Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:57 pm Post subject: Need advice
Hello,
Can you please help me?
I had a kakariki that we just loved.... My two daughters were literally in love with her. She was the most loving bird ever. Always on one of us and one day, she died after laying too many eggs. I did not know I had to give her calcium supplements....... I feel so stupid now that I am reading about these birds.
Anyway, life around the house was so terrible without her, we kept crying for her that I went out and bought another one. I think it is a male but I am not sure. Anyway, I had him for 2 weeks now and I am worried sick about him dying.........
He is young cause he still has some little fuzz feathers beneath his other ones. I was told he was 3 months old.
He is hoping up and down all the time and talks a lot (not words but lots of noises which is very cute)
He seems to be very territorial with his cage especially at night when he attacks anythone that puts his hand in his cage... When out, he is very nice but he sometimes opens his beak like if he was going to bite but shuts it right after. His poop seems ok in consistance, some days a little runny but is more green then black, is that ok? He does not want to bathe. I don't know if what I am feeding him is ok, but he does not want to eat much fresh fruit and veggies, he likes the seed mix but then goes for the very little sunflower seeds that is in the mix first.
Thanks for replying to me. I am just needing to talk to someone like you that knows what is best. I cannot loose him too. We cryed too much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very painful
Sophie
I think it is a male but I am not sure. Anyway, I had him for 2 weeks now and I am worried sick about him dying.........
You can check other forums/gallery pics and posts to compare with others Kakariki...
Also theres a word serach block to the left and search button above to find what you are looking for.
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He is young cause he still has some little fuzz feathers beneath his other ones. I was told he was 3 months old.
Is there a redish iris around the eye, very young kakariki do not have this, and should not be weaned till at least this has devaloped.
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He is hoping up and down all the time and talks a lot (not words but lots of noises which is very cute)
Younger birds are like teenagers, very active
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He seems to be very territorial with his cage especially at night when he attacks anythone that puts his hand in his cage...
This is common, espec with younger birds..thatb is THEIR place, just like you would get upset with ppl just walking thru your home.
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don't know if what I am feeding him is ok, but he does not want to eat much fresh fruit and veggies, he likes the seed mix but then goes for the very little sunflower seeds that is in the mix first.
This is a sign of a kakariki raised on incorrect diet...Not good. /It can take months, even a year to get them back to a heathy diet
http://www.kakariki.net/ftopict-12.html
Too much sunflower can also cause problems due to high fats and oils
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He does not want to bathe.
This can also be due to incorrect raising supresing their natural instinct, thu we also do have the occassion kakariki that doesnt like to bath often...every kakatiki has their own personality , likes and dislikes
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Now he is plucking all of his left over baby fuzz feathers........ Is that ok??
This is difficult to yes or no...depends on age, if going into moult, or has mites...It would not hurt to dose for mites any way,
and check for worms also..going from your descriptions of droppings and other issues, combining together, I would not be suprised if +ve
See the sections how to on these subjects _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Thank you so much for your reply. I am going to bring him to the vet on monday cause I am worried about the feather plucking. He looks bad now but the vet is not in until monday.
Do you think that I will have problems like this always with him???
This is way too complicated!!!!!!
More problems than fun.
wow, thanks for the long reply. I will try those things.
I am really mostly worried about the feather plucking. Will he just keep doing this until he is totaly bald?? He was so beautiful and now...... Can this kill him?
I did not clip my bird's wings but when I bought him, they were already. Do you think that is why he is plucking all of his feathers out?? Is he mad and trying to tell me something? How do I get him to stop????????????????????????? Please steptoe, help me here!
I have yet to see a kakariki pluck feathers because of psycological reasons.
Those I have seen plucked or plucking have been because of sevier abuse (conditions) or infection/desease...mites.
Well I am DEFINATELY not abusing him or providing him a dirty environement.............. So that leaves mites?? I am going to bring him to the vet tomorrow as she is not there until then but I wonder how he could have gotten mites. He is the only animal here. I care for him just like he was my little newborn since I had him.
He seems very happy besides that, he is calling us all the time if we leave the room. He is out of his cage almost all the time when I am home which is a lot!
Thanks anyway for the info.
Anyone has any other ideas on what it could be?
Sophie
The only thing I can think of is that I was giving him a mix of seeds with a little bit of sunflower seeds mixed in and I noticed that he was sorting those out too much and eatiing too many of them so I decided to take them out as I know they are not good for him. I am therefore forcing him to eat other things. He does not go for the fresh fruit and veggies first at all and I want him to eat more of the good stuff. ANyway, can it be that he is mad that he is not finding his beloved sunflower seeds and he is upset?
How do I get him to eat more fresh veggies and fruit????
I have a feeling his feather plucking has something to do with his nutrition but I can't force feed him!!!
Sunflower seeds are high in oil and fat content and if fed in excess can cause a bird to "over heat" internally which will cause feather plucking as one of many side effects. Here in Australia we used to see a lot of pet Galahs suffer from this.
My suggestion would be to wean the bird off the sunflower. Buy some canary seed from your seed supplier. This also has a high oil content but not as bad as sunflower. Buy a small packet of sunflower seed and add a small amount to the canary seed. As the bird becomes used to the canary seed he will lose his addiction to the sunflower.
Another method would be to sprout the sunflower before feeding it to your bird. Once sunflower is sprouted much of the fat and oil is removed and so it is less harmful for the bird. There is a thread on this already so use the search function to find out how to sprout the sunflower.
Patience and variety is the key to changing the birds diet. Try as many different fruits and veg as you can find. Chop all pieces into small sections as Kakariki love to hold their food with their claws. Given enough time the bird will find something it likes and keeping the sunflower seed to a lower level will not be a problem.
Sunflower seeds are high in oil and fat content and if fed in excess can cause a bird to "over heat" internally which will cause feather plucking as one of many side effects.
Add to that, wings are clipped, lack of excerse, which on its own causes overweight...
I go with Greggs assempt.
Steps _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Thank you very much for the info. I appreciate it very much. I have an appointment with the vet at 1:30 today.
I will wean him off of sunflower seeds
Sophie
I went to see the vet today and she treated Paco with a medication for parasites or mites. She put a drop of it in his neck telling me that it would go into his blood stream. She will give him 2 or 3 doses of it. Has anyone heard of this? She did not seem to think that it was psychological at all. She even thought at first that he was just moulting and that he was pulling his feathers out because of this but then decided to treat for parasites just in case. Anyway, I just hope he is ok, I could not stand loosing him too.
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