MagiStream

Ugh...how inconsiserate of that owner! We don't take our babies anywhere except the vet if they are the slightest bit off and anyone with barfing, diarrhea, etc goes immediately as well as being isolated from the others. Giardia is endemic to our area and can really do a number on the dogs.

Hope your Rosco gets better without any complications and does so soon.

I had to clean Jenna's (that's Dee's raven) cage today because he's sick and can't get to it. Well, that explains where all my rings and about half the silverware went. If it's shiny, she will take it. Now she's mad because I rearranged everything, changed out toys, and took her stash.

You don't want a mad raven, guys. She's on her third solid hour of cawing, squawking, throwing stuff at me, nd muttering strings of curses.

I know that feeling all too well. Sadly, if he's wrong, he's not the one to suffer, though if she's never had a shot, he'd likely put her down rather than treat her.

Just out of curiosity, is your vet keeping his vaccines on their normal schedule or is he going to push back the booster for a while? I ask because the only communicable virus I've had to deal with is bordatella that my dogs got from the groomer despite the nasal vaccine, which I've come to learn only stops some forms of the virus and not others. Kennel cough really sucks in a multiple dog household, especially when two of the dogs are/were seniors.

TxCat wrote:

You don't want a mad raven, guys. She's on her third solid hour of cawing, squawking, throwing stuff at me, nd muttering strings of curses.

Oof, I can only imagine. Romeo threw some epic birdy tantrums over toys being switched around and he didn't even collect shiny things (though I did once get to explain to a professor that I needed an extension on an assignment because my love bird ate my homework. I even had the evidence to prove it! ). I'm sure she'll forgive you... at some point.

Hey everyone well i used to be a big rat breeder, show my rats at rat shows and have a lot of fun i stopped this a few years bck once i had my children it was a lot of fun but time consuming.

Now i own a giant continental rabbit and a Jack russel pup.

We have Giardia here too, and since Rosco does play in local bodies of water, that was the first thing he was tested for. Negative.
Funny story about Giardia. When I was in Zoology in college, we were supposed to examine some giardia under a microscope. The culture the prof had acquired must have died or something, because not a single one of us could find ANY. Fast forward a couple of weeks- I had acquired some river water and duck weed and had it sitting in my window at home for a few weeks. I had hydras and daphneas growing like crazy. I had one hydra who probably should have been officially measured, because he should have been some kind of record holder for size! Anyways, I wanted to see what ELSE was in that water, so I brought the container to the college, and took a sample and put it under the microscope. More giardia than you can shake a stick at! Plus lots of other fun, microbes.

Grizzgold, the problem with people like him, is he likely won't even put her down. He'll let her suffer until she dies, because she should 'just get over it." Sometimes humans are assholes.


Sazuria- what's a continental giant rabbit? And does the Jack get along with it? All the Jack Russels I've ever met before would try to kill it.

Budgies really are life savers. I have been nervous and depressed all week because of the medical stuff going on. The budgies seem to sense it becase they sing so swetly, sing their little hearts out whenever I am nearby. I love these little guys!

They need more food though. Anyone know how to enourage them to eat the Zupreem fuit pellets, which are better for them, over the plain Le Fabres? We mix the two so they have to eat both and there are more fruit pellets than the other but they aleays eat the other first and then waste a lot of what is left. Also, wr ave tried and tried to feed them fresh foods. I have had these guys since they were hatchlings and they just won't eat them. They won't bathe either.

Budgie babies are very ugly... xD As of yesterday, we had 2 little chicks (I assume chick applies to all birds..) and 4 other eggs. I'm really shocked that a bird that small laid 7 eggs total, one was laid outside the nest and broke. We'll see if they all hatch and maybe I can get a photo of the ugly little things tomorrow. Nearly bald, pink, with giant eyes.. it's amusing and so ugly.

@ Soliel - the only thing uglier than a newly hatched baby parakeet is a newly hatched baby cockatiel! They add nasty bulbous nares (nostrils) to the mix, lol!


@ Tx - My bird vet, and several other experienced bird people here said LeFaber was better than Zupreme. I gave my birds a mix of mostly LeFaber with just a bit of Zupreme for variety (and my birds liked it better, like candy) However, my keets preferred the cockatiel size over the parakeet size. They liked to be able to break them up and still have chunks worth eating.
Have you tried hiding fresh foods in a shredable toy that you know they'll dig into? Sometimes getting something as a surprise like that encourages tasting and then the discovery that, "hey! This is pretty good!"
For the food wasting, don't fill the cups. Only give them as much as they will eat in a day. That will also help you keep track of how much they are eating and know if someone isn't feeling well.

For bathing, just mist them in the morning. Not all birds like to dunk. You can also try different types of baths. Some don't like the enclosed plastic baths you can buy, so try a shallow, open tray. A lot of birds won't bathe in warm water, instinct says it's stagnant and not safe. Also, location can play a part, if you've been using a hanging bath, try one on the floor- or vice versa.

I think a lot of birds have to be taught by their parents about what is good food and how to bathe and stuff. My last cockatiel didn't even know how to preen! When he moulted, he would be covered in pin feathers until he simply scratched them open, and by then, the feathers were damaged. I tried to help, but he hated that.

They are horribly ugly with the giant black eyes protruding from the bald head. It was great.. I'll have to go google a picture of a baby cockatiel if they are more ugly than the parakeet!

eta:
Look at them! They're scary...

Spoiler

What's being used as litter in that nest box?

Yeah... butt ugly. There's a reason why parrots have their babies in dark holes. They don't want to look at them either!

TNHawke wrote:What's being used as litter in that nest box?

Yeah... butt ugly. There's a reason why parrots have their babies in dark holes. They don't want to look at them either!

I don't even know.. Something my dad just threw in there for the hell of it I'm sure cause he's stupid and just does whatever.

I bought him some kind of litter stuff from Petsmart but the birds kicked it all out into the bottom of the cage -_- apparently it was not good enough.