Which parrot...?

Pechow

YorkiePud wrote: »

He is fed on Nutri-Bird P15 tropical pellets ... they look like multi coloured bits of dried cat food ... !! He absolutely adores them though and although he has fruit also, parrots CANNOT absorb the vitamins very well from them that they need, especially calcium and without having calcium a bird's bones will shatter like glass (unfortunately, I know of a bird who died that way after mis-timing his landing and flying into his owner's shoulder instead of on it).

A lot of fruit and veg can be carcinogenic to parrots so I just give him carrot, clementine, satsuma and cherry tomatoes. Not that he needs them, as he gets everything he needs in his pellet diet, but it's nice for him to have some squishy messy food to play around with.
If you make your own food (and I wouldn't know where to start!) you might not be able to replicate what is in the pellets as it is scientifically developed to be nutritionally perfect for your bird's needs ... don't get me wrong, I'm not preaching at you, but I would definitely recommend a pellet diet with added fruit for interest just so you have the peace of mind knowing you're giving your bird all the vitamins etc it needs!

Sorry but this isn't true simply because we still aren't able to know what a bird's nutritional needs and diet in the wild actually are due to lack of observation and data. Added to this, the same pellets are fed to different species-they can't all possibly have the exact same requirements. I also have those exact pellets and am a bit wary due to the fact they don't list the exact ingredients on them ("Minimum 5% Fresh Fruit" "Cereals" "Seeds" - what kind?) : http://www.petzplaza-pet-supplies.co.uk/pet-shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1753

With Harrisons pellets, for comparison, the specific ingredients are listed, and it's the only organic pellet available. http://hungrybirdfood.com/complete-list-of-pellet-ingredients/harrisons-pellet-ingredient-list/

It's not really recommended to feed only pellets simply because we aren't able to know if the bird's nutritional requirements are being met or not. Thus the mix of pellets, fruit, vegetables, grains/beans/seeds/etc.

Mrs_justjohn

YorkiePud wrote: »

Hi there, I'm owned by an African Grey called Elvis ... *S* ... I spent a couple of years researching everything I could about them before actually going for one knowing I could give him everything he needed for a happy life.

I have had parrots before and consider myself to know "enough" about them to look after them correctly but even I would baulk at taking on a rescue parrot.
Not knowing what has happened to them, how they've been treated (or mis-treated) and knowing they are intelligent enough to remember past hurts and how it can affect their behaviour, I know I am not up to the job of taking a rescue on.
I have known parrots be in such a state of distress that they have started to pluck their feathers out or even started to self-mutilate. It's heartbreaking .. and all because of how they have been treated. So, as I say, that is why I feel I'm not up to taking one on and dealing with any extreme baggage the bird may have.

Sorry I have to address this. Being a rehoming officer for a parrot rescue charity I can talk facts.

Most of the parrots handed into us are well loved and cared for birds. They can be donated for a number of reasons. Death of the owner, change of circumstances of the owner, illness in the bird that the owner can not afford to treat, death of the birds bonded partner and the owner feels unable to take on a 'new' bird. Sometimes birds are donated as they were told by a breeder that the bird likes men and then it turns out that it hates men and adores women and of course the breeder isnt interested then....etc... In these sorts of situations you get a full history with the bird (often life long).

Don't get me wrong - some of our birds have been 'rescued' from less than ideal situations and some are 'escaped' birds and sometimes we won't have a history. However ALL birds are kept for a period of time in an experienced safehouse where their behaviour is monitored and assessed (a 6 page report is completed regarding the birds behaviour / likes / dislike). The rehoming process for our birds is very stringent and a 'problem or special needs' bird is NEVER rehomed with an inexperienced keeper. The full circumstances of the applicant is taken and a homecheck done to ensure that the bird is suitable for the applicant and vice versa!

YorkiePud_3

Pechow, the seed content in the NutriBird is unlike most of the seed you would buy in a pet shop or bagged seed in that, as part of the pellets, it is foil bagged and heat sealed.
I know a number of parrots that have succumbed to aspergillosis thanks to the filthy seed found in both pet shop seed AND also the branded bagged seed, so that was an important factor for me.

As with all things to do with parrots, people go with what works for them ... if they own parrots for a number of years and have no health problems at all, then they tend to stick with what they know and that is why it is important and great that, in threads like this, we can all say what we use and then the OP can look into it all and see what feels right for them, what they feel they would be happy to try.
It's not a case of saying "do this, this is the only way" ... it's a case of letting people know what is out there then they can make the eventual decision of what they go for for their own bird.

A lot of people tend to preach and say you have to do this, you have to do that ... which is quite wrong ... !!
At the end of the day, nobody is an expert on parrots ... we just simply don't know enough about them in their wild state to be able to totally replicate their diet etc ... but in my own opinion (not everyone elses as I cannot speak for everyone else or claim to know everything ...) I believe that a pellet diet is an easy way to get the majority of nutrients into them that they need.

Of course then, you go about adding other things to supplement that.

As you can see if you re-read, Pechow ... I do say that Elvis gets other fruits too. Had I wanted to carry on ad infinitum, I would have said he got hard boiled egg yolk mixed in with plain cottage cheese and other things such as spinach (always washed before giving it to him, thanks to some supermarkets rinsing such like in a weak bleach solution) ...

As I say, at day's end, everyone has their own ideas and I wish them all well ... if something works for you, then great, stick with it ... as every day passes there are new ways of thinking coming out about bird diets which is why you need to be on the ball and keep looking round to see what is being said. Because of this though, if you do buy a reference book, do check it isn't an old one because a lot of the original ideas of caring for parrots have been blown out of the water as parrots have aged and have been found to have health problems caused by certain diets/foods etc ...

See what I mean when I said it's a science ... ?!! LOL ...

Mrs_justjohn

YorkiePud wrote: »

I know a number of parrots that have succumbed to aspergillosis thanks to the filthy seed found in both pet shop seed AND also the branded bagged seed, so that was an important factor for me.

...

Aspergillosis is a problem and can be caused by dusty seed. The branded seed I use is tested for the aspergillos (states it on the sack). Another thing that people don't realise is that MONKEY NUTS are a major cause of Aspergillosis and are not a natural food for parrots yet you still find them in seed and are even given them by zoo's etc...to feed their birds!!

YorkiePud_3

Mrs_justjohn, I agree that some parrots can be rehomed happily but I also think that, in a rescue centre or a safe house, you just don't see the natural behaviour of a bird.

Whether they are cowed and nervous by being moved from their original home to there or whether the new noises of other birds affects them, perhaps being cared for by complete strangers, I have to say that in my own opinion (that phrase again, but just so you know I am NOT saying this is always the case and that it is just my own thoughts after being a parrot owner for over 20 years), I don't feel a parrot would ever show its true colours for you to be able to guarantee it will be fine.

I know people who have taken in parrots from what seemed to be the perfect home for them ... the owners seemed great, the parrots went to them, were lovely with them and all seemed well and puzzling why they were letting them go ... a number of months later when one bird was rehomed after showing such glowing behaviour with all and sundry it came into contact with, it managed to get out of its cage, flew at the dog (Great Dane), attacked its mouth and the dog ended up that afternoon being operated on at the vets for a broken jawbone.

My friend contacted the original owner of the bird to tell her what had happened and the owner just said, "oh yeah ... we used to have a dane that used to sit staring at the cage ... "
And that was that ....

Because parrots are so intelligent (as you'll know, I know), seeing a dog that looked the same as the one that made it feel threatened in the past just flicked a switch for it and the only thing the poor bird felt it could do was to defend itself from any perceived danger.

Yet, that bird has shown nothing but the greatest affection for my friend and happily flown to other visitors to her home ... there was just no sign whatsoever ... who could have known ... ?
This was the point I was making ... that a parrot can do a hell of a lot of damage and when you don't know what has happened to it in the past and how it has been, then I don't think you can rehome it and say "this one is a quiet/well-behaved bird" .... parrots are flighty ... if they take against a certain colour they can fly at someone wearing that colour and attack them ... even Elvis, who is an absolute joy and pleasure to own and who loves everyone absolutely HATES my mother and I cannot have him loose when she is here because this fabulously friendly little bird will fly at her face, claws out ... we can't understand it, there is no apparent reason for it because she has treated him with respect always ... she doesn't overcrowd him and she will sit and talk for ages to him but there is just perhaps something about the way she looks or perhaps it is her voice which reminds him of someone he was maybe afraid of before he came to me ... we'll never know ...

It sounds as though I am saying rescue centres etc aren't the place to go though and I'm not ... far from it, they provide a haven for birds that just cannot be placed in a home environment and when the only other option would be to have them put to sleep (by their original owners, I mean), then I would rather they went to centres ... but a lot of people aren't aware of the nature of parrots and what they CAN be like (even, well-loved, hand reared ones, not wild caught), then I would tend to recommend a baby that hasn't had any kind of imprinting, because if you end up with a bird that shows to have negative imprinting, cannot be handled and starts to self mutilate it is an ongoing heartbreak to try and keep it alive, infection free and to try to get it to feel safe ... not that it cannot be done, it can ... I have friends who have done marvellously well with birds as bad as that ... but it has taken years, not weeks or months ... I also have friends who have put in the same amount of time and would have given their right arm to bring a parrot round that was like that and unfortunately, the parrot has either self mutilated to the point where it had to be put to sleep or been so stressed out that it has just passed away ....

I'm not saying all rescue birds are the same .... I think I've made that clear and need to do so again ... I am just saying that, having been through all that with friends, it is only right to make people aware of what can happen if they take on a rescue bird ... some birds are just, unfortunately, passed on from pillar to post and will settle nicely when they realise the new home is where they're staying, but because a parrot has an ability to think and has the intelligence, mood swings etc of a young child, then I would always advise people to stop and really think if they could handle it if the poor bird turns out to be badly affected psychologically ... and, as I said, when they are in a centre or safe house I truly don't believe they are settled enough to show their "real" behaviour ...

No offence meant to the other parrot people and I certainly don't want to get into a war of words about who knows most/least ... *S* ... these are just my own thoughts, that's all .. !

YorkiePud_3

Mrs_justjohn wrote: »

Aspergillosis is a problem and can be caused by dusty seed. The branded seed I use is tested for the aspergillos (states it on the sack). Another thing that people don't realise is that MONKEY NUTS are a major cause of Aspergillosis and are not a natural food for parrots yet you still find them in seed and are even given them by zoo's etc...to feed their birds!!

I completely agree with you about the monkey nuts ... but I do know of birds affected (and eventually lost) who have been fed branded seed from reputable mail order companies and also pet supermarkets.

My vet told me that the worst offender in the "seed" world are sunflower seeds and a lot of seed mixes use that as the majority seed in the mix because it's so cheap.

A friend of mine will still burst into tears and say she "poisoned" her parrot for over 30 years by feeding him a seed only diet ... but as I said before, we just don't have the info until research is done and, as is often the case, a bird is found to have a health problem relating to its diet ...

Mrs_justjohn

YorkiePud

I don't think you have really understood what we are about...we are not a rescue centre...We do not have cages upon cages of birds that are 'unrehomeable'. Please visit our site and you will see what I mean. We have 100's of volunteers up and down the country that look after birds whilst they are assessed for rehoming. We have specialist homes for special needs birds and homes for noisy birds etc... homes for birds that for one reason or another can not be left on their own. Our aim is to rehome all birds that come to us but only ever to a home that is suitable for them.

Some birds can not go into a family home and those birds are rehomed to keepers of aviary birds.

Many birds will prefer men to women (or vice versa) some can be aggressive towards the 'sex' they don't like.....you will get to know this if you take a bird from us - this is not the info you will get buying from a pet shop or breeder (although don't get me wrong some breeders will try). What happens if you have parted with your £600 for a baby CAG from a pet shop only to find it doesn't like you? The pet shop will not refund and you are left with a bird you can not handle? Many people sell the bird on to 'recoup' their money and so the circle starts again..... I have nothing but admiration for people that hand their bird to us as they have put the birds happiness before money...

Also many young birds switch allegiance when they hit sexual maturity...a previous 'man lover' could turn into a 'man hater'....getting an older bird that has already been through this could often be better.

Mrs_justjohn

YorkiePud wrote: »

I completely agree with you about the monkey nuts ... but I do know of birds affected (and eventually lost) who have been fed branded seed from reputable mail order companies and also pet supermarkets.

My vet told me that the worst offender in the "seed" world are sunflower seeds and a lot of seed mixes use that as the majority seed in the mix because it's so cheap.

A friend of mine will still burst into tears and say she "poisoned" her parrot for over 30 years by feeding him a seed only diet ... but as I said before, we just don't have the info until research is done and, as is often the case, a bird is found to have a health problem relating to its diet ...

Sunflower seeds are bad because of the high fat content. Mine get sunflower seeds but mostly we sprout them...

YorkiePud_3

When I said that my vet said sunflower seeds were the worst for parrots, he meant re the aspergillosis. I know they are very fattening (in fact, he said if I MUST give my parrot them, to give a maximum of 6 sunflower seeds per day. He said because parrots love them, a lot of owners will use them as a bribe to get the birds to do what they want them to).
I just don't bother with sunflowers ... I don't want to take any risk and let's face it, there are enough risks we have to negate around the home anyway for our birds.
(God Bless the Vaporetto steam cleaner that doesn't need chemicals to clean ... !!)

Re rehoming from rescue centres and foster homes ... please don't think I am knocking them ... they do great work and it's not that I am saying you can't get a good, steady bird from them, but I think people need to go into it with their eyes fully opened to what can happen and need to know there are no cast iron guarantees that what they think is a nice quiet bird will be the same and act the same way when they get him or her home ... !!
As I said, you don't have this guarantee with hand reared babies so you absolutely don't with birds who have been passed around or brought in for re-homing.
That's just the point I was trying to make ... that, to go for a pre-loved (or not, as the case may be) parrot, be aware and prepared for what you might have to go through to help the bird over past-hurts, distress and any upset it's gone through. I admire anyone who does go that route because, as I said, in all honesty, I don't think I could.

Anyway, enough of that ... *S* .. to end on a happy note, OP I hope you haven't been put off getting another bird by our ramblings ... LOL ... and I hope you find the perfect bird for you and enjoy many years together ...!!!

~Chameleon~

My main concern re OP wanting another bird is her seemingly unsettled lifestyle if she's moving back in with parents and keeping the bird shut in her bedroom. What are her long term future plans and would they accommodate a possible 30-40yr relationship with a parrot, depending on species obviously!