listerman3
Checking out the neighborhood
- Joined
- 3/25/20
- Messages
- 1
- Real Name
- Crystal Listerman
Hello! My name is Crystal Listerman and I have three birdikins. My birds are: Kiki, a skyblue female parakeet, who I rescued from an abusive/neglectful situation; Bibi, a Cobalt blue male parakeet who we got to teach Kiki and her (now deceased) sister how to eat foods which are healthy for parakeets (Kiki's previous owners had her on wild bird seed); and Edgar, a defective Grackle.
I found Edgar last May in the middle of an intersection. He was only a nestling and couldn't stand up yet. There was no obvious nesting locations nearby, no parents looking for him, and plenty of stray cats. I took him home and called my vet who rehabs wild birds. She was out of town for a family emergency but told me to get some baby bird formula for hand raising parrots. I was to feed him every half an hour during daylight hours. Edgar had other plans. Instead of 7am-7pm as she suggested, he wanted food right up until 10 or 11pm, and he started in begging at 6am. I also supplemented with canned catfood, since he was a Grackle and they need lots of protein. He grew to full sized, but never grew all of his feathers. Then when he lost his baby feathers that he had, some of the adult feathers didn't grow in.
He is currently on an OTC treatment for plumage which may be helping. He now has Frida Kahlo eyebrows instead of a completely naked head.
He's never been able to fly because of his lack of wing feathers. But we take him outside to forage for bugs and things. His favorite is Grasshopper. If he catches a beetle, he cracks it open and eats the guts, but not the skin.
Picture! Yes, he is wearing a flightsuit.
I found Edgar last May in the middle of an intersection. He was only a nestling and couldn't stand up yet. There was no obvious nesting locations nearby, no parents looking for him, and plenty of stray cats. I took him home and called my vet who rehabs wild birds. She was out of town for a family emergency but told me to get some baby bird formula for hand raising parrots. I was to feed him every half an hour during daylight hours. Edgar had other plans. Instead of 7am-7pm as she suggested, he wanted food right up until 10 or 11pm, and he started in begging at 6am. I also supplemented with canned catfood, since he was a Grackle and they need lots of protein. He grew to full sized, but never grew all of his feathers. Then when he lost his baby feathers that he had, some of the adult feathers didn't grow in.
He is currently on an OTC treatment for plumage which may be helping. He now has Frida Kahlo eyebrows instead of a completely naked head.
He's never been able to fly because of his lack of wing feathers. But we take him outside to forage for bugs and things. His favorite is Grasshopper. If he catches a beetle, he cracks it open and eats the guts, but not the skin.
Picture! Yes, he is wearing a flightsuit.
