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My first 'too
- Thread starter Birdy888
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sunnysmom
Ripping up the road
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If the bumblefoot is bad, it might need to be seen sooner. In the meantime, senior nutriberries has some good supplements like glucosamine in them. Also, I give my oldest tiel a natural anti-inflammatory called Healthy Bird that I get from Christine's Chop Shop.
sunnysmom
Ripping up the road
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There's also Care Credit which let's you put vet bills on it. And there's no interest charged if you pay it off in something like a year.
Kyliegh is not as scared of riding on me as she was. Now she doesn't automatically fly away when I get up when she is on my shoulder. I still have to move slowly though.
While she still doesn't exactly go for the veggies with gusto I am still working on it. She loves to shred watercress and cabbage. I am hoping the sunflower seeds I am sprouting for her will change her mind about veggies.
Since she has come here she has shown herself to be resilient, intelligent, and plastic in her ability to learn a lot of new things. She is still far from where I want her to be diet wise but she has come a long way from cheez its and Walmart seed (the previous owner was on dialysis though towards the end and his kids didn't help with her from what I understand so it isn't really his fault. He did the best he could under the circumstances but he was young when his cancer took him. It all happened fast and unexpectedly). Kyliegh and I both have a decent amount of health issues but she is an inspiration to me.
While she still doesn't exactly go for the veggies with gusto I am still working on it. She loves to shred watercress and cabbage. I am hoping the sunflower seeds I am sprouting for her will change her mind about veggies.
Since she has come here she has shown herself to be resilient, intelligent, and plastic in her ability to learn a lot of new things. She is still far from where I want her to be diet wise but she has come a long way from cheez its and Walmart seed (the previous owner was on dialysis though towards the end and his kids didn't help with her from what I understand so it isn't really his fault. He did the best he could under the circumstances but he was young when his cancer took him. It all happened fast and unexpectedly). Kyliegh and I both have a decent amount of health issues but she is an inspiration to me.
Well I think I've seen it all now. I went to bring her up for the night and instead of staying on my shoulder she flew to the ground. That bird walked over to the steps and she took them like she'd done it her whole life! After that she walked to her cage and flew up to it. If she does it again I'll video it.
sunnysmom
Ripping up the road
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Cute. Elvis loves going up the stairs and hopping down. The only problem is he also likes rolling down the stairs- on purpose! Which has resulted in some broken tail feathers.
Kyliegh ate her first sprouted sunflower seeds. I tried giving them to her individually but she would throw them down. I then put them in with her dried seed. Down the birdie hatch it went. She just needed to be a bit more hungry lol. I am sprouting more. They are about halfway done now. Once I see tails I will give them to her. I use ACV in the soak water to keep the sprouts from spoiling.
There is potentially some good news. I might get some help to pay for Kyliegh's vet visit. I suspect that she has fatty liver disease as well as bumble foot. I might be wrong on both counts. The fact that she is eating far more healthy foods than she was will help.
I believe that in fact the new diet is helping. I am seeing her starting to shed more down and bad feathers in the last couple of weeks than in the first couple. She is getting new feathers albeit they are growing slowly. The new feathers look much healthier though. Whether or not Kyliegh has fld or not she seems happier, more active... and potentially hormonal.
Kyliegh's new diet has had a lot of egg food, fresh vegetables though she doesn't relish them yet, and a no waste blend of dry seed. She usually gets some of my dinner too if it is bird safe. All the fresh foods have her chewing cardboard non stop, she is displaying, well, signs she wants to mate. She is becoming obstinate, refusing to let me take her downstairs sometimes. It is a conundrum for Kyliegh and me because most of the foods she eats are fresh, nutrient dense foods. On one hand she needs the nutrients yesterday and I am seeing good results. On the other hand the same diet thst is helping to heal her is also making her hormonal. I do not want her laying eggs. Even if Kyliegh was young enough she is in no condition to lay eggs much less raise a brood. I have no intention of ever breeding Kyliegh even when she gets better. Needless to say I will discuss this all with the vet.
For now Kyliegh is not trying to bite anyone. She screams slightly more than she did at first when I leave the room but it is tolerable. I just want her to be OK. I am scared of what the vet will say but I would rather know if she has anything serious, even if she was terminally ill. At least I'd be able to plan for it. As well and active as she's been I think the vet will diagnose her with fld and the bumble foot but I believe that will be the extent of it.
There is potentially some good news. I might get some help to pay for Kyliegh's vet visit. I suspect that she has fatty liver disease as well as bumble foot. I might be wrong on both counts. The fact that she is eating far more healthy foods than she was will help.
I believe that in fact the new diet is helping. I am seeing her starting to shed more down and bad feathers in the last couple of weeks than in the first couple. She is getting new feathers albeit they are growing slowly. The new feathers look much healthier though. Whether or not Kyliegh has fld or not she seems happier, more active... and potentially hormonal.
Kyliegh's new diet has had a lot of egg food, fresh vegetables though she doesn't relish them yet, and a no waste blend of dry seed. She usually gets some of my dinner too if it is bird safe. All the fresh foods have her chewing cardboard non stop, she is displaying, well, signs she wants to mate. She is becoming obstinate, refusing to let me take her downstairs sometimes. It is a conundrum for Kyliegh and me because most of the foods she eats are fresh, nutrient dense foods. On one hand she needs the nutrients yesterday and I am seeing good results. On the other hand the same diet thst is helping to heal her is also making her hormonal. I do not want her laying eggs. Even if Kyliegh was young enough she is in no condition to lay eggs much less raise a brood. I have no intention of ever breeding Kyliegh even when she gets better. Needless to say I will discuss this all with the vet.
For now Kyliegh is not trying to bite anyone. She screams slightly more than she did at first when I leave the room but it is tolerable. I just want her to be OK. I am scared of what the vet will say but I would rather know if she has anything serious, even if she was terminally ill. At least I'd be able to plan for it. As well and active as she's been I think the vet will diagnose her with fld and the bumble foot but I believe that will be the extent of it.
I finally got Kyliegh to eat some chop. I boiled some eggs and mashed 2 egg yolks, the whites from one egg, and approximately 1 tbsp of chop. She ate it that way. In fact she ate about a yolk worth of egg. She also ate some of the egg whites.
I have been giving Kyliegh egg every couple of days. She hasn't been getting many sunflower seeds lately. For the most part she only gets them once I sprout them. Because she isn't getting the fat from the seeds I don't mind her having eggs every other day. They do have a lot of fat too but they are far more nutrient dense than sunflower seeds.
Kyliegh is starting to trust my wife more. She sat on my wife's forearm for about 15 minutes while my wife was surfing the net. That's the longest so far. I have heard the horror stories of birds screaming and biting a person's significant other out of jealousy. Fortunately that's not happening here.
I have been giving Kyliegh egg every couple of days. She hasn't been getting many sunflower seeds lately. For the most part she only gets them once I sprout them. Because she isn't getting the fat from the seeds I don't mind her having eggs every other day. They do have a lot of fat too but they are far more nutrient dense than sunflower seeds.
Kyliegh is starting to trust my wife more. She sat on my wife's forearm for about 15 minutes while my wife was surfing the net. That's the longest so far. I have heard the horror stories of birds screaming and biting a person's significant other out of jealousy. Fortunately that's not happening here.
Well I guess I knew deep down that this might happen but Kyliegh bit my wife on the nose and drew blood. She was laying on me and I guess Kyliegh didn't like that. Couple that with hormones, even if not totally through the roof, and it was a perfect storm.
I feel like it is my fault, at least to some degree. I have been feeding softer, more nutrient dense foods to Kyliegh since she walked in the door. It has certainly helped her but it is a double edged sword.
Of course we knew that cockatoos are capable of being territorial, jealous, hormonal, etc and that nipping and biting are a part of the cockatoo package. Fortunately for me my wife isn't making me rehome her or anything. My wife will only make me rehome her if Kyliegh hurts her badly which I totally understand. I will be able to schedule a vet visit soon thankfully. Hopefully he or she can help me get her on a diet that minimizes the hormonal response but addresses any deficiencies she has.
Of course I love Kyliegh, and even if she did that or worse to me I would still love her. I just don't want her hurting my wife or anyone else for that matter.
I feel like it is my fault, at least to some degree. I have been feeding softer, more nutrient dense foods to Kyliegh since she walked in the door. It has certainly helped her but it is a double edged sword.
Of course we knew that cockatoos are capable of being territorial, jealous, hormonal, etc and that nipping and biting are a part of the cockatoo package. Fortunately for me my wife isn't making me rehome her or anything. My wife will only make me rehome her if Kyliegh hurts her badly which I totally understand. I will be able to schedule a vet visit soon thankfully. Hopefully he or she can help me get her on a diet that minimizes the hormonal response but addresses any deficiencies she has.
Of course I love Kyliegh, and even if she did that or worse to me I would still love her. I just don't want her hurting my wife or anyone else for that matter.
sunnysmom
Ripping up the road
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Sorry she got bit. If you haven't read this already, you need to: Site Name - Articles - Behavioral - Sex And The Psittacine
So a few thoughts. I think your "honeymoon" period with Kyliegh is ending. Often birds, especially cockatoos it seems, are very sweet in docile in a new home. It's new. They're learning their surroundings. Then as they get more comfortable, they start to become more cockatoo like for lack of a better description. I would not cuddle your wife when Kyliegh is out. I wouldn't lay on the couch when Kyliegh is out. I don't know if it's necessarily hormones but her just trying to find her way in her new home. Goffins are active birds. They are not birds to just be content sitting around. At least mine is not. She may need things to keep her busy while she's out too.
Very true. I do try to keep her busy whether she is upstairs or down. In fact I started building her play gym for that very reason. Please know I still love her of course and my wife does too. She won't trust Kyliegh again anytime soon. I will read the article you referenced.
Kyliegh is like the kid I never had. No one rehomes their kid just because they got in a fight at school. I know a lot of people have no problem rehoming their birds though. It would take a lot more than that for me to even think about rehoming her. My wife feels the same thankfully. That said it is my job to keep that from happening and I intend to do just that. I may end up asking more questions and seeking advice however. I have been researching different aspects of cockatoo keeping since I got Kyliegh. Even with that I still have tons to learn.
It is likely Kyliegh has abandonment issues. It has only been a month and a week since her old owner died. Today is exactly 1 month that she's been with me incidentally. Since I deal with depression and anxiety I have an idea of what she's going through. That is yet another reason I won't get rid of her unless it's literally life or death.
Our dog jumped on the bed to lay down on me at one point this afternoon and Kyliegh came down in a hurry and was going to bite the dog but I was watching and stopped her before she could bite him.
Kyliegh is like the kid I never had. No one rehomes their kid just because they got in a fight at school. I know a lot of people have no problem rehoming their birds though. It would take a lot more than that for me to even think about rehoming her. My wife feels the same thankfully. That said it is my job to keep that from happening and I intend to do just that. I may end up asking more questions and seeking advice however. I have been researching different aspects of cockatoo keeping since I got Kyliegh. Even with that I still have tons to learn.
It is likely Kyliegh has abandonment issues. It has only been a month and a week since her old owner died. Today is exactly 1 month that she's been with me incidentally. Since I deal with depression and anxiety I have an idea of what she's going through. That is yet another reason I won't get rid of her unless it's literally life or death.
Our dog jumped on the bed to lay down on me at one point this afternoon and Kyliegh came down in a hurry and was going to bite the dog but I was watching and stopped her before she could bite him.
I am happy to say Kyliegh was well behaved today. No biting or threatening posture. We'll take it.
I got my food dehydrator yesterday. I have a mandarin orange dehydrating currently. Once they finish drying I'll crumble some of them and add it to her seed mix. Soon the bananas I got yesterday will be ripe. I'll crumble some of the banana chips and add them to her seed mix as well.
Kyliegh likes mandarin orange as it turns out. She only got a small bit but she was all over it. She also got a second round of sprouted sunflower seeds. I watched her crack the shells on them but she spat out the seeds. I'll keep sprouting sunflower seeds until I can get her to eat them. I will soon start sprouting lentils as well. I might try it with beans but I know that sprouted or not they have to be cooked.
The pepper plants are germinating now. I have 3 Habanero plants and 3 assorted color bell pepper plants. I took some of the sprouted sunflower seeds and planted them. Hopefully soon they'll germinate soon. The sweet potato I have had in a cup of water for almost a month has started growing leaves. Once those get big enough I will take the slips and transfer them to pots. They will get 5 gallon buckets as well as the pepper plants. I will only grow a few of each in buckets though. They'll be able to come in during the winter months.
Kyliegh is still not willing to eat veggies unless they are cooked. It could take months to get her to eat vegetables but I am willing to do whatever it takes to teach her. Kyliegh probably hasn't even tasted most fruits and vegetables yet so it will take a while for her to try them all. Hopefully I'll find vegetables she likes right off the bat. I have given her napa cabbage and mustard greens which she shreads but doesn't eat. She likes fruit which is good. Almost every fruit I have let Kyliegh taste she's liked.
I got my food dehydrator yesterday. I have a mandarin orange dehydrating currently. Once they finish drying I'll crumble some of them and add it to her seed mix. Soon the bananas I got yesterday will be ripe. I'll crumble some of the banana chips and add them to her seed mix as well.
Kyliegh likes mandarin orange as it turns out. She only got a small bit but she was all over it. She also got a second round of sprouted sunflower seeds. I watched her crack the shells on them but she spat out the seeds. I'll keep sprouting sunflower seeds until I can get her to eat them. I will soon start sprouting lentils as well. I might try it with beans but I know that sprouted or not they have to be cooked.
The pepper plants are germinating now. I have 3 Habanero plants and 3 assorted color bell pepper plants. I took some of the sprouted sunflower seeds and planted them. Hopefully soon they'll germinate soon. The sweet potato I have had in a cup of water for almost a month has started growing leaves. Once those get big enough I will take the slips and transfer them to pots. They will get 5 gallon buckets as well as the pepper plants. I will only grow a few of each in buckets though. They'll be able to come in during the winter months.
Kyliegh is still not willing to eat veggies unless they are cooked. It could take months to get her to eat vegetables but I am willing to do whatever it takes to teach her. Kyliegh probably hasn't even tasted most fruits and vegetables yet so it will take a while for her to try them all. Hopefully I'll find vegetables she likes right off the bat. I have given her napa cabbage and mustard greens which she shreads but doesn't eat. She likes fruit which is good. Almost every fruit I have let Kyliegh taste she's liked.
Last night I got Kyliegh bananas that are closer to being ripe than the organic bananas I bought yesterday. I also got her more napa cabbage, strawberries, unsweetened coconut strips, pine nuts and a mix of flax, chia, and hemp seeds. Kyliegh wasn't impressed with those items but I made her an egg which I mixed with just the tri-mix seeds I got her last night. She ate a decent portion like she usually does. I did see her spit out some of the flax seed which is broken in 2. I know she ate some of the flax seeds as well as the rest of the seed mix.
As I type this Kyliegh has a Gatorade cap which she loves. She was rubbing it on my pillow.
Kyliegh has been better behaved than she was 2 nights ago. She is exploring more and playing more than she has since she came here. From the look of the toys that were in her cage at her previous owner's house it has probably been at least a year.
I have been keeping Kyliegh busy and she hasn't chewed my shirts. I think she hates going downstairs anymore. For a while she was letting me take her up and down. She'll climb onto my hand to go up but I have had to pick her up to get her downstairs. She refuses to climb onto my hand in the morning because she knows where I will take her. I am going to try harder to make downstairs as fun as upstairs. It is hard to compete with two cages with budgies though. I also think that seeing me go out the door stresses her out especially if we are running errands and are gone for several hours. I am working on getting her to enjoy toys more so she can be taught how to entertain herself when I am not home.
Her molt is progressing albeit slowly still. Kyliegh has more pin feathers than I have seen so far. They are indeed growing. So far the pin feathers are confined to her neck and head. I am hoping her chest feathers and the feathers on her back start coming in soon. She has only down in those places.
Kyliegh is starting to say words that she probably learned from her previous owner. She can say Facebook, oh s*it, and Bi*ch. My wife and I don't curse very much at all. She might have heard us talk about Facebook but certainly not the curse words. Because Kyliegh used all 3 of the above words/phrases in less than 30 seconds I am pretty sure she learned all 3 of them with her previous owner.
As of today I have 3 habanero seedlings and 4 bell pepper seedlings for Kyliegh's vegetable and herb garden. I transplanted the now bolting napa cabbage, the 3 habanero seedlings, and the dandelion plant to larger pots. The napa cabbage went to a 6 inch pot. The other plants are in McDonald's cups for now. The dandelion is in a larger Casey's cup. This bird is going to eat well.
As I type this Kyliegh has a Gatorade cap which she loves. She was rubbing it on my pillow.
Kyliegh has been better behaved than she was 2 nights ago. She is exploring more and playing more than she has since she came here. From the look of the toys that were in her cage at her previous owner's house it has probably been at least a year.
I have been keeping Kyliegh busy and she hasn't chewed my shirts. I think she hates going downstairs anymore. For a while she was letting me take her up and down. She'll climb onto my hand to go up but I have had to pick her up to get her downstairs. She refuses to climb onto my hand in the morning because she knows where I will take her. I am going to try harder to make downstairs as fun as upstairs. It is hard to compete with two cages with budgies though. I also think that seeing me go out the door stresses her out especially if we are running errands and are gone for several hours. I am working on getting her to enjoy toys more so she can be taught how to entertain herself when I am not home.
Her molt is progressing albeit slowly still. Kyliegh has more pin feathers than I have seen so far. They are indeed growing. So far the pin feathers are confined to her neck and head. I am hoping her chest feathers and the feathers on her back start coming in soon. She has only down in those places.
Kyliegh is starting to say words that she probably learned from her previous owner. She can say Facebook, oh s*it, and Bi*ch. My wife and I don't curse very much at all. She might have heard us talk about Facebook but certainly not the curse words. Because Kyliegh used all 3 of the above words/phrases in less than 30 seconds I am pretty sure she learned all 3 of them with her previous owner.
As of today I have 3 habanero seedlings and 4 bell pepper seedlings for Kyliegh's vegetable and herb garden. I transplanted the now bolting napa cabbage, the 3 habanero seedlings, and the dandelion plant to larger pots. The napa cabbage went to a 6 inch pot. The other plants are in McDonald's cups for now. The dandelion is in a larger Casey's cup. This bird is going to eat well.
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@sunnysmom I read the article Site Name - Articles - Behavioral - Sex And The Psittacine you referred me to. It was definitely informative. Some of this I knew but some I didn't know. I am going to change a few things I am currently doing with Kyliegh based on the article you referenced and a few others.
Kyliegh laid an egg. It looked like it could have come from a 10 year old Goffin's. The shell was solid and blemish free. That said I certainly don't want her laying eggs. She laid the egg Saturday morning just after I posted. Thankfully she hasn't laid another and I hope it stays that way.
I certainly will get things settled down. In fact she is in her cage right now which she isn't thrilled about but I do want her to be more independent for her own sake. The previous owner kept her out of her cage all the time and honestly I have too until now. She is screaming off and on. Thankfully a neighbor of ours moved away today and the other neighbor knows that I have Kyliegh and that she can scream at times.
If anything good has come from this it's that I have learned quite a bit this week. I knew there would be a learning curve with Kyliegh but learning is awesome and I love Kyliegh more than anyone knows.
Hopefully the egg laying will kickstart her molt. She has been growing pin feathers but they seem to be very slow to unfurl lately. I am going to ask the vet about these things when I see him. Also her poop has gone from green to a healthier brown color this week. It's an improvement but there's still room for improvement.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me so far and to those who have read this journal so far. I am no expert yet but I am definitely learning more each day. It is my hope that others may learn from my mistakes and from my successes. Kyliegh is also learning new things. She is getting to explore new things, she is gaining confidence, and what intellect she possesses!
Kyliegh laid an egg. It looked like it could have come from a 10 year old Goffin's. The shell was solid and blemish free. That said I certainly don't want her laying eggs. She laid the egg Saturday morning just after I posted. Thankfully she hasn't laid another and I hope it stays that way.
I certainly will get things settled down. In fact she is in her cage right now which she isn't thrilled about but I do want her to be more independent for her own sake. The previous owner kept her out of her cage all the time and honestly I have too until now. She is screaming off and on. Thankfully a neighbor of ours moved away today and the other neighbor knows that I have Kyliegh and that she can scream at times.
If anything good has come from this it's that I have learned quite a bit this week. I knew there would be a learning curve with Kyliegh but learning is awesome and I love Kyliegh more than anyone knows.
Hopefully the egg laying will kickstart her molt. She has been growing pin feathers but they seem to be very slow to unfurl lately. I am going to ask the vet about these things when I see him. Also her poop has gone from green to a healthier brown color this week. It's an improvement but there's still room for improvement.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me so far and to those who have read this journal so far. I am no expert yet but I am definitely learning more each day. It is my hope that others may learn from my mistakes and from my successes. Kyliegh is also learning new things. She is getting to explore new things, she is gaining confidence, and what intellect she possesses!
Pat H
Rollerblading along the road
I've shared our Cockatoo story before... but here again is my behavioral slant:
We had been told that the beautiful Umbrella was up for adoption at the pet store. Told the older couple owners had passed away. I think--
Abby had been sitting on the 'old lady' when she passed [Abby DOES NOT LIKE me to have my glasses off, and would begin small biting me if I would fall asleep w/ her on me].. Because, she acts TOTALLY DIFFERENT w/ my hubby-- when he's taken his glasses off, she becomes extremely compassionate and goes to comfort him, snuggle. Especially when he wipes his eyes.
And if I rub his back--- she attacks me. [rubbing his hand or head is ok].
I think-- the kids tried to take care of the birds, but because of no experience, tried to force her to come up w/ a stick [she's terrified of sticks, small ladders, anything elongated], and would throw pop cans at her [she viciously attacks them].
There are other minor observations... but just think of the circumstances surrounding a behavior [noise, lighting, etc]...
We had been told that the beautiful Umbrella was up for adoption at the pet store. Told the older couple owners had passed away. I think--
Abby had been sitting on the 'old lady' when she passed [Abby DOES NOT LIKE me to have my glasses off, and would begin small biting me if I would fall asleep w/ her on me].. Because, she acts TOTALLY DIFFERENT w/ my hubby-- when he's taken his glasses off, she becomes extremely compassionate and goes to comfort him, snuggle. Especially when he wipes his eyes.
And if I rub his back--- she attacks me. [rubbing his hand or head is ok].
I think-- the kids tried to take care of the birds, but because of no experience, tried to force her to come up w/ a stick [she's terrified of sticks, small ladders, anything elongated], and would throw pop cans at her [she viciously attacks them].
There are other minor observations... but just think of the circumstances surrounding a behavior [noise, lighting, etc]...
sunnysmom
Ripping up the road
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If she's laying eggs, make sure she has calcium in her diet. As much as we don't like to see them lay eggs, it is natural. From what I've read, laying eggs like once a year really isn't cause for concern.
