Advice for Bird Owners, aka Birds are Better

[KittyNorville]

New person to parrot-type birds here:

I have a cockatiel named Remus, but I usually just call him Remy. I got him about a month ago from a shelter. I'm trying to teach him "step up" and he does it, some of the time....its just he doesn't usually do it in his cage or when he simply doesn't feel like it. That and he won't eat fresh veggies...I keep putting them out for him but all he wants is is food which I've mixed seeds and pellets...he won't eat the pellets much..So I have to give him this vitamin supplement, which I wouldn't have to do if he'd just eat the veggies and pellets...any suggestions?

He's really cute though...and getting pretty tame, well at least to me. To my sister and parents, not so much....Actually hes on my shoulder now...He gets jealous of the keyboard....he doesn't like his toys too much either. He likes my toys better...*sighs He keeps trying to play with my necklace and wants the keyboard so bad. Only when he gets the keyboard he gets VERY defensive of it and bites whoever tries to take it back...that and he presses keys and once pressed some key that messed with what I was doing...So he's not allowed on that anymore.

[MidnighterWitch]

Originally Posted by KittyNorville

New person to parrot-type birds here:

I have a cockatiel named Remus, but I usually just call him Remy. I got him about a month ago from a shelter. I'm trying to teach him "step up" and he does it, some of the time....its just he doesn't usually do it in his cage or when he simply doesn't feel like it. That and he won't eat fresh veggies...I keep putting them out for him but all he wants is is food which I've mixed seeds and pellets...he won't eat the pellets much..So I have to give him this vitamin supplement, which I wouldn't have to do if he'd just eat the veggies and pellets...any suggestions?

He's really cute though...and getting pretty tame, well at least to me. To my sister and parents, not so much....Actually hes on my shoulder now...He gets jealous of the keyboard....he doesn't like his toys too much either. He likes my toys better...*sighs He keeps trying to play with my necklace and wants the keyboard so bad. Only when he gets the keyboard he gets VERY defensive of it and bites whoever tries to take it back...that and he presses keys and once pressed some key that messed with what I was doing...So he's not allowed on that anymore.

Remy is jealous that you are paying attention to other things except just for him. I learnt this the hard way with Mango (sun conure) I had him sitting on my shoulder and was playing with my DS and he attacked the pen. If my other bird is out he decides to bite me, and one time my dog went to sit near me and I went to put my arm around her and Mango charged from my shoulder down my arm and attacked my dog...oh boy was he in trouble.

[cathairetic]

I just bought two parakeets last week. I used to breed them back in the 70's and things have really changed. What is with this new food that they have in the pet stores. Pellets made out of corn meal and other grain meals. My birds won't have anything to do with it. I found a brand that had millet and canary seed in it and they nibble at that but right now they seem to ignore it. I put some millet sprays in the cage and they fell on them like they were starving. How long have these new foods been around?

[DomeFossil]

I used to have two zebra finches and a canary. One of the finches died 2 weeks ago (His name was Cinnamon, he was my favourite) and since then the grey zebra finch has been with the canary.

Here's the odd thing though; I found two sets of eggs in their nest boxes. How could a finch and a canary cross-breed? If not, then why is the finch incubating one set but ignoring the other, surely one set is fertilised? The canary used to break the eggs Cinnamon had but isnt breaking these. It's strange. Cinnamon died two weeks ago so they can't be from him can they? How long is the incubation for zebra finches/ canaries? How long does it take from mating to laying of eggs?

Sorry for all the questions. Btw, cathairetic new 'enhanced' pet foods have been in the market for ages, claiming to be rich in vitamins. I particularly noticed an upswing in the new millenium.

[Diesel]

I love birds; they are interesting to look at, pretty and (most of them) sound very nice. I've been thinking on and off for years of getting a pet bird, but I don't know if it would be worth the hassle. In my experience, bird cages stink even if they are taken care of every day. Is this true for you bird owners? Are there breeds of bird that don't make as much noise? (That would be a problem because I live in an apartment and don't want to wake up my neighbors).

Quote please!

[cathairetic]

It's been a while since I posted here. I think my two keets are male (I know one is for sure) but they certainly 'do the birdie dance' for each other. The for sure male is a normal green and the other is a lutino with red eyes. I think he is male. The cere in a lutino doesn't turn blue as in a normal bird. They are very affectionate. Neither has been able to climb on the other so perhaps they are just getting along fine as they are. There is nowhere to lay any eggs except for a coconut that is hanging from the top of the cage and they use that as a pass through to get from one perch to another if in a hurry. They are very entertaining for both humans and cats. They know the cats can't get at them and so they just ignore them. People can get close. Louie, the lutino, will not bite even when picked up but Keetie, the green boy, will eat you alive if you try that with him. I hope he never gets sick because I wouldn't want to have to give him any medication. Ouch!