Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: RV
Shown: Galah “Bondi” wrapped in towel ready to receive medication

If you missed the entry on our first vet visit, read about it here.

And if you live near Roanoke, Virginia and are in need of a fantastic avian vet, exotic vet, or just regular cat/dog type vet, please look up Dr. Paul Stewart. He is amazing, dependable, and affordable and way over qualified for anything you might need.

A couple days before Dave and I would be driving up to Virginia from Florida, I talked with Dr. Stewart and asked which birds needed to be brought back and the verdict was all of them except Jinx. Jinx, our blue throated macaw, was thought to have a tiny piece of metal in his stomach from the looks of his x-ray  but when it was thoroughly tested we found it was nothing at all and it had been the only concern with Jinx so he got to stay home on this trip.

We’ve had a stroke of bad luck with our main truck lately, it actually broke down 3 times in the last month and a half so we decided it was no longer dependable. It’s the truck that pulls our bird trailer, and we just couldn’t risk getting stranded in the cold with our birds so we traded it in for a new truck but the new one isn’t quite equipped with all the towing stuff we need it to be for the size of our bird trailer and how much it weighs on its own… so long story short, we took our 10 foot trailer instead for our trip.

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Orlando, FL
Shown: Camelot macaws “Comet” & “Tusa”

It’s not as comfy for the birds, and we haven’t used it in years so it went into quick drop off repairs before our trip. We packed food, water, toys, travel cages and one larger white cage that we keep in that trailer anyway for our two macaws. We secured it down to the trailer and used bungees and clamps for the other travel cage that held our three medium sized parrots.

Our first day we took off around 7am from Florida and made it to our friends’ place in Virginia by 11pm. We stopped to conduct a freeflight call with our latest Freestyle Flyer Student (our freeflight course) making us a little later in the day.

When we arrived in Virginia we moved all the birds into the house in a separate room and they were fed and watered a few gas stations prior. We took them all out, watered them again and everyone went straight to sleep. 7am the next morning rolled around very early. Our birds were used to much more sleep, and I knew they’d be testy once we got to the vet’s office which was a 1.5 hour drive for me that morning.

I dropped everyone off at the vet’s office at 8:30am, and came back for them a little before 2pm with tons of great news from the vet.

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Orlando, FL
In travel cages: Congo african grey “Cressi”, Galahs “Bandit” & “Bondi”, Camelot macaw “Comet”

First thing was, everyone looked in optimal health since being home for 30 days (off the road) and the vet told me whatever I was doing with their diet to keep on it. Cressi (our african grey) showed no signs of any trouble with her kidneys while Rocko showed the same signs and looked great. We had his blood drawn for iron levels as toucans often die from too much iron and it’s good to have a baseline on your birds of where there levels are when they’re healthy.

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Orlando, FL
Ready for travel: Camelot macaws “Comet” & “Tusa”

Both Comet and Tusa had what our vet called “White Coat Syndrome” which just made me laugh… especially since this vet clinic has everyone wearing blue coats! Basically, white coat syndrome means your bird gets stressed and uneasy at the sight of a “white coat” or “vet”. And immediately their levels sky-rocket. Our macaws had very high white level counts which means they could be hiding illness which is what we wanted to be sure of. Tusa had been on the changes of a booster and Rain which had done wonders during his molt making his feathers come in beautifully, especially on his head where he practically looked bald before. All the levels were normal this time around, and the vet had waited a couple hours of the birds being there and hanging out before he tested them to make sure their emotional states were not heightened.

It worked! And the boys checked out beautifully.

Bandit’s levels were tested as he had shown very small beginning signs of fatty liver as a possibility so with the change of diet for the last 30 days we wanted to see the difference it all made. (We’ll hear more on any test results, and later for ones that were sent out, likely 10-14 days).

Bondi’s legs had approved as far as her picking at them, but under her wings had gotten worse at home. It seemed to calm down once her yeast went away (which the vet also confirmed, that the yeast infections in both our girls Bondi and Cressi was gone) but then her picking under the wings got worse after a couple days of the yeast medication being done. Because of this, the vet took 8 skin biopsies. He took 3-4 from places she was picking, and 3-4 from places that she was not and could not possibly reach to test her skin and see if anything might be irritating her and causing itchiness. The couple days before we left for the appointment he suggested using the Rain on her picked areas to see if that would help. We had only had the chance to use it once before we left, but definitely plan to implement it more for all our birds around 3 times per week.

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Waynesboro, VA
Pictured: Biopsy spot on galah “Bondi”

The size of the biopsies was about the size of the “pore” so to speak of the feather. The size of a feather coming in is what was taken. Usually when birds have this done they have to wear a neck thingy that is a sponge-y foam type thing. Luckily, Bondi didn’t bother with her biopsy spots and didn’t need to wear it, though Dr. Stewart did send us home with it just in case she began to for any reason.

We were very thrilled at all the positive feedback from the vet – the days at home seemed to do wonders for the birds’ health, especially in our ability to optimize their diet. We have to give a great deal of credit to that to Patty for researching what’s perfect for kidneys and livers and exactly what the birds would be needing. We cut back on giving fruit a ton to our birds, and stuffed them with colorful veggies. We bought wheatgrass by the bagful at Whole Foods and cooked beans for the weeks to come and mixed it with tons of  healthy stuff. We ended up writing tons of our own recipes and were very excited about all of it. We didn’t feed a single nut or seed to any of our birds, just really focusing on the healthy foods they needed.

Photo by Jamieleigh
Location: Waynesboro, VA
Shown: Galah “Bondi”

With Rocko we also optimized his diet as he showed beginning signs of something being wrong with his kidneys. While traveling we could always get watermelon and blueberries and blackberries, but he wasn’t liking the store-bought blackberries after having them fresh from Chet’s house. He also needed better foods like banana, sweet potato, papaya and mango… which were foods we had a hard time coming by in our travels.

Back at home we were able to get him everything he needed and he was loving the different methods we would experiment with when it came to feeding time.

Needless to say, we are ALL benefiting from being off the road for a while. And we’ll be putting together our original recipes for all of you to benefit from too. We always include original recipes in our promos (so far Halloween and Christmas) so be on the look out for those because right now it’s the only place to get them! Today I talked to the vet about any results that already came back, and every single bird of ours is back to normal and optimal health all around. We were able to take Bondi off every single medication except her anti-biotic which is just for 4 days to make sure no infections happen to her biopsy spots, and then she stays on her supplements like sunshine factor and her booster. Other than that, her liver shows great now and we are very excited about it. We’re waiting to hear about what the biopsy results are but until then, everyone seems in optimal health and life off the road is fan-freaking-tastic as far as our birds are concerned!

Budgie

I feel it is important to admit to and talk about my mistakes. It is a learning experience for you readers, and a humbling reminder for me. Yes, even we who spend our days trying to coach you on the whys and whats of bird ownership blow it from time to time. In a classic idiot manoeuver, I indirectly caused an injury to one of the Womach budgies.

The smallest birds live in the house upstairs in what I call the spare birdroom. My cockatiels and quaker are still a bit wary of the Womach’s flock and we keep them and the budgies separated inside. Theo (my goffins cockatoo) has her night cage set up in that room as well and she is moved back to her main cage in the morning.

This morning I went about cleaning the cages in the upstairs birdroom. The budgies upstairs cage, which I saved for last, needs to be dismantled to be cleaned thoroughly. When it came time to do that cage I decided to put Nikko and Visa inside Theo’s empty sleeper cage for the few minutes it would take to run downstaris and wash their grate and bottom tray.

Budgies

I distinctly remember hesitating when I put them into Theo’s cage. I was very aware that the bar spacing was far too large to contain a budgie, but I ignored  my concerns and opted to just shut the door to the room in case of an escape. I did not take into account other possible hazards to them. I expected they would just stay put until I got back. Wrong…well, half wrong. Visa stayed put. Nikko flew over to the cage top of Libby, my quaker, and landed.

Quakers are very territorial. They don’t like anyone invading areas that they regard as a nesting site – primarily the cage – and certainly no other bird species are allowed. Through the bars of her cage, Libby went after Nikko’s tiny feet, although I have to say, not with the deadly force she could have imposed.

When I came upstairs, Nikko was, for reasons beyond my understanding, still on top of Libby’s cage. Libby was at the bottom looking guilty. I could tell in an instant that something was wrong just by the puffy appearance of Nikko feathers, and, sure enough, there were small woulds on Nikko’s left foot and an abrasion on one of the toes on the right.

Wet budgies

Fortunately, all the injuries were minor and treatable at home. I know that bird’s feet are very susceptible to infection following injury and took preventative measures against that. All in all, it turned out much better than it might have, given the difference in size of the two birds.

BUT there is no excuse for my lapse in judgement. This was not Nikko’s fault for escaping an inappropriate cage. It was not Libby’s fault for defending her territory. I am entirely to blame. I knowingly put the budgies in a cage that they could get out of, in a room with larger birds that could injure them, because it was easy. I certainly know better than that, and have, in the past, warned other people about making that same mistake.

So, the moral of the story is this: take the necessary time and action to do things the right way. Be aware of ANY dangers in your bird’s environment, and never assume your bird will stay put and avoid those dangers in your absense – no matter how shart a period of time you might be gone.

Rosebreasted cockatoo and cat

There have been so many pictures posted on the the Facebook page recently depicting parrots playing with the family pets that I thought a post on the subject was a needed. I know this is is going to make me seem like a killjoy, but I feel it’s necessary to warn you of the dangers of allowing members of your feathered and furry family to interact.

When I was younger, I always had any number of different animals sharing my home. Most of them were not species that we traditionally think of as being compatible: dogs-cats-rodents-birds. However, they all managed to get along and some even became good friends. It wasn’t unusual to find one of my daughters missing rats curled under the chin of our sleeping dog, or one of the cockatiels preening the fur on our cat’s head.

It was kind of cool, and was always a surprise to our houseguests that our menageie of animals were all so willing to interact and share quarters. I always though of our home as a place where all creatures, big and small, could come and be part of a larger family. We all got along.

Blue throated macaw and cat

Then, one summer, on separate nights, my cat brought home the remains of a field mouse and a sparrow. Lovingly, she left them in my bed in the middle of the night for me to discover in the morning. The only thing more horrible than finding their tiny corpses was the realization that my cat had killed both a mouse and a bird – two species with which she freely interacted in the house.

I had no choice but to rethink the way we were doing things with our animals. I began to study animal insticts in depth. I read about the dogs that were bred as “birders” in hunting sports (retrievers, spaniels, pointers). I eventually came to the understanding that while an animal’s wild instincts might be repressed, buried under years of domestication and training, they are still present and are sometimes expressed at the most unexpected times.

I discovered that instincts are not entirely controllable in animals, and are definitely beyond the understanding of the human race. When a cat is paired with a bird or a rodent, instict bubbles just under the surface waiting for the right trigger to set the hunt into motion. We can’t fully fathom what those triggers are, and we cannot keep them at bay.

Rosebreasted cockatoo and cat

In just the past year, I have had two people tell me of the deaths of their beloved birds following attacks by their family dogs. One death was immediate, the other bird died as a result of infection. My friend hadn’t noticed that the bird had been scratched by the dog’s nail or tooth. All mammals (including us!) carry gram negative bacteria in our mouths, which is transferred to other parts of the body – such as claws and fur – through saliva. Bird’s bodies do not harbor this bacteria naturally and it can be deadly to them when left untreated. (For this same reason, we should not let our birds play with the toys of any pet mammals in the house.)

We all love the romantic notion that our home is a place where all species show respect and love for one another. While we may live in peace and harmony on most days, this can change in the blink of an eye when a single, unobservable event triggers the hunting instinct in one of your animals resulting in the death of another.

Blue fronted amazon and cat

Please be VERY AWARE AT ALL TIMES if you allow your pets to share a communal play area. I don’t want you to discover a tragedy by noticing a blue and gold feather hanging from the chin of your dog like someone I know recently did.

photo by benefitsof honeyblog.com

For those of you with outdoor aviaries or cages for your birds, I am sure the consideration of insects has crossed your mind. Can they be harmful to your parrot?

BEES:

Bees are not terribly fast moving and are really no match for the speed of your parrot. Any bee that gets close enough to your bird will be moving right on it’s way as soon as it realizes the speed and agility with which a parrot a parrot can manoeuvre that snapping beak. And if a bee were to make an undetected landing on your bird, it’s stinger isn’t really long enough to penetrate the feathers to make contact with the skin.

Bees really have no interest in stinging unless there is a threat perceived. A parrot that is outside sunning itself doesn’t really represent a threat and a bee might only make an appearance to check out what was for lunch in your birds bowl. In this regard, just let nature be and your parrot can look out for himself.

I must tell you, though, that a notification came through the BirdTricks customer service office not too long ago that was just horrifying. We learned that the large outdoor aviaries of a breeder were deluged with attacking bees resulting in the deaths of 12 macaws. We aren’t sure what caused the bees to attack, but birds can be overcome by swarming bees that will burrow under feathers and sting – the result can be fatal.

It’s a good idea to walk the area surrounding your aviaries to know if there are hives nearby. If bees decide to attack, your caged birds are helpless to escape.

photo by nationalgeographic.com

MOSQUITOES/GNATS:

Mosquitoes and gnats are annoying to everyone, parrots included. They, unlike bees, are not particulary concerned with the snapping beak and will remain in the area and do what they do best – bite.  If you have a species that have patches of bare skin on their faces, like macaws, or if your bird is a plucker, you might notice the irritation of bites on their faces and bodies.

Apart from using bug zappers there really isn’t much you can do except to bring your birds in at sundown when the bugs are out in full force. The oil in citronella candles produce fumes that are unsafe for birds, and backyard foggers will coat the aviaries and perches with toxins. Neither are acceptable solutions.

You should know that birds are susceptible to West Nile Virus if they are bitten by a mosquito that has been feeding on an infected wild bird. It is a contagious disease that causes inflammation to the brain and can be fatal. It is considered to be uncommon in many places, but in those areas, such as Florida, where mosquitoes flourish there have been several reported cases.

Photo by nicoledpe255.blogspot.com

FLIES/FRUIT FLIES:

Flies are not only an annoyance, but they spread bacteria and disease. They, themselves, are not harmful to your parrot, but are more dangerous to your parrot’s environment – or more precisely, the part of your parrots’ environment that ends up in its mouth.

Flies are generally the result of uncleanliness with food left lying around on the ground and unemptied garbage cans being the major contributors to the problem in the average bird home. If you feed them they will come…and lay eggs…and never leave.

Fortunately, fruit flies are not disease spreaders because with the foods we commonly feed our parrots, they do appear from time to time. The sticky traps work wonderfully in collecting fruit flies making it easy to rid yourself of them. Be sure to keep the traps, which look like wonderfully fun bird toys, well out of reach. There have many unhappy birds who have lost patches of feathers during the removal of fly traps that they have gotten into.

photo by how-to-get-rid-of-ants.info

For the most part, under normal conditions, there is no reason to worry about flying insects with your birds. Birds are well adept at handling all things outdoors-y. That is their original stomping ground, after all.

Camelot and blue throated macaws

Referred to as MBS, Multiple Bird Syndrome is suffered by most bird people, particularly those in their first years of bird ownership. It’s symptoms include warm, fuzzy feelings when viewing other people’s birds – especially those species which we do not keep in our own flock.

MBS is a powerful affliction as symptoms can manifest even without the other birds being physically present -  cute photographs alone can cause flare ups. The main symptom is an uncontrollable urge to add just one more bird to the flock even when we know we have no more space in the bird room or when our budget is already stretched to the limit.

You may be reading this and thinking: “Okay. Now this is a disease I can live with!”  Beware. MBS is insidious and in the blink of an eye you can find yourself inundated with birds. It may sound like paradise, but it is not – not for you, and not for your flock.

No, MBS is not a real disease, but it is referred to often in the avian community. All joking aside, it is a serious issue. I remember struggling with it myself not so long ago. Over the years, I have watched many great bird owners fall victim to MBS. One such example stands out over ther others:

One nice lady, we’ll call her Susan, had a full time job working for her city’s transit department. She was married to a great guy and all of her children were grown and moved away from home. She and her husband understandably found the house too quiet and they purchased a blue and gold macaw to fill the void. The bird became a treasured member of the household.

Rosebreasted cockatoo and congo african grey

Following this, Susan fell in love with all things parrot and joined a local bird club where she experienced some of the other popular species. Within the next two years they added another five birds to the flock. Her husband was very patient with the birds and helped care for them, but insisted that they draw the line there.

When you called them on the phone, it was hard to hear them speak. When visiting them, you could tell they were having trouble keeping up with the bird related chores. The birds were loved and cared for, but their not-so-large home wasn’t as pristine, or as peaceful, as it used to be.

Susan couldn’t help herself and came home one day with another large bird. Her thinking where her husband was concerned was that “it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission”. He hit the roof and gave her the ultimatum: “me or the birds”.  It was a devastating choice for her, but one which she had brought on herself. They kept their origninal blue and gold macaw, and had to rehome the rest – an unhappy experience for all concerned, both human and avian.

Camelot and blue throated macaws and rosebreasted cockatoo

I hope the point of this story is clear. We love birds. We can’t get enough of them…that is why we are all here, after all. But you can have too much of a good thing. We can spread ourselves too thin in the areas of finanaces, space and time, and it can play out badly for our birds…and our loved ones. Think carefully before you bring a new bird into your life, and try to keep your MBS under control!

Mitred conure

Q:  My bird room is unheated. Can I cover the cage with an electric blanket to keep my bird warm at night?
 - Carol B., Huntington, CA

A:  No! There are three real dangers to consider when using an electric blanket around a parrot:

1. You never want to put anything electrical near your bird. Even though the insulated wire filaments that run through the newer electric blankets work on only 12 or 24 volts, the power cord that runs from the wall to the blanket is on 110 volts. And because that is attached to the blanket to power it, the parrot need only pull the blanket throught the cage bars to reach the cord with the dangerous amount of electricity coursing through it. I don’t think I need to describe the possible results.
2. Another danger is with the overheating that could occur inside the cage. The fabric of a blanket is a too heavy and unbreathable to be used as a cage cover especially when heat is introduced and has no means of escape. The temperature can build up to unsafe levels iside the cage.
3. A third danger is with the blanket fabric alone. Not only should cage covers be light weight to allow for ventilation, but one has to assume that the parrot is going to investigate the cover. Many parrots will pull sections of it inside for a good look or chew. The thick pile of a typical blanket leaves too much opportunity for entanglement as nails get caught in the weave and the filaments.

Electric blankets have come a long way in the last 10 years as far as safety goes. The newer blankets are much less a fire hazard. However they are simply not a suitable as a heat source for a chilly parrot.

You might try using a heated perch, or read this post on portable heaters that are bird safe.