Malakai

[mumto4birdies]

s1098.photobucket.com/albums/g376/malakaismum/?action=view¤t=Malaki.jpg

[mulin1201]

hi how's going

[avinet]

Nice to see a photo of Malakai - he should be fine in a cage like that. Just a comment on a toy below him in the photo - it looks like there are stray threads hanging off it. Best to trim them off, there is always a small chance of him getting caught up on them - wrapped around a leg for instance, so better safe than sorry.

And his wings have been badly hacked but fortunately he has had the outermost couple of feathers left on so that is saving him from potential injury when he takes off. If they happen to moult out before the inner feathers have regrown be careful that he doesn't crash land and hurt his chest.

For correct clipping if you decide to keep him clipped see my article at scas.org.au/html/wing_clipping.html

cheers,

Mike

[flossy]

What a sweetheart Congrats again. The first thing that stopped me in my tracks was his wing clipping....what is wrong with people? Poor little guy, that's so sad. Thank goodness he has a new Mummy and one that will shower him with love and spoil him like he deserves.

Thanks for sharing and goodluck with your new addition

(I love Quakers! )

[mumto4birdies]

Yes, I was horrified when I saw the wings. From what I have seen on wing clipping (I keep my birds flighted, so wont need to know how to do it anyway) They show cutting the feathers furtherest from the body. Kai has those feathers but they have hacked the ones close to his body and the right wing is much shorter than the left wing. Am hoping to get to the vet on Thurs or Fri. I hope they wont need to be evened up. He can glide around, so thats good. When he moults they should be ok, shouldnt they? I just hope the previous owners havent damaged his follicles or whatever, and his wings grow back fine. I have heard where some birds wings have been damaged from poor clipping. The pic shows him as green and I used my mobile phone, he is actually blue, Will need to re-photo in better lighting. He is a sweety and I am besotted
PS, toy has been removed. I actually meant to do it earlier (Good thing he doesnt go to bottom of cage - yet!)

[avinet]

His wings will be fine when he moults in new feathers. Just be aware that it might be a bit tricky when he loses those long feathers for 2 or 3 weeks until new ones come in. Hopefully he will moult the inner ones first and there will be no problem.

A bad wing clip can damage the wing permanently, but in practice only if the outermost feathers are cut too short and the tip of the wing itself is cut off - called pinioning. It results in a bird that is permanently effectively crippled and will never fly. In human terms rather like having a foot cut off with no artificial replacement available.

I have 2 male cockatiels in my retirement aviary that have had this done to them. They were "donated" to us when we had our pet shop - perhaps dumped would be a better word to use . Both get around the aviary OK by climbing, and have the other retired cockatiels for company. Unfortunately they are not at all tame so are not good house pet candidates - and just how they came to be pinioned we don't know. Very sad but they are happy enough in the aviary.

cheers,

Mike

[mumto4birdies]

Thanks for imput guys. Going to avian vet today - appt at 11am. Will update later today on his findings. Fingers crossed all is well with him.

[mumto4birdies]

Well, we are back. So far so good - I think. He is a little on the light side at 102gm (sb between 100-110gm, the vet said) So much for the lady I got him from who sid he was a BIG so therefore a boy. Need to convert to pellets but she said to take it slowly, so got some of their fruity flav pellets plus went and got more vetafarm ones. She checked him out all over, said his beak is abit wonky (well, he didnt have anything to chew in his old home, he has been rubbing his beak on the perches here)wormed him, took an eye sample for chlamydia (thought that was only koalas) and dna sexing (so we know whats going on with the reproduction thingies). Got info sheets from them and she said to keep up the good work. She took one look at his wings and went "Oh no, Oh dear" She had a later look and said "thats terrible" She also saw a bruise where he has already crash landed and she ended up clipping his left wing for more balance and as you have already said, to be very careful till his new feathers come in that he doesnt crash land. She said he probably feels a little sore in the chest area at the moment. Will get test results end of next week. She thought the flight cage I had him in was his cage, (which is bigger than his old home cage), I said no (and demonstrated the size of his cage) and its full of natural perches and toys. She said he was lucky he is with me now. With the pellet conversion, she said no more than 2 teaspoons of seed per day, but also if I feel that he is not eating enough pellets and f&v, then he can have 10mins a night of "free seed time" I laughed to myself, I thought these parrots are so bloody smart, he will probably learn "dont eat healthy food in day-time cos mummy will give me seeds at night-time". So now he has 2tsp seeds + pellets in one bowl, and apple, grape, celery leaves in another (he took one look at fruit and walked away, didnt even try it, little buggar, but I am very persistent, so for his own health, I WILL get him to eat well, this parrot aint gunna beat me LOL). I feel so relieved that he is ok and that I am doing the right things for him, now to get the test results. Thanks for listening guys.

[anzac]

Good to hear the report on him and all those tests Hopefully you can get him to eat f&v, my turks just won't eat it cos I don't think they had it before hopefully Malakai won't be so stubborn

[mumto4birdies]

yep, he is being stubborn. Apparantly the seed bowl has turned evil. He is cussing at it (in quaker talk) He is not happy at all, the f&v are not working out too well either, as far as he is concerned. Did you know that celery leaves belong on the bottom of the cage? LOL. Will wait a bit longer before I give him his "10min free seed" time. He is really giving me whatfor as I write this.

[carlsandclan]

Hey, why don't you sprout his seed - it's much better for him, he will still feel like he's won, and it will be a little easier to do the transition to fruit and veg. . Worked for all my birds that weren't raised on fresh food!

[mumto4birdies]

Carls, could you please tell me how to. Also, does anyone have a recipe for Aussie birdy bread? All the recipes I found on internet are american - what are corn jacks? What flour (pl or SR) to use. all to confusing for an oldie like me.

[carlsandclan]

It's really easy. I just put some seed into a collander, and rinse them really well. Then sit it on top of an ice-cream container, and fill with hot water till the seed is covered. Let that soak overnight, then take the seed and rinse in warm water. Empty the ice-cream container of water. Sit the colander back in it. Give the seed a rinse twice a day with fresh warm water, and it should sprout in a couple of days. . I also give the sprouts a mist with a water and apple cider vinegar solution (1 part acv to 10 parts water) which prevents bacteria. Some people even use a bleach solution during the soaking stage.

The sprouts should smell earthy and nutty. If they smell sour, throw them away and start again. I store them in the fridge, and they are good for up to a week.

Feed them when they have white 'tails'. By the time they go green, a lot of the nutrients are gone. They are still good green, but white is better.



As far as birdy bread, I have never made any! But - if you are nifty with baking, you could probably come up with your own recipe. You could use polenta as a basis, with maybe mashed pumpkin, potato and sweet potato, chopped veggies, and bind it together with eggs blended up with the shells. Just go by feel. . I'll see about doing just that on the weekend and letting you know how it goes!

[avinet]

Oct 18, 2011 18:11:07 GMT 10 mumto4birdies said:

Carls, could you please tell me how to. Also, does anyone have a recipe for Aussie birdy bread? All the recipes I found on internet are american - what are corn jacks? What flour (pl or SR) to use. all to confusing for an oldie like me.

My article on sprouting seed is at scas.org.au/html/how_to_sprout_seed.html

As for birdy bread there was a thread on this just 2 or 3 months ago from memory - if no one comes up with the link I will try to find it tomorrow.

cheers,

Mike

[flyingfox5]

Hi, about sprouting seed, please let me know if this is ok to do now, the way i have been doing it for a few years now is that i would use a shallow container and put a cotton roll as the base and use a blend of pigeon mix, small parrot mix etc (and whatever else was on hand) and keep it with plenty of moisture and leave it in the sun until it starts sprouting, i have found it to work quite well for me but have never thought of the bacterial growth factor with it as i would change it daily, any thoughts would be appreciated.
regards eileen

[mumto4birdies]

Thanks everyone for your help. Will go a-hunting for the thread on birdy bread recipe. I did google it but they are american and use ingredients that confuse a non-cook like me (eg, corn jack mix, general flour - whatever happened to plain/SR?)
Also, Kai is warming up to the pellets. First day I did what it said on back of pellet packaging - mix 50% pellets, 50% seeds with water, it stunk, didnt look nice, and Kai hated it, he really tucked into his 10mins 'free seed time". 2nd day, did what vet said 50% pellets, mash with rolling pin to make powder, add water to make paste then add 50% seeds, this went down a little better but he still had a good nibble at "10min free seed time". Today I made paste with pellet using fruit juice, then added seed, this went down a treat, he hardly touched his 10min free seed. Going from a seed junkie to a juice junkie? Will juice hurt him at this point? Is it more important that he converts to pellets first? I intend tomorrow to use less juice & a little water to make paste. Will continue to decrease juice, increase water till I can get him fully onto pellets.

[mumto4birdies]

Well, I got creative today, read up on sprouting and birdy bread (thanks) Made a list and went shopping at local s/market. First some f&v, then to health food aisle, got everything you all suggested (organic of course) then the madeira cake mix (couldnt find the corn bread mix), a few things to do sprouting as well (the birds have all their own utensils, containers etc).
Went to register, cashier said "You eat healthy" I replied "Its not for me, I have parots, I am cooking them birdy bread" SILENCE! "Oh! Um" he said. Why did he look at me as if I was some kind of crazy person, this seems normal to me.
Went home and made birdy bread. Wow, Bailey gcc loved it, he is good, will try most things. Do birds lick their lips, I swear he was. Malakai, well he is not too sure. 2 budgies tossed it out of food dish, then went to bottom of cage and ate it off the grill - this is a major milestone for these guys, they will NOT try anything healthy at all. So tomorrow, I will try sprouting. I thought sprouting meant 'growing" the seeds into grass but Mike's picures dont show that. Will do what you said Mike.

[blinkybill]

thats ssooo cute!!!! will have to try making some birdie bread!