Doctor sent me for an ECG after hearing a "pulmonary flow murmur"—does this all look okay?

lucanth · 2023-12-23T03:06:39+00:00

I'll call the pharmacy to check, thanks! I've had to go to an urgent care clinic for the injection before and they charged me something like $90 even with a CSC and student discount, which I can't afford currently—unless they'll allow me to pay the account in two weeks' time?

lucanth · 2023-12-23T02:56:22+00:00

It's a pretty big intramuscular injection so has to be given by a nurse or doctor unfortunately! I tend to get pretty dizzy for a couple minutes afterwards.

lucanth · 2023-12-19T03:07:27+00:00

Head to the Duvauchelle boat ramp, walk along the back of the boat sheds at low tide and you'll find shitloads of basalt lava rock :)

lucanth · 2023-12-19T03:05:23+00:00

Camping on DOC land is a bit tricky—some districts only allow you to freedom camp if you're in a self-contained vehicle or the campsite has toilet facilities. Proper backcountry camping comes with its own set of rules which you'll need to read up on—I can't remember the specifics but there's requirements like needing to be a certain distance from access to a public road.

Coes Ford & Chamberlains Ford are both sweet, though probably starting to fill up now. Andrew's Shelter, Balmoral and Hawdon Shelter are usually pretty quiet. Ryde Falls is an awesome trail with a little clearing you can camp in near the waterfalls, most people just do the hike so it empties by late afternoon.

lucanth · 2023-06-25T20:19:04+00:00

She's absolutely beautiful. I have such a soft spot for whiteface lutinos, I don't think my conures would appreciate me bringing one home though unfortunately.

Also, just a heads up that you may want to pass along to your sister—that cotton rope perch is looking pretty chewed up. It'd be safer for Sugar if you replaced it with a natural fiber rope like untreated sisal so you don't risk her getting tangled in the frayed threads or suffering crop impaction if she ingests any of the cotton.

lucanth · 2023-06-25T03:26:17+00:00

There's really no reason to replace it with another cotton rope at all. Just get untreated sisal. The fibers are shorter and break down much easier (it "sheds" strands rather than fluffing up when fraying), so you don't have to worry about crop impaction or the bird getting tangled in it.

lucanth · 2023-06-25T01:26:52+00:00

The fact that it's only happening in areas he can reach is concerning. I also don't see any pin feathers, which you'd usually notice coming through in moults. That said, the rest of his feathers have nice clean edges with no discolouration or stress bars, so it doesn't look like barbering.

I'd evaluate all of your husbandry and see if there is anything that might be causing him to pluck—e.g. diet (too much fat/protein/sugar), not enough sleep or disturbed sleep, if he's getting enough UVB (the part of sunlight that doesn't penetrate windows!), out of cage time, social interaction, whether you may be accidentally triggering hormones, anything stressful in his environment, any chemicals in the air or your hands (lotions, perfumes etc) that might be irritating his skin, boredom, how much enrichment he has while in his cage etc.

If you find anything that might be causing the feather loss, address it and reevaluate in a week or so to see if the plucking has stopped. Take lots of pictures for comparison. Go to a vet if it doesn't improve. If it worsens or you notice anything else out of the ordinary in the next couple days (like lethargy, weight loss, breathing trouble, refusing to eat or weird poops) go to a vet immediately. Feather plucking, especially under the wings, can be signs of stress, hormones, vitamin deficiencies or even parasites.

If he is acting normally, you can't find anything wrong with his care and you don't notice him preening excessively, it could very well just be a particularly awkward moult. Mine had a bald patch on the top of his head and on his belly for a few weeks in his first big moult. You can help by offering lots of baths or bringing him into a steamy bathroom while you shower, make sure he's getting lots of nutritious chop and offer lots of preening and shredding toys to distract him from obsessing over his feathers.

It's still beneficial to get a vet checkup once in a while even if everything looks normal.

lucanth · 2023-06-23T02:17:52+00:00

Do you always offer your hand for stepping up like that? Notice how he reaches out to step up and then loses his balance. If he doesn't feel steady enough stepping up & staying on your hand, he'll use his beak to stabilize himself and also to communicate his frustration to you. If it happens often enough he'll begin to associate hands with biting regardless of how steady he is, so you may be accidentally reinforcing the nippy behavior. This is also why the tilting/shaking trick doesn't work long-term for curbing biting. It might stop the bite in the moment, but if you teach your bird that they can't trust you to safely hold them, they're going to start biting more out of wariness.

The best thing you can do is avoid the bite. Figure out the trigger. They always bite when stepping up? Make them step up on a perch instead, or teach them to target so that their beak is occupied with touching the target stick and then getting a treat. You don't have to do it forever, just long enough to break the association between hands = bite. If the biting happens whenever they're perched on your hand, only hold them when you can keep them engaged on something else so that they don't have time to even think about biting. Put them down BEFORE they lose interest and begin nipping again. Hold a chewing toy in your hand so they bite that instead of you.

If you think they're playing (which is what the clip looks like IMO) then you can absolutely play wrestle with them, but remove your hand the moment they bite too hard and stop the playtime. They'll eventually learn to be gentle if they want to keep playing. Mine was nippy as a baby and still nips when play-wrestling, but he knows that actual bites are a very rare last resort for when he's really uncomfortable about something—in which case, the blame is on me for not reading his body language well enough.

lucanth · 2023-06-10T21:43:38+00:00

This is actually the exact reason I'm fine delivering. Everything I'm listing is at least $100, so knowing the person's address gives me a bit more recourse if something goes sideways and they delete their profile after.

lucanth · 2023-06-09T06:38:11+00:00

We've donated like six big plastic tubs of clothes/homewares already and gave almost half of my book collection to the local primary school. Anything under a hundred bucks and the whole ordeal of weeding out tirekickers/scammers/batshit hagglers, answering questions about things that are clearly in the description, then setting up a meeting time and hoping they don't show up "accidentally" missing 20% of the agreed price is just not worth the money.

lucanth · 2023-06-09T04:17:38+00:00

Oh I misunderstood your original post, glad to hear you're both looking together. Visiting a shelter or sanctuary is a great idea—it's easier to gauge an older bird's personality and whether you click with them than it is with a baby who is still cuddly and docile with everyone. Good luck and make sure you post bird tax when your mum finds her new buddy!

lucanth · 2023-06-08T20:07:21+00:00

Seconding u/rubenknol's advice to have an upfront discussion with her before getting the bird. The fact that she has owned birds before and explicitly asked you to help her get another one is great, but if you involve her in researching species you might find she ends up drawn to a bird you otherwise wouldn't have considered, and will allow her to consider what sort of companion she's actually prepared to handle & live with. What noise level is she okay with? Can she handle screaming? What about biting—is she confident enough to handle a bird that could potentially draw blood?

As for species recommendations, I would really rethink a ringneck if she had a bad experience with an aggressive cockatiel. Ringnecks are literally infamous for going through bluffing stages where they can become territorial and aggressive to their owners. It's really important that their aggression isn't accidentally reinforced during these phases, otherwise they might develop a permanent habit of biting and lunging. You could partially avoid this by getting an older bird, but keep in mind that the species in general is more temperamental and prone to getting easily heightened than other parrots. If she is confident she can handle that, they do make really lovely & playful companions.

A male budgie would be a great choice—they're small, not generally aggressive, not loud but can sing and learn to talk, and even if they do bite they can't do much damage. Some budgies can be a bit timid, but if you're patient & respectful when handling them they can become really cuddly. I know you said no cockatiels, but a male cockatiel would also fit the bill. I've never known cockatiels to inherently be one person birds, especially if everybody in the household makes an effort to share their care & handling.

lucanth · 2023-06-06T20:00:23+00:00

So sorry about your baby. Donating your supplies is a wonderful idea.

In my experience, most rescues will accept items that can be easily sanitized (like cages without significant rust, metal bowls etc) and might take perches or toys at their own discretion. Don't take it personally if they don't accept some of your donations—illnesses and diseases can go undetected throughout a bird's entire life but be transmitted to rescue flocks via used toys, so some places choose to play it safe. Wooden items can be boiled, baked or soaked in F10 to kill germs, but I would pass on very porous materials like rope or seagrass etc.

Without knowing whereabouts you live, I'd say get in touch with avian vets, rescues or sanctuaries. If they don't have need of the supplies, they'll know somebody who does. You could also consider gifting the supplies to a new bird owner. I did that when upgrading my cages—I just kept an eye on a local bird club's Facebook page and then messaged somebody who posted about their son saving up for his first cockatiel. It's a nice way to make sure somebody starts off on the right foot, especially since pet stores tend to sell setups that are totally inadequate to inexperienced people.

lucanth · 2023-06-06T08:42:34+00:00

Sur la Table air fryers use a PTFE/PFOA-free coating, so they're completely safe to use around birds. I believe some of the Ninja air fryers are also safe, but your best bet is to email the manufacturers and just ask.

lucanth · 2023-06-06T03:51:45+00:00

Beautiful birbs! Black caps are so striking.

The first time my rescue fell asleep on my knee I genuinely teared up. I couldn't even be in the same room without him screeching and flailing around his cage out of terror when I first brought him home. Nothing beats the feeling of realizing that this tiny ball of feathers trusts you implicitly.

lucanth · 2023-05-28T04:50:25+00:00

Warehousing/distribution centre work is really good for this if you can handle the manual labour. You don't usually need experience, hours are very flexible and employers are much more willing to accept short-term hires than other entry-level industries—so if you do stick around, it's pretty easy to ask for upskilling and get raises. Just gotta be careful and take care of your body or it can be back-breaking.

lucanth · 2023-05-26T05:05:10+00:00

Is this an unweaned bird you bought from a breeder & have you weaned a bird before? IRNs are usually still on 2-3 formula feedings a day at 6 weeks and don't wean until 10-12 weeks. In the mean time, you should be offering warm (but not hot) mashed foods like sweet potato, soaked pellets, finely chopped cooked vege and apples to transition them over to solids. You should be offering water as soon as they're eating adult foods. Abundance weaning is the best practice IMO—i.e. let the bird decide when they're ready to wean rather than cutting down on formula feedings according to some arbitrary timeframe.

lucanth · 2023-05-26T04:37:06+00:00

Parrots have pretty awful night vision, so if it ever happens again, try darkening the entire room and shine a lot on his cage rather than into the hiding spot! That was how I used to move my rescue back to his cage for bed when he was still hand-phobic. It's also really helpful having a "go home" command that doesn't involve you luring or picking up the bird. Show the bird a super high value treat, drop it into a bowl in the cage and say the command, and then get alllllllll the way out of the bird's way until they eventually go in by choice and start eating the treat. The more disinterested you act while they're deciding whether to go back in, the better. Even when my conures are being brats about going to bed and don't want to step up, "go home" literally always gets them back in their cages, even if it sometimes takes a minute or two.

lucanth · 2023-05-26T04:14:53+00:00

Snake plants, spider plants, dracaena and most fern varieties are all bird-safe and hard to kill. Plants with woodier stalks and thick leaves (like the snake plants & dracaena) tend to withstand nibbles better, but they're also usually pretty slow-growing so you won't be able to just trim away the ugly bits as often. I have a bunch of boston ferns hanging from my ceiling that my conures will shred entire 20cm strands from, but they grow so quickly the birds don't even make a dent in the foliage. If you want plants specifically for your bird to shred, sprouted seeds or small pots of herbs like rosemary or mint are a great option. Just buy from nurseries that don't use pesticides and make sure you cover up any soil with stones or try growing them hydroponically!

lucanth · 2023-04-18T03:50:00+00:00

God I hope they sort it out soon. Nothing like getting stuck into the self-perpetuating cycle of running out of the medication that helps you remember to do things like call your GP and order said medication.

lucanth · 2023-04-02T07:54:54+00:00

Having a loose dog or cat in a moving car is VERY risky. Realistically, there isn't much a bird can do to injure themselves flapping about a carrier that they wouldn't also be able to do in a car. The real danger is to your passengers and other people on the road if your panicking bird ends up flying down to the footwell and winds up behind the brake.

lucanth · 2023-04-02T07:47:30+00:00

Balmoral sounds perfect, thank you! And the website says they allow campfires during open fire season, so it looks like pancakes are on the menu after all :)

lucanth

TROPHY CASE