Hi there! Our Mojito is almost 6 months old and I had a few questions about things he is going through.
I have noticed that his beak is growing VERY rapidly! You can actually visibly see how much it has grown since we got him back in September. It seems that his beak is flaking alot and more recently has a small chip in it. Is this normal? Should I be concerned? Will it gorw out/back?
I was also wondering if there are adjustments to his diet that I could make to support him during the stressful moulting time.
The chip looks superficial so it should grow out. It didn't bleed, right? I wish I could think of a reason it happened. He may have hit it on something during a night-fright? I don't know.
Softwood perches are important for your IRN to gnaw on to keep his beak in good shape.
For moulting- lots and lots of fresh veggies of all kinds (note: corn is NOT a vegetable, it's a grain). Variety is important so they get all the nutrients they need.
Fruits and berries.
Feathers are made from a protein, keratin. So we usually increase their protein intake during moulting, either through beans or cooked eggs.
You can buy bean mixes; just soak over night, rinse, simmer, rinse again and serve.
For birds that are picky with their veggies, you can make a mash by putting everything through the food processor and mixing it all together. Freezable, I like putting them in ice cube trays and when frozen putting the Mash-sicles in ziploc freezer bags.
Or, for a cooked mash, make some mashed sweet potatoes (nothing added; sweet potatoes are important for vitamin A) and mix in fresh diced veggies. Freeze in ice cube trays and bag later.
What I love about the mashes is you can have one serving easily availible and you can warm it up if you want. ^_^
Though the cooked mash may reduce the amount of some nutrients and will probably destroy most of the natural enzymes. So they get most of their veggies fresh. I never had to make the uncooked-food-processor mash, since ours aren't picky.
Oh, and you can add seeds directly into the mixes. Peppers are great (parrots LOVE them!) and I add some cayanne pepper every other batch for some spicy flavour.
Each bird is individual and will like their veggies chopped individually. In our flock, Tsume loves everything finely diced and Hane likes something he can hold.
Kabobs are helpful. I use mine for their fruits, since they have to work harder for it. They're much less likely to work as hard for their veggies!
We do all this as a normal part of their diet, but increase their protien a little for moulting.
Interesting note: Artificially coloured pellets may cause the ends of the feathers to be darker or pale in releation to the rest of the feather- besides making their poop stain your fabrics...
A friend of mine fed her caique Harrison's Organic diet but he always had pale feathers and was undersize. I told her about the sweet-potato mash (she hates cooking and won't chop veggies every day) and he eats it every day now. Since he's been on it, his colours are vibrant and he's a good size. Even his vet noticed the difference!
A bird can live on pellets, but he won't thrive. Birds need fresh foods: veggies, fruits, beans.
I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
Thanks a bunch for all the tips. Mo is pretty good at eating his veggies and fruits. He likes is brown rice, broccoli, peas,anything leafy and green that he can rip into tiny pieces. I have tried some mushy stuff but he turns his nose up at it.
He does not seem to have delveloped a preference to small or big peices of food. Maybe I will make a round of bird mush when I am making my next round of baby mush for our 6 month old daughter . Adding seeds to it might just be the enticement he needs...seeds are like mojito candy We do give him wood chewies. They seem to be the only type of toys he likes...I'll have to check our bird supplies for more wood perches.
Thanks for resting my mind at ease about the beak thing. It never did bleed nor has it seemed to cause him any discomfort. But I am Mom therfore I worry.
You guys are great. Thanks a million for the helpful tips !
We do give him wood chewies. They seem to be the only type of toys he likes...I'll have to check our bird supplies for more wood perches.