Oh boy! Blue got to go to the birdy doctor yesterday for the very first time. He weighs 105.7 grams. He screamed quite a bit when he was held. He's a bit of a brat. He wasn't scared or even breathing fast. He was simply very MAD! And he made sure everyone knew it!
I am lucky enough to live within 45 minutes of a great veterinary college. They have a beautiful veterinary teaching hospital with a really nice exotics/avian division. So, birds are seen by the veterinarian who is accompanied into the room by an assistant and a student. Both the student and the assistant ended up getting bitten by Blue. He "vice gripped" both times. He tends to not use the sharp tip of his beak. He rather clamps his beak completely around a finger leaving the tip on the other side to ensure the finger can't be pulled out so easily. The assistant was a minor bite. The student is another story. Blue chomped down on her skinny little finger and wouldn't let go. The poor girl screamed her head off. She completely panicked until Blue was literally pried off of her finger. She was a very sweet student from abroad. I imagine she is on the phone today buying a ticket home and planning to change her carreer plans. He did not break skin on either of them. The Dr explained, between giggles, that in his opinion Blue actually is far from being a vicious bird. He felt that Blue was very calm. It was simply a matter of Blue being unhappy with the exam and the 2 fingers were offered so generously as outlets to his anger.... (At that point I failed to successfully supress my own giggles).
Anyway... Blue had his wings clipped, leg band removed (Dr says they are the biggest danger a pet bird has to deal with), and toenails trimmed. He is perfectly healthy. I was informed that I am offering way too much food and giving too many choices at once. The vet said that I'm feeding the right things but not the right way. Essentially... when I offer large amount of so many things at once it would be comparable to offering a small child a big plate of both a 5 coarse dinner and dessert at once and telling him "just eat whatever you want and leave the rest". I see the point so clearly now and boy do I feel silly for not realizing it myself. Of course it is up to me to offer the complete balance in portions small enough to ensure he eats what he is given. Then if he seems hungry still... give a bit more. This fid raising is tricky business.
He said that Blue's wings were actually trimmed before but had grown in. He left the last 3 or 4 feathers untrimmed at the outer tips. This vet feels that leaving the overlapping long feathers at the tip serves 2 purposes. #1 - he says it looks more pretty, birdlike, and natural. And #2 - he explained that the last feather at the outer edge of the wing is special. Like a thumb. And he says that if you clip the last 3 feathers, that tip one grows back in faster and longer. He said this makes it more likely to get injured. So he recommends leaving at least 3 unclipped for safety and appearance. Fine with me.
I also asked about quick stop. He prefers it in powder form but said you shouldn't apply it to broken blood feathers. It will stop bleeding of a blood feather, but only until the bird bumps it and it starts again. I had no idea that you are actually supposed to pluck out a broken blood feather. Glad I asked. I have so much to learn.
Blue is very happy to have the leg band off. Actually I am glad too. He had gotten it stuck on his toys twice and managed to avoid injury while we untangled his leg. Very scary situations. My daughter had a starling rip it's own leg off in a panic in a similar situation. It was terrible. So, Blue tangling the band on toys twice really scared me. Once he caught it in the bend of a goofy link and once a pinata shredder fiber got stuck in the opening. Needless to say I'm happy that threat is eliminated. The vet says 70% of all bird leg injuries he sees is because the band got caught on something. The vet says that, since he recorded the band number in the medical chart as proof that Blue was purchased through legal channels, it is fine to remove it. And he feels the risk of Blue escaping and having no identifying band is less likely than his risk of injury because of the band.
I realize that I've practically written a short book here. I guess I'm excited about knowing Blue is fine. Also the vet says that all the sneezing Blue is doing is very normal. Besides low humity before I bought the humidifier, there was his habit of dunking his head in the water dish. Also he says they have a lot of feather dust in the morning. His theory is that sneezing is fine, but discharge is not. That is good to know.
And as a final note - Blue sulked all evening after yesterday's appointment, but he is happy again today (with the aid of a new toy for the spoiled baby!).
A rather long telling of Blue's first visit to the Vet
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Poochletty
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:26 pm
- Location: Idaho
Blue sounds a bit like Yoda.. a brat! hehe. The poor student. That cracked me up! Its funny when people realize just how much pain those lil beaks can cause. So happy all is well and Blue got over his sulking. 
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Poochletty
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:26 pm
- Location: Idaho
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Poochletty
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:26 pm
- Location: Idaho