Kathy M. has concerns about her Molting IRN (Indian ringneck) parrot
Agni, our 12-year-old IRN parrot is molting.
We live in California. This one is a big molt, so he looks really scruffy.
I’m wondering if there is anything particular in food or supplements that could be helpful.
David R. wants to know more about an Amazing Moringa Presentation I've been meaning to ask this for some time now, What would you think of adding fresh Moringa to…
Debra C. wants to know how to care for the special needs of an older budgie,
I love all of the wonderful info about taking better care of my birds that I am able to take away from your newsletters.
But I am especially wanting more info on how to meet all the needs of my precious 9-year-old Goofus.
She still gets around in her cage pretty well most of the time by climbing, She is a fast climber. Sometimes she flies, I have added extra perches across the length of the cage so she doesn’t have to fly far.
She seems to have her good days and her not-so-good ones. But she seems happy. She and my much younger male budgie Lavender have fallen in love and are mostly inseparable.
Lisa N writes,
Hey Catherine hope all is well I need your help again I thought by now I would be a better mommy 🙂Our Reggie is molting big time she loves taking a bath every day I know it’s a rough time for birds but we also have a Pineapple conure and yes one is a boy and Reggie is the girl.
Yvonne S. wrote:
I would like to ask you a question about my parakeet.
I have been thinking she could use a vitamin/supplement.
She has a very good appetite and is active but she is eating like nobody’s business.
I eat mostly organic pasta, and fruit, and a lot of baked potatoes.
Also some fish now and then.
The first answer to the Quora question:
I don’t know but I would recommend joining one of the many parrot groups on Facebook. I would think he would be eating very often. When my eclectus was 5 months he would eat a meal and then 15 minutes later be hungry again!
Well, that was helpful ~ not.
Facebook groups are the absolute worse place for pet bird information. If the information were ANY good we would not see 60% death by starvation of pet birds in the US.
Another open-ended question from Quora ~ sigh
“That depends”, I respond,
Actually, not all engineered food (pellets) for birds and parrots is the same, and is as far from the truth as can be.
I like to remind human-pet bird caregivers that there are no pellet trees in the rain forest.
Howards asks,
Can she have home-roasted garlic?
No Howard, birds cannot have garlic.
It is toxic to them in any form be it powdered, raw, cooked, or processed.
Jen M. writes,
Hi, we just wanted to thank you for the Hagen Tropican recommendation!
We ordered the sticks.
Our macaw just loves them and they smell amazing!
I feel so good knowing that I’m feeding them healthy food.
I had no idea that Zupreem had sugar in it and all that color can’t be good.
We also ordered the Prime Vitamin per your recommendation.
Julia M. asks,
Top of the morning! Could you tell me what a “good” diet is for a three-year-old Eclectus?
I have had him since the middle of his weaning.
Editors note ~ about 20% of parrots are sexually dimorphic meaning you can tell the sex by the bird’s color. Males are green, females are red, so Julia can use the pronoun “him” with certainty. Endnote
