Some queries

[Leena]

Hi Its been two months since Rio came home to us I have a few queries

1.Rio is always shedding his tail feathers and the largest wing feathers. He looks more like a green duck . I took him to the vet, she is not an avian vet but has a reputation for been excellent with animals and reptiles. She told me that in his first year he will shed more frequently and as long he doesnt pluck his chest feathers he should be ok. She even prescribed a multivitamin drop.

2. I have read about beak grinding but Rio seems to do it very often like I can always hear him when he is on my shoulders or sitting on my ankle even during the day.Is it normal?

3. He is also trying to fly. He will try to take off from his perch try all angles from where to take off , flap his wings really hard , get into flight mode action and then suddenly stop and walk down to wherever he wants to go. My husband says that in the wild his parents and his flock would teach him to do that but now that he has a human mother he is just going to walk on his two feet. We all encourage him by cheering when he starts to flap his wings but he just doesnt take off or is it too early for him to fly?

Sorry for the long post but would appreciate the help

 

[Austinvarughese]

I too have a parakeet and he too has been losing tail and flight feathers but his shedding has stopped. And now they are not growing back

 

[EAI]

1) If you provide a healthy and varied diet of fresh foods (plus pellets and some seeds) it wouldn't be really necessarily to provide multivitamin supplements. Right now, there's a lot of birds molting from the warm weather so I would think it's common.

2) Absolutely! The beak grinding is a sign that they're really comfortable and content.

3) how old is he? Is his wings clipped? It could be that he's just exercising if he's clinging on to the perch for dear life. He won't really be walking around like a person, he'll probably do it more often than wild birds because he doesn't need to worry about predators on the ground but natural instincts will kick in when it needs to.

I too have a parakeet and he too has been losing tail and flight feathers but his shedding has stopped. And now they are not growing back

Know that feathers don't grow overnight. There are some feathers on my lovebird that still needs to grow (or fall out more likely) from October. If there are type of pin feathers starting to develop, everything should be okay. If you're extremely worried I encourage you to talk to a(n Avian) vet.

 

[Betrisher]

I think the vet you spoke to gave you spot-on advice.

Alexes do lose a lot of feathers in their first eighteen months or so (dunno why, but mine did). A good diet (you don't need vitamins if you provide pellets, seed, fruit and veg each day) as well as regular baths will keep your bird in good feather as he grows up. When tail feathers are shed, it can take quite a while for those to appear to be growing back: the pins are there, but not always visible for a good while. Be patient - the tail will come back!

Beak grinding is A Good Thing! It's the equivalent of a cat purring. It shows your bird is content and unafraid. 'Flying on the spot' is also a good thing. It means your bird is feeling healthy and wants to stretch and use his wings. I found it useful to allow my birds to perch on my bedhead and then encourage them to fly to me (offering sunflower seed as an inducement). That way, when they flopped, they did it on my bed and weren't hurt. Alexes are brilliant, athletic flyers and they LOVE to fly! I have never been able to bring myself to deprive my Beaks of their power of flight and so they have full access to the whole house and perches in nearly every room.

Be patient with young birds and spend as much time with them as you can. The work you put in now will determine what kind of companion your birdie grows into over time.

 

[Leena]

Thanks EAI and Betrisher

EAI - Rio came to us as a gift . He was bare on his chest and had only pin feathers on 25th March. So to date he may be around 3-4 months . Not very sure. He is not clipped as that is not an option as there are no avian vets . A wrong clip and i might land Rio in bigger trouble.

I even spoke to the breeder from where he was bought but as he has 3 breeding pair the guy doesnt remember from which clutch Rio is . He even dumped me on the feeding and weaning part. That is how I found this forum

Betrisher - I tried your idea but Rio just begs for food He bobs his head up and down, turns it at all wierd angles and rattles of all the sounds he has in his dictionary.
i can never train Rio using food and treats . He just forgets all his manners when he sees food even when his crop is full

I have gone through most of the posts here and have taught him to step up, down, go away (he has chewed on all the flip flops and shoes) and even managed to train him on his bite pressure. All this without any treats but it had to be done one to one with absolutely nobody in the room.

So for the moment I'll wait and see if he takes on of his own. He flaps his wings a lot so I think he should be OK.

is there a link to any chart like baby charts where you plot the age and lenght of the bird because even I feel Rio looks small compared to the other Alexes on the forum.

I have not started on the multivitamins as the dosage was mentioned just for cats and dogs