tree, purple bottle brush and this honey bell that the guy at the garden centre said budgies love and are all native so I spent today planting them. I think they did better them me this Xmas

Just one suggestion with the cage is how well does he fly? Some older birds who have been kept in a smaller cage cna not fly that well. Having a bird (Harley) that has issues flying make sure that there are perches running around the edge of the cage so that he can get from one side to the other without having to cage walk or randomly throwing himself across the cage (Harley use to do this in his bigger cage and they can really hurt themselves when the crash) Enjoy your older bird. Harley is 8 All my others are under 18 months however Harley has always had a mate with him for the last 4 years. Also he seems to get on better with Blue the other male then the females. Good on you for taking on an older bird

Welcome

Sounds like my Blue, he gets in a corner with his legs spread and then pushes his head down between his legs and comes up again. That and he hangs upside down for hours at a time. I had to learn that 9 times out of 10 unless he is makes noises that sound like he is in pain he is enjoying himself.

I found that after I put the spacers in it worked really well except that now I have to take them out at night cause they make so much noise!

Welcome to the forum, we are all picture lovers here. Would love to see your new little family members

Hi, sorry for your loss. All I can tell you is what happened with me. Harley and Queenie had been together for about three years and really good friends, when Queenie died the next few days Harley took a nose dive and we had to go back to the vets. It was the vet that recommended that I get another Bird. I bought Blue about a week after Queenie died as I was having to force feed Harley and he had dropped weight. As soon as Harley heard Blue he attempted to get to him, he started eating again and perked right up. To the extent that he escaped from his cage and got into Blues (which was in another room). Blue and Harley are not buddy buddy like Queenie and Harley where but they have more of a Big brother / Little Brother relationship. Blue bugs Harley and Harley tells him off. I am glad I did this, I do not think Harley would have survived if I had not gotten Blue. Then again Harley does not like to be handled so he had no bond with me. I am not sure I was really to get a new bird when I got Blue (which I think effected the bonding of us) but it was the best thing for Harley. Hope that helps you make the decision. Best of luck