Our feathered friends, birdbrains, and wingnuts

[shatter eyes]

Inspiring and touching and funny

 

[bellbird]

My budgie has been acting really aggressive the past couple of weeks.
I'm thinking it might be hormonal - an increase in testosterone, as I'm guessing he's recently reached sexual maturity. I'd estimate he's about 10 months.

He's been making very irritated chchchch noises, when I can't figure out any stressor.
He also will act playful and when I go over to his cage like I normally do and put my hand in to get him to hop onto it, he sort of rears backwards, lowers his body, his pupils suddenly constrict and he'll peck at my hand.

Does anyone have any experience with a similar thing?
I miss how he used to be. All day now he makes those irritated noises.
And if so has anyone ever tried a product like this: Dead Link Removed
I came across it when I was googling the subject.

Update on Tweeter: my vet friend suggested putting a mirror in the cage to try and ease his mood with some faux-birb company.
And it has largely been a success!
He has been very loud still on some mornings, but it's now about one in every fortnight, rather than every morning as it was.\
The mirror was one that had come with the cage, but that I'd never installed.
It's 3 small bird-head-sized-diameter mirrors, rather than a big one, and he sometimes nuzzles up to it contently, but doesn't obsess over it like I had worried he might.

A high potency bird food that gets them all the vitamins they need! Tastes like seeds and works great mixed with organic palm oil for some extra vitamin A :)

I've also made sure he has daily access to a little (the teeny scoop that came with the food) dish with like a vitamin-y apple honey supplement I guess similar to the Harrison's one you mentioned @littleoc , which is doesn't go crazy for but he knows it's there.

I've also tried to expand his fresh food diet but he still struggles with how to eat things other than leaves (chickweed, baby spinach and kale are favourites).
It is quite cute and amusing though.
We've got as far as licking a slice of cucumber. And then when there had been enough licking that the slice fell to the bottom of the cage, he thought that maybe the key is picking it up with his feet, flying up to a perch, and then dropping it from a height to crack it open.
I tried nibbling on the other end of a slice of pear lady and the tramp style, but no luck with that either.
Basically nothing is as enticing as food on Mum's plate or in her hands ?
Banana skin was a hit though; while I ate the actual banana, tweeter occupied himself with the inside of the peel (probably because I was still holding it though tbh).

 

[littleoc]

Hahahah, what a cutie!

 

[Changing4Best]

I live in a HUGE valley that has a river running through it called the Valley River Valley. The valley is so long and large that it has several towns in it. When you look around you can see in all directions. It is a pretty awesome place, as it is in the Nantahala National Forest. (And surrounded by Cherokee Tribal lands).

Today I saw many flocks of geese flying southish. I say southish, because it was not exactly southward that they were making their way to. Their formations are never perfect, but that is to be expected. There was just something not quite "normal" about their travels and I cannot place my finger upon it. They seemed to be having trouble staying in formation. There was a bit of wind and I suppose that could have been the problem. A little wind to me, on the ground, would have been quite a bit of wind up there where they were, I suppose!

Anyway, it was a pleasure to see them, no matter their troubles. I know it is truly Fall now!

 

[bellbird]

Just ran into my friend who is ~2 weeks away from finishing her veterinary degree, and asked her about what foods are good for Tweeter. I was asking more in terms of what fruit/vegetables are good/not, but she told me one of the main things they learnt was how a high seed diet can cause obesity.
So now I'm off on a budgie pellet food hunting operation.

Does anyone have any good suggestions of pellet brands they use?

My female cockatiel gets incredibly territorial when she’s “in heat,” but switching her from seeds to Harrison’s Birdfood (not sure if available outside the U.S.?) really helped a lot.

@littleoc was that that Harrison's food you were talking about? I just found it on an online NZ pet store.

 

[littleoc]

Just ran into my friend who is ~2 weeks away from finishing her veterinary degree, and asked her about what foods are good for Tweeter. I was asking more in terms of what fruit/vegetables are good/not, but she told me one of the main things they learnt was how a high seed diet can cause obesity.
So now I'm off on a budgie pellet food hunting operation.

Does anyone have any good suggestions of pellet brands they use?

@littleoc was that that Harrison's food you were talking about? I just found it on an online NZ pet store.

Yep!

Converting is difficult. You might want to talk to your birb’s vet and have her/him prescribe you some birdie probiotics!

I have some tips if you need but it really is difficult. Be warned!

Mine’s pellet didn’t have enough organic (non-synthetic) nutrients and she really suffered for it. So that’s why I like Harrison’s so much, but you have to be careful not to use a bunch 30 days after the date opened/made, because sometimes the nutrients leak? Don’t quote me, I didn’t fully understand what my vet said

 

[bellbird]

Converting is difficult.

I can imagine. Something to be taken very slowly.
Do you now give only pellets (rather than seeds)?

 

[littleoc]

I can imagine. Something to be taken very slowly.
Do you now give only pellets (rather than seeds)?

Pretty much! I add 1 table spoon of organic palm oil for vitamin A, to support her immune system. Harrison’s sells that too!

1 Tp per 1 lb bag, by the way

I do give her treats, but due to her health and age I have to be careful (my bird’s at a stroke risk, yours probably isn’t). (My bird has a lot of problems, sorry! She’s awesome though!) She occasionally gets sunflower seeds, but what she loves is one little ball of millet (not the whole branch) once a week or so — but on Halloween she got five balls :D

 

[bellbird]

but on Halloween she got five balls :D

Lucky birb!!
I'm super excited for this Christmas because it will be Tweeter's first one and I've got him a little (it's actually almost as big as him though haha) stocking that I'm gonna fill with lettuce and spinach and chickweed :D

How long does a bag of that Harrison's food last?
And how much do you give her each day?
Because I've got the standard hooded food dish that came with the cage (matches the water one) which I currently have filled with seed because when I used to only put a small layer on the bottom he'd have to reach down to get it and ended up eating upside down pretty much, which was causing him issues.

 

[littleoc]

How long does a bag of that Harrison's food last?

About a month! I keep it refrigerated (mostly so the palm oil stays evenly distributed after being added in, but I’m hoping it makes the nutrients last longer!)

And how much do you give her each day?

Uuuuuuuh I’m actually not sure! 1/8-1/4 cup a day? Cockatiels eat a lot though — they’re record breaking eaters in nature! (especially with seeds) — so I’m not sure that would help you much anyway!

 

[frogthroat]

I can't have pets at my apartment but all of your birds give me life. Bless them. They're so cute.

 

[bellbird]

Uuuuuuuh I’m actually not sure! 1/8-1/4 cup a day?

Ok all good :)
So birb eats everything ish you put out?