mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach) (06/03/89)
I have been following the Sick Budgie issue here in rec.birds. Blake's Birds(tm) send their condolences to the bereaved owner and cagemate of the poor birdie. Some advice I would offer to all bird owners whether their birds are sick or not: GET AN AVIAN VET! The store where I got Cally the Precocious Cockatiel (tm) has an animal hospital attached, with two avian vets. They have a 24 hour emergency number, so if anything is wrong, you can call, talk to a vet, and either make arrangements to take the bird in the next business day, or in an emergency, have the vet meet you at the store. As soon as I notice something wrong with one of my birds (I have three now!), I can be on the phone with my vet. I can also take new birds by for a check-up to know that they are healthy and get good tips on how to improve my care of them. If you don't have a vet, get ahold of the current issue of Bird Talk. They have an offer that if you will send them something like a dollar and a SASE they will give you their updated list of approved Avian Vets. Get it, and get a vet. Sure you might have to pay a lot in vet bills, but at least your birds might live longer. Can you really look your pet in the face and tell them they are not worth a $19 office visit or a $27 physical? I'm cross posting this to rec.pets to reemphasize this point that I also made in a recent posting there. This has been a service of Blake's Birds(tm). -Mary, and Cally the Precocious Cockatiel(tm), and Vila the Cudly Conure(tm), And introducing Blake, the Beautiful Budgie(tm)! Better known as Blake's Birds(tm)! Dedicated to the memory of the British SF show Blake's 7, and the liberty and rights of pet birds!
john@compugen.UUCP (John Beaudin) (06/04/89)
In article <748@dinorah.wustl.edu> mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach) writes: > If you don't have a vet, get ahold of the current issue of Bird Talk. > ...they will give you their updated list of approved Avian vets Thanks for your condolences. Does Bird Talk mention Canadian vets? Is there a book which discusses budgie behavior? I would really like to know what's going thru their bird-brains. Some of the things they do really crack me up, but I can't figure out WHAT it is they are trying to achieve. What immediately comes to mind is the postures/gestures they assume when they get interested in a mirror. Or grabbing something hanging with their beaks. Or when they bob their heads up an down. Or wildly flapping their wings while on the top perch. The list goes on and on. There's no end to the enjoyment I derive.
mary@dinorah.wustl.edu (Mary E. Leibach) (06/08/89)
john@compugen.UUCP (John Beaudin) writes: >Does Bird Talk mention Canadian vets? I don't know off hand. Maybe you could try your pet store or the yellow pages if they don't. >Is there a book which discusses budgie behavior? There are a lot of books on budgies, but they mostly have keeping, taming, and breeding, not cute behaviour. There was an article in Bird Talk on birdy body language featuring the author's Amazon parrots, but it doesn't cover all species that well. Watching your bird, and see in what circumstances it does what repeatedly is your best bet. >What immediately comes to mind is the postures/gestures they assume when >they get interested in a mirror. Cally twettles to her mirror friend, Vila attacks or cuddles with his, and Blake (my new budgie) cuddles and pecks the mirror. They do think it is another bird, but I guess reactions depend on the individual bird and their mood. >Or grabbing something hanging with their >beaks. Just grabbing? That's no fun. Now hanging upsidedown from a hanging toy, that's more like it! >Or when they bob their heads up an down. The article in Bird Talk described this as part of an Amazon attack posture. However, only Vila out of my birdies does this, and as he does this toward me, Cally, the window, etc., I interpret this as more excitement than aggression. >Or wildly flapping their wings >while on the top perch. That is called flying in place. It is a very good thing for your bird to do, as he will get some good aerobic wing exercise without flying all over. Though letting him out to spread his wings, or at least giving him a cage he can fly in would be better. All of my birds are now in cages that give them some flying room, and all but the new, untame budgie get to come out of their cages to fly, cuddle, play, chew up the apartment, etc. >There's no end to the >enjoyment I derive. Yeah. Happiness is a pretty birdie! -Mary, and Cally the Precocious Cockatiel(tm), and Vila the Cudly Conure(tm) And introducing Blake, the Beautiful Budgie(tm)! Better known as Blake's Birds(tm)! Dedicated to the memory of the British SF show Blake's 7, and the liberty and rights of pet birds!