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I'd say talk to your vet-- my vet was a tad concerned about Pearl's beak, and it was much more "normal" looking in comparison. One thing my vet suggested was providing cuttlebones for her to gnaw on-- similar to your perch, it's a place to grind their beaks. I think in regards to perches, the gritty one shouldn't be the highest in the cage because they will tend to go there even if it's uncomfortable-- just FYI.
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Feb 24, 2015 07:29
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BlueDiablo posted:Would it be advisable to schedule a trimming sooner than later? Jesus. If you could take him right now I'd go.  how didn't you notice it was getting so big? no birds anywhere have beaks like that? He can't even close his mouth the whole way I just???
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Feb 24, 2015 11:14
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greypearl posted:One thing my vet suggested was providing cuttlebones for her to gnaw on-- similar to your perch, it's a place to grind their beaks. In addition to this, make sure you are providing hard wood toys for your bird to chew on. My conure chews on cuttlebones, but they barely remove the "flakes" that form on his beak sometimes. The wood hanging toys and foot toys are really what helps to wear things down from my experience. Similarly- my friend's cockatoo has access to cuttlebones, hard toys, and those soft "kebab" type toys. For some reason he is a prissy baby and only chews the cuttlebones and soft toys. He needs beak trimmings every few months too. If you guys know THAT ONE WEIRD TRICK to get a lazy bird to chew on hard stuff, my friend would LOVE to know. She's tried all the normal strategies without much luck. She even tried smearing the toys with natural peanut butter and the bird just licked it off.
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Feb 24, 2015 14:25
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Pip pip pip posted:In addition to this, make sure you are providing hard wood toys for your bird to chew on. My conure chews on cuttlebones, but they barely remove the "flakes" that form on his beak sometimes. The wood hanging toys and foot toys are really what helps to wear things down from my experience. in my experience cockatoos really love munching on anything resembling flesh, i.e. fingers, toes, etc. see if your friend has any flesh-coloured sex toys lying around (make sure they are hard wooden things) and can trick the bird into biting them
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Feb 24, 2015 15:13
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BlueDiablo posted:But on the whole, his beak does seem to be getting a bit more under control since we replaced his rope-perch with some kind of gritty one (can't find the packaging, but it was edible and possibly flavored). Would it be advisable to schedule a trimming sooner than later? Yeah, get that birb in sooner rather than later, to an avian vet rather than a normal one if possible (or at least an exotics vet with bird experience). At worst they'll just tell you to go away again, but that beak is pretty overgrown and he'll be happier with it filed down and able to be used normally. Don't be surprised if he doesn't eat properly at first like he did before-the vet visit will have been stressful, his beak/face will feel different, and he'll be eating differently to before and just have to get used to that. Get some soft foods like bird mash or soaked pellets if you want. -How many perches/what kind does he have? Concrete/pumice/calcium ones are fine, but it's recommended not to put them high up where the bird spends all it's time, in case it irritates their feet. You could put it next to his food bowl, so when he wipes food off his face, he uses that perch since he'll be standing on it already. By the door where he's let out is another idea, if he stands there begging for you to open the door. -Like Pip pip pip said, cuttlebone is okay but a bit soft, chewable toys are where it's at. Get a bunch of different kind of wood toys and figure out what he likes best -There can be a few other reasons for overgrown beaks, like liver disease or lack of certain vitamins, etc so might be worth talking about this with your vet to see if it's worth running any tests or not. What is his diet like?
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Feb 24, 2015 15:50
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1) He has three perches, four if you count the little ladder I put in the corner of his cage where he likes to hang out when I'm on the couch. One's hard wood, one's calcium (that one's mostly smooth, just knobbly, but it's at the top of his cage so I'll switch that around), and the other and the ladder are made of a gritty material that I'm not sure is calcium but it's marketed as flavored, so it probably is. 2) There's two cuttle-bones in his cage, one he sort of ignores, the other is wedged juuuuuust right between the bars for him to attack fairly regularly. We have an arrangement of cardboard, straw/wicker, some kind of dried sponge concoction, and some rope toys. But the next time I'm out I'll get him one of those wooden bird-kabobs because he loves killing the poo poo out of those. 3) I'll look into getting tests and whatnot. His diet is: Harrison's lifetime coarse, zupreems natural, and a higgen's conure mix that's basically seeds and dried vegetables/fruit that I mix in every couple of days. We also give him a bit of avi-cake when he's been a good little monster.
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Feb 24, 2015 16:37
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Is he getting food other than that, like fresh fruit and vegetables, or sprouts, or whatever?
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Feb 24, 2015 16:51
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Ivy posted:What are toucans like as pets? Aren't they more related to crows and such than parrots? Toucans are more closely related to woodpeckers and hawks than parrots or crows. http://www.onezoom.org/birds.htm Green aracaris are pretty good pets. In the scheme of the bird world, they are pretty quiet. Though he certainly can and will make a racket when he feels like it, he cannot scream like a parrot can. As far as intelligence goes, he is not super bright. He knows his mind, but he isn't a great problem solver. From what I hear, crows are like human toddlers. I would rank Mindo closer to a dumb cat. He eats fruit and poops nearly constantly. We have had no luck with potty training, so there is a lot of clean up. His digestive system is pretty short, so what looks like fruit going in, looks like mashed fruit coming out, so it is not the grossest poop. Green aracaris are high energy. It is not advised to clip their wings, and he loves to fly back and forth in his cage during the day and around the room when we are home. Because they have so much energy to work out, they need a pretty large cage in comparison to their size. They are very social birds, and while we provide him more than the minimum social interaction during the day, I do feel bad for how much time he spends alone. Two birds is not an option for us, but I worry about his happiness, being alone during the day. He likes me more that H110Hawk, but he usually gets along well with both of us. Aracaris are not one-person birds. While he is not as velcro-birdy as a conure, he loves to cuddle in our clothing. Right now, he is down my shirt snoozing. He watches TV with us, under our shirts or in our pockets almost every night. Dreggon posted:Since when can you get toucans as pets? Since always? Not many people breed them, and they are expensive, but there is the Emerald Forest, a "toucan farm" only a couple hours from where we live. Dreggon posted:Also do their bites hurt as much as I think they do? His bite can hurt, but probably not as much as you think. He doesn't have a huge amount of bite strength (he cannot crush a grape without banging it on a perch) but it does hurt. Usually his bites are not worse than being pinched hard with a pair of safety scissors. Also, his beak is slightly serrated, so he has managed to draw blood on one or two occasions, when he has bit someone, then they've yanked away. Here is a video of Mindo acting particularly lovey. I love the little whiny noises he makes. He sounds like the air being slowly let out of a squeaky toy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcPV3Pbv5bg Staryberry fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Feb 24, 2015 |
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Feb 24, 2015 16:56
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Battle Pigeon posted:Is he getting food other than that, like fresh fruit and vegetables, or sprouts, or whatever? Not that often. I assumed that pellets covered most of their nutritional needs, so what should we add in?
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Feb 24, 2015 17:00
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BlueDiablo posted:Not that often. I assumed that pellets covered most of their nutritional needs, so what should we add in? Basically any fruit and veggie except onions, avocado and rhubarb. Dark leafy greens and orange things are great. Legumes such as garbonzos, any berries etc etc. It may take a while to figure out what he likes, but yeah its suggested that they eat fresh stuff too. Example, for dinner our guys get kale, carrots, purple cabbage, garbonzos, orange bell peppers, some berry (usually black or raspberry, both ultra messy), a little bit of apple and de-cobbed raw corn. Occasionally we mix it up with pomegranate and other veggies, maybe some sweet potato but we try to stay away from mushy stuff as it will undoubtedly end up flung into a place where food shouldn't be. They get a seed mix for breakfast, about 1.5tbsp no sunflowers though, and have pellets available all day. If they finish their breakfast its pellets until dinner, but if they don't they graze on it during the day. They pick what they like of course, but most of it gets nibbled on a bit or thrown, which means it made it into their mouths at some point haha. Any little bit is better than nothing, its a great way to keep up on vitamin and mineral intake aside from pellets which are usually added after the fact. Frozen Pizza Party fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Feb 24, 2015 |
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Feb 24, 2015 18:10
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Oh my god, I didn't know aracaris made little tiny ghost noises. That is amazing. BlueDiablo, what some people do is they find out which things their birds like best and then make a "chop". This means you take a bunch of things the bird likes (so for mine, for instance, I'd pick yams, rice, black beans, carrots, and apple) and then pick some things the bird doesn't necessarily love but fill out the nutrients (like kale or other greens, broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts). Chop all these things up in a food processor pretty fine and mix them up in a bowl. That way, even if the bird only eats the chunks it likes, it'll get at least some of the other things because it's all stuck together (but not a mush). Then you can freeze it in individual servings (for instance in a silicone mini-muffin mold) and thaw to serve at will. You do like an hour of work once a week or whatever, and then you've got a balanced nutritious meal ready to go all the time.
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Feb 24, 2015 18:22
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What SaNChEzZ and Pile of Kittens said, pretty much! Pellets are great, and you're feeding the two best brands, but despite what the packet/marketing says* they're more of a base, rather than a whole. One reason is that the pellets are all the same for each species-but an African Grey is going to have different requirements to a South American conure, or Australian cockatiel, and eat pretty different things in the wild. Pellets don't account for this-and since we still don't know exactly what they all specifically eat in the wild, they can't yet-so feeding a variety of other foods is a good way to try and ensure they get anything extra they need that may not be in the pellets, or not in the necessary amounts. If he isn't used to eating a variety of foods, he might refuse to try them at first, just be persistent and patient. Try apple, that's always a favourite.  Avoid: onion, avocado, rhubarb (as mentioned above), but also apple seeds, other pits/stones (apricot, cherry, etc). Most stuff is okay otherwise, just google it if you're unsure. *actually on the back of the Harrison's packets, they mention giving fruit/veg and give a nice short list of dark yellow and leafy green foods
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Feb 24, 2015 18:25
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Pile of Kittens posted:Oh my god, I didn't know aracaris made little tiny ghost noises. That is amazing. You know, I've always heard of chop but never done it. Here I am, with an entire fridge drawer dedicated to housing 7 tupperwares full of bird food, when I could just have one large one! That's awesome. But yeah, the once a week thing is key, except we cut it by hand like noobs. Chop it is this week.
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Feb 24, 2015 18:25
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How do you stop it going mushy after thawing it? And when do you take it out to thaw, last thing at night or in the morning or? We're stupid and cut up food every morning by hand before uncovering them.
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Feb 24, 2015 18:30
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Battle Pigeon posted:How do you stop it going mushy after thawing it? And when do you take it out to thaw, last thing at night or in the morning or? The key to week long freshness in my experience is an ultra sharp knife. Less bruising of the flesh leads to longer freshness in the fridge. The only thing that goes bad for us almost weekly is the kale, which is still good but gets a weird smell to it when it starts to go.
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Feb 24, 2015 18:50
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SaNChEzZ posted:The key to week long freshness in my experience is an ultra sharp knife. Less bruising of the flesh leads to longer freshness in the fridge. You cannot put a price on a high quality professionally sharped knife, plus a de-burring steel. Well you can, it's like $150. I used to believe that cheap knives well sharpened were fine, but they suck. I never use our cheap knives anymore except under duress. I can thank my lovely wife (don't tell the other one) for this lesson. This is what we have: http://smile.amazon.com/Wusthof-Classic-8-Inch-Cooks-Knife/dp/B000YMURSE/ http://www.amazon.com/W%C3%BCsthof-4473-Wusthof-10-Inch-Sharpening/dp/B00009WDT8/ Key features: Forged, and the hilt doesn't go all the way down (compare to: http://smile.amazon.com/Wusthof-Classic-200th-Anniversary-Stainless/dp/B00L826HRE/ , note the thick metal bar where the handle meets the blade.) Get it professionally sharpened when it gets dull, and occasionally use a steel on it to de-bur it. Get hardwood cutting boards. They cheaper in the long run and are WAY more sanitary than plastic ones. I can't find the link to ours, but they are awesome. Hand was only, do not let sit in water or in the sink. They clean up in like 30 seconds. They're cheaper because they don't blunt your knives.
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Feb 24, 2015 19:30
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It really blew my mind. Cut apples will now last a week+ without oxidizing at all, it's absolutely incredible. We've got these: http://smile.amazon.com/Shun-Classic-7-Piece-Block-Bamboo/dp/B00022YJKS except instead of the 8" chef, we opted for the set with the 8" Santoku. Was going to go German, but I liked the damascus steel on the Shuns. We had a crummy Faberware set forever and I always assumed it was semi decent, holy hell was I wrong. I actually enjoy cutting bird food weekly now because of the precision that these knives allow. We also mainly use bamboo cutting boards, but I often forget to oil them properly so they're a bit dry, we're in need of a new set I think. Also if you're going to hone your blades, make sure to use a smooth steel or a glass honing rod, a textured rod can chip the blades if not used properly. Something like this: http://smile.amazon.com/Victorinox-Honing-10-Inch-Smooth-Plastic/dp/B000UFV9SC Frozen Pizza Party fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Feb 24, 2015 |
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Feb 24, 2015 19:39
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But that stuff all costs money  I was going to ask about things like apples, but you just answered above. That's amazingly convenient. What about more fleshy/soggy (?) fruit like mango, would that stay fresh too?
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Feb 24, 2015 19:43
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Battle Pigeon posted:But that stuff all costs money Stuff like that we cut fresh because they only really get it when we eat it. As for the money thing, think of it as an investment, less food will spoil thus saving you money and paying for itself over time!
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Feb 24, 2015 19:44
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Battle Pigeon posted:I was going to ask about things like apples, but you just answered above. That's amazingly convenient. What about more fleshy/soggy (?) fruit like mango, would that stay fresh too? We typically wind up cutting one fruit a day, typically things like apple, pear, banana. They oxidize while out so we don't want to help them along. Our mexican papaya lasts around 4 days in the fridge, we found cutting half at a time to be the best bang for your buck. SaNChEzZ posted:It really blew my mind. Cut apples will now last a week+ without oxidizing at all, it's absolutely incredible. This was me as well. Victorinox stamped knife. It was better than a butter knife, but only a little. Cutting is so much faster, safer, and if you cut yourself it doesn't hurt which can be disconcerting. Fruit never rolls out, even stuff like tomatoes.
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Feb 24, 2015 19:55
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I bought Bradbury a happy hut in hopes that he would stop wedging his fat rear end (how is he so much bigger than Huxley??) into his food dish and kicking everything out if he had somewhere to go he felt secure. I uncovered him this morning to find him asleep, perched on the apex of the hut, making GBS threads down the side. I've adjusted it so it's close enough to the ceiling he can't cram himself between it, but,  birb. Really?
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Feb 25, 2015 00:47
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I will never get tired of Fuji sitting on my glasses and grooming my eyebrow. It tickles. 
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Feb 25, 2015 03:23
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Time for another round of Cockatoo-Or-Satanic Ritual with our host, Beelzebirb! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UUjJysUMTw The rest of his videos are hilarious too, can't understand much but the grumbling makes a reappearance. e: Alright, I'll post two since the squeaky toy imitation made me lose my poo poo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf_Ff0qrL84 redgubbinz fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Feb 25, 2015 |
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Feb 25, 2015 05:42
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Max owns
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Feb 25, 2015 06:20
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GUYS. OH MY GOD. Fuji snores. If you need me I will be in a grave because I just died.
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Feb 25, 2015 10:46
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Is this the thread where I shall get helpful, gently expressed opinions about bird feeders? That is to say, for wild birds. The place I could provide for this endeavour is illustrated below:  A closer shot:  A close-up view of an important detail:  Why I am suggesting the window, instead of some distant tree is, primarily, because I would enjoy observing birds feeding, and, secondly, because trees are somewhat too distant for my liking. On the subject of enjoyment, I have a cat in my possession, and in my heart of hearts I hope that she will be pleased, too, while being unable to reach the subjects of her attention, and, consequently, harm them. But I'm left at a loss as to what variety of a bird feeder I would be able to fit here, and, as a matter of fact, if it would attract any diners, for birds wander in this direction only by accident, and you will notice a much more attractive rubbish container in the background of the photos above. Thank you for your kind attention, and be assured that I am prepared to take your suggestions and comments in the most serious manner, even as far as giving up on the whole affair. And if the rules of conduct for the rest of PET_THUNDERDOME forum don't apply here, I offer you my sincere apologies. 
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Feb 25, 2015 12:39
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supermikhail posted:Is this the thread where I shall get helpful, gently expressed opinions about bird feeders? That is to say, for wild birds. What's the ground like beneath the window? If it's soil, mulch, or the like, a tall shepherd's crook stuck there would open up your feeder style options and minimize the amount of poo accumulating on the window and sill. Also, can you ID the species you see around? I'm guessing starlings, grackles, sparrows, and rock doves (pigeons)? Got mockingbirds? A suet basket could be fun. May see some woodpeckers or sapsuckers, too. Suet is a high-energy food that's good for winter feeding and it takes work for the birds to get at it, so they'll stick around on the feeder trying to stuff their greedy maws. Less messy in terms of bigger birds just knocking seed out and feeding on the ground, too. What's the squirrel/chipmunk/regional rodent situation? Those adorable fuzzy assholes will up the challenge level of wild birb feeding.
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Feb 25, 2015 13:03
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There's soil, but don't know how much. There's supposed to be the building's foundation there, but there are bushes growing above it, so it should be fine. I'm worried because we get some sharp winds around here sometimes, and I don't want either the feeder or the crook to fly away. I'm in the eastern hemisphere, so some of your guesses are way off. The garbage dump is frequented by pigeons, sparrows, crows and their relatives. Eh, I'm rusty on English names, but I could have possibly seen a kind of, er, tit? Or a similar bird. No squirrels, but a lot of stray cats around here. Arriviste posted:A suet basket could be fun.
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Feb 25, 2015 13:43
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Mr Pending still has two crests after a week or so  Ineptus Mechanicus posted:Time for another round of Cockatoo-Or-Satanic Ritual with our host, Beelzebirb! Pro loving clicks right here, especially the first one Sociopastry posted:GUYS. OH MY GOD. You know what to do (it involves a recording device)
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Feb 25, 2015 16:38
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Battle Pigeon posted:Mr Pending still has two crests after a week or so I'm trying to, but he wakes up any time I get near enough to the cage to record him.
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Feb 25, 2015 17:38
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BlueDiablo posted:But the next time I'm out I'll get him one of those wooden bird-kabobs because he loves killing the poo poo out of those. I hope I don't sound like I'm harping on you too much, because you are being really awesome about taking advice: the bird-kabob wood is awesome and birds love it but it's also very soft. Definitely get them for your birb if he likes them but also get some toys that have wood blocks or wood shapes too! You could even just buy some toy parts and add them to his favorites: http://www.mysafebirdstore.com/cart.cgi?group=6586&child=7629
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Feb 25, 2015 20:20
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Pip pip pip posted:I hope I don't sound like I'm harping on you too much, because you are being really awesome about taking advice: the bird-kabob wood is awesome and birds love it but it's also very soft. Definitely get them for your birb if he likes them but also get some toys that have wood blocks or wood shapes too! Nah, you're hardly harping. We do have piles of blocks/harder wood toys for him, he's just been ignoring them since we moved in January. That reminds me, does stress like moving effect beak growth?
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Feb 25, 2015 22:44
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I don't mean to sound snarky, but there really is a lot of information out there about the possible causes of overgrown beak. I'm sorry if you mentioned this before, but did your vet run any bloodwork or other tests to rule out possible causes for the overgrowth? Here's one article I found that talks about the most common causes of beak disorders: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1829&aid=2752 Here's one that goes a little more in-depth and has lots of pictures: http://www.scottemcdonald.com/pdfs/bad%20beaks.pdf
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Feb 25, 2015 23:43
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Pile of Kittens posted:Here's one that goes a little more in-depth and has lots of pictures: This is a pro-click, holy crow.
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Feb 25, 2015 23:52
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Those poor babies  oh dear lord, especially the cockatoo with feather disease.
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Feb 26, 2015 06:41
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quote:Here's one that goes a little more in-depth and has lots of pictures: Oh hey, Dr. McDonald! He comes to the store I got Noodle from and does free checkups (by appointment) once a month as part of a "Well Bird Clinic" program. He's a cool guy.
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Feb 26, 2015 07:38
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LITERALLY A BIRD posted:This is a pro-click, holy crow. The text was pro-click, the pictures were 
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Feb 26, 2015 09:15
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I set up a bird feeder a month or so ago, but all it was attracting was pigeons and willy wag tails, until yesterday. A few new friends have appeared!
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Feb 26, 2015 10:56
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GoldStandardConure posted:I set up a bird feeder a month or so ago, but all it was attracting was pigeons and willy wag tails, until yesterday. A few new friends have appeared! Look at that majestic poof! 
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Feb 26, 2015 14:25
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GoldStandardConure posted:I set up a bird feeder a month or so ago, but all it was attracting was pigeons and willy wag tails, until yesterday. A few new friends have appeared! that's so coolyou need about 4-5 birds before they'll let you handfeed them, it's like a diffusion of threat due to numbers thing
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Feb 26, 2015 15:15
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