| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 700.1 | BEAKS, etc. | BRAT::BOURGAULT | | Thu Jun 25 1992 15:42 | 20 |
| Susan,
As for Max's long beak, I found that finches do get overgrown beaks
at an older age. I had a Pintail Wydah whose upper portion started
to overlap significantly. I trimmed it with a small pair of manicure
sissors and it worked splendidly. He was much happier afterwards.
What sometimes occurs if the beak is left unattended, is that it will
start to crisscross with the lower mandible. Then the jaw is impaired
and permanent damage can occur in time.
As for the little female. It sounds as though she might have internal
problems, but it is hard to say. Check to see if she has any scaley
mites around her beak or legs (crusty flesh colored patches). That
sometimes occurs. Keep her warm and comfortable, give her a good
balanced diet with vitamins and if she doesn't improve, take her to
the vet.
Best of luck with your buddies!
Denise
|
| 700.2 | | HYEND::C_DENOPOULOS | WHO.....MADE.....YOU!!! | Thu Jun 25 1992 17:15 | 5 |
| I have a lava type rock in my cages and all my birds use this constanly
for their beaks. I don't think the mineral rock will have the same
effect.
Chris D.
|
| 700.3 | We Went to the Vets! | MILPND::SIPILA | Can I go home now? | Fri Jun 26 1992 12:54 | 49 |
| Well, yesterday afternoon we went to Avian Specialist at the Littleton
Animal Hospital.
Max got his beak trimmed. He was checked for mites, etc., and got a
clean bill of health except for his skin being a tiny bit dry.
Maggie has internal problems. Her abdomen is swollen. She had an
antibiotic shot - and has to take this for 6 day in the drinking water.
Hopefully this will help the problem. She also is low in calcium and
will be taking Nekton MSA.
She is not egg bound! At first Dr. Sagar thought he felt an egg, but
after examining furhter decided it wasn't an egg.
They were so strssed out from the visit that they just sat on the perch
- back to me all the way home and did not peep! We got home and I put
their tub on the side of the cage but they only took big drinks of
water and then cuddled up on the perch and went to sleep.
I cleaned up the cage later in the evening, and neither of them would
utter a peep. They usually play and talk while their cage is being
cleaned.
This morning Max did call to have the cover taken off, but Maggie
stayed in her bed. Before I left for work I put them on the sunspace
(we have a passive solar envelope house with a greenhouse type thing on
the front) and she did give me a weak little peep and got out of bed to
investigate the treats I left for them!
I will try the lava rock. They don't seem to interested in the cuddle
bone anymore! At the Littleton Animal Hospital they suggested putting
small tree branches in the cage for them to perch on. The branches
will help wear down their toenails. I'll try it, but the sandpaper
perches work fine.
I hope this antibiotic works for Maggie.
I felt bad about putting them through this ordeal, but it had to be
done! I hope things will be back to normal when I get home tonight!
Thanks for everyone's interest and advice. I enjoy hearing from
everyone.
Regards,
Susan
|
| 700.4 | | HYEND::C_DENOPOULOS | WHO.....MADE.....YOU!!! | Fri Jun 26 1992 13:58 | 6 |
|
You're lucky you only have to put the antibiotic in the water. I had
to give it to one of my cockatiels with an eye dropper. She didn't
like that at all and didn't make it easy for me either!
Chris D.
|
| 700.5 | | BULEAN::MAHLER | DECnet for OpenVMS Alpha | Fri Jun 26 1992 14:32 | 7 |
|
I'd be wary of a prescription for putting antibiotics in
the drinking water.
Michael
|
| 700.6 | Why? | BUSY::TBUTLER | | Fri Jun 26 1992 15:57 | 4 |
| RE: .5 Can you be a little more specific? Why would you be
wary?
Tom
|
| 700.7 | | HYEND::C_DENOPOULOS | WHO.....MADE.....YOU!!! | Fri Jun 26 1992 16:51 | 5 |
|
Probably because you have no way of knowing how much the bird is
getting.
Chris D.
|
| 700.8 | | BULEAN::MAHLER | DECnet for OpenVMS Alpha | Fri Jun 26 1992 17:26 | 13 |
|
RE:.7 Exactly.
Cheapo vitamins and tetracycline additives that you buy
over the counter and are put into water do more harm than
good, espcecially with regards to the antibiotics.
Without a realiable dosage, your bird may wind up with a good
load of strain resistant bacteria.
Michael
|
| 700.9 | To Much Antibiotic???? | MILPND::SIPILA | Can I go home now? | Mon Jun 29 1992 14:20 | 30 |
| I have a syringe to measure the dosage of the antibiotic, but something
is wrong and I think it is the medicine that is making Maggie sick!
Maggie isn't doing well at all, so although there are only two days of
medication left I am going to stop giving it to them tonight!
She wasn't as sick when I took her to the Vet as she is now! She sleeps
a lot, and sits in the sun. She hasn't bathed since Wednesday which
leads me to beleive she hurt her wing when she got a way from the Vet
hit the wall. She can move the wing, but is favoring it. She still
eats and drinks.
I hate to see her like this. It tears me apart! She was such a happy
little bird before this! I don't know what to do for her!
Max is okay. No worse for wear. His beak is going to be fine. He is
super upset about Maggie and can't understand why she won't play!
I guess all I can do is hope for the best and take the medication away.
Hope this is why she is like she is.
I can't wait to get home today! Hope the day goes fast!
Regards,
Susan
|
| 700.10 | Maybe change it? | DKAS::FEASE | Andrea Midtmoen Fease | Mon Jun 29 1992 15:15 | 18 |
| A chicken is a larger bird, but still ...
We use water-soluable antibiotics whenever we have a sick chicken
- so far we have "saved" three of our birds. I think the antibiotic is
dosed by using an average of water consumption, i.e. one bird will
drink x amount of water. Of course, being an average, it isn't
completely accurate, but it's close enough. The antibiotics we use
(aureomycin) can be used in the same strength for either adults or
chicks.
As for Maggie being sicker, maybe she needs a different antibiotic?
I know I can take penicillin and amoxycilin just fine, but give me one
dose of erythromycin and I'm sick as a dog ...
Good luck with Maggie - hope your vet can help her out!
- Andrea
- Andrea
|
| 700.11 | | TRUE::MAHLER | DECnet for OpenVMS Alpha | Mon Jun 29 1992 16:01 | 12 |
|
RE:-2
Being able to measure the amount of antibiotic you can
administer to the water doesn't help with making any exact
measurement with regards to the amount the bird is ingesting.
Was a culture and sensativity done? What type of bird is this?
Michael
|
| 700.12 | No Sensativity Test | MILPND::SIPILA | Can I go home now? | Mon Jun 29 1992 18:40 | 30 |
| He took a sampling of the droppings. That was all - and they were
normal. She is a Zebra Finch which makes it difficult to administer
to because she is so tiny.
I think maybe she hurt her wing when she took flight in the Vet's
office. She never ventures beyond the security of her cage.
She is sitting in the sun either on a cup or perch and is careful not to
make any sudden moves that may hurt. Yesterday afternoon she did move
it a little bit. She seems to know how to take care of herself.
She eats, and drinks as usual. Fights with her brother now and again
but is careful not to really go at it. She gets around in the cage but
hops more than flies. When I uncovered them this morning she had
been sleepng part of the night on the perch.
Hopefully when I go home tonight her wing will be better. Seeing that
it is a gorgeous day I will put them outside when I get home so they
can take advantage of some late afternoon sun.
Thanks for everyone's suggestions and advice. If anyone else has
anything to add, please do so in this note.
Regards,
Susan
|
| 700.13 | Parakeet Beaks Growing Rapidly!! | GIAMEM::CKELLEY | | Tue Jun 30 1992 14:42 | 12 |
| I have 2 parakeets, aged 4 and 5. In the last 6 months their beaks
have grown significantly longer. They have several items to file their
beaks on, including lava stone, terra cotta perches, tree twigs, etc.
I am hesitant to spend $50 to have them examined. The females beak was
trimmed about 2 months ago, but has grown back. Any suggestions??
(I am a temp, Judy Woo, but using a logon with the name of Chuck
Kelley at AKO1). My DTN is 244-7937.
Thanks for any ideas!
|
| 700.14 | | DKAS::FEASE | Andrea Midtmoen Fease | Thu Jul 09 1992 17:09 | 5 |
| Hi Susan,
How's Maggie doing??
- Andrea
|
| 700.15 | Not To Well...... | MILPND::SIPILA | Can I go home now? | Thu Jul 09 1992 18:42 | 52 |
| Thank you for asking.
She isn't doing to well. She sleeps a lot and has not taken a bath
in two weeks - as of today.
I put the tub on the cage this morning before I left in hopes she will
go in! She still eats and drinks and peeps and flies around the cage.
She certainly isn't herself since the visit to the vet.
I don't think her wing is broken as she can fly around the cage but
still favors it. It might just be badly bruised from hitting the wall
at the vets office.
The vet said she could have internal problems which I guess she must
have. She is so little to have all the tests that bigger birds go
through for this problem so I am going to take each day at a time.
Another visit to the vets would be to stressful and probably fatal for
her.
She wasn't like this when I took her and Max to the vet! I am not
blaming him for how she is now but am blaming myself for putting her
through the examination, shot, and handling which she is not used to.
One person I talked with at a local pet store said she might be still
stressed out. But after two weeks? She does talk to me om occassion -
when she wants something but nothing like before.
Max doesn't understand why she is acting like this and has a tendency
to poke her every once in awhile. I don't want to separate them
because it would cause them both more stress. If I see she is getting
worse then I will.
I don't know what to do. I am giving her vitamins, and stress medicine
like I was told. And they are getting good, healthy foods along with a
lot of love.
I just hope by some miracle she gets better and is her old bossy self
once again.
Thanks,
Susan
|
| 700.16 | | BULEAN::MAHLER | DECnet for OpenVMS Alpha | Thu Jul 09 1992 19:19 | 7 |
|
What vitamins and "stress medicine" are you giving it?
It talks?
|
| 700.17 | No, She Doesn't Talk Words! | MILPND::SIPILA | Can I go home now? | Thu Jul 09 1992 19:43 | 13 |
| No, she doesn't talk! Finches don't talk - not words anyway! The
different pitches in her peeps mean different things. You know by the
sounds of her peeps, if she is mad, hungry, happy, etc. After having
them both for 2 1/2 years you figure this out!
I am giving them both Vitaflight in the drinking water and Ornabac on
their seeds. Both recommended by the vet.
Regards,
Susan
|
| 700.18 | | HYEND::C_DENOPOULOS | WHO.....MADE.....YOU!!! | Thu Jul 09 1992 20:39 | 5 |
|
Does stress medicine work as a depresent?? Maybe it doesn't need it
anymore.
Chris D.
|
| 700.19 | | MILPND::SIPILA | Can I go home now? | Fri Jul 10 1992 12:22 | 34 |
| I don't know. It might.
Last night they were separated because they had a fight! I guess it is
common in the animal world that when one is sick or injured others will
gang up on him/her.
I think maybe this will help. Atleast Mag will get some rest and not
have to be on her guard for Max.
Max's beak has grown again into a very sharp point. He gave her an
awful peck on the back sometime yesterday and then last night he
started on her again.
Now she will be able to rest and hopefully get to feeling better.
Maybe this was a good part of her problem.
Max's beak is another problem. He has all the "right" things in his cage
to file it down. And he uses then lava rock and perch paper. I hate
the thought of having to take him back to the vet and have it trimmed
again!
Well, we'll see what week-end brings for them. I think maybe Maggie
will feel a little better now!
Thanks for everyone's interest. I'll let you know how things go.
Regards,
Susan
|
| 700.20 | Poor Maggie! | DKAS::FEASE | Andrea Midtmoen Fease | Fri Jul 10 1992 13:57 | 25 |
| Hi Susan,
Sorry to hear that Maggie isn't doing too well. I think
separation at this point is better - I know with my chickens when one
is sick the others know it and will beat up on her. I have one chicken
that regularly gets beaten up every two to three months - don't know
why the others suddenly go for her. I hate to have her caged, as I
must when she's healing, so I try to balance the free-roaming positive
with the beating up negative :-( . But I'm getting off the track ...
With Max's beak - can you hold him and clip his beak yourself? I
have an electric debeaker for the chickens, but with the baby (and
teenage ;^) ) chicks I just use a regular dog nail clipper. Not like a
people nail clipper but a clipper that you squeeze, it has a
guillotine-like blade (sounds much worse then it is ;-) ) and make a
nice, clean, quick cut, not a squeeze cut like a people clipper. Do
you think you could use that? Or, if you're not too far from me, I
could try it for you?
Hope that Maggie's feeling better real soon - maybe with the
separation she can rest up better, and heal quicker! If you keep the
two close enough to see/hear each other but not close enough for Max to
get her, maybe that'll lift her spirits too!
- Andrea
|
| 700.21 | If it makes your bird better - it's medicine. | BULEAN::MAHLER | DECnet for OpenVMS Alpha | Tue Jul 14 1992 16:22 | 17 |
|
RE: .17 I know finches don't talk, I was joking. Guess I should
use those smiley faces I see so much.
> RE: .18 Does stress medicine work as a depresent??
> Maybe it doesn't need it anymore.
Ornabac is simply a trade name for lactobacillis, a naturally
occurring bacteria in birds GI tracts. It is not a medicine.
At least not in the traditional sense of the word. You can
buy it wholesale for much less than what Ornabac costs. Fort
Dodge Grain in NH carries it. It's part of my maitainence
formula for my birds, given daily (you don't need to add much -
a little dab'll do ya).
Michael
|
| 700.22 | | BULEAN::MAHLER | DECnet for OpenVMS Alpha | Tue Jul 14 1992 16:46 | 13 |
|
By the way, make sure she'd getting enough protein and
calcium. Scrape some cuttle bone over her seed to make
sure she'd ingesting it. There's also a nice little product
made by L&M farms, available at Pet Supply Depot (and
other places I'm sure) in Shrewsbury that contains insects,
which finches could use.
My canary loves it.
Michael
|
| 700.23 | Sad News | MILPND::SIPILA | Can I go home now? | Tue Jul 14 1992 17:34 | 20 |
| Well, I am sory to tell everyone that Maggie passed away Sunday night.
She was a very sick little bird!
I won't go into details as it is still hard for me to deal with.
Max is doing okay, but is really confused and stressed out. He
knows that she passed away. He is eating and singing now and again.
He called to her last night which really broke our hearts. They were
so close!
We are undecided yet as to whether or not to get him a playmate. I
think we will wait awhile and see how quickly he recovers.
Thanks for everyone's interest.
Regards,
Susan
|
| 700.24 | Sorry | GERBIL::MAGEE | | Tue Jul 14 1992 18:11 | 5 |
|
Sorry to hear about your Loss! :-(
chet
|
| 700.25 | | DKAS::FEASE | Andrea Midtmoen Fease | Wed Jul 15 1992 12:39 | 9 |
| Susan,
I'm really sorry to hear about Maggie. I was so hoping that she
would pull through.
My condolences to you and Max. I think that Max will need a
little time to grieve as well.
- Andrea
|
| 700.26 | So sorry! | SALSA::DEFRANCO | | Thu Jul 16 1992 23:41 | 8 |
| So sorry to hear about Maggie. Finches don't do well alone so you may
want to consider a new mate for Max's sake.
It's always painful to loose a pet but always keep in mind Maggies
joyful qualities and it will bring you happiness.
Jeanne
|
| 700.27 | Thank You...... | MILPND::SIPILA | Can I go home now? | Fri Jul 17 1992 12:37 | 16 |
| Thank you.
Max is doing okay so far - but it has only been five days. He
understands that she is gone.
This morning he seemed very good. He certainly yelled at me when I
came downstairs this morning! He has always been a happy little guy,
but if I see that he is not doing well, I will get him a playmate.
We miss Maggie so much! She had such a sweet personality and was a
such a little chatterbox!
Regards,
Susan
|
| 700.28 | singles will survive too | DECLNE::TOWLE | | Tue Jul 21 1992 17:31 | 5 |
| rep .26
When we moved to Georgia, three years ago, we gave my sister-inlaw
a single owl finch. This female finch is still doing great,
according to my wifes sister!
|
| 700.29 | That's Encouraging To Know! | MILPND::SIPILA | Can I go home now? | Wed Jul 22 1992 12:02 | 35 |
| Well, it has been a little over a week since Maggie passed away and Max
seems to be doing very well! We hope he will do as well as your
sister-in-laws owl finch!
Max seems quite happy although I know he must be lonesome during the
day when we are at work because at night when we get home he is so
happy to see us! He flutters around and peeps like crazy and begs to
go out on the deck. He begs to go out by doing a funky little
dance and stretching his neck up!
In the morning he peeps to be uncovered, eats his breakfast, then begs
to go on the sunspace for the day. If it gets warm out there, a
fan goes on and cools it off! His tub is also secured on the side of
his cage in case it gets unbearably hot for him!
He is taking care of his beak now by himself. I put a lava stone in
his cage like some one from this file suggested and he is using it! Last
night we noticed his beak was shorter - less pointed and the piece
growing down on the side was worn down to almost nothing!
We hope he continues this way and lives for a long time! The vet said
he was in excellent health. If however he shows signs of really getting
lonesome and depressed we will get him a playmate.
We still miss Mag terribly!! She was so cute and had so many cute
little bossy ways!
Regards,
Susan
|
| 700.30 | Update on Max | MILPND::SIPILA | Can I go home now? | Wed Aug 26 1992 12:07 | 30 |
| Well, it has been a little over a month since Maggie passed away and
we still miss her very much!
Max has taken a new lease on life and is a very happy bird. He seems
to be doing GREAT!
I put a mirror in the cage last week, and he loves to sit next to it
and admire himself, cuddle up to it, or fight with it! He also carries
on great conversations with it!!
He has taken care of his own beak, and it hasn't grown grotesque like
it did over a month or so ago. His feathers are tight and glossy and he now
enjoys eating fruits which he didn't before. This week he has peaches!
After she passed away, his personality seem to change. We never
realized what a sweet little guy he really was! "Sweet little guy"
is also a "super spoiled little guy".
At night he is VERY HAPPY to see us as he knows he can boss us around
and get what he wants!
So, hopefully he will continue on being a healthy and happy bird for a
few more years.
Regards,
Susan
|
| 700.31 | | MCIS3::PDALEY | | Fri Apr 09 1993 16:46 | 10 |
| I know this is note is being added "late" but I wanted Susan to
know that finch can live long lives - even without a mate. I still
have my little finch which I bought when my daughter was a freshman
in HIGH SCHOOL - my daughter is now 25 years old - and I still have the
same finch. I had purchased 2 at the same time, and one died two years
ago. I was almost positive that Dee would die right after her longtime
partner Dum died. But here she is - still hopping around her cage.
Hope Max continue to do great.
|
| 700.32 | "Hello Dee," from Max | BAGLDY::SIPILA | Can I go home now? | Fri Apr 09 1993 19:50 | 19 |
| That would make Dee about what - nine or ten years old?
Max is doing great! It won't be a year until July that Maggie passed
away and I know there are times when he is lonesome.
His personality seems to have blossomed after he got used to the fact that
he was alone.
He is so sweet, and so spoiled! Even though he is unable to talk, we
know by his actions and tones of his peeps what he wants and needs.
I hope he lives as long as Dee has lived.
Thanks for your note.
Regards,
Susan
|
| 700.33 | | CARTUN::MISTOVICH | depraved soul | Fri Apr 09 1993 18:55 | 7 |
| Susan, my zebra finches are currently raising 5 babies. If you'd
like, you (and Max) can have one once they are weaned. 2 are spoken
for already, so I need to find good homes for the other 3. I'm not
sure of their sexes yet, but I suspect I've got a mix of boys and
girls.
Mary
|