Friday, August 31, 2007

Bird Bread "Secret Recipe"

This recipe was given to me by a gentleman who has been successfully breeding birds for over 50 years. I have tried it on my own flock and it really works! They love it! I have used it for several years now in addition to their regular diets to help bring them into breeding condition as well as once the babies hatch the parents love this to feed the nestlings! They seem to prefer this over pellets, millet sprays, or even seed mixtures to feed their babies. Give it a try and let me know what you think!




  • 2 cups cornmeal

  • 2 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned kind)

  • 1 cup cooked brown rice

  • 1 can pumpkin puree (100% pumpkin, not pie filling)

  • 1 cup apple sauce

  • 1 cup dandelion greens (or kale, not spinach it inhibits calcium absorption)

  • 1 cup cooked red beans

  • 4 eggs with shells

  • 1/2 cup oil

  • 1/2 cup hemp seeds

  • 1/2 cup Niger seeds

  • 1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder (I use Rumford brand in the USA)


Place everything in a food processor or blender and mix until egg shells are well chopped and everything looks well blended. Bake at 350* about 45 minutes or so until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. I bake this in a 13"x 9"x 2" glass cake pan. You can then cut it into 12 equal pieces and each of those pieces into 6 equal pieces. (see illustration below)


I find that each set of 6 small pieces fits nicely inside a sandwich baggy with a zip top. I can then stack the baggies neatly in my freezer and only take out as much as I need each day.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Clipping Cockatiel Wings, Nails and Beaks

I was looking for something the other day and I came across this article on the National Cockatiel Society's website. I had just recieved a question about this very topic so instead of re-inventing the wheel I just got permission to post it here! By the way NCS is a great place for finding information on all things Cockatiel! Here is the link:



http://www.cockatiels.org/index.htm



Clipping Cockatiel Wings, Nails and Beaks
Written by Nancy Kizuka for the NCS Magazine and © 1997 by NCS



Clipping Wings
Nothing is more beautiful than watching your cockatiel fly. Nothing is more heartbreaking than watching it fly outside.


I hope that most of us clip wings. I know that some do not. It doesn't hurt, nor is it cruel. I feel it is more cruel for a predator to end up with a 'tiel snack.

I do however, let my babies (of all species) learn to fly and land safely. Once they have mastered that, their wings are clipped. Now, before you show members start getting the feathers raised, remember, we are talking about pet cockatiels.

I prefer to clip evenly on both sides; that way the bird can control its descent. Try clipping the first 5 flight feathers. You don't want the bird to drop - just glide gently to the floor. Continue one feather at a time, until the bird cannot gain altitude.

Your bird will need to be clipped again after the next molt. Be careful, sometimes those feathers can sneak up on you. All it takes is 1 feather on each wing for a cockatiel to be able to fly.




(Permission to use photos from Kaytee, September 27, 2006.)

When clipping these flight feathers, be careful not to clip any growing feathers. You will recognizethese blood feathers from the others since you can see the dark blood area in the shaft.

If you are not quite sure you can be your bird's barber, contact your avian veterinarian or local pet shop. Most will do this grooming for you for a nominal charge. Many will give you hands-on experience.

Clipping Nails
Nails need to be clipped when they are becoming snagged on toys, cage covers or clothes. I use a human nail clipper or baby nail scissors, and take off just the tippy-tips.

All nails have a blood supply. If you nick into this blood supply or quick, have some Quik-Stop or Stay on hand. If you do not have these commercial products on hand, flour or corn starch will work. Apply this with gentle pressure until the bleeding stops. Occasionally the nail gets cut too short and these products don't work. I like to use silver nitrate sticks to stop any bleeding. They are available from your avian veterinarian.

The proper size perch can help keep nails at the correct length. The tips of the nails should touch the perch. You can also use concrete perches, pedi-perches, sandy perches, hard wood perches or any of the other conditioning perches available today. Using a variety of perches also helps the bird stay comfortable since they are on their feet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It also helps to prevent early onset arthritis.

Keeping Beaks Trimmed
Beaks do not need to be trimmed under normal circumstances. Birds that are have a chronic illness, a previously injury to the beak or a nutritional deficiency may occasionally need their beak trimmed by an avian veterinarian.


I had only one cockatiel that ever needed her beak trimmed on a regular basis. She was an older bird with liver disease. Her upper beak was trimmed every other week or so.

Keeping a cuttlebone, a mineral block or small bird lava stone in the cage will assist in keeping the cockatiel's beak at the proper size and shape. Toys and other bird-safe objects to chew on also help with this condition as well as prevents boredom.

If you think your bird's beak may need to be trimmed, please check with your avian veterinarian. I'm sure they will be happy to do this for you and teach you how to keep your bird's beak in shape.

Editor's Note: A bird's beak contains a blood supply as well as a sensory organ at the tip. This tells the bird whether what he has in his beak is hot or cold, and basically whether it is food or not. To damage this sensory organ would mean that the beak will not regrow normally and could pose a threat to the bird's ability to eat normally. Please do not ever try trimming your bird's beak yourself. Take it to your trusted avian vet first for an evaluation.

Now What? My bird just laid an egg!

This is a question I hear via email and through the forums all the time! Most owners are surprised to learn that their sweet little "Sunshine" (often believed to be a male!) can lay an egg often without the benefit of a mate in the same cage! But single parrots, large and small, can indeed lay an egg or two (or 6!)

This is more common in some species of birds than others. For example, cockatiels and lovebirds seem particularly prone to chronic egg laying. Smaller birds tend to do this more often than the larger parrot species, maybe because they have grown more accustomed to breeding in captivity.

As the owner of a single bird that just laid an egg you have every reason to be a bit worried. For one thing, continual egg laying can sometimes lead to calcium deficiency and/or egg binding (that is when the hen can't lay the egg because the shell is malformed or too soft from lack of calcium.) . Either one can be really dangerous for the her and can even lead to her death in some cases. That is why bird breeders always supplement their birds with calcium during the breeding season.


The other thing that happens during egg laying is that hens will often become aggressive when the hormones that trigger breeding kick in, and they become overly protective of their eggs. ( Think feathered piranha!) Fortunately, Your sweet "Sunshine" usually reappears once her egg laying cycle is over.

In order to try and stop your bird from laying eggs, it helps to understand what can trigger it! There are certain things that help bring a bird into "breeding condition" so that she begins producing eggs. In the wild these things include the lengthening of days, the rainy season, and the availability of certain foods with which to feed their young. Breeders often work very hard to get these conditions just right to help their birds begin producing eggs. When a bird goes into breeding condition, hormones are released that start the cycle of producing and laying eggs.


So when breeders want their birds to start laying, they gradually increase the number of hours that the birds have light, increase the availability of fresh foods and increase the amount of rainfall (or baths). I've found that if a pet owner does just the opposite, it usually stops the egg laying cycle or prevents it from starting altogether.

For owners who want to be try and stop it before it starts, or at least decrease the chances of their single bird ever laying eggs, I recommend no more than 10-12 hours of light each day. In all but the most stubborn birds, this will be sufficient to prevent the onset of egg laying.

To try and stop egg production that has already begun, I would suggest immediately making her days shorter by turning out the lights after a 8 to 10 hour day. Also, I would stop giving daily baths (try to use a drinking fountain instead of a water bowl as most small parrots will happily bath in their water bowls) and cut back on fresh foods. I would also immediately begin adding a calcium supplement to the bird's diet. Once the egg laying has stopped, regular bathing and fresh foods can resume, and you can slowly increase the amount of light to 10-12 hours a day. But keep a close eye on things and switch back to shorter days and fewer baths if needed.

Special note about lovebirds: Lovebirds actually line their nests with bark and leaves in the wild. In captivity they happily make do with their paper cage liners. Try switching to some sort of particulate bedding on the cage bottom to prevent her wanting to tear strips of paper and tuck them under her wings to carry back to her nest. Aspen shavings, or corn cob bedding work nicely. What ever you do don't let her near the phone book!!!


Also try to totally change up the layout of your bird's home. Redecorate by moving the perches around, or even better replace them with new different styles of perches. It helps to have a couple of different sets of perches in a case like this. Then you can switch things out every week or so, to keep her guessing! Try the calcium perches, rope perches, manzanita perches, regular dowel perches of different diameters, check out your local bird store or even places online that carry a good supply of bird products (like drsfosterandsmith.com) Try to have a variety to switch in between. Also keep her toys on a constant rotation, and always in a different place within the cage. The idea is to keep her so busy exploring all of the new fun stuff that she doesn't have time to concentrate on wanting to breed!
Every once in a while, a hen will continue to lay egg after egg even when the above steps are taken. If this happens with your bird, you should discuss the situation with a good avian vet. It's possible that the vet will suggest a hormone shot to get the egg laying stopped.

Finally I am always asked "but what about the eggs?". Everybody has their own ideas about this, but I would probably throw the eggs away, and try the things I suggested above. However if you choose to leave them and allow your hen to incubate, after a few weeks to a months she'll usually loose interest in them and go one with her life as normal. But be sure to change things up some or she'll just assume that batch was full of "duds" and start laying all over again! One more thing to consider, if you do remove her eggs and leave everything else the same, often instinct kicks in to replace her lost egg, which can only make the problem worse. Some people recommend taking the eggs as soon as they are laid and then following the advice given above to try to stop the egg laying cycle. Some feel that removing the eggs upsets the bird, but I have never noticed that to be the case when I've removed eggs in the past. However, you should listen to both sides and do what you feel makes the most sense for your parrot, just like anything else the choice is yours to make
.

I hope that helps some of you! I'd love to hear your comments with your experiences in this matter.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Cockatiel Body Language

Have you ever wondered what you cockatiel was trying to tell you with her body language? Here is a list of the most common things she may be "saying"

  • Has crest all the way up = Usually means scared or surprised. It can also mean she is excited
  • Has crest is flattened against the head = Usually means she is angry, if she tries to bite or hiss at the same time, definitely angry. Sometimes sucks feathers in and looks skinny.
  • Suddenly stands really tall and "skinny" with crest raised= surprised/startled.
  • Bobs her head = in a recently weaned bird, it usually means she's hungry. In older birds, it might mean that they want attention or are trying to feed you as a sign of affection.
  • Holding wings away from chest slightly raised.= They usually do this when they're showing off and bragging. Usually accompanied by whistling and singing. Generally a male behavior
  • Panting while holding wings away from body= Bird is overheated. Provide a cooler environment immediately. A bath or shower helps too!
  • Bows head and keeps it down= She is asking to have her head scratched
  • Leans forward with wings held slightly out = Usually it means she wants to fly somewhere (often towards you) but isn't confident enough to take off. An un-clipped bird would usually fly without hesitation, you see this more often in pets with their wings clipped
  • Holds her wings outstretched all the way when standing on top of the cage/gym or your shoulder = Claiming territory, stating "this is all mine!"
  • Bird pecks or bangs beak on perch, table or you= similar to the point above. Mostly seen in male cockatiels. Don't challenge him by tapping finger in front of him unless you want a full scale confrontation!
  • Steps back and forth (dances) very quickly often chirping = bird is very eager. Often done inside the cage when the bird wants to come out.
  • She puts her beak on your finger before stepping on = this might look like she is going in for a bite, but she's actually just testing the your finger to make sure it's sturdy, or she's using it for balance while climbing on.
  • Grinding beak = content and relaxed. Often heard while bird is sleeping or resting
  • Sticks her chest or beak into your face = she wants to cuddle.
  • Turns her head sideways and tilts it up or down = looking at something above or below them
  • "Wags her tail" when you pet her back = this is more common with mature female birds. She is ready to breed, it might be a good idea to get her a mate, or she might start laying eggs on her own (unfertilized)
  • Closes eyes often with head turned back over shoulder = sleeping, often stands on one foot
  • Stays puffed up for long periods of time (often in cage or in corner) = Probably feeling sick, needs to see a vet
  • Yawns several times in a row = often done after preening, possibly readjusting her crop or "clearing her throat". Either way, it's normal.
  • Shakes head rapidly = if done while eating, it could mean that the food has a surprising taste, temperature, or moisture level. If done when listening to the sound, it could mean that it's a tad too loud or sharp or high-pitched, or just that it's an interesting sound.
  • Wipes or rubs head on back = it's a normal part of preening. Feel that part of their back, and your fingers will get very powdery. They're distributing that stuff to their head.
  • Stoops down low and often gets a bit puffy = this is a sign that your bird is about to go to the bathroom.
  • During a bath, gets very puffy and holds his wings out, shakes head etc. = she is enjoying her bath!
  • During a shower, she looks like she's falling asleep = again, she's enjoying herself!
  • Sticks her toe in nose, then sneezes = She is just scratching face, this is normal
  • Has slightly puffy face/ears when listening to something = bird likes what she's hearing! Will often learn to repeat these things
  • Raises both wings above back = Just stretching/exercising
  • Holds out one wing and one foot behind him = stretching

My Feather-Brained Idea!

Welcome to my new blog! I would like to provide a highly educational site where everyone from the newbies to the vetrans of the hobby can find something that sparks their interests. I hope you visit often and that you find something new every time you stop by!
Rachel!