Conference 7.286::pet_birds

    Hi Denise,
    
    Judy Woo report on her parrakeets brought up a question you could use.
    Is Iodine necessary for our birds and how do you add it to their diet?
    
    Also....
    
    Do our birds get more vitamins from Topper seeds ?
    
    If we use vitamins enriched seeds and veggies, what other suppliments
    are necessary ? (Calcium, iodine)
    
    What diseases have there been outbreaks of lately around New England ?
    
    Hope this helps,
    Doug
    

    
    Hi Denise,
    
     This may be a very weard question, but it is a question that i'm
    interested in and perhaps you can get me an answer and use it in
    your clubs news letter. Here is the question,"How can one ship eggs
    with a verry low risk of braking them or damaging them in any way".
    This question is for breeders that would incubate at home and the
    eggs need to get to them in a inviroment that the eggs wont go bad.
    Very weard question is'nt it. I have a need getting some info on
    shipping eggs, perhaps there is some one else, or atleast the folks
    in your club will notice that no matter how stupid their question
    may seen, they might make them and help you with your task.
    
    
     Please forgive my weard question, but what do think. Thankx in
    advance.
    
                       Juan (who is trying to get a blue headed pionus)

    
    hi,
    
    please see note 632.0 and 632.1.  i think this is something that alot
    of bird owners go through.  i also think it is why some bird owners
    become x-bird owners.  
    
    do you think you can use it?

    re .2
    
    There's no such thing as a stupid question!  Unusual maybe, stupid,
    never!  All the folks in this file have been wonderful about answering
    all my questions and this has been and still is a great forum for learning
    and sharing info. Don't feel badly Juan, ask away!
    
    
    Jeanne
     

    Hi Denise,
    
    Could you ask one or more breeders to comment on
    how to deal with aggressiveness in breeding parrots?
    I have a pair of Red Lored Amazons.  My female used to be apet.  She
    loves the male but still
    persists in attempting to be friendly with me.  Of course, the male
    hates this
    and takes out his aggression on me.  What can I do to keep her away
    from me or to scare them away so
    I can feed them?
    
    Thanks very much.
    
    Laurie
    

    
    Hi Jeanne,
    
       Thank you for your words, and welcoming my question. I have a
    problem being too shy, i find my self thinking what people may
    think of me or react when i join  coversations  in  the "Notes
    conferense", many times staying out side looking  in  thru the
    window. But thankx to folks like you that take the time to help
    people like me makes me want to try to fit in. Thank you Jeanne
    once again for you reasurance, a few good word of gesture sure
    does a lot. Hope to talk once  again in this notes fole.
    
    
                                              Juan 

    Hi Denise,
      I have a problem that I would really like to have some answers to.. I
    have an eleven month old hand fed gray (Heart) that has developed an
    irritating habit that is making me doubt that I am really a Bird
    person. Two weeks ago I was gone for a week on business. Prior to this
    trip she seemed to be bonded to both my partner and I about equally.
    Since we had both hand fed her as a baby, this worked out well.After
    dinner at night she seemed to enjoy having her beak rubbed and being 
    scratched around her neck and ears by both of us. Since I have returned
    she wants nothing to do with me and continually tries to go to my
    partner when she is on my chair/shoulder/etc. If she does not get her
    way she proceeds to yank my hair out by the beakfull or to poke holes
    in my clothing or the chair! Needless to say I'm not relly enjoying
    this bird a whole lot at the moment! This situation is really
    depressing since I bought the bird, the cage, the toys, the food, etc.
    and I'm the one that feeds her and cleans up after her... If anyone has
    experienced a similar situation I would certainly like to have some
    ideas on how to approach this as my patience is wearing real thin.
    Thanks for any help.
                          Don

   She seems to be unhappy that you left her.........?


     - Bob

    I left for a weekend trip and, upon my return, my tiels let me know in
    no uncertain terms that I was on the sh!tlist.  Some birds are very
    touchy about what they view to be 'desertion.'   

Sometimes after you let them be angry, sometime they get over it.
My b&g bites, then seems to forgive!

Ed

    I know it is not funny - but it is. As I travel 1 week every 3 months -
    I go through this constantly! Winston (my grey) really gets bent every
    time I leave. It then takes about one week to get back in his good
    graces. If this was the first time - it may take longer. Be patient and
    don't take it personally (they know when they are getting to you!!).
    I usually try to get Winston alone and give him some special treats and
    spend some "quality" time with him.
    Greys have a habbit of pulling (hair,ears, noses) and making holes
    (couches,chairs) when they are pouting. Our Conure is MUCH worse! When
    my husband is gone Casper is VERY Verbal and a real PAIN when he comes
    back. Just like kids!  
    
    	Hang in there!
    
    			Dora  

    Our two little Zebra Finches give us the cold shoulder when we get
    home later than they think we should.  No peeps - no wing stretches
    - complete silence!  They are real pouty!  
    
    After awhile they warm up and demand attention - some one to play
    with them and get their cage ready for bed.  In the evening their
    cage is near the TV - so they get into bed and watch TV, but at
    ten o'clock Max sounds off which means it is time for us to turn
    out the TV and go to bed!
    
    The little female wasn't feeling to well last night.  She really
    wasn't sick, more tired than anything else.  This morning she
    is a lot better - up eating and drinking so hopefully she will ok
    when we get home tonight.  She (Maggie) and Max had a little tiff
    this morning and she yelled at me before I left this morning, so
    she is feeling better. 
                          
    Spoiled little brats! 
    
    Regards,
    
          Susan
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    Hi! I thought that I would update you all on the continuing saga of my
    Grey and how she is reacting to my absences. I have been very firm with
    her when she tries pulling the manipulative brat act and have
    concentrated on ignoring her outright hostility.There have been times
    when she will allow me to rub her beak and scratch behind her head ,
    usually when she is in her cage and on the perch. I think things are 
    better with her now because I just got back after another week of
    travel and she is not going through her " hurt" bit to the same extent
    as last time! So...there is hope and I feel better about the situation
    than when I first wrote. I do appreciate all of the input..it helps to
    know that others have dealt with similar situations. Thanks,
                                                          Don

    I HOPE I AM NOT TOO LATE IN ASKING A QUESTION? 
    
    I AM JUST THE PROUD OWNER OF A HAND FED AFRICAN GREY WHICH WE LOVE
    DEARLY. HE IS JUST STARTING TO UTTER A FEW WORDS. THE QUESTION I 
    HAVE IS A FRIEND OF MINE HAS A GREY WHICH IS DRIVING HER CRAZY WITH
    ALL HIS YELLING.(SHUTUP, CUSS WORDS SCREECHING) DOES ANYONE KNOW
    OF ANY TRICKS TO TRY AND DE-PROGRAM YOUR BIRD ONCE HE KNOWS ALL THE
    BAD THINGS TO DRIVE YOU BATTY? I DONT WANT MY BIRD (BOGART) TO TURN OUT
    LIKE HIM!       
    
    THANKS 
    
    KAREN & BOGART
    
                  
                                                          
                  
    
    
    
        
    
    
    
     
          

    
    Hi Karen, (and Bogart),
    
    	I believe that the bird utter such words because of two reasons.
    One; you use them often and with emotion, (such as the S-word). Two;
    because they find it is a quick way to get attention.
    	I have two African greys, out of my bunch that swear. Jonsey, my
    buddy, says "F____ YOU" and Jenny says "SH__", followed by her
    immediately lecturing herself, not to say the bad word. 
    	Jenny recently came to me from a friend who found out he was
    allergic to the bird. When I moved her, (who I think is a Him and am
    currently waiting on feather sexing results), in with two sex-starved
    females, she/he stopped swearing and hasn't swore once in three weeks,
    so far. 
    	I firmly believe Jenny swore just because it go instant attention
    from her/his master. The other day I was working on a PC that was being
    a pain, and as soon as I started calling it a F______ THING!, so did
    Jonsey. He only swears when he sees or hears me getting emotional.
    Hardly ever does he swear otherwise. Of course every now and then he
    has a minor tif with his mail-order bride, Isabelle and just prior to
    pushing her off the top of the cage..., you hear those familar loving
    words used many-a-time between married couples..., F___ YOU!
    	Now for the rest of the story. Since I believe the main reason they
    do this is for attention, make sure the bird gets lots of regular
    loving. This can reduce the need to screech, cuss, and or yell. When
    the bird does these things, do not respond to them at all! Don't even
    look at them if at all possible. Greys are very smart, and they love to
    play mind games. And I do mean mind games. They are very observant and
    will know when they are reaching you. You have to be smarter and more
    stubborn then they are or they will win. Remember, you say you own
    Bogart, but I wonder what Bogart would say if he could...
    	Depending on how much loving you give your bird and how old he/she
    is, this may or not work and it may or may not take the better part of
    a year to succeed, or even longer. The only way to win is to not give
    up.
    	When Jonsey pulls one of his stunts, like waiting for dad to come
    back into the room before starting to chew on one of his favorite
    books, I lock him up instantly. Then I proceed to take out one of his
    favorite treats, (ie, Chips, Peanut Butter cups, etc) and eat it right
    in front of him, all the time telling him he is a bad bird. It's taken 
    over six months, but it is slowly having an effect. In the old days I
    had to physically move him away from the books. Now I don't always have
    to do that. A simple "Get Your Butt Away From Those Books", or "Go
    Home" is working more and more often.  Not all the time, but more and 
    more often.
    	Well, I guess, I'll get off my soapbox for now. Good Luck and let
    us know how things go with your friend.
    
    							Mark

    Mark,
    
    Thanks so much for the reply. I find your story very amusing. You
    see Bogart is only 6 months old and only saying a few things right
    now. My husband and I are trying to keep our mouths clean around
    him. We both cant wait until he really starts to talk. But on 
    the other side of the coin we should enjoy his silence as of 
    now. I am proud to say he is basically "potty" trained! We spend
    a lot of time with him. We are probably spoiling him already!
    
    That leads me to another question. What do you do with your birds
    when you have to go away for the weekend? I am concerned because
    we spend so much time with ours that he will really suffer if
    we only get someone to come and peek in on him occasionally while
    we are away. Summer is coming and we tend to go to the beach almost
    every weekend! Any ideas?
    
    
     
    thanks
    
    karen & bogart
    
    

    Hi Karen,
    
    	Sorry it took so long to reply. I've been on Holiday for two weeks, 
    only to come back and get a bad case of the flu, causing the loss of 
    another four days of work.
    	An interesting note for those readhing these notes that have
    inquired about bird-keepers lung problems. When I mentioned the fact 
    that I have a number of African Greys, the doctor immediately changed
    the precsription he was going to give and also had a chest x-ray and
    blood tests done. He then reccommended regular tests at least every two
    year.
    	One more note. I just got word back on Jenny and Jenny is indeed
    a Benny. This makes me very happy both because I wanted her to be a he
    and because so far I have "guessed" right on all of the greys I've
    looked at, (7). That part suggest, that maybe, just maybe, I'm starting
    to understand Greys better. All that bird watching on my monitors may
    finally pay off.
    	Now for you question. I am lucky in that I am living in my parent's
    basement. If I leave for a day or two, they take care of feeding and
    paper changing. However, I rarely leave.
    	Because of the value, that I place on my babies, I will not travel
    away from town for more that 3 days total. That means, one day out, one
    day there, and one day back. This has caused a major problem with my 
    management as they would like to send me off for training for which I 
    have refursed repeatedly. I have not found anyone that I trust enough
    to leave the fate of my babies in their hands, and that includes my
    parent's. They do OK for feeding, etc, but wouldn't be able to quickly
    pick up on any possible disease problems etc, quick enough for me. I
    used to very heavily into Discus, (exotic fish). I lost twenty-seven of
    them last year while I was out of town for three days. At $75.00 each,
    you can figure out the loss, not to mention all the work I put into
    raising them from fry.
    	My only suggestion for you and your husband would be to cultivate a
    close friend into someone you can trust watching Bogart. Because you
    only have Bogart, the danger of problems is not as great as mine. I'm
    probably not too far behind Chet white in the number of birds I have.
    With that number the dangers of problems are higher. 
    	Make sure Bogart likes whoever you pick. That will lessen the shock
    of you leaving him for a while and he won't pout as much. As long as he
    can still get the amount and type of attention, (his royal highness feels
    he deserves), Bogart will be fine. I don't have much problem with
    Jonsey, but of course he has Isabelle to keep him company.
    
    
    
    						Good Luck!
    						   Mark

     Mark,
    
     Thanks for the reply. Sounds like you are the Grey expert I have been
    looking for! I hope you are feeling better.
    
     We are cultivating a sitter as we speak. My sister-in-law is going
    to move in with us for a few months and she has bird sat for a couple
    of weekends already. We only go away for 1 week a year for vacation
    in the summer and I think we will take Bogart with us. Any problems
    with that? It will be summer but I dont know how he will be in the
    car. He's adjusts pretty well to new things. When we brought him home
    the first night we got him we read all about how they need at least
    a 1 week adjustment period. Not to take him out of his cage etc.
    Well Bogart was out of his cage the first night and checking out his
    cage.
    
    Let me know what you think.
    
    
    Thanks again.
    
    
    Karen
    

    Hi Karen,
    
    	Sorry about the delay in answering. I lost four more days of work
    to this #$%@&* flu.
    	Sounds like you're doing the right thing with your sister-in-law.
    As far as traveling with Bogart, I would say you'd be ok. One big
    thing, I'll mention only out of fear and having it almost happen to 
    me, is be very careful that Bogart does not escape from his cage while
    on vacation, Very careful! I would suggest you use a small pad-lock to
    make sure there is no way he could get out. I would hate to see you
    lose him. As far as traveling, I don't think that'll be a problem. I
    usually use a box to bring my greys to the Vet and with Jonsey, (who 
    absolutely hates....The Box!), I either let him out or he trys to chew
    his way out. He loves to ride on my shoulder and doesn't seem to mind 
    the trip at all. Of course I always get a number of stares from fellow
    driver.
    	You might try taking Bogart for an hour drive in the car before
    your vacation and see how he handles it. If he appears nervous, just
    talk to him alot. I find that attention, (the attention vitamin, as I
    referr to it), help calm my Greys down when they get nervous. 
    	Good luck and keep us informed as to how Bogart is doing.
    
    						Mark
    
    P.S.
    	If you need anyone taken care
    of, just let me know. I can infect
    them with the absolute worst case of
    the flu going around..., and Jonsey
    can imitate the cough...

>>    I am the editor for my bird club's monthly bulletin (Birds Of A Feather
>>    Avicultural Society out of So. NH).  We are planning to introduce
>>    a new article to the bulletin called "Chatter Box", which will include
>>    questions (which our staff of veterinarians, breeders and other
>>    qualified members will answer).  However we need to get some questions
>>    to start the ball rolling.  
    
      Denise,  What happened with this?  I haven't seen any answers yet.
    
    Chris D.