mulching????

[shannarae]

hi guys,
i have three birds and i think they are parakeets. i got four of them as a gift a few years ago and one just receiently passed. My birds took a few days to start singing and making noise again but now over the past week they have been loosing their feathers a lot. they have a bath but seem to never use it. they only just want to sit on the edge and poop in it. and the water is warm so its not like its cold. plus i read that they dont like a lot of water in their bath so theres not much at all. i guess what im asking is that why all of a sudden my birds are loosing feathers and some tail feathers. please let me know anything so i know what to do or if its ok for them to do it in january.
thanks
shannie

[T.W.]

It could be they are MOLTING ? They me going through a natural molt, they have molting food at the pet store, you could add to their diet. When you say warm water, is it warm tap water, as in you add hot tap water to make it warm? If so, never use your hot tap water for yourself with food or your birds to drink and play in. I warm up cold water in the microwave, making sure it is not too hot, if I want to give mine warm water.
My keets like bathing in their water bowls, with fresh cold water, just makes me have to change the water more. Hope this helps you, I'm sure someone will come along with even more ideas for you, good luck!
Tina

[Lori~D]

Umm, Why should we never use hot tap water?

[T.W.]

Because it picks up lead from your pipes. It's fine for cleaning, not for cooking or drinking. At least that's what I've always heard.

[T.W.]

Okay I looked it up to see if I was crazy or not ( I am) but, here is what I found:
Hot water generally comes from a hot water heater, that may contain impurities that should not be injested.
Some of these impurities might be metals from household plumbing
that are concentrated in the heating process.
Additionally, these impurities from the household plumbing dissolve more rapidly in hot water than cold water, causing the amount of impurities to be higher in hot water.
Thusly, I do not use hot tap water for myself or any of my pets, as far as drinking or cooking. And when I shower my birds in my shower, I use only cold tap water, then return them to their tropical rooms ASAP

[shannarae]

thank you guys for your responce. i dont use tap water just filted water but they still dont go in it. dont know why they just dont. i have another question too whats the differnence between a parakeet and a budgie. i dont know which one i have. and my second question is one of my birds gracie is very mean to one of the other birds biron. i feel bad and shes even mean to me now. she didnt use to be and im not sure what to do about it. poor biron just sits by his mirror alone and is always alone. what should i do??

[greencinacheeks]

well...mirrors can be a problem. the birds may actually bond with there mirror image, I would take the mirror out, because they can become bonded with it and NOT you.

Technically a "parakeet" is just any parrot small to medium size with a long tail, so many different species of parrots can be called parakeets. But, the classic "parakeet" is the budgie(budgerigar), that's what most people call a parakeet.

There are 2 "breeds" of budgies, the American and the English. Sometimes they call American's parakeets and English budgies. They're the same species, but the English budgies have been bred to a larger size to conform to a show type.

~Nate

[shannarae]

i would take the mirror out but like i said on of my two other birds dont like the other one. they are mean to him and he always sits alone. thats why i bought the mirror so he has someone to at least want to be by him.

[greencinacheeks]

hmm...well the other two might have paired up and so just don;t want to be with him....is there any aggression on the other two's part toward the loner?

trying putting them on a perch in the shower...luke warm water...they need to bathe and if they won;t do it on there own then you might have to step in.