Kassiani
Biking along the boulevard
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
First a little backstory about my two fids: I have two male budgies about 4 years old now. I got them as very young birds from a chain pet store. They have always shared a cage and seem to be good buddies. One has a dominant personality, and the other is more reserved.
Now me. I'm a widow. I got these birds so that there would be life in my home again about a year after my husband died. No, I did not know much at all about parrots as companions. Yes, I made all the usual mistakes (seed diet, no training etc.). They have not been out of their cage except for vet visits, so they are pretty cage-bound little men. Their health began to suffer as a result of their diet last fall. The unfortunate timing of this wake-up call for me was that my mother's health began to decline at the same time (breast cancer battle for roughly 35 years). I ended up traveling to help provide end-of-life care for my mother quite a bit, and the boys were cared for by pet sitters and neighbors.
Fast forward to about 8 weeks ago...their health was declining again, and I finally started to do everything I should have done in the beginning. I researched their dietary needs, I had them checked again by the vet, I have been target training them so that we can finally begin to bond. They are now on a chop in the mornings that contains various seasonal veggies, legumes, and sprouts, and I feed them an organic, cold-pressed pellet in the evenings that I have to grind in a coffee grinder and mix with a bit of seed to get them to eat any of it. I make my own seed mix now from millet, quinoa, oat groats, hemp seed, brown flax seed, chia seed, canola seed, and rolled oats. I offer a bath pretty much every day, although they are rarely interested. Since changing their diet, they have been more active, more vocal, and look more like sleek little parrots should--which makes my heart sing!
I am also working on bird-proofing a part of my home for them to be able to come out of their cage and get more flying exercise!
I weigh them, now, twice a day. In order to do so, I place one of their food dishes on a scale and the other on the cage floor. They tend to hop back and forth between dishes, so I can get twice daily weights on them. Here is what I've noticed: Their morning weights are much more variable than their evening weights. Is that normal? Is there something else I should watch for? I'm grateful for any advice!
Now me. I'm a widow. I got these birds so that there would be life in my home again about a year after my husband died. No, I did not know much at all about parrots as companions. Yes, I made all the usual mistakes (seed diet, no training etc.). They have not been out of their cage except for vet visits, so they are pretty cage-bound little men. Their health began to suffer as a result of their diet last fall. The unfortunate timing of this wake-up call for me was that my mother's health began to decline at the same time (breast cancer battle for roughly 35 years). I ended up traveling to help provide end-of-life care for my mother quite a bit, and the boys were cared for by pet sitters and neighbors.
Fast forward to about 8 weeks ago...their health was declining again, and I finally started to do everything I should have done in the beginning. I researched their dietary needs, I had them checked again by the vet, I have been target training them so that we can finally begin to bond. They are now on a chop in the mornings that contains various seasonal veggies, legumes, and sprouts, and I feed them an organic, cold-pressed pellet in the evenings that I have to grind in a coffee grinder and mix with a bit of seed to get them to eat any of it. I make my own seed mix now from millet, quinoa, oat groats, hemp seed, brown flax seed, chia seed, canola seed, and rolled oats. I offer a bath pretty much every day, although they are rarely interested. Since changing their diet, they have been more active, more vocal, and look more like sleek little parrots should--which makes my heart sing!
I am also working on bird-proofing a part of my home for them to be able to come out of their cage and get more flying exercise!
I weigh them, now, twice a day. In order to do so, I place one of their food dishes on a scale and the other on the cage floor. They tend to hop back and forth between dishes, so I can get twice daily weights on them. Here is what I've noticed: Their morning weights are much more variable than their evening weights. Is that normal? Is there something else I should watch for? I'm grateful for any advice!