Our Winged Friends

Bird Keeping Journal Page 4:

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My post to the bird hobbyist bulletin board about getting a new budgie:

2-24-03 Congratulations! How wonderful you've joined the bulletin board to share your stories with us and learn... I loved the response you've already gotten from the bulletin board. I just read a really sad yet good to know article in the Companion Parrot Quarterly magazine about a parrot that got a seed only diet and how that affected its health and ultimately loosing a leg. I had heard that a seed only diet is bad but I hadn't ever read exactly why. It makes sense of course that they need fresh produce and sprouted seeds instead dead dried old ones.

I just got my first budgie last spring, BeBe. I took the bars out of the bottom of the cage so she can just walk on the bottom. I got several food dishes so I don't have to clean them every morning I can just pull the previous one out and add a new one.

You can order many things on line and save not just time but money. You can order organic pellets on line like through http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com BeBe likes hers in more of dirt consistency so we're going to try the mash one next. You can order books on line like Sally Blanchard's stuff I have links to her sites on my web page below. You can buy organic seeds that you can easily sprout for your new bird which REALLY increases their nutritional value on line from http://www.sproutpeople.com/birds.html

I also have organic produce delivered to my house every other Tuesday for the whole family, humans and pets. This way I always easily have some interesting safe organic produce to feed BeBe.

As far as toys go, I read this great book Parrot-Toys & Play Areas by Carol S. D'Arezzo & Laruen Shannon-Nunn that explains the different play styles of birds and how to make toys for them. It's really great! I rarely buy toys for BeBe now I more often make them. I bought her a few to start with a couple plastic chains [that I tie pieces of corn husks and beads to], a variety of perches of different sizes to exercise her feet, cuttlebone, various produce clipping devices to clip food to the sides of her cage, and a small travel cage for taking her to the vet.

If you haven't found an avian vet in your area you can search for one on line as well at http://www.aav.org/. I took BeBe in for a full wellness check after bringing her home. She just went back in for her animal exam recently when we learned how to file her nails. My vet will also clip her wings for $10 with no additional office fees.

I also have a variety of frequently asked questions web sites linked to my page which I just built for fun and to share:)

Best,
Leilani
 

2-26-04 Last two days BeBe has decided she loves her new sprouted seed! Yah! She eats it and seems to prefer it! We had a lovely shower together this morning *grins*

2-27-04 Why go to organic sprouted seeds? I responded on the budgie cafe board with:

Yeah! Thank you for your kind words. Yes, I am trying to ultimately get her off non-organic food sources. I don't want her eating genetically altered or non-organics because of the pesticides and other weird stuff they do to our food & seeds. Birds like lots of animals store bad things like chemicals and pesticides in their bodies and since budgies seem to have high incidents of tumors I thought it best.

And because sprouted seeds have a higher nutritional value, fresher, and more natural.

Like that sprouted seeds have:
Vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K
Calcium, Carbohydrates, Chlorophyll, Iron, Magnesium, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc
All Amino Acids
Trace Elements
Protein: up to 35%

Regular seeds sometimes have vitamins sprayed on them and since budiges hull their seeds none of that is getting into them. And you have to wonder how good are sprayed on vitamins rather than getting them from a real live plant [which what an sprouted seed essentially is.]

The bird mix I'm giving her has like 36 different kinds of seeds which is way more diverse than any other variety I've fed her. And now, they're her prefence woohoo to natural!

I got some for us humans and the other critters as well. I realized I was paying $20 for barley grass vitamins for our cat and dog and I could just being growing them for them.

I guess I'm sort of a crunky granola kinda gal,
Leilani

3-2-04 Post to Bird Hobbyist about covering cage:

I've been covering BeBe at night. One thing she did have was a few night frights not sure if she'd fall off her perch or have bad dreams, but she'd wake up scared and fly around the cage frantically. I'm afraid she would have hurt herself. I'd wake up and take her out of her cage and calm her down til she was ready to go back. But as for prevention, we got her a night light just a little one and I still cover her but the night light leaves some light at the bottom of her cage and she's only had a night fright once since we got it [and we'd forgotten to turn it on.]

Good luck and have fun!
Leilani

3-25-04 New behavior. We're sitting watching TV with BeBe out on my arm and she nestled into me snuggled down actually lying on me with her head resting on my arm. So cute!!!!!!!!!!!! 

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