A few questions

[Alembic772]

Hello everyone. Basil is still doing fine and no more signs of blood in his stool. He’s still just acting like himself, so I think we are through the situation.

I have a couple questions. First, being an overly protective dad, I noticed Paprika’s new tail feather has a very small amount of yellow tint at the end of it:

Her initial tail feathers did not have this, and this is her first new one since her baby feathers grew out. So, I know this can be normal but I just want to ask the opinion of all of you in case I am missing something in their diet.

Second: I am interested in free flight training. Does anyone know any places/trainers in the Tampa, FL area?

Third: How many showers are okay? Paprika will try to get in the shower every day and completely soak herself if she is allowed. Basil only wants to go in and bath every once and a while (maybe once a week). I don’t let her do it every day as I thought I had read somewhere that over bathing can cause issues with feather wear prematurely. Any thoughts to this?

Thanks for listening!


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[SailBoat]

Not sure where your sourcing has been from, but not what I do or other's commonly do.

In your area of the World, Humidity is fairly common near year around. During the winter, cut back on full-on washes and ease back to misting between full-on showers. The balance of the year, as much as your Parrot wants.

Now, some Parrots are not as shower friendly and that is fine. But you should consider in addition to the shower, at least misting.

The goal of misting is not to bath them, but to provide inspiration for them to preen regularly.

It is always possible for a Parrot to push a feather that is different than the others. In some species it is very common, in others more rare. There is also the possibility that there is a diet issue. ASSURE you are providing a Diet specific to Your Species! Visit the sub-forum specific to your Parrot and assure you are following the correct diet.

 

[chris-md]

Everything Stephen has said.

Except the tail. Many subspecies get yellow in some form or other on their tail. Paprika is a baby still, she has a lot of molting to do. One thing you have to keep in mind is that colors evolve from youngsters to adults over successive molts until they reach full adult plumage.

 

[chris-md]

On the question of free flight - the only coaches I know are birdtricks. I know there’s more but not a clue who they would be or where to find them.

Think VERY HARD about if free flight is for you. Ekkies by nature are decidedly NOT the best free flight candidates. It comes down to the individual for certain, but they have universal innate tendencies that gives any Ekkie owner serious pause.

 

[Laurasea]

this talks feathers. And yellowing of Eclectus feathers
https://birdtricksstore.com/blogs/birdtricks-blog/what-feathers-tell-you-about-your-parrot-s-health

 

[wrench13]

Another thing to seriously consider on free flight - what raptor birds are in your area. In Fla, there can be several species of hawk living there, and those are a paramount concern when free flying. Even a small hawk will take a shot at a grey or eckie. And those attacks literally come out of the blue, just a swoop and bang. There is a YT vid from a bird show down there, with a big Cockatoo, and the hawk literally hit it while she was on the trainers shoulder, in the middle of a bird show!! Luckily the hawk lost that one. That is aside from the danger that your parrot will get spooked by something and in fright fly off to unknown places. Yes, that DOES happen. So, like Chris-MD said, think carefully about this.

 

[Alembic772]

So as far as the free flight training, it was just an idea. Both her and Basil are free flighted and get around the house by themselves all the time. Basil tends to want to walk around on the floor a lot more than Paprika, but that is 23 years of being alone in the house and nothing to worry about getting him. I just thought it would be nice to let them go somewhere and let their wings exercise for a while. Even if it is indoors. The last thing I want is my green or red chicken taking off and not coming back. I cried like a baby when Basil had the blood in his stool. I can’t imagine him flying away.

As far as the yellowing. It’s only the tip of her tail and just a touch. You all can see the picture. She has been molting and she lets me inspect her a lot more than basil does and she shows no stress bars or other discoloration. Even the blue ring around her eye is becoming more prevalent. I think she’s okay. I just want some advice from anyone who has an SI girl and their experiences.

If you see anything abnormal in the picture I put then please let me know. I appreciate all of you.


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[Alembic772]

Also, as far as Birdtricks... I have nothing against them and their approach. I did buy something from them, though, and was highly disappointed in it. I probably should have done more research, so some of it is on me. I think they do a good job themselves, but I can’t pay to have someone come specifically my place from out of state to do training. That’s expensive and I believe it’s too much of a risk. Plus, I need to put that money towards veggies and fruits to feed the fids!


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