broken feathers

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Newbirdmom
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broken feathers

Post by Newbirdmom »

Oscar had broken wing and tail feathers. I got him 3 mo ago he was about 7mo then. I thought it was becouse of the small cage he was in. Is there something I should feed him to help make the feathers stronger? He has no tail and his wings look nasty. I thought it would get better in the big cage he is in now but they still look bad. I do not think he was fed veggies I put them in there and he wont eat them. I still give it to him. I did find he loves fruit so he does get that. Is he lacking in something?
kyria
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Post by kyria »

He is very young and he needs to go through his first moult before he will regain his new feathers, so the bigger cage is a great start, just be patient for his new feathers to come in, it will take a while. Youngsters are often playful and clumbsy and will break feathers, even end up sometimes with no tail at all, a real duck bumb.

Get him a calcium perch and some cuttlefish to chew on, would be great if he would eat his green beans too, if he won't eat vegi's try giving them to him in different form.

Mine love corn but to get pickle started I would get creamed corn and mix it with milk arrowroot biscuit that was soaked in a little water first, they all love this mushy baby style food.

Capsicum and hot chilli peppers are also another favorite.

Try steaming the vegi's so they are soft like the fruit is. If its still no go, maybe you could try cutting chunks of vegies, steaming them and rolling them in his seed, for one of his feeds, this will help disguise it, he will go for the seed and hopefully get a taste for the vegi.

Until he is eating his freshies, I would suggest getting a vitamin water additive, I use Whistler Bird Vitamins, 12 drops to 100 mls.

Good Luck and let us know how he goes.
Angie
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Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. {Pro 10:12}
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Lauren
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Post by Lauren »

Exactly what Kyria said. Up the calcium and vegies vegies vegies. Ive noticed youngens are lil more adventurous and will try eating everything.

I too have noticed the lil ones are a lil clumsy and can break feathers easy. Yoda broke a tail feather when we brought him home but it eventually fell out. Since then Yodas been eating alot of brocolli, lots of greens and is now on pellets. Also likes the calcium perch and hes looking alot better.

Hope the feathers mend and keep us updated. :wink:
"Jibby aka Gilbert" Indian Ringneck 13 years "Charlie" Rex Rabbit 1 year
Pounamu
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Post by Pounamu »

You could also try giving Oscar a bath or spraying him with lukewarm water each day. Moisturised feathers are less likely to break, as apposed to dry brittle feathers. If you already spray Oscar thats great, just ignore this post.
Newbirdmom
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Post by Newbirdmom »

He does get spayed but not eveyday I will start that thank. I am going to try more on the veggie thing. All you sugestion are wonderful I just know he was never given them befor I got him. He does eat his cuttle bone and I got a miniral block he likes but I will also get him that pearch. Thank I just want him to look better he looks like a mess.
kyria
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Post by kyria »

He will in time and now that he is with you, being a diligent and caring owner that you are, finding out exactly what to do for him .. Kudos to you darling.
Angie
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Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. {Pro 10:12}
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pearl
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Re: broken feathers

Post by pearl »

[quote="Newbirdmom"]Oscar had broken wing and tail feathers. I got him 3 mo ago he was about 7mo then. I thought it was becouse of the small cage he was in. Is there something I should feed him to help make the feathers stronger? He has no tail and his wings look nasty. I thought it would get better in the big cage he is in now but they still look bad. I do not think he was fed veggies I put them in there and he wont eat them. I still give it to him. I did find he loves fruit so he does get that. Is he lacking in something?[/quote]

i know exactly how you feel
this happened with my rose too
and the problem is that if they are not fed veggies before they dont like it
i have tried almost all the methods to make her eat the veggies but NADA yeah she loves her fruits but when it comes to veggies she hates it
when i keep givving it again and again and she knows that there is no way out she starts taking it from me and then throwing it on the floor
i did the steaming and disguising the veggy thing but she can spot them in her seeds and throws it on the cage floor
i also boiled the veggies and then mixed it with mashed patatoes (which she loves by the way )and gave her but to my surprize she actually scraped every last spot of mash patatoe off the vegies and left them intact
the only thing i havent tried is mashing the veggies with the mash patatoes
she might eat it who knows may be not
BUT OUR ATTEMPTS WILL GO ON TO FEED OUR BIRDS HEALTHY
:) :) :)
Lauren
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Post by Lauren »

Pearl, It sounds harsh, but I had the same problems with a spoiled Jibby. He refused to eat anything new. So I took his food away for a few hours before I fed him the new vegies. It was the only food he was getting until he atleast ate something I gave him. I figure birds in the wild wouldnt eat as much as housed birds. So I gave Jibby the option, eat it or no yummy/favourite food for the day/night. He eventually gave in and ate what he had to. Except he still wont touch banana. :roll:
"Jibby aka Gilbert" Indian Ringneck 13 years "Charlie" Rex Rabbit 1 year
Dani03
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Post by Dani03 »

Hey...a great source of calcium is almonds...1 or 2 at the most daily will help!

There should be a post around here of some great things to feed the fid

Dani
Newbirdmom
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Post by Newbirdmom »

I think that would be awsome. I never know what is good for him and what is not. I was eatting a banana pepper and wanted to see if he likes it so I only gave him a little bit not much at all and he seemed to like it. He loves strawberrys that I know and melons. I just like to know for sure what is good and what is not.
pearl
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Post by pearl »

[quote="Dani03"]Hey...a great source of calcium is almonds...1 or 2 at the most daily will help!

There should be a post around here of some great things to feed the fid

Dani[/quote]

ohh.. really :shock:
coz i always thought that almonds and peanuts are very fatty traets
and we should not give a lot of it to them :?: :?: ISNT IT
pearl
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Post by pearl »

[quote="PsittaculaChick"]Pearl, It sounds harsh, but I had the same problems with a spoiled Jibby. He refused to eat anything new. So I took his food away for a few hours before I fed him the new vegies. It was the only food he was getting until he atleast ate something I gave him. I figure birds in the wild wouldnt eat as much as housed birds. So I gave Jibby the option, eat it or no yummy/favourite food for the day/night. He eventually gave in and ate what he had to. Except he still wont touch banana. :roll:[/quote]

:o :o :o THE THINGS WE DO FOR OUR BIRDIES
HEHEHEHE...
can you imagine
i wonder wot your irn must be thinking
"oh i better eat up the vegies or my :evil: mommy will not give me my yummy junk food"

:wink: just joking
hope you dont mind
but its a good idea
i might give it a try
kyria
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Post by kyria »

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This is just a basic list from what my birds love. And then I forgot to add into that HOT CHILLIES ! they love hot chillies. But don't kiss them afterwards OUCH!
Angie
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Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. {Pro 10:12}
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God Bless


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TropicalAussie
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Post by TropicalAussie »

Wow, that's a great help. Thanks Angie
Lauren
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Post by Lauren »

Yep, eat it or starve technique works well. I don't have children but its what mums always do. Eat your vegies or no dessert! :lol:

What a great idea writing what your fids can and cannot have. I've typed up 'rules of the flock' for my fids! hehe.
"Jibby aka Gilbert" Indian Ringneck 13 years "Charlie" Rex Rabbit 1 year
Newbirdmom
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Post by Newbirdmom »

That is an awsome list thank you so much.
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