Questionable Behavior

[Tiffany and Mitcheri]

Hey all...my new toucan is a much happier bird than he was a week or so ago. However I have a question or two for you all. This bird was not kept very well before and I know he has never had a proper diet. There was rice in his dish when I got him. He is now on his fruit only diet he should be on. After not really knowing how to eat fruit he has decided that papaya is his one and only food he will eat, no banana, no grapes, no apple, nothing else but papaya will do. Is this normal? Also seems to have a twitch, every 3 to 4 seconds he shakes his head. Don't see signs of any mites, could it be just poor skin condition from his previous diet? On a lighter note, he now has a cage that has many perches....we had to show him how to come down because he went up in the morning and didn't come back down till we showed him!! He has since mastered it but it was kind of sad to think that he didn't even know how jump down. Thanks to all for your help.

Sam the Toucan
Ozzie and Harriot Cockatials
Pete, Tweet, Zeet and Mel Budgies

[birdlady49]

It sounds like you've made remarkable progress. Maybe enjoying other fruits will come shortly. Be patient. I don't know about the twitch but you should give more than serious thought to a new bird checkup at your avian vet. You're in Trindad?

[Tiffany and Mitcheri]

Yes he has made some really great progress and I am really enjoying this sweet bird, never new a toucan could be such a nice bird, however messy with his food he may be. I wish I could tell you that there were some really top notch avian vets here on this island but I would be telling a fib(yes I do live in Trinidad). There isn't really any "avian vet" here. They can't even spay or nueter a dog or cat here until it reaches six months, which I know is unheard of in the States. There is one or two bird enthusiasts here that I could try to get in touch with but, really, the number of well educated bird lovers on this site would be just as much help to me. One thing I have learned since living here is if you want to have your pets you have to learn to diagnose and treat as many problems as you can yourself. Being a third world country they are quite a bit behind.

[tielfan]

Since relatively few people have pet toucans (they're VERY expensive in the US) it would be a good idea to join a forum specifically for toucan owners. There's one at TOUCANS_RAMPHASTIDS : TOUCANS_RAMPHASTIDS that seems to be pretty active. I don't know if they're any good or not, but it was the most active group I could find!

There's also some information on toucan care at Toucans EmeraldForestBirds.com This is a breeder's website - I don't know if they'd be willing or able to answer questions for you. There are a lot of toucan-related links at Pet Toucan Group They have a Yahoo group at toucans : Pet Toucan but it isn't very active.

[catschair]

Sounds like you are making great progress. Rice is actually not bad for birds...just not a complete diet!

And I am betting a few of our members would gladly give up their vet for that Trinidad weather the way this winter is starting out in the States!

[DanaK]

Hi!
I recently saw your post on your toucan! I belong to the yahoo toucan group and you will find it truly beneficial. I have 2 collared aracaris and they are just really great birds. By the way, rice is a big NO-NO. You need to supplement your birds diet with Mazuri along with his fruit, otherwise he won't live very long.

Dana

[Tiffany and Mitcheri]

Hey Dana,
Just wanted to know what that stuff is. I live in Trinidad and Tobago and have never heard of it, I also don't have access to a lot of the things that you all feed Toucan there. He is on as natural a diet as he can get as he is in one of his native countries. He is well more than a year old, perhaps two, and has never had the stuff you mentioned and so far is fine. As a matter of fact he is 100% better than he was before I got him. As you saw in the post he was fed a mostly rice, macaroni and bread and milk diet. An occasional fruit I think but I am not sure as his past is sketchy. He was poorly lacking in color and substance when i got him but has brightened up considerably in all aspects. I am curious what Mazuri is? And if he isn't going to live very long without it why has he lived this long on what I consider to be a horrible diet before I got him? Just wondering......

[Tiffany and Mitcheri]

Ok...I looked it up and I found it.....Mazuri low iron pellets for soft bills...I wish I could. Can't afford to ship it here....I will be traveling to the states in a few months and will buy some to bring back with me. I must make mention that pellets were mentioned to me before and I do understand their importance but Trinidad isn't up to US pet standards. There are no pelleted diets down here for birds, any birds, when you go to the pet store you buy seed mix. If you really want to do as good as you can for you birds you buy the more expensive ones that have a specific blend for your bird type. That is what I get my cockatiels and my budgies. It has seed and some pellet mixed in and I am sorry to say that is the best I can do. I feed different fresh fruit and veggies to them all also. I also make the birdie bread the I found on this site and they all love it. There is no Toucan Pellets anywhere on this island, even the zoo just feeds fruit mix. Any suggestions would be nice....always open to suggestions........