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An unfortunate event. (Help)

SlenderSphere

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Shane
Hello all. I am sad to say that Palmer has gotten into an accident, but happy to say that he is alive and kicking. He was cut on something under the wing and hit a big vein, causing him to almost bleed out to death. Fortunately, we were able to take care of it professionally and figure things out. He has a big dish around his head that makes him look like a UFO, but in doing so to prevent him from touching his wings he also has a few problems. I'm asking for help on the following topics for a lovebird wearing a cone/dish:

- How can I ensure that my lovebird can reach his food / water?
- What can I do to make my lovebird comfiest in this stage?

Thank you!

Bonus pic of the alien boy

IMG_8331.JPG
 

Mizzely

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Did the vet give you any insight on your questions? I honestly don't know.
 

SlenderSphere

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Did the vet give you any insight on your questions? I honestly don't know.
When I asked, all I was told was to keep things low to the ground, which is almost common knowledge. I'd call to ask more questions but they are closed.
 

camelotshadow

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Is that a cd???? It might be a bit wide for him to reach his food as the collar would hit bottom before his beak could o even if you used a wide tray it would be a problem...

He needs to be able to touch the food before the collar hits it so a wide deep bowl full of food would be the only answer so the collar would sink into the food until his beak could reach it.

The collar may be too wide??? Some are angled foward...this is elizabetan...
 

iamwhoiam

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Sorry that Palmer got hurt and hope he will be OK soon. Good that you were able to get him to the vet quickly and they stopped the bleeding.
Place the food and water dishes so he can access them. You might have to experiment with that and you might have to get different size dishes. Maybe even some large lids that you can place some food and water into and place on the bottom of the cage. Pad the bottom of the cage in case he has difficulty maneuvering with the collar and falls. Give the vet a call and ask them to give you some recommendations regarding the collar and Palmer being able to reach food and water.

Our birds are smart and they can generally figure out how to get to what they want but, of course, the collar makes things a bit difficult.
 
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Garet

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- How can I ensure that my lovebird can reach his food / water?
You could give him hanging food/water. Like the water bottles they use for hamsters and spray millet. My birds also have this dish that clips onto their cage wall and the food sits in a shallow dish with a sort of silo uptop. I could send my food dish your way, if you think it would help? Pikachu likes standing in it and he keeps knocking the base off and sending seed everywhere, and it doesn't fit my other cages anyways. I think I also have the water bottle they use for hamsters, but I don't have the clip for it.
I also used a pill bottle. What I did was glue two large pill bottles to a sour cream container lid and filled them to the brim with food and water.
- What can I do to make my lovebird comfiest in this stage?
Line the bottom of his cage with something soft and lay paper ontop of it to keep his claws from getting caught. Having something to cuddle with may also help.
I also had to use cupcake liners to keep my boy from picking at his collar.

Best wishes for your little buddy. :hug8: Get well soon Palmer!
 

camelotshadow

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If the bowl was elevaated the disk could rest on the outside of the bowl & hang below it but then the bird would not be on the ground. Its hard to eat out of a bowl on the ground or even a tray with that on.

Maybe put a perch a few inches off the floor & hang the bowl near & fill it...That could work.
 

BirdManDan

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Has he ever learned to drink from a water bottle? That would help him have easier access to fluids and for a few days you might need to help feed him by hand if he can't reach food with the ring around his neck. The other option could be to remove the ring for a few minutes of supervised feeding time a couple of times a day.
 

remazera

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I feel the metal is too stiff just by looking at it :( the vet did not suggest a fabric collar instead?

 
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