Mare and Dianne... lets wait and give Tim a chance to reply. I believe he lives in Australia, since Blue Bonnet Parrots originate from there and he indicated that his bird was purged from its nest by its parents during a storm when it was very young. There's quite a time difference between here and 'down under', so perhaps that and Tim's schedule restrict when he can be online
He wanted to live. He was my Heaven... He's gone!
Mare (12-11-2014), spiritbird (12-11-2014)
Ok, thankyou for that advice. We don't have a second cage, they get baths quite a lot and he normally bathes in his drinking water instead of the bath (we replace the water afterwards and there is a separate drinking thing). Last time they had mites we sprayed them with a mite thing and wasnt allowed to play with them for about a week or more and it made them lose trust in us quite a bit (we are slowly gaining the trust back, he never used to let anyone but Andrew go near him now he hops on my shoulder and lets me scritch him). We don't have a carrier and the birds have never been taken to a vet (my mum doesnt want to because our local vet killed my grandma's cockatoo and is terrible with animals and the closest good vet is about an hour away). They get veggies a lot but they also get a lot of sunflower seeds. And they alway get a good nights sleep, they have a cage cover and they normally get to sleep around 8-9pm.
And yes, I live in Australia and only just woke up.
Tim: One hour's drive sounds quite reasonable for access to a quality avian veterinarian when in the midst of an urgent situation. From your description and the photos you've provided, I consider your bird's situation fairly urgent! That's because his/her constantly assaulted open wound stands a good chance of becoming infected at some point. Believe me, I've had my share of horrific vet experiences due to incompetency on a vet's part... so I can easily understand your feeling about the local vet being terrible with animals and killing your grandmother's cockatoo - I'm very sorry to hear about that, by the way. I think an appointment with a good avian vet would be a wise decision in your case. Hopefully you can arrange some form of adequate transport.
About your bird's diet... sunflower seeds as a main staple are a bad idea. Avian vets and nutrition experts around the world agree that, depending upon species, a diet high in sunflower seeds may promote various potentially fatal conditions (such as fatty liver disease). It would be advisable for you to consider converting to a quality pelleted parrot diet to avoid serious health problems down the road.
He wanted to live. He was my Heaven... He's gone!
His diet is not mainly sunflower seeds, we have a birdseed mix with a variety of seeds and it has sunflower seeds in it. He also gets them as treats.
One of the main concerns is the actual catching it in order to take it to the vet. It gets very traumatised whenever a hand goes into its cage and it gets stressed and bites very hard. Is there an easy way of catching it?
Okay. You wrote that they "get a lot of sunflower seeds" ...so it sounded as if that was their main base food. Adding fortified pellets to their diet would fill in some of the nutritional gaps and thus enhance their immune systems.Originally Posted by Macka
You've mentioned that he is permitted to come out of the cage every couple of days and that he hops on your shoulder and lets you scritch him. How do you get him out of the cage? And, especially, how do you get him up on your shoulder and then back into the cage? If you can find or borrow a pet carrier, then a brief and deliberate action placing him inside of it would be all that's necessary. You can cover and wrap him with a towel very quickly to protect yourself and him for this purpose. The vet clinic personnel will deal with removing and subduing him once he arrives. They will then place him back into the carrier for you once the session has finished.
He wanted to live. He was my Heaven... He's gone!
Lady (12-11-2014), spiritbird (12-11-2014)
He flies out of the cage and sometimes lands on our shoulder. And when he is ready for bed he will fly to the cage and then hop in (there is a perch thing on the door to help them get back in).
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