New member, old bird myself

Hello, everyone,
I just joined today when I found this great site. I moved into my parents home in 2016 since Dad was sick with Pancreatic cancer at that time. In 2016 I took Mickey to a vet He was only 130 grams. Had an "irregular-irregular heart beat, high cholesterol, and a very sick liver. People REALLY should not feed birds peanut butter bread every day like my mom did, or have them eating seeds only. After changing his eating habits to the proper ratio of pellets, seeds and fresh veg/fruit he still lost more weight. But he is running around like a kid! He/she went down to 120 grams and the Dr said he was sure Mickey was a goner. He's up to 126 and seems normally active. His cholesterol is ok and his heart is fine. but the weight is still very low.
He isn't very social since he lived with two elderly deaf people, but hes used to one 90 and one 68 year old now, but its a quiet house. I wish he'd accept company better.
I'm writing today because I don't know about his latest behavior. About 3 weeks ago he started actually dragging his TP rolls (which he loves to shred) up into his food bowl and then pushing the shredded material around with his beak. At times he would make this screechy, asthmatic sound while doing this. After doing a bit of research I think he may be a she and is nesting. So I put his "cat carrier" (normally used for transporting) in the cage as a nesting box and placed the food bowl with material intact into the cage. He/she shredded more material and filled the bottom of carrier. He/she often goes in there and pushes the litter around to make a bare spot. But there is still no egg? I don't even know if Mickey is male or female and don't have the money for a DNA test. So, finally, the question. Will a vet be able to feel an egg? how long should I let this go on?

Hello and welcome to you!

Thanks, David,
Your bird is lovely

Welcome to you and Mickey!

As custodian of a lorikeet hen who will lay eggs every chance she gets, the behaviour you describe does sound pretty broody to me. The calls and sounds birds make when feeling nesty will also differ from their usual vocalisations. Nesting should be avoided where possible because it can lead to various complications arising from egg-laying in hens and increased aggression in both genders.

Egg binding is a very serious condition which may end up requiring veterinary intervention. It’s hard to determine Mickey’s condition over an internet forum so if you are able to contact an avian vet, even over the phone in these difficult times, they are in the best position to help advise you. A vet most certainly would be able to feel whether an egg is present or not, if you’re able to get Mickey physically checked out. Once Mickey’s current situation is resolved you’ll want to remove access to anything remotely resembling a nesting site in order avoid these sorts of problems in future.

I hope you’re able to find some practical help for Mickey soon and I wish you all the very best!

Hi there, and welcome to the forum. Glad you found us. Folks with more knowledge than me will be along soon, I'm sure. My two cents here... Lose the nest box all together. ASAP! No need to encourage it. Laying eggs is not a necessity, and can be very taxing to a bird, especially one in an already weakened state. Definitely consult with an avian vet if at all possible.

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Do not give toloit paper!!!!! Can vlig his body if he ingest some!!!! Some of it will stick to the toungue. Stop toloit paper!!!! Can shred regular paper.

Likely lie vitamin A has blunted the papila leading to less absorbed nutrients. I would add a little hsbd rearing baby bird formulas to his diet, or that stuff they sell for sick birds...you can add milk thistle, talk to vet, or Google. I would also feed live culture yogurt a teaspoons a day for a week always fresh no artificial sweetners, then go to twice a week.

Track the weight while you are doing the above and see if there are positive changes.

Make sure you do not feed any citrus fruits.

Welcomed to the forum

Laurasea said:

Do not give toloit paper!!!!! Can vlig his body if he ingest some!!!! Some of it will stick to the toungue. Stop toloit paper!!!! Can shred regular paper.

Likely lie vitamin A has blunted the papila leading to less absorbed nutrients. I would add a little hsbd rearing baby bird formulas to his diet, or that stuff they sell for sick birds...you can add milk thistle, talk to vet, or Google. I would also feed live culture yogurt a teaspoons a day for a week always fresh no artificial sweetners, then go to twice a week.

Track the weight while you are doing the above and see if there are positive changes.

Make sure you do not feed any citrus fruits.

Welcomed to the forum

Click to expand...

Are oranges okay for healthy birds, without seeds?

No! Citric acid is bad for their GI. Also citric acid is linked with iron storage disese in birds which causes liver problems. Parrots didn't evolve to eat citrus fruits which originate in Asia. There is no need ever , to feed citrus fruit.

Laurasea said:

No! Citric acid is bad for their GI. Also citric acid is linked with iron storage disese in birds which causes liver problems. Parrots didn't evolve to eat citrus fruits which originate in Asia. There is no need ever , to feed citrus fruit.

Click to expand...

This is the problem with the stickies here for good and bad foods. They’re too dang long and you miss the basics.

Wow, thank you all for the information!! I'm so excited to hear from Maine, Florida and Australia. It's a small world after all!! I have not given Mickey toilet paper just the cardboard roll. Only fruit hes had with me is blackberries, maybe once a week. Very interesting info on the vitamin A. Don't know if that reads " lack of" vit A. also interesting about the iron. Thank you all. I'm pretty house bound, even before all the virus problems so knowing there are people out there to share their love for their birds is lovely.
“When the Sun of compassion arises darkness evaporates and the singing birds come from nowhere.”
― Amit Ray, Nonviolence: The Transforming Power

Just wanted to let you all know I took Mickey to the vet. Palpitation did not reveal an egg so , as xrays aren't 100% accurate, I opted for dna test. As some of you suggested the vet also told me to move everything around in the cage and move the box!! I also have not put anything in to shred (because he/she/it would start padding the food bowl again. So we should know by Tue/Wed. Glad the name is Mickey so it can go both ways.

Ah, I just saw your thread. Thanks for helping this little bird out. I love Nandays. I'm glad you have a vet. In case you ever want a second opinion...

Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.
International contacts, too.
Or... sometimes I find a place to start just by Googling "avian veterinarian near ((your location))"

Good for you, for reaching out. "Good Luck!" from our house (and Rickey) to your house (and Mickey).

So glad you took him/her to the vet. Hopefully they also gave you some good suggestions and info. No need to remove all things shreddable. Shredding is a good activity for them, as are chewing and foraging. A busy bird is a happy bird.

I like the name. I'm not one to worry about boy vs. girl names. It happens lol. My Baxter is a girl, and we have another fellow here with a boy named Amy. We just roll with it. Good to know for sure what you have though. It sometimes helps in understanding certain behaviors. Let us know the big reveal.

BTW do you have pictures of Mickey? We love pictures here!

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Rough story!! welcome to our family always nice to welcome people like you