CupcakeKeator
Meeting neighbors
- Joined
- 9/7/17
- Messages
- 55
- Real Name
- Jessica
Here is my sweet boy Chihiro (Green Cheek Conure), I wanted to take a minute and share about his feather health (or lack there of).
So my poor baby has been malnourished, and I had no idea! I feed him pellets, and nutri-balls, fruits, veggies, almonds (treats), he has a calcium block and a cuttle bone... but turns out that sometimes.. that's just not enough.
Below is a picture of him before I took him to the vet. I was worried, because the dark colors on the tips of his wings kept getting worse. At first i thought maybe it was the stress from being in a new environment after taking him home from the breeder, but turns out that had little to nothing to do with the color of his feathers. these are not stress lines, these are "black feathers" and if not caught early enough, they could turn so brittle they crumble at the touch. I'm glad I decided it was time to take him in to the vet.
The feathers here are supposed to be shiney and green. as you can see... no shine... and certainly not a healthy green.
The vet told me to start putting vitamin supplement drops in his water, making sure to change the water every other day. Because if you leave the vitamin stuff in the same water too long, it gets stagnant and begins to smell like sulfur. Which at that point. your bird of course will refuse to drink the water... and it's not good for them to drink that old sulfur water either. The brand my vet suggested to me was Oasis, vita-drops (costs about $7.00, of course depending on the store you get it from). I give me bird water in the tall tube (which can be seen in the above picture). I chose this, because my birb, tends to poo in his water bowl, and i refuse to have him drink poo water all day while im at work, or away and cant change it constantly. So my solution was this tube.
Anywho, below is a picture off the vita-drops brand my vet suggested. Yes, it does say for BIG birds, but he said that putting about three drops in the tall tube, would not be too much for him, because the dosage on this is 2 drops for every ounce of water. Which, three drops in the tall tube about evens out for my bird.
Now when you put the drops in the water, it will turn a VERY slight yellow tint, you want it FAR from the Gatorade lemon lime color, because then the birbs wont drink it.
The vet explained to me that sometimes some birbs need more vitamins than others, and the food that we give versus the amount of it that they ACTUALLY eat... is not always enough. He said it's not our faults, some just need more than others. and if you are feeding your birds a healthy balanced diet of pellets, nutri-berries, fruits, veggies, calcium blocks, and cuttle bones, sometimes its still not enough and i highly suggest this product. I've been putting it in Chihiros water for about a week and a half, and im already seeing shinier, greener wings. Now by using the drops, this does not replace the fruits and veggies by any means, still keep giving all the usual. this is just another add in to make sure your birbs are getting what they need.
The vet told me to keep putting this in his water for about a month, and slowly after i see all the color back, instead of every other day in the water, i can switch to once a week. I change his water usually every other day with tube, so i would only put it in his water once a week of the water change, instead of every time i change it.
Below are some pictures of his wings only about a week and half of the vita-drops and I already notice a HUGE change:
Now this is only after about a week and a half of the drops and i see the huge difference in color and shine.
***I am in no way a professional,
I am just sharing what my vet told me and please just take what I put here as a suggestion.
Of course always take your birbs to your avarian vet if any concerns come up with babies.
With much love,
Jessica and Chihiro
So my poor baby has been malnourished, and I had no idea! I feed him pellets, and nutri-balls, fruits, veggies, almonds (treats), he has a calcium block and a cuttle bone... but turns out that sometimes.. that's just not enough.
Below is a picture of him before I took him to the vet. I was worried, because the dark colors on the tips of his wings kept getting worse. At first i thought maybe it was the stress from being in a new environment after taking him home from the breeder, but turns out that had little to nothing to do with the color of his feathers. these are not stress lines, these are "black feathers" and if not caught early enough, they could turn so brittle they crumble at the touch. I'm glad I decided it was time to take him in to the vet.
The feathers here are supposed to be shiney and green. as you can see... no shine... and certainly not a healthy green.
The vet told me to start putting vitamin supplement drops in his water, making sure to change the water every other day. Because if you leave the vitamin stuff in the same water too long, it gets stagnant and begins to smell like sulfur. Which at that point. your bird of course will refuse to drink the water... and it's not good for them to drink that old sulfur water either. The brand my vet suggested to me was Oasis, vita-drops (costs about $7.00, of course depending on the store you get it from). I give me bird water in the tall tube (which can be seen in the above picture). I chose this, because my birb, tends to poo in his water bowl, and i refuse to have him drink poo water all day while im at work, or away and cant change it constantly. So my solution was this tube.
Anywho, below is a picture off the vita-drops brand my vet suggested. Yes, it does say for BIG birds, but he said that putting about three drops in the tall tube, would not be too much for him, because the dosage on this is 2 drops for every ounce of water. Which, three drops in the tall tube about evens out for my bird.
Now when you put the drops in the water, it will turn a VERY slight yellow tint, you want it FAR from the Gatorade lemon lime color, because then the birbs wont drink it.
The vet explained to me that sometimes some birbs need more vitamins than others, and the food that we give versus the amount of it that they ACTUALLY eat... is not always enough. He said it's not our faults, some just need more than others. and if you are feeding your birds a healthy balanced diet of pellets, nutri-berries, fruits, veggies, calcium blocks, and cuttle bones, sometimes its still not enough and i highly suggest this product. I've been putting it in Chihiros water for about a week and a half, and im already seeing shinier, greener wings. Now by using the drops, this does not replace the fruits and veggies by any means, still keep giving all the usual. this is just another add in to make sure your birbs are getting what they need.
The vet told me to keep putting this in his water for about a month, and slowly after i see all the color back, instead of every other day in the water, i can switch to once a week. I change his water usually every other day with tube, so i would only put it in his water once a week of the water change, instead of every time i change it.
Below are some pictures of his wings only about a week and half of the vita-drops and I already notice a HUGE change:
Now this is only after about a week and a half of the drops and i see the huge difference in color and shine.
***I am in no way a professional,
I am just sharing what my vet told me and please just take what I put here as a suggestion.
Of course always take your birbs to your avarian vet if any concerns come up with babies.
This again, i'm just sharing my personal experience with malnourished birb feathers***
And NO, I am not sponsored by Vita-drops.
If you have any questions feel free to message me or comment With much love,
Jessica and Chihiro
I have a pudgie, and he is MUCH easier to care for than a conure. haha. I appreciate the help the feedback. That's why we are here, to make sure that we give our birbs the best life that we can. With helping each other figure it out as we go. 