Kim M. requests advice,
I have been reading your emails for quite some time. I finally need some advice.
I have a 28-year-old Blue and Gold McCaw. She has been fairly happy over the years. She was my son’s bird until he got married and didn’t take her with him. Now she has to deal with me and misses my son very much but now has resigned to the fact I have to be her person.
Dorothy T. is seeking a pet bird keeping solution
Henry a Male, by all means, started wanting to feed me, he became obsessive.
Then my other bird.
Not a buddy, but someone he talks with, in my room.
A Rainbow Lory.
Barbara T. wants to know
My darling birdlings, parakeets, happen to both be female. One, Moonshadow, is approx 7 years old…a rescue.
When her partner passed last year, after the funeral, Moonbirdy was sooo lonely, depressed, inactive.
We, in mid pandemic, bought a pet shop friend for her. Of course, the pet shop attendant assured my husband Mercury was Male.
Kristy L. asks,
How can I help my budgie stop laying eggs?
We have allowed her to have two clutches and I can’t have any more babies.
Our vet wanted a depo shot which we did once with the vet’s advice and I don’t like what it did to her personality.
It’s been three months and now she has laid 2 eggs.
Mary S. is concerned,
Can prolapse in parakeets be prevented?
Dear Mary
Most important is prevention – assure that your birds, especially breeding hens, are in good health and are receiving optimal amounts of calcium and other minerals and vitamins. Upon noting a prolapse, you can try lubricating the tissue with a water-soluble product, such as Wet Original.
Gabriella M. expresses these thoughts,
I’ve always had parakeets or budgies growing up.
I’ve always had one male and we always bonded.
I taught them to speak they all knew many many words they were adorable so I’m in the market for another budgie or parakeet but could you tell me the difference?
I have my partner’s Double Yellow Head Amazon (Hen) he had her 35 years, (he figured she was about 5 yrs old when he got her), I was with him the last 25 years.
He passed away on 1-14-20 Congestive Heart Failure.
I had never handled her I was afraid of being bitten, but I started just after he died I figured it was not would she bite me but when & how hard. In the last year, she has only bitten me maybe 7 or 8 times and only drew blood 3 times.
Male cockatiel attacked female and drew blood so I separated them, but now the female laid an egg and I’m afraid of putting him back in.?
Don’t put them back together in the same cage yet. The hen does not need the male pestering her.
She may continue to lay eggs without him. You can remove the eggs as they are laid.
To start with, begin understanding the scope for your choice of pet birds. Here is a list of more than 500 species you can choose from each having its own nuances.
I stress making this distinction because so many people talk about things like “make sure you don’t get a bird larger than a conure or a parakeet”.
If you break down that statement it’s really nonsensical because conures range from 64 grams (green cheeks) to 280 g (Patagonians) the size of a Timneh African Grey.
Cecelia B. writes,
Hi, Mitch and Catherine,
I’ve been living with conures for thirty-five years and am seeing behavior that is new to me.
I have two male Sun conures who are brothers.
They are about fifteen years old.
Until a few weeks ago, they were a very happy bonded couple, mating frequently, grooming and feeding each other, sharing a cage, and getting along just fine.
One of them, Max, recently started pulling Min’s head feathers out, pecking Min’s head and leaving bloody spots.