Sticky post
Broken Blood Feathers: What To Do
So — your parrot preened themselves a little too hard. Perhaps they were flying around the room and landed a little funny. Either way, you notice that one of their feathers is bleeding. What in the world…? What should you do? If your parrot is bleeding, that’s an emergency. Yes, even if it’s just from a tiny little feather. Think about how tiny a parakeet … Continue reading Broken Blood Feathers: What To Do
Managing Cholesterol in Eclectus Parrots: Louie’s Atherosclerosis Journey (Update)
Louie is doing better, but he continues to have extremely high cholesterol. All signs point to atherosclerosis. In addition to his current medications, we will put him on statins next, which are largely untested in eclectus parrots. Continue reading Managing Cholesterol in Eclectus Parrots: Louie’s Atherosclerosis Journey (Update)
My Eclectus Parrot Has Liver Disease: Round 2
This is not a happy update. Yesterday, I rushed Louie, our sixteen-year-old eclectus parrot, to the avian vet. TL;DR – he has developed liver disease and also likely atherosclerosis. It’s bad news. Continue reading My Eclectus Parrot Has Liver Disease: Round 2
Loving Vi: Health Realities of Parrot Rescue Birds
Sometimes, there just isn’t enough love in the world to undo the damage wrought by former homes. And that is the truly hard part with parrots. Continue reading Loving Vi: Health Realities of Parrot Rescue Birds
Eclectus Mojo Moults over 5 Years: Improvements in Pictures
It’s been five years since Louie’s “gotcha!” day — in that time, I’ve seen him go through several mojo moults. The early ones were rather horrific; when we got him, there was a patch of his head so bald that the vet thought he must have scratched it off on the cement perch in his cage and worried that it may never grow back. He’d … Continue reading Eclectus Mojo Moults over 5 Years: Improvements in Pictures
Holy Liver Values, Batman! How We Lowered Our Eclectus’ Cholesterol Through Diet
Last year in July, I took my flock to the vet; she noticed the big ones’ nails and beaks were a touch overgrown, but this was especially true for Louie the eclectus. The vet recommended we get our parrots’ bloodwork done, because contrary to my earlier/misinformed belief, any bird who has a concrete perch in his cage (concrete, not sandpaper) shouldn’t have a problem keeping … Continue reading Holy Liver Values, Batman! How We Lowered Our Eclectus’ Cholesterol Through Diet
My Littlest Budgie has a Liver Infection
A little more than two weeks ago, little Beau lost 2 grams of weight; he’s really tiny (originally weighing in at 28 grams) to begin with, so any drop was concerning.
We weren’t sure what was going on, but ultimately decided not to take a chance and brought him into the vet.
He’s been fighting for his life ever since. Continue reading My Littlest Budgie has a Liver Infection
“OMG, I want a parrot!”
Do you? Do you really? They are unpredictable; they bite often, and bite hard. They are far, far from kid-friendly. So let’s face it; most birds, were they dogs, would be put down. Louie’s grandfather (or at least great-grandfather) likely flew the canopies of the Solomon Islands. And Ozone’s father is probably still terrorizing some local somewhere in Africa. At no point should you assume … Continue reading “OMG, I want a parrot!”
A Parrot: The Forever Two-Year-Old
When you think about adopting a baby bird, consider this: You are raising a child monster with permanently-affixed pliers, and that child is gonna be a two-year-old for fifty to one hundred years, depending on the species. Every mistake you make in his or her formative years, every bad habit you instill, will be with you for the duration of that parrot’s life. It’s so important … Continue reading A Parrot: The Forever Two-Year-Old
Allergies Don’t Disappear: Mild Toe-Tapping
Oh, the holidays–friendship, cheer, the season of giving… What more could a bird want than a bit of pizza crust? Unfortunately, Louie acquired a mild case of toe-tapping to go with it. 😦 This performance brought to you by pizza: I gave Louie a tiny bit of pizza crust (standard practice when we feel like spoiling our birds.) This particular pizza crust came from Old Chicagos, … Continue reading Allergies Don’t Disappear: Mild Toe-Tapping
Birdy.Blog 