Free Mobile App For Pet Bird Lovers!

[Teckechick]

Documents and files would be great, but something along the lines of the weight tracker is what I was thinking. You would need to add an additional field for each type of test and resulting level.

So for example we just did blood chemistry on Jenks and in that test you get results for several different things. Here are just a few of the things tested and each item will come back with the level that your companion is currently at...

Protein- Level Range- 3.0-5.5 mg%
Calcium- Level Range- 8.0-13.0 mg%
Glucose- Level Range- 200-500 mg%
Cholesterol - Level Range- 100-300 mg%
Uric Acid- Level Range- 2.0-10.0 mg%

Between several of us on here we could probably get you most of the test names and level ranges if your interested in going this route.

 

[birdlover123]

Documents and files would be great, but something along the lines of the weight tracker is what I was thinking. You would need to add an additional field for each type of test and resulting level.

So for example we just did blood chemistry on Jenks and in that test you get results for several different things. Here are just a few of the things tested and each item will come back with the level that your companion is currently at...

Protein- Level Range- 3.0-5.5 mg%
Calcium- Level Range- 8.0-13.0 mg%
Glucose- Level Range- 200-500 mg%
Cholesterol - Level Range- 100-300 mg%
Uric Acid- Level Range- 2.0-10.0 mg%

Between several of us on here we could probably get you most of the test names and level ranges if your interested in going this route.

OK so there could be an area for the graph, then a dropdown (select) box which lists the various test names (protein, calcium etc). So if the user wanted to add a value for one of the tests, they would select the test name and then enter a value and date. Would that be okay?

I'm a bit confused about what the Level Range is. Is it the actual result (ie a range is a result), or is it just the bounds within which all results for that test would ever fall?

 

[Teckechick]

OK so there could be an area for the graph, then a dropdown (select) box which lists the various test names (protein, calcium etc). So if the user wanted to add a value for one of the tests, they would select the test name and then enter a value and date. Would that be okay?

That would be wonderful!!!

I'm a bit confused about what the Level Range is. Is it the actual result (ie a range is a result), or is it just the bounds within which all results for that test would ever fall?

That is just the range that the result should fall in to. So for Protein you want your bird to fall between 3.0 and 5.5, I don't have Jenks's results on me right now but for example sake lets say he got 3.4. The 3.4 is what would be entered into the app under Protein.

 

[birdlover123]

That would be wonderful!!!

That is just the range that the result should fall in to. So for Protein you want your bird to fall between 3.0 and 5.5, I don't have Jenks's results on me right now but for example sake lets say he got 3.4. The 3.4 is what would be entered into the app under Protein.

I don't see a problem entering individual values for each type of test and even presenting them all at the same time as individual color-coded lines on the graph covering whatever period.

But the Level Ranges I presume vary not only between species but also even perhaps over the different stages of an individual bird's life (hatchling, juvenile, adult etc) so I'm not sure if that would be some major work of reference available in the app or whether the user would enter the range themselves from wherever. What d'ya reckon?

 

[Teckechick]

Entering the levels themselves would be perfect. I have noticed the ranges vary a little bit on different sites and by different vets. So if the numbers could just be entered that would cover everything.
Check this link out, it will give you a list of the names for each item being tested.

Psittacine Bird Reference Ranges

 

[birdlover123]

Entering the levels themselves would be perfect. I have noticed the ranges vary a little bit on different sites and by different vets. So if the numbers could just be entered that would cover everything.
Check this link out, it will give you a list of the names for each item being tested.

Psittacine Bird Reference Ranges

OK so I think this can be broken into two distinct bits of functionality:

1) Entering values and dates for each test type and displaying them in a graph
2) Entering level ranges for each test type

The two can be implemented in subsequent releases of the app as 1) can function without 2) since users can consult other sources for level range info until we find a decent way to add it to the app.

The only other thing I'm wondering is how useful this functionality will be to how many users. If we were all in a room I'd ask for a show of hands, but since that's impossible I wonder if you or any other readers could let me know if they or anyone they know would be interested in having this functionality. There are a few other ideas floating about for additional features and I just want a clue as to what things to prioritize.

Cheers!

 

[Teckechick]

1) Entering values and dates for each test type and displaying them in a graph

This one is what I would use on a yearly basis, but can't speak for anyone else. I'll be getting this test done every year during Jenks's checkup. So being able to quickly look at his past results in an app vs a binder would be nice. But that could be done with file uploads too.

 

[birdlover123]

Hi All

A new version of the BirdBuddy app has been released with the following changes:

- increased length of permitted chat messages [thanks user Shezbug]
- updated User Manual in Knowledge Base [thanks user Shezbug]
- Lineolated Parakeet added to available birds and Knowledge Base [thanks user Outlawed_Spirit]
- added 'Unknown' as an option for gender in bird profiles [thanks users Zara & Bill]
- fixed bird pairing functionality
- overhauled code to prepare for multi-language in future releases
- various more minor fixes

The biggest change was actually one which no one should see at this stage, as I changed a lot of code to prepare for multi-language later on. As a result of this, I'm hoping that the prior functionality hasn't been affected badly. There is a small chance that in certain places and at irregular intervals, some text might not show up where it should.

I've done a fair amount of testing but still, if you find any bugs please let me know here or via the contact form on my blog site. Thanks for your patience and help.

Nick

PS - some changes, like the addition of the new Parakeet to the knowledge base may not be present if the app is not newly installed (ie for existing users). So if you don't see all the above new functionality in the latest version, make a note of your email/password details, uninstall the app, then reinstall it from the play/app store and tap 'Recover' on the home page to get your details back with the new functionality. Any problems, let me know.

Cheers!

PPS - Teckechick, I'll try to get the blood metrics functionality into the next release. Had to get this other stuff off the todo list first

 

[Shezbug]

I will try out the new version tonight.
How exciting! You have been one busy man.

 

[Shezbug]

@birdlover123, I deleted the app and reinstalled it and everything so far seems good to me.
I did notice that my photos of Burt had been restored automatically but the foods I had on his list of things in his diet were not automatically restored.....I am not sure if the same thing may happen with other user entered information?

 

[birdlover123]

@birdlover123, I deleted the app and reinstalled it and everything so far seems good to me.
I did notice that my photos of Burt had been restored automatically but the foods I had on his list of things in his diet were not automatically restored.....I am not sure if the same thing may happen with other user entered information?

Thanks for the feedback. In theory, everything that you saved to BBSpace (even the stuff you may have chosen not to publish in the profile settings eg life events) should have been restored to your device.

With the diet info, when you enter the foods it only saves it to the device and not to BBSpace. But the diet info is saved to BBSpace if you tap the yellow 'Update BBSpace' button in the Birds List section (where you see your bird details and the other buttons for weight, life events etc).

I know this is not very intuitive so maybe I'll add an 'Update BBSpace' button in the diet section.

I'm trying to avoid too much clutter (buttons etc) but on the other hand it can't be assumed that everyone automatically wants their data uploaded to the server.

 

[geff]

I have a question about Apps.
Why in the "permissions" do apps require to alter the phones settings, and take video or pictures, or other non associated actions which have nothing to do with the app. I am not just talking about this app.
The images posted are a few taken from mentioned App in this thread. Just wondering why other extraneous information and phone use is needed for an app ?

 

[birdlover123]

Hi Geff

I think there is a big legal angle to all of this. Google wants to protect itself from being held responsible for any damage or loss incurred by the actions of app developers. They use broad terms like 'full network access' to cover a wide range of actions even though the app itself may only utilize a small subset of it.

As for BirdBuddy, I'll try to match up each point with the app:

Storage - here I think 'USB' applies to your device's onboard storage chip rather than an external flash drive, or memory stick. BirdBuddy saves and retrieves your profile data/pics on the device's own storage and can retrieve images from the image gallery.

Camera - BirdBuddy needs to access the device's camera so the user can take photos for their avatar, bird pictures or buy/sale items.

Other - Whilst BirdBuddy can be used without sending any of your bird data to the server (BBSpace) by simply not creating a BirdBuddy profile in the app, users who want to use the social networking and backup 'cloud' functionality must upload their profile and bird details to our server. For this, an internet connection is required. I'm just guessing here, but the 'control vibration' thing may be related to the 'notification' functionality, which notifies users like an alarm. 'Run at startup', I'm not sure if this means the startup of the device or the app but its not something I've programmed for. Same with 'prevent the device from sleeping', I've not coded for this.

If you'd like more info on what the app does with regard to privacy, the privacy policy is here: Privacy Policy – Bird Buddy

Cheers

Nick

 

[birdlover123]

Hi Everyone

A new version of BirdBuddy is available on the app/play store with the following improvements:

- Added new 'Metrics' section in the user birds list that allows the recording, tracking and comparison of 22 different metrics for hematology, blood chemistry and weight over time (thanks user Teckechick)
- Added new 'Lost and Found' section in the 'Tools' section, starting with Pawboost.com search - others to follow
- Added 'UpdateBBSpace' button in Diet section for saving diet details to the BBSpace 'cloud' (thanks user Shezbug)
- Added a 'Diet' button in the user birds list for easier accessibility
- Changed left navigation menu to be context sensitive
- Added language selection dropdown in the top-right of the Home Page
- Added 3 new languages - French, Spanish and Thai
- Minor bug and display fixes

For users who have previously inputted weight data, you can see the graph of existing weight values by selecting 'weight' in the dropdown on the metrics page.

If you find any bugs or have any suggestions for the app, please let me know

Nick

 

[Teckechick]

Updating the app (iphone) wiped out everything I had previously entered. I hadn't put too much in yet but that may be a problem if it happens to others.

Edit: Also some of the menus don't have data. For example when trying to put Jenks back in there is nothing under Species. I'll delete the app and reinstall to see if that helps.

Edit, Edit: Removing the app and reinstalling worked!! Everything so far that I can see is back in.

 

[birdlover123]

Hi Dawn

Thanks for the feedback. As long as you saved your data to BBSpace, you can recover it again using email/password on the newly installed version in the home page. I know there's a problem between automatic updates if I make changes to the app's database on the device. It means existing users have to do what you did and reinstall the app to get the new functionality, but if they didn't previously create a profile and already save their data to BBSpace, they wouldn't be able to recover their bird data.

I'll be looking to solve this problem in future releases.

Thanks again.

PS - if you need it, here's an explanation of the new bird metric functionality

 

[Teckechick]

I really like the new features! After spending forever digging out all the vet paper work I have a lot of the test results/data entered!! It is so nice to have it all in one spot that takes seconds to look up!

Many many thanks!!!

 

[birdlover123]

Hi Everyone

It's been a while since the last post so I just wanted to update y'all on the changes that have been made to the app since last time:

- improved life events timeline display
- added status messages during remote server calls
- added date and time to all chat messages
- added ParrotAlert.com to Lost & Found section in Tools
- added 'write review' button on home page
- all accordion headers are now fully toggle-able on tap
- translation upgrades (thanks user CartoonCake)
- Added 'BBSpace Activity' summary to home page
- Improved swiped sensitivity in BBSpace [thanks user CartoonCake]
- Speeded up page transitions [thanks users Mikey and Taweret]
- Introduced on-demand ('lazy') loading for images in BBSpace, fixing issue of dropped connection [thanks user CartoonCake]
- Home page redesigned
- Added Sound Library in Tools section
- Added 'Contact Developer' email button in home page
- Removed slow page transitions
- BBSpace Activity images in home page can now be enlarged on tap
- Fixed memory handling issue which led to the app crashing on some devices when searching user profiles in BBSpace (thanks user Shezbug)
- Fixed search-by-username in BBSpace
- Added pet bird 'news' section in new 'Extras' menu item
- Corrected wrong image of red breasted poicephalus bird in knowledge base (thanks user Rozalka)
- Tidied up listing of available birds in Sound Library section (thanks user Rozalka)
- Added 10 chicken breeds to supported birds list (coz chickens can be pets too! thanks user Fartface66)
- Improved UI and performance of search config in BBSpace
- added some free bird-related games in 'Extras' section
- added slide-out instruction sections to selected pages
- improved search config UI and performance
- Added 'Continue with Facebook' button to streamline the setting up of user profiles
- Added 'View In BBSpace' button in Edit Profile section so users can see their own profiles as shown in the BBSpace social network page
- Added in-app purchases as subscription options for unlocking extra functions and access to the BBSpace social network page
- Added 'Hybrid Macaw' as a supported bird type (thanks user OK_Mike)
- Added new icons for Extras section
- Minor fixes and improvements

For the first time, there are areas of the app which are no longer free because I've got server costs to pay and there's not much coming in from the advertising in the app.

Some functions - such as setting up bird profiles, bird news, the sound library and the bird games - continue to be free. But those functions which require the use of the BirdBuddy server - such as saving user/bird profiles to our cloud server - will require a small subscription fee.

For those users who have previously used our cloud server functionality and now find they must subscribe to continue using it, don't worry - your previously saved data is safe and can be accessed same as before once the subscription is made.

As usual, if you have any questions, issues or suggestions, please let me know here or via the 'contact developer' button in the home page of the app.

Cheers

Nick

 

[jh81]

Nice! Are you using Swift for the iOS version? Or something like Xamarin?

How do you get income from this, im a rather private person, and i really dont like my data beeing used or sold to others ;-)

I will download and install the app, ive played with the idea of an app like this in the past, im sure i can come up with some suggestions once ive found my old documentation

 

[jh81]

I have problems scrolling down (see image) and also, the top bar needs some changing when scrolling down

I see the advertisement, but nowhere a button to get a subscription? You may want to promote that more, without making it anoying

So, if i buy a subscription, how much space do i get for uploading documents and images? How are they backedup on your end? I hate having all my parrot stuff in there only to find out one day your server crashed and we lost everything