Hello

Genlisae

New member
Jul 7, 2007
54
0
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Parrots
Pepper (Lovebird)
Hi,

New here, been browsing around looking for answers to questions.

I have rescued and rehabilitated orphaned baby birds for years but never before had a bird I intended to keep.. until 3 days ago my mother bought me a lovebird. She figured it was time I had a feathered friend that would stick around.

I can see some potential issues popping up already (how does a hand-fed 9 week old baby become SO addicted to seeds?).

I look forward to learning more and getting to know more about these delightful little birds and the people who love them.
 

Deanna

New member
Jun 25, 2007
730
Media
7
0
Colorado, USA
Parrots
Mojo the magnificent Maximillian Pionus; Cecil the clowny Senegal; and, Timothy the shy, fearful Parrotlet
Welcome! Welcome! Very nice to have you join us. You will find the Forum to be quite fun, indeed, and there are many a knowledgeable birdie people here to ask questions of!

Again, WELCOME! :D
 

indigo

New member
May 20, 2007
650
3
British Columbia, Canada
Parrots
Serenity & Pix and their kids Jade & Tango (Peachfaced Lovebirds) and Bonnie (Budgie)
Welcome!! I completely know about the seed addict thing ....

When I got each of my birds they were seed-a-holics ... wouldnt touch anything but seeds ...

It took time, but they now PREFER pellets and also have favorite veggies and some fruits. I have 4 lovebirds and a budgie atm, and think I am am at least moderately knowledgeable about them. Feel free to ask anything you dont know or are wondering about.
 

TexDot33

Bird poop and baby poop
Dec 26, 2006
2,576
Media
4
10
New Hampshire USA
Parrots
15 year-old Sun Conure: Hamlet &
14 year-old Green-Cheeked Conure: Mac
WELCOME!!

AAAAH! The good old seeds (afectionatly referred to around here as 'BIRDIE CRACK') they are very habit forming and can be hard to wean off ... (image, if you will, you not being ablt to have chocholate, or pizza, or any of your other favorite foods anymore ... how slowly would you wean from it?) but please, please DO wean your love bird onto something a touch more healthy for them (we all know what a seed diet can do ... fatty livers, bad feather development ... yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah ... ) fresh veggies, fresh fruit, a good solid pellet food (Zupreme, Harrisons, Roudy Bush ... all of the regular culprates) boiled chicken, brown rice ... I don't know a bird that won't go crazy over strawberries (or really any berries for that matter) or apples or oranges.

Start small, don't try to change a diet overnight, it won't really work ... the big key is persistance, offer a food more than once, they might turn their beaks up at it the first time ... but then they try it like the fourth time and they might actually like it ...

AND, when all else fails, you can try to trick them by putting some new foods on your plate while you are eating ... as someone else said, if it's in their bowl they are super picky, but if it's on your plate they will grab, run and chew ...

Another piece of advice, where your baby is so young ... EXPOSE HIM TO AS MUCH AS YOU CAN NOW (new foods, new people, new toys) he is young, scared of very little - the more things you can expose him to before he gets too old the better adjusted/socialized your birdy will be later ... someone once told me that you should expose your birdy to 100 new foods, 100 new people and 100 new toys all before they are 4 months old ... there is some logic there, do you need to expose them to that many new things - no, but you do get the idea, right? :D

Welcome again to our little nest, I see that our flock is ever increasing ... Wow, it's growing quickly too ...
 

indigo

New member
May 20, 2007
650
3
British Columbia, Canada
Parrots
Serenity & Pix and their kids Jade & Tango (Peachfaced Lovebirds) and Bonnie (Budgie)
TexDot, let me introduce you to my birds lol ... none of them will touch strawberries! broccoli and spinach though - yes!

When I changed my birds from seeds to pellets I started doing 50/50 seed/pellet ... did this for about a week ... then just all pellets ... no problemo ... they actually prefer pellets now ... I do however give them some seeds as snacks and treats (and also birdie bread, dried fruits, nuts etc).

Birds won't let themselves starve if there is food available. Go at your birds pace, more or less, but it does not have to take forever. Oh and I use Harrison's fine for my lovebirds and budgie.
 

Deanna

New member
Jun 25, 2007
730
Media
7
0
Colorado, USA
Parrots
Mojo the magnificent Maximillian Pionus; Cecil the clowny Senegal; and, Timothy the shy, fearful Parrotlet
Oh gee, my fids missed out -- I've never heard the 100/toys, people, foods before ... excellent, think I'll try it even tho mine are beyond the 4 mo. stage.

Yes, my motto: "offer, offer, offer and keep offering" various foods ... my Cecil (Poicephalus, Senegal), will take up to a month to beak new "intruding" foods ... I just keep her bowls clean, fresh and filled and let her go at her own pace ... but offer, offer, offer.

indigo ... I have actually heard that a bird can, in fact, starve him/herself if food is offered to it that it does not recognize as "food". Cecil was an all seed birdie from the breeder (hoarder). I did the 50/50 ratio for a very, very long time; never pulling seed away as she was not recognizing the Zupreme nor Harrisons as "food" per se. I am not happy, but go with it, now that she eats about 50% pellet (sometimes less), 50% seed/nut -- veggies/fruits added liberally of course.

I've read here on the forum a few times now that chicken is a good food for parrots. I'm a bit perplexed ... I thought parrots are not carni/omnivores ... but herbavores ... am I mistaken? Shall I begin adding a bland chicken offering into the mix? Can their digestive systems handle meat? Very curious. :confused:
 

TexDot33

Bird poop and baby poop
Dec 26, 2006
2,576
Media
4
10
New Hampshire USA
Parrots
15 year-old Sun Conure: Hamlet &
14 year-old Green-Cheeked Conure: Mac
it's a hard concept to grasp, I know ... it still tweaks me out a little bit .... but yes, boiled/bland chicken IS GOOD FOR THEM (it's a great souce of protein that they may lack in their diet ... ) what I like to try to do is to get chicken and rice baby food and mix it in ... it has yet to work, but I do take my own advice ... sometimes ...
 

Deanna

New member
Jun 25, 2007
730
Media
7
0
Colorado, USA
Parrots
Mojo the magnificent Maximillian Pionus; Cecil the clowny Senegal; and, Timothy the shy, fearful Parrotlet
it's a hard concept to grasp, I know ... it still tweaks me out a little bit .... but yes, boiled/bland chicken IS GOOD FOR THEM (it's a great souce of protein that they may lack in their diet ... ) what I like to try to do is to get chicken and rice baby food and mix it in ... it has yet to work, but I do take my own advice ... sometimes ...

Quite interesting, Tex! Well ... I am going to begin introducing this to my fiddies. I will report on how they do.

I had a client who fed Vienna sausages to her 45 year old Pionus. :eek: :eek: :eek: Mercy only know what is in those things! (Okay, I must admit, I do eat a hotdog now and again, on rare occassion, but I take much better care of my animals than I do myself, I'm embarrassed to admit). I did as asked but never would I recommend it to anyone else nor myself. ...But, a simple bland, boiled chicken sounds fair and reasonable to try.
 
OP
Genlisae

Genlisae

New member
Jul 7, 2007
54
0
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Parrots
Pepper (Lovebird)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #9
Wow, thanks for the welcome. Definitely sticking around.

So far I have only tried adding banana and sprouted seeds, neither of which he will touch, any tips to get him to try it are greatly appreciated. At present he very carefully eats around anything but seeds. A friend asked why I was sighing over this earlier today and then asked how difficult it could really be... I compared it to a 4 year old child that has only ever eaten Mac and Cheese, and now you have to get them to eat salad. I know I am in for a long process and a lot of patience.

I am having difficulty finding pelleted food for him.. persistence and a lot of nagging the local pet store will be required I am sure.

The chicken surprised me though. I never would have thought of it. Thanks so much.

Thanks again for the welcome. I am sure I will have tons of questions as I learn more. :)
 

indigo

New member
May 20, 2007
650
3
British Columbia, Canada
Parrots
Serenity & Pix and their kids Jade & Tango (Peachfaced Lovebirds) and Bonnie (Budgie)
Most of the pellets you can buy online (and depending on where you are it can be less expensive there too!)
 

indigo

New member
May 20, 2007
650
3
British Columbia, Canada
Parrots
Serenity & Pix and their kids Jade & Tango (Peachfaced Lovebirds) and Bonnie (Budgie)
Hey, I just noticed your also in BC ... *waves* ...

You could call Night Owl Avian Hospital (Excellent people there, rave rave rave!!!) in Vancouver at 604-734-5100. They sell Harrison's right there in the clinic and there is a store downstairs that sells Roudybush and Zupreem ... you can buy through them, or they may know someone on the Island that sells it any of those brands.

Also if you dont already have one, they may know of an avian vet in your area (or you may want to think about tripping there for things like checkups etc - they really are good there).

Let me know how you fare, ok?? :)
 

Peta

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
Sep 7, 2006
4,376
19
WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY
I'm so glad that you are sticking around. Your little baby has been weaned onto seed, but as he is so young please do take it slowly with the diet change.

Agree with Tex about exposing your baby to as many different things/people as possible early it really does pay off in the end. I have two Greys, one takes ages to get used to new toys, the other I had from 8 weeks old, and he doesn't worry about anything, toys go straight into his cage when I get them, he gets on with all people (mostly) and is so different to the other.

Tex gave some brilliant advise and I can't add any more to that.

I do have to say one thing tho' and this is so very important, are you ready for this.

PICTURES PICTURES AND MORE PICTURES. we tend to get real grumpy without pictures. :D :D Look forward to seeing pics of your new baby.

Have a great time, and if you need any help with anything then give us a shout we are always here. :D
 

indigo

New member
May 20, 2007
650
3
British Columbia, Canada
Parrots
Serenity & Pix and their kids Jade & Tango (Peachfaced Lovebirds) and Bonnie (Budgie)
Peta, do we need to have an intervention and 12 step you? :52::09::cool::D:p;):20::52::09::cool:
 

pheobus

New member
Jun 14, 2007
495
Media
3
0
Hello! and ofcourse WELLCOME ! !

The guys have already said everything about the forum!

I'm sure you'll have a great time as we all do!
 
OP
Genlisae

Genlisae

New member
Jul 7, 2007
54
0
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Parrots
Pepper (Lovebird)
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #16
Hmmm, okay, adding new (not fuzzy!) digital camera to the shopping list...

Thanks again for the tip indigo! Will give them a call tomorrow.

Thanks again for the welcome. So much information, such helpful people.. you won't get rid of me now! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!
 

karen

New member
Nov 9, 2006
316
0
scotland
Parrots
one orange wing
Honey
Hey welcome to the forum where not only will u be blessed with advice wanted and unwanted but also with cheek :D
 

Peta

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
Sep 7, 2006
4,376
19
Duh! Of course! :D Thanks, do NOT know why online didn't occur to me. Bare with me folks. I miss the obvious all the time!

Yeah another one just like me. :D:D:D:D:D
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top