DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Bird questions.......

Pretty boy, jojo. I would post a picture of Olive, but I don't have a good on on the digital camera. I'll work on it.

Next week Olive gets to get her wings, nails, and (maybe) beak trimmed. She loves that. I'm just glad I take her to someone else to do it. I tried to cut her nails once and there was blood everywhere. Poor thing held her foot up for a while because it hurt. I vowed to never do it myself again.

lol, awwwwww poor baby! I usually just file them down with a nail file. He doesn't like it much because he can fall off the perches. It's kinda funny. We clip his wings. It takes two of us. One to hold him down under a towel and the other to snip. *crosses fingers* We haven't hit a blood feather yet.

I'd love to see a pic of Olive whenever you can!

Starglow~keep us updated! They can be great pets!

That's my worry...blood feathers and nail quicks. Plus, if her beak needs anything, I'm not touching it. She's never had an overgrown beak issue, but I like someone that knows what it should look like to see her a couple times a year.

I'll get a pic soon.

Do they trim beaks? YIKES!! I never had to do that with my cockatiel, Bud, he was able to wear his down enough on his chew toys. That's definitely not something I'd try myself. All this talk of birds has me thinking again...oh no WAIT.. I DO NOT need another bird right now.... though I do have a really nice cage... NO No somebody STOP ME PLEASE!!!

There is my girl!

She wouldn't come out of her cage for a GOOD picture...not even for a shower. She'll be over it in a couple weeks, but because she thinks she's "nesting" right now she's a little grumpy. I have a nice bite mark on my finger now. That's another issue with female birds...they get a bit grumpy around this time of year.

All women are alike I guess....hehe

Funny.

Great pic Michelle! She's very sweet! Good luck at the vet!

I haven't had any beak problems yet but I'd never try to file his beak. I know he'd probably bite me. Plus I wouldn't have any clue how to do it. Ours goes through alot of wooden chew toys though. That helps. So far so good.

I agree Michelle, they are alot of work. They are different than having a cat or a dog. I mean, you just can't put food and water down and throw a ball for them to make them happy. They are very social and love to be with others. IMHO, if you have the time, they can be very rewarding.

Lama, my daughter had a cockatiel but she wasn't spending enough time with it so she gave it to a friend. When the tiel left, our other bird kept asking "where's Zazu". He still imitates his cheeps and churps.

Thanks...we just take her to the Bird Farm (aviary) where we got her to get things trimmed, not an actual vet. While she gets trimmed, we get to visit the other fids.

This is a stupid question but can parakeets also suffer from beak overgrowth?

Yes. Here's an article: http://www.azcentral.com/home/columns/articles/0101petdoc0101.html

And, here's a picture: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/91/243832449_5a166651e1.jpg?v=0

Thanks michelle thank god mine arent even close to looking like that. That looks painful

YW. Here's what they should look like:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/59/226461302_d70e6f75e4.jpg?v=0

Aww, poor bird.

We have a friend that has to take thier amazon to the vet to get his beak trimmed. I guess they have to put him out for it. I've never seen it but they put him in a dome and pump in pain killers and he just falls over, out cold. lol

Good thread. While I don't know much about birds and don't think I'll ever add one to my family, I am definitely an animal person and volunteer in a cat shelter. So many people approach getting a pet impulsively. It's such a big decision for both your family and for the well-being of the pet, that it shouldn't be taken lightly at all. And, as someone posted earlier, I'm sure that birds do require more time and attention than cats, or even dogs, plus the fact that, depending on breed, they can have very long life spans and will often out-live their "people".

Anyhow, kudos to you starglow for taking the time to get well informed and to the rest of you for offering good advice and for taking your commitment as pet owners seriously.

Thanks for sharing JoJo and Michelle..........beautiful birds indeed!

I really want a bird.............weighing up all options.......I would have to give up a few of my favorite activities................decisions...........decisions!

Pick a parakeet

Nice sig there Candy.............hope you're feeling alright.......

Hey Lama................I never realized just how much there is to know about birds.............I could see how some people could go out and get a pet bird and just be completely lost!

We have a few people in here that are serious bird lovers.............and know what they are talking about and know how to take care of quality birds.

Then there are others..........they just got cheap birds that make noise all night long and are not very smart or interactive!

I am not going to mention those..........that want to shoot the birds.......

A good reason for me to take my time and figure out what I want and what I will have to give up.............as far as time!

jojo, were there any problems shipping the bird from Texas to Michigan? Are you in NW Ohio?

It sure seems as if she has a really nice bird................quit expensive.........not sure I want to spend that much cash!

Thanks for sharing the pic of Olive...............you have a sweet looking bird!

Michelle, there weren't any problems. We just went outside the airport itself to a building that held all pets. It was like a baggage claim for animals. He was shipped in October so it wasn't to hot/cold for him. It was in 2000 so I don't know if there are any different rules now. He was in a small carrier. I think he was scared but he settled into his cage right away. We are in NW Ohio.

Starglow~I'm lucky that the breeder we used allowed us to make payments. He was an anniversary gift from my hubby.

A very unique gift for sure!
I just want to make sure I am dedicated enough to spend the time needed with a bird...............especailly in the early stages!

We had a Yellow Crowned Amazon Parrot, he hated me, but then he was my wife's bird long before I came into the picture. It took me nearly 3 years to earn his trust and even then it was only when he was out of his "home". (We had an open cabinet he lived in, rather than a cage.) He seldom came out of his home unless he wanted to sit on your shoulder.

He wasn't overly noisy, didn't squawk much unless he was mad. But he always whistled and said hello when we come home. When he wanted you to pick him up he'd start saying "Pretty Bird" repeatedly.

Well, the unthinkable happened, and we still blame ourselves to this day. We were leaving for work when a sonic boom went off from the shuttle returning. We thought about going inside and checking on Morgan to see that he was OK, sometimes loud noises scared him and he would fall out of his cabinet.

We decided he probably is fine, and can climb back up himself. Well, about 4 o'clock my stepson called me at work, and said Morgan was was on the floor dead and both dogs were hiding in the backyard.

He didn't have a mark on him, I think he died of exhaustion or heart attack, the dogs were afraid of him, but curious so when he was on the floor they would follow him around, and occasionally he would turn and snap at them and they would jump back. I figure they had don't this for several hours and Morgan just got exhausted.

I still miss the little guy, he didn't care for me much, but we were making headway, he loved sitting on the back of my recliner while we watched TV or a Movie.

Sorry for your loss.

That's really sad. Poor guy.

One of my major concerns...............I like to hop in the car on Friday and head to the beach...........sometimes returning on Sunday night.......that may not work with a bird in the house that needs a lot of attention!

The roomie is not very interactive!

We do leave Olive alone for two days if we go camping or go up to a Browns game, but never longer. If we would be gone for three days or longer, I would board her.

The thing that worries me is you have mentioned the cats and that roomie leaves the door open so they can go in and out freely. Bye, bye birdie. Of course, if you give the bird out of cage time for a couple hours an evening in a closed room (no cats, no open doors/windows) that would be plenty. Olive has a "tree" she likes to play on and we leave her on it unsupervised. I would never do that in a room with our cats or dogs even if I supervised. Birds are quick, cats are quick, and dogs are quick.

Quote:

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Birds are quick, cats are quick, and dogs are quick

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So does that mean you are slow?

LOL, yes...compared to them!

We have left Riley alone over the weekend without any problems. I just add more seeds and food.

We have 2 dogs. The old dog is afriad of him but the puppy looks at him like he may be pretty tasty. Since his wings are clipped, he can only fly to the floor. Pretty easy pickins for the dogs. He plays on his play top most of the time but I can't leave him.

Florida~Truely a sad story, sorry What a cool idea for a cage though.

Wish I had the talent to buid a cage........they are not cheap......for a good one anyway!

We paid around $200 for Olive's cage. It's pretty large. Too bad she doesn't use most of it.

I am actually ordering a book from Amazon when I get home...."Everything you need to know about Parrots"................it is more like a manual then a book!

There's also: Guide to the Quaker Parrot by Mattie Sue Athan. Good book specific to Quakers.