verrry worried owner =(

[xoparakeetlover]

hello everyone!, i am a newbie and i just learned about this site and it's really helpful for me.

i have a parakeet that i got for christmas last year and at first i loved him, and still do but i had left the cage in a room with my aunt's dogs, and somehow they got to him (peanut) and ripped his tail off and all his feathers, it was a nightmare and i know when you read this you will think of me as a bad owner but after this happenede i have been giving him extra love and extra everything and i take better care of him but i feel like it's not helping.

we ended up moving so he is no-where near any animals now, it's just him but
he still bites very badly and i try to get him not to bite me and i sing to him but nothing i do seems right. i feel like a horrible owner because of what happended but i don't know what else to do? when it comes to his nails, im not sure how to cut them? and how to bathe him "properly" because he seems to really hate me but i don't want this. !!!! :eusa_naug :eusa_wall

if anyone could leave me advice like how i can "interract" with him more, and make sure he is happy and what kind of treats do they like?

he also has these tiny little like feathery things coming out of his head and im worried that he is plucking so much he is going to go bald

please help me ! i don't want to be a bad bird owner>
Please !!

[xoparakeetlover]

he has never been the "vet" ..

as for his food, he eats mostly seeds and i usually give him bananas and sometimes grapes, but he doesnt like bananas anymore? hmm well he also eats muller sprays i think their called, he loves them but are they bad for him at all?

i stopped using the grit a LONG time ago, i never really used it, it's bad for birds anyway.

as for his cage, i am working on that, he has a small cage, and i want a big big cage for him because i want him to feel comfortable because he obivously doesnt like coming out so he can stay "safe" in his cage. so i am going to get him a new cage, his sleeping hours are from 9 pm - 6 am. about 9 hours, because when i get up for school, i take his towel off.

i wanted to know why ? * shouldnt you put MIRRORS in birds cages? i have 1 in their right now and now im afraid i am damaging him even more, boy i gotta work on the whole bird thing.

i was also thinking? should i get him a buddy, like a whole new bird, for him to play with and be around because i am gone from 6 am - 4pm for school and he gets no attention!! except sittin in my room and to me thats BAD !

so if i got him a new partner would that help? but is it to late becuz i already have had him by himself for 2 yrs.??

thanks for ur time

[guanohappens]

<NEVER use grit for a companion bird. It will eventually cause crop impaction and death.>

No grit for PARROTS, but companion doves and pigeons (and chickens, if anyone has a pet rooster or hen) require grit for their digestion, not having muscular gizzards (proventriculus) like parrots. I THINK emus and ostriches also use grit (pebbles?) but not sure about that (I don't remember from my finch days whether they and canaries need it, either; although I provided it just in case). Careful using "bird" to mean "parrot", because there are other families of birds with differing care needs kept as pets and new owners could misconstrue what is basically correct information.

*stepping down from soapbox*

I would suggest that she spray the 'keet daily while the new feathers come in to aid the sheaths' coming off and help relieve the itching. No, we all have unforeseen events occur with our companions, so I don't think anyone is judging (if anyone is, they perhaps should focus a little more on themselves and their pets and get off her case!)

Remember that any clawing or biting of a bird constitutes a true veterinary emergency. It happened (once!) to my 'tiel when she was my only bird and I immediately rinsed her heavily to remove the toxic cat saliva and inspected her carefully for wounds. It would have been best if I had gone ahead and taken her to the vet, but at the time I didn't, not having found wounds. My bigger parrots do a fine job of keeping the cats "in line" after some carefully supervised "play" in which cats learned about big strong beaks.

[danforth3]

Have your tried step up training him? That ususally helps develop an interaction between yourself and the bird and helps create a bond as you are working one-on-one with the bird in a quiet setting.

If you need tips, I can post those I wrote down when I hand-tamed my parakeets. They work very well.

[captlen]

I can only add to the fact that you should not be too hard on yourself. It is also fortunate that you are on here as you are getting a lot of good advice. That is one reason I love this board, in general everyone wants to help not judge. Your mistakes you can learn from and by bringing them to this board you not only get the advice you need, but for those of us reading about your experiance we learn also. So in that regard thanks.

I do recommed the vet visit just to make sure. You have been given some good advice.

[The Outlaw]

Blake:

Dogs, people and cats all have "toxic" saliva to birds. They have different rods than we do.

THE OUTLAW

[TeaRose]

hi :)
After reading your post I saw no one addressed your mention of clipping your birds nails. I took my first parrotlet to a "certified" avian vet. The assistant took my baby for a nail trim & wouldn't let me be there. They brought him back, we left. I put him on my shoulder and he fell right off! They had clipped his nails straight across,(very short), and left no tips for gripping! I let them know my feelings. Since then I take my baby to another place that sells/grooms birds. They trim them right..at an angle and to a tip. No way would I trim his nails or wings..I prefer to let people in the know do it..but that's just me :)
Enjoy your little friend and be patient..it takes time to regain confidence.
And please do not feel bad..at least he wasn't hurt :)

[Rue]

I would suggest you try getting your budgie a friend - if he's not interacting with you, it would be of great benefit for him to have other company - in the wild budgies live in rather large flocks. It's not nec. true that they become less tame if they have a friend...depending on the nature of the birds, they might each even become more tame...

In your case, I'd strongly suggest that your second budgie is hand reared and already stepping up and interacting with people. Two 'wild' birds are much harder to deal with. Birds also learn by watching. If your first bird sees your second bird happily interacting with you, chances are it will start to want to interact with you too (but of course, no guarantees).

...it is true that you will have to spend time with BOTH birds, and preferably some one-one time with each bird (I suggest you take each bird, one at a time, to a neutral room, like the bathroom (shut the toilet seat!) for at least 10 min. a day to start with...until both birds are comfortable with just you.

Birds need to be introduced slowly...and bare in mind that the two birds might never get along, but can still live happily together in neighbouring cages. Keep them in side-by-side cages for at least 2-4 weeks until you see whether they wish to live together.

One last point, with budgies, you're best off with a male-female pair, or two males. In most cases two hens will not get along.

Good luck!

[paultheparrotlover]

Getting another bird will be company for your bird, but he won't bond to you as much. But you can still watch their antics and they'll keep each other company.