Grraarrgghh
New member
- Jan 5, 2015
- 133
- 0
- Parrots
- "Albert" - Female Red Bellied Parrot - 1y3m (Oct 8th, 2014), "Martha" - Unknown Yellow-Sided GCC - 11m (Feb 13th 2015)
Hello everyone,
I am the very happy owner of a nearly 13 week old Red Bellied Parrot named Albert (the breeder is quite certain he's male, but I suppose I won't find out til his first molt).
Leading up to getting him, I spent months reading nearly every book I could find regarding parrot keeping, as well as Poi-specific books. I am very well versed in all of the "technical" aspects of parrot keeping, but of course in practice it's quite a bit different.
By now, I've had him for about 3.5 weeks, and have been handfeeding him for the entire duration. An avian vet locally has helped me through the weaning process, however it's slow going.
Unfortunately, his parents were young and only had a two-egg clutch, of which he was the only chick born (the other egg did not hatch). Lacking the nest competition, he is a much slower weaner. He is eating lots of veg, and quite likes snap peas, carrots, broccoli, and green beans. He also eats cauliflower, cilantro, parsley, and cooked lentils, but with less frequency. He hates fruit or any juicy/sticky item, and has refused nearly every parrot-friendly fruit, as well as applesauce & bird gloop. He is eating Harrison's Super Fine pellets, and has recently started enjoying the Coarse sized pellets as well.
He had his first vet visit the day after I received him from the breeder (by plane), and found he had a minor fungal infection with a fecalgram. He has been on 2 weeks of his water being cut with 1/100 Apple Cider Vinegar as per the vet, and I am awaiting results on another fecalgram any day now. I suspect however that he will need to be put on medication.
Albert's daytime/sleeping cage is 24x18x32 with variative perch sizes. He seems to favor a small-size rope perch, and a natural perch made of twisty wood. This room has a window (the cage is not in the sun, he has an Avian Sun UVA/UVB lamp over the cage), but due to it being frigidly cold here (Canada), I have an oil-filled radiator heater keeping his room at a consistent 24 degrees celcius (75f), as well as a baby humidifier keeping the room at 40%-45%. I would prefer it above 50%, however it is so very dry here in the winter, and I would need a much larger humidifier. Albert is kept in his own room with a radio/mp3 player during the day because we also have 2 cats that have free reign of most of the house.
Albert also has a night/weekend cage (28x24x39) in our entertainment room where the family hangs out when we are home. He was okay spending some time in this cage the first few weeks, however in the last week he dislikes it immensely and just wants to hang out on the desk perch beside my computer, or the table perch on the coffee table. He generally gets about 2-3 hours of out of cage time a night on weekdays, and 6 hours on weekends.
Albert sleeps 11 hours a night on weekdays and 12 hours a night on weekends.
He has been a bit fussy the last couple days, but I'm hoping it's nothing medical.
And finally, pictures!
I am the very happy owner of a nearly 13 week old Red Bellied Parrot named Albert (the breeder is quite certain he's male, but I suppose I won't find out til his first molt).
Leading up to getting him, I spent months reading nearly every book I could find regarding parrot keeping, as well as Poi-specific books. I am very well versed in all of the "technical" aspects of parrot keeping, but of course in practice it's quite a bit different.
By now, I've had him for about 3.5 weeks, and have been handfeeding him for the entire duration. An avian vet locally has helped me through the weaning process, however it's slow going.
Unfortunately, his parents were young and only had a two-egg clutch, of which he was the only chick born (the other egg did not hatch). Lacking the nest competition, he is a much slower weaner. He is eating lots of veg, and quite likes snap peas, carrots, broccoli, and green beans. He also eats cauliflower, cilantro, parsley, and cooked lentils, but with less frequency. He hates fruit or any juicy/sticky item, and has refused nearly every parrot-friendly fruit, as well as applesauce & bird gloop. He is eating Harrison's Super Fine pellets, and has recently started enjoying the Coarse sized pellets as well.
He had his first vet visit the day after I received him from the breeder (by plane), and found he had a minor fungal infection with a fecalgram. He has been on 2 weeks of his water being cut with 1/100 Apple Cider Vinegar as per the vet, and I am awaiting results on another fecalgram any day now. I suspect however that he will need to be put on medication.
Albert's daytime/sleeping cage is 24x18x32 with variative perch sizes. He seems to favor a small-size rope perch, and a natural perch made of twisty wood. This room has a window (the cage is not in the sun, he has an Avian Sun UVA/UVB lamp over the cage), but due to it being frigidly cold here (Canada), I have an oil-filled radiator heater keeping his room at a consistent 24 degrees celcius (75f), as well as a baby humidifier keeping the room at 40%-45%. I would prefer it above 50%, however it is so very dry here in the winter, and I would need a much larger humidifier. Albert is kept in his own room with a radio/mp3 player during the day because we also have 2 cats that have free reign of most of the house.
Albert also has a night/weekend cage (28x24x39) in our entertainment room where the family hangs out when we are home. He was okay spending some time in this cage the first few weeks, however in the last week he dislikes it immensely and just wants to hang out on the desk perch beside my computer, or the table perch on the coffee table. He generally gets about 2-3 hours of out of cage time a night on weekdays, and 6 hours on weekends.
Albert sleeps 11 hours a night on weekdays and 12 hours a night on weekends.
He has been a bit fussy the last couple days, but I'm hoping it's nothing medical.
And finally, pictures!
