#bird help!

[theoldaeroplane]

seriously though if you have questions about avian lighting at all this pdf is one of the best resources i’ve ever found. theres still a lot of conflicting info out there in general but this article goes into a LOT of detail about how birds see and the kind of light they need, and my FAVORITE part is that it actually recommends specific bulbs

[theoldaeroplane]

Hi! I saw your post about bird food. We own an 18 y/o African Grey and an 8 y/o Umbrella Cockatoo. The 'Too was raised on pellets, but the Grey was raised on seeds (my grandma didn't know any better) and won't eat the pellets. How do we get him to?

That is a very common problem from what I’ve read. I’m no expert on it myself (Raz ate the first pellets I gave him, although they aren’t the brand I wish he would eat), but there are lots of suggestions on different methods! I’ve heard people have good success with pellet berries and “birdy bread”!

Good luck!

[theoldaeroplane]

What kind of soft food would you recommend?

i feed my finches miracle meal and i’ve heard good things about roudybush and harrison brand pellets!

[theoldaeroplane]

You mentioned in an earlier post never to feed birds only seeds, and to make sure they are fed a rotation of seeds and soft food. Why is this? For their beaks or digestive purposes? Or both maybe?

This sample is from a cockatoo, but it still holds:

The vial of blood on the left is from a cockatoo with fatty liver disease who had been on an all-seed diet. The white matter is fat. The vial on the right is from a bird who had a balanced diet that includes seeds but also has things like veggies and presumably a good pellet (Roudybush or Harrison’s are good, healthy brands. I’m trying to get Raz to accept Harrison’s, and I feed my finches Miracle Meal.). (Sources: original source, blog referencing it) I believe the bird on the left died shortly after the sample was taken—from what I can tell she was an 18 yr old cockatoo just entering her breeding cycle. tl;dr, seed-only diets are extremely bad nutritionally.

Finches in particular aren’t quite as bad off as parrots in the seed department, or so I believe is the case, but either way seeds are overall a very fatty food (sunflower seeds are especially bad). This isn’t to say don’t give your bird seeds! Seeds are good for them in moderation. They just need other foods, too.

[theoldaeroplane]

Hey Corgi! You are a birb and also Queen of birds. I know there is a lot of responsibility when it comes to owning birds. How expensive are pet birds? Like, vet visits, food, cage, other things most people don't realize they need.

The initial cost of getting Raz was probably something like $400 all told. He was $100, the cage was maybe $60-80, and then I had to get all the appropriate supplies--food, toys, perches, and those add up quick. His vet check-up was about $70 too, I think. I’d also factor in the cost of an air filter for cockatiels in particular, because I keep Raz in a small space without windows that I need to keep ventilated. That’s another $100. And that’s to say nothing of the emergency vet fund you want to have, which should be as big as you can make it!

By comparison finches are much cheaper. You can get a good cage in the $50 range, maybe spend another $50-70 in perches and other accessories (food bowls, bird bath, nest/nesting materials, etc), plus food (you need seed AND a softfood, never ever feed any kind of bird nothing but seed) and cuttlebones, etc etc etc, plus maybe $40-50 for a single pair of finches.

Like a lot of hobbies it has a large initial startup cost/investment, but once things are settled day-to-day, it’s mostly a matter of buying more food every monthish for the finches, and rotating Raz’s toys and perches (parrots get bored and need new things.)

I’m actually still going through the pellets and seed I got for Raz when I got him back in November, if that indicates anything to you.