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Latest Animal Stories on Birds (4282)

Lily - 2013-05-22
I recently acquired a goffin's cockatoo. Rescue bird. The previous owner that had him, I heard, got evicted and went to jail for drugs. He is extremely afraid and plucks his feathers. I have had him for about 4 months. I got him a large cage. He previously had a small one. He has lots of toys and gets fed well. I have recently gotten him off seeds, which is what he was sent with, and on Harrisons as well as fresh foods. He is still pretty picky with eating but getting better. I have taken him to the vet and am still waiting on results to see if there are underlying issues for his feather picking before I do anything else. He is supposed to be approximately 3 years old. He sometimes makes a few noises but most of the time sits in one spot and doesn't seem interested to get to know me. I also have a sun conure, approximately 12 years old and their cages are right next to each other. My sun is more bonded to me, and humans, but my goffin seems to identify more with my conure. I have had mainly dogs all my life except for my conure and am not too familiar with cockatoos, which I understand need a lot of stimulation. My boyfriend has had birds his whole life, 3 amazons growing up and the last just recently passed a few years ago. Any information on goffins, feather picking, fearful birds (cockatoos) than anyone can give would be extremely helpful. He is gaining weight and looks healthy but his feather picking is getting worse and he has developed some abscesses under his wings from picking. I got an ecollar from the vet but Im worried that this will be damaging to his mental health because of how he already acts. I tried it on my conure because he can handle a lot of situations and he had a hard time with it and would only flop around. Any information on a feather picking (flight suit) would also be useful as I think I may want to try that first. Im in this too the end and would not think of rehoming this bird another time as I understand its very damaging. I am planning on trying the foraging bit as well as tv for entertainment while I am at work. Thanks again for any help!!!

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Clarice Brough - 2013-05-22
It's so great that you're giving this bird a great home, and a chance to get normalized. Here's a few thoughts. Birds have incredibly long memories, so it will take a long time for him to get brave with his new world. Birds also prefer other birds over people, so it's no surprise he does best with the Sun Conure, and it's actually really great that you have a companion for him (and for the Sun, though they're not as needy). But don't give up,he's smart and he is watching, so he will learn about you from observing you and your conure interact. Something that can help with the plucking, besides all the normal stuff you'll read and hear about... try a soft cotton blanket in the cage with him, or covering one side where he can pull on it. We've had success with that. If he likes it, he will chew on it constantly and it will be destroyed, but it offers him a soft replacement for his feathers and can help keep him occupied. Good luck and all the best to both of you:)

Linda Pries - 2013-05-21
I have been breeding cockatiels for several years now and am currently setting up pairs from my own breeding. I have normals, pied, albino pearls and what I have always called lutino pearls. I'm not sure if this is the proper name for these as I have seen them also referred to as opaline pearl. The birds are soft yellow with the grey pearling. Last year I purchased a pair consisting of an albino hen and a whiteface pearl cock. They produced all whiteface pied chicks until their last clutch which also produced a gorgeously stunning whiteface pearl hen. I am keeping her and breeding her back to a normal male who is split to pied. Also will be starting a pair who is a whiteface pied split to albino hen bred to a lutino pearl cock. I'm very anxious to see what these pairings will produce. Does anyone have any ideas? Also, is lutino pearl the proper classification for my yellow birds with grey pearling?

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Clarice Brough - 2013-05-21
That Whitefaced Pearl hen must truly be a beauty! A Lutino Pearl Cockatiel has white plumage with yellow pearling, not grey pearling. Lutino's lack all grey pigment. It's probably either a normal pearl mutation or a cinnamon pearl mutation (which has a lighter coloring than the normal). Also males do not retain the pearling, it molts out as they mature. As these birds are crossbred, specific characteristics can become less distinct, so a good knowledge of the genetics as well as the birds lineage (who were their parents/grandparents, etc) is helpful in choosing crossings to get the results you are looking for.

Unnikrishnan - 2013-04-30
I have got a pair of lutino fischer and Fischer.My Lutino Fischer pair and Fischer pair laid their first egg around 27 Mar 13. They are incubating the eggs all the time and both are cutting the paper and dipping in water and taking to the cage. In this lutino was layed her last egg at 06 Apr 13. But today 30 Apr 13. No egg is hatched. what might be the problem what may the colour of the egg when it is going to be hatched(1 or 2 day before chicks come out). Lutino was mating every day upto last egg layed.In this both lutino's are always in the cage. Hardly in rotation they are coming to take food,bath or tear paper. Today I noticed the fischer's butt is bulged like when it started laying egg.Kindly advice I am a starter in this issues. I clearly sea yesterday 1 of my lutiono's egg is light blackish and 2 have got some bubbles on it and rest 3 are normal.Earlier all 6 are look same.

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Clarice Brough - 2013-05-01
Lovebirds are very good at taking care of their eggs and their young. It the eggs aren't going to hatch, then the female will simply abandon them. The eggs, if fertile, will take about 28 days to hatch.

When breeding there are a few things to consider. Do not disturb the cage when they are breeding or after the eggs are laid. Just feed the birds during this time and make sure they have fresh water. Usually the first few attempts are unsuccessful, and the eggs won't hatch. Also female Fischer lovebirds ares very prone to egg binding, so they must be given plenty of calcium in their diet during breeding and afterwards. Young birds should be discouraged from breeding.
Suraj Sadasivan - 2013-05-02
Thank a lot for your kind attention to my post and give reply to my Beginner’s curiosity. That means still hope are there for hatching. Both not abandonded the cage. Last egg was laid around 06 Apr 13.
Unnikrishnan - 2013-05-02
Thanks a lot for your kind attention to my post and give reply to my Beginner’s curiosity. That means still hope are there for hatching. Both not abandonded the cage. Last egg was laid around 06 Apr 13.
Clarice Brough - 2013-05-02
I understand how concerned each little thing can be, and glad they are still doing okay, maybe there will be babies. If not this time, maybe soon:)
Unnikrishnan - 2013-05-20
Today after 54 days also my lutino is incubating the eggs.What should I do now. Today I checked the fischer's nest. There is 15 eggs in that(including the old 5). What should I do now.
Unnikrishnan - 2013-05-21
As per ur advice nest of both lutino as well as Fischer has been removed. All 6 eggs of lutino has been candled found all infertile. Surprisingly in Fischer's nest there were 18 eggs. Positioned 9 each and different places.We never see Fischer's are mating. But lutinos are mating frequently.All 18 eggs were candled but none is fertile. As here we doesn't have any DNA testing facility. Is there any way to differentiate male Fischer and Female fischer.We confirmed that our both Fischer's are female. We want to buy two male. Kindly help us to find out which is male and which is female.Thanks for ur all support and kind advice
Clarice Brough - 2013-05-20
With that many eggs, it sounds like you may have two females. A normal clutch is 4-6 eggs and the incubation period for Lovebirds is 21 to 26 days. Eggs that are 54 days old are infertile. To check to see if the eggs are fertile you can candle them. Hold the eggs gently near a bright light. If you can clearly see a dark spot surrounded by blood vessels, the egg is fertile.

Be aware that successive egg laying takes take a toll on females which can cause them to become eggbound. An eggbound female will require immediate vet care, and can still die. Your best bet may be to take down the nest box and not encourage breeding.
Clarice Brough - 2013-05-21
So glad to know that helped and you could determine if the eggs were fertile. As far as sexing, these birds are very difficult to sex so it's best to work with an experienced breeder. But some things that can help to indicate differences are: when you feel the pelvic bones on the females they will be wider apart than on the males. Also in behavior, when the birds are undisturbed... (like they don't know they are being watched), females will tend to hunch down more on their perches while males tend to stand more upright. Still, its \difficult to tell. Good luck to you guys, and let me know how it goes!

Jim - 2013-05-20
I have a parakeet that makes a 'squeak' sound almost every second. At night he will do this almost all nigh(we are in the other room it doesn't bother us at night wile sleeping). Every now and then he will stop then start again. It sounds like almost every inhale/exhale produces a squeak. Worrying about him but he seems to be OK in the daytime. Every now and then in daytime he will do this.

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Clarice Brough - 2013-05-21
That is a strange habit. It could possibly be a respiratory issue, but if he's eating and active, it may not be anything to worry about. A vet checkup may help determine if he's got anything that can be treated.

ananya - 2013-05-20
hi,can i colony-breed 3 pairs of lovebirds housed in an aviary?there are 1 lutino pair,1 blue-masked pair and 1 peach faced pair. thanks to anyone who comments!

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Clarice Brough - 2013-05-20
Most Lovebird species are colony breeders, with the exception of Abyssinian Lovebirds and Madagascar Lovebirds. However Lovebirds are best breed in colonies of the same species. Masked Lovebirds can be very aggressive towards other birds in an aviary setting, so you may have problems mixing them with the Peach Faced Lovebirds ((Lutino's are Peach-faced mutations).

Isela - 2013-05-19
My peach face lovebirds will be parents soon and I heard that you can feed the chicks baby food? Is this true? What kind? This is all new to me HELP !!

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Clarice Brough - 2013-05-20
There is baby bird handfeeding formula, I've used Kaytee and it is great. However the parents are usually really good parents. It isn't usually necessary to hand feed the babies unless the parents are inexperienced and not able to do the job. To handfeed, there are many things that can go wrong. Besides having the right food, it takes a rigorous schedule and having an experienced person show how to do it is really important.

jayashree - 2013-05-18
hi,I have an idea of getting a male Alex chick, already I have a female Alex .she is 6 months old good and healthy bird. I just want to know will my bird accept the new campaign? and will they become a pair in future? or I have to go for elder male bird? pls reply to my all the the 3 question.

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Clarice Brough - 2013-05-19
Hey Jayashree, I have a suggestion for you...register with your Facebook account. Then you can check the box to be notified when your comments get responded to. It's easy to do... when you post you comment, just click the 'register through Facebook' button, and then \put in your comment. That should help you:)

Just the same, here's what posted a few days ago about this (click on the 'View all the Animal Stories for Alexandrine Parakeet' button below, to see your earlier posts): 'As you can see in the breeding section above, they don't reach maturity until about 2 years. So your bird's too young to breed, but as birds are very social, so getting a companion would be nice. Just make sure to let the birds get comfortable with each other before putting them in the same cage, this is important no matter what age they are. If you do decide to try and do some breeding when it's an adult, have your bird sexed by a veterinarian. DNA sexing works really well.'

Blossom - 2013-05-18
I am due to take on a rescue Mealy. All I know is that he/she (sex unknown) has been locked in a cupboard for 20 plus years and has been fed the incorrect food. I have also been advised that it will need to be covered every 2 hours or thereabouts as it cannot stand the daylight at the moment. This is supposed to be a short term foster but lets see how it goes! Luckily myself and my wonderful husband have time and patience galore. Feel this is going to a long road ahead. He/she is meant to be a short term foster but lets see what happens. Keep your fingers crossed we manage to settle this poor bird.

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Clarice Brough - 2013-05-18
That is so nice that you are taking on this Mealy Amazon. I'm sure it will take time and patience to help it adapt, but I bet you will find yourself endeared by it. I took one in a number of years ago and found it a home. It wasn't from quite such a severe situation, but did have some pretty major adjustments. The biggest thing I noticed was what a very nice large Amazon it was (I've had all sorts of Amazons - large and small). It wasn't going to be so big on talking, but it seemed to be much less aggressive naturally than some of the other Amazons... less of a dominant attitude. I really liked this bird because of its temperament and was really tempted to keep it! So I think you'll enjoy your journey:) Good luck.

Anna Rega of Virginia - 2011-07-11
Some friends grew tired of their lovebird, and offered him to me, first week of December 2009. His name is Rainbow and they said he was appox 5yrs old. I wasn't sure what to do with him, knowing very little about LoveBirds. I knew he had lived in a small cage for most of those 5yrs. He was always very quiet in his former owners house. Today! Rainbow (aka) Rambo is sitting on my shoulder. He is the "ruler of my home". He is my loyal companion and "my boss". He has bitten my daughter and grandkids as how dare they sit on his couches next to me his queen!(when family visits I place him in his cage, safe for everyone) I open his cage door first thing in the morning and he flys to his *hat* does his little male bird eek eek and then he comes to me. From drinking water from my hand to taking shower/baths with me...falling into the washing mechine ...flying off my shoulder on my front porch to the wide blue yander and then coming back to my head (I almost had heartfailure) to bitting my lip and flapping his wings in my face when I try to nap. He steps up on my hand when it's time for him to go nite nite. He has even put himself to bed when I was on the computer too long. I love this little, funny and demanding bird. What a gift from God he was.

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Charlie Roche - 2011-07-11
The right bird with the right owner is a wonderous thing. I so wish more would/could have the experience.
karen kopchak - 2013-05-12
I adopted Ziggy, now 2yrs old from my daughter. He is just like your Rambo. I accidently knocked him into the dryer while getting clothes and he now flies into the refridgerator. Got pictures! And he is a cuddler. The not-so-nice behavior her exhibits also. Little stinker gave me a fat lip from a nip. Try telling yours friends that one. He also likes to ride the oscillating fan in my room and the ceiling fan in my girlfriends house. I move, and he's on me in a flash. In many ways, Ziggy is like having a flying two year old in the house. Helping out my daughter turned out to be the gift that just keeps on giving.
joanie - 2013-05-17
My Tweedy boy was the love of my life, my best friend gave him to me also in June 2009, for my Birthday. She said she thought he might be 4 or 5 years old. he took to me as if he knew me forever, We brushed our teeth and beak every morning, then we would have breakfast. Tweedy didn't care men to much, he'd give them a got bit, tweet's as I called him love the dogs if they bark he would try and do the same. He loved to play basket ball with his water bowels. we were enjoying then evening TV watching and play time, I put him to bed, I woke the next morning to find him with his rubber pet pup, he had passed away. MY heart is broken still don't know why he dead? I don't no if I should get another one I hurt so bad, don't want another to take his place or just get a different bird altogether? LOVED YOU TWEEDY SO MUCH. THANKS TO ALL FOR LISTENING TO ME GO ON.

martie werbacher - 2012-06-24
My military macaw bobbs his head like a chicken on our hands/arms etc., does anyone know what this means? He's not hurting anyone when he does this but just very curious when and why he does this..

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Charlie Roche - 2012-06-24
Yep it is normal. They bob their head up and down. They sorta bump you with their beak which doesn't hurt and even bump you in the head with theirs. They are playing and it is fun.
Anonymous - 2013-05-16
That's natural, it's a feeding thing they do when you hand feed them!

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