Something wrong with his beak?

[Cliffordsmom]

ok, I will do that. Thank you.

 

[roxynoodle]

You're very welcome. But, he will need the pellets or he will have a very short life, I'm sorry to say. From looking at his beak I would say he already has a pretty bad deficiency.

I have no idea how this amazon of mine survived as long as he did with his bad diet in his previous home. But, his feet and beak already look better and he is growing feathers in the places where he had only downy ones, so I'm seeing an improvement in just a few months.

 

[aliray]

hi I have not been able to convert my quaker to pellets, however I made a batch of birdie bread by taking a half cup of zupreem fruit pellets and a half cup of water in the food processor till they disolved, then peeled,cored a gala apple and whized that around, added two raw eggs, one jar babyfood carrots and a box of jiffy corn bread mix. I baked it in a quich dish per directions on the box though it did take a little longer to cook. cool then cut in one inch squares and freeze. both my quaker parrot sweetie pie and my canary lucas really like it, they get one a day. ha ha you just ate a pellet but don't tell them. Alison

 

[Cliffordsmom]

Thank you Alison. I will try that recipe.
Bad news Roxy :-( I'm going to fix him right up. I need a healthy happy Bird.

 

[roxynoodle]

I used to mix baby food carrots and sweet potatoes into corn bread to sneak orange veggies into the Blue Crown for extra vitamin A. But, once they are on pellets it's less a concern if they hate certain fresh foods.

Also get Clifford a full spectrum light. I use the 20W ones from FeatherBrite, and put them in cheap clip lights from Walmart, which I attach to the tops of the cages. They have nice long cords that reach the ground. None of my birds have really messed with the lights. Pete started messing with the clip one day and it fell over on top of his cage, which scared him. He hasn't touched it again, lol! They need UV rays to get vitamin D, which is needed to process calcium. I also noticed My Safe Bird Store sells them as well if you were planning on ordering anything from her, to save you on shipping. She sells nice toys, toy parts and food as well as cages and stands.

 

[Cliffordsmom]

YES! my safe bird store is wonderful! I will definatley get a light. I have a clip light on my drafting table, which I hardly use anymore, so I will be sure and let Clifford have it.

 

[Spiritbird]

It takes a bit of tough love but you are the one feeding him the seed. No more seed, cold turkey. Feed a healthy diet and he will not starve himself. Birds want to live not die of malnutrition. Incidentally, birds on a seed diet can and so die of malnutrition. He most likely has a vitamin deficiency. I suggest a vet trip to an avian spe******t to check him over and give recommended supplementation.
If you bird gets no natural outdoor sunshine then yes the light is needed as Roxy suggested.

http://www.avianweb.com/beakdeformities.html

 

[Pedro]

If Clifford has been on a seed only diet there is a possibility he isn't just deficient in Vit A. I would also be concerned with kidney & liver disease. Personally I would sprout his seeds instead of taking away the seeds cold turkey. I would allow him a teaspoon of dry seed for 10 minutes in the morning & again in the afternoon, it is recommended to only give 10 sunflower seeds a day. You maybe able to get a good sprouting seed mix from your health food shop or pet store. Once the seeds are sprouted it's a good source of protein & Vitamins. Even the most stubborn bird will try the sprouts especially if it has sunflower in it.

Also i would consider a good multivitamin to put in his water for the time being until such time you get him to the vet.

How much access to natural sun shine does Clifford get, if you are able to give him just half an hour a day in the sun that is enough without having to get a UV light.

 

[Cliffordsmom]

Pedro, I'm picking up vitamins for his water today after work, and some pellets that the vet wants him to eat. I looked into the sprouting thing as well, seems pretty neat. and He is in the living room against a wall that is across from a window which the sun shines directly intoand onto his cage for about an hour, but the room stays pretty bright for most of the day. He sunbathes on his perch outside the cage door in the morning and preens while the sun is directly shining there.

 

[roxynoodle]

If your windows are less than 20 years old though he probably isn't getting enough UV rays. You would need to take him outside or buy the light. I also thought that having my birds in front of windows was fine, but it turned out they were blocking most of the UV rays (like 90% with the ones I put in the house).

 

[Pedro]

sprouts

All my birds get sprouts as part of their diet.

Yes that is a good amount of nautral sunlight without worrying about UV lighting.

 

[roxynoodle]

I use the UV lighting because it is usually cold in Ohio for a good 6 months of the year (with this winter being a very unusual exception). Also on the advice of my vets, West Nile virus is just too prevalent anymore to risk taking them outside to sun.

I did have one of my conures become calcium deficient because I was just plain wrong that being in front of a window was enough. I did not realize it was the UV rays she needed and the windows I put in the house blocked the majority of them.

So if you can take the bird outside, that is a great choice. If you can't, I would get the light. I can't speak for the weather in Oklahoma as I've never been there It's probably better than Ohio though!

 

[Cliffordsmom]

Pedro, great article! I'm excited to sprout now. I'm a plant person, and the water from the sprouts will be great for my plants! thank you.
Roxy, we have a lot of mosquitos right now and im not sure about west nile here. My boyfriend is going to make a wire mesh "outside" cage for Clifford sometime but until he does i think we will stay indoors to be safe, so ill get a light for him. thanks

 

[roxynoodle]

Do you have hawks or eagles? If so you might want to use a strong cage with bars and put the wire mesh around that for the mosquitoes. There was just a story on here a couple of weeks ago about a cockatoo who was killed by a hawk.

I'm trying to figure out doing the same thing because I know how much the birds enjoy being outside. It needs to protect them from my neighbors very predatory dogs that killed my barn cats and raccoons, and from raptors, and from mosquitoes.

 

[HalfInsane]

Before you order a full spectrum bulb online, I'd check your local Wal-Mart. They sell them at the one where I live for $7.00. Just a word of caution, they do get hot, so if any of your birds are flighted, you'll want to turn it off a few minutes before letting your birds out.

 

[roxynoodle]

Hmm, my Walmart doesn't, and neither did Home Depot. I suspect it's because people use them for grow lights for pot plants.

The ones I have are flourescent and don't get hot. But, incadescent bulbs do give off heat, some a lot.

 

[HalfInsane]

Hmm, my Walmart doesn't, and neither did Home Depot. I suspect it's because people use them for grow lights for pot plants.

The ones I have are flourescent and don't get hot. But, incadescent bulbs do give off heat, some a lot.

Hmm, could be. Maybe the Canadian Walmarts carry them, but not American ones? Who knows. And I actually assumed they were all incandescent.. don't know why.

 

[roxynoodle]

It might just be my area, too. It's a college town. But, I did first look in local stores for them thinking they would be much cheaper.

No, the florescent bulbs don't give off any heat at all actually. People keep asking me if they are for heat, and I'm like no, no heat comes off.

 

[Remy]

Not all "full spectrum" marked bulbs have the UV in them; they just make the room look more like daylight. Make sure you get some that actually have UV in them.

My mom did a bunch of research and somehow came up with Ott Lites. They are pricey, but make a good quality light. I mounted one above Puck's cage, and he loves it. I think FeatherBrite is also a good brand. Plant bulbs have too much UV, I think.

 

[roxynoodle]

I totally agree with Remy. I remember driving myself nuts trying to figure out which ones actually had UVA and UVB rays. I wasn't certain on the Ott lights although many said their birds liked them. It kind of came down to Zoo Med and FeatherBrite. However the reviews on the Zoo Med lamps were mostly very bad. It's an $80 plastic floor lamp that apparently falls apart in weeks. So I went with FeatherBrite and clip lamps.