Advice to keep my Sun healthy

[Zazu]

First off, I want to thank everyone at this site for a wonderful way to find information on parrot ownership! I have been researching Sun Conures for the last two years before finally bringing my new baby Sun, Zazu, home! I have also been perusing some of the wealth on info listed throughout this site and extremely pleased with the knowledge I have found so far. I do still have a few questions though and hope that it is not something that was previously asked elsewhere on here. I have read about being able to give your Sun fruit but not dried fruit and would love to know what the difference between the two would be, and why it is not good for them? I had not seen this mentioned in the books that I have read. Also I have a ventless propane stove in my living room and am worried about my sun being near this healthwise. Can this have a negative effect on him? Right now he is in a different room away from this and I am wanting to move him into a larger cage located in the living room which is where the stove is located. I do know that they are very succeptible to gases, even ones that we may not detect! I am also looking into purchasing a larger floor model cage for his "day" cage but upon reading, found out that too large of a cage is actually not good, for this may cause him to not feel "safe." Now I am unsure about the cage that I had already picked out! The cage that I am looking at is about 40" wide and 75" in height total from top to bottom.It also has a seed skirt and play top included. It is listed on ebay and does say that it can be for a Sun Conure. I hope that I have not asked to many questions!! If so, I apolagize! Any advice will be welcome!! Thank you all!

Zazu

 

[Helitorian]

You can never ask too many questions when it comes to your bird

I think I can help with the fruit. When it's dried, all the sugar is concentrated and too many is unhealthy. It's like you eating only candy and junk food your entire life. This leads to obesity in birds which is VERY common in companion parrots. Don't quote me on this but I believe it can then turn into fatty deposits, fatty liver disease, etc. If you wait a bit, I'm sure one of the others will come along who can help with the rest of your questions and maybe correct mine if I'm wrong lol

Enjoy your baby and feel free to come and ask anything. There's a good bunch of people here who know their stuff and love to talk bird

 

[Zazu]

Thank you so much for your reply! I was worried that the dried fruit might be fatal to him and I had bought them to use as a treat for teaching tricks! I'm really glad that I had not fed them to him as yet! At least now I know why.

Zazu

 

[IcyWolf]

Dried fruit can be used as a treat, it's not going to hurt him in small amounts, we actually just bought a bag of mixed bird treats and there is dried fruit in it. But as far as daily diet, fresh is best and raw is more nutritious than cooked but don't be surprised if he prefers cooked over raw with some things, and that's okay, just be sure not to add any salt, butter, oil or sugar to them while you're cooking.

I'm sure in some instances a large cage could make a bird feel insecure but from my understanding that was usually a problem with wild caught birds. If zazu is comfortable with you, your family and your home, I don't personally believe there is such a thing as too large of a cage.

From my understanding, propane heaters aren't generally considered safe for parrots. It may be worth it to invest in a bird safe electric heater or even a woodstove, that is how we heat our home and we haven't had any problems. I tend to err on the side of caution with things like this, if it's an absolute emergency like a long term power outage, than it changes the game a bit but if you have other options I really don't think it's worth the risk, you can't replace a life.

 

[amysaviary]

As far as the fruit it is not the dried part it is the dried fruit u buy for people that they add sugar too. It is the added sugar that they cant have. U can buy it without the sugar and they sell Higgins True Fruit Mix for birds. I have given this for years to all my birds with no problems. Just get no suagr add dried fruit or the stuff made for birds.

I would not use any gas heat also no woodstove. The smoke they give off is deadly! We have electric. Good luck, Suns r my FAV. !!!!

 

[IcyWolf]

Not trying to argue, but as long as it is vented properly, not brand new, and used the right way, wood stoves seem to be considered pretty safe. Ours is on the second floor of our house and the birds are on the first so we never have a problem with smoke. Smoke in any form isn't safe for birds but if you use a wood stove properly, you shouldn't have smoke in your house. When we moved here that was one of the first things that I started researching and it seems pretty wildly agreed upon that when used properly it isn't a problem, I know there are quite a few members here that use them as well, here is a previous thread on it. http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/13160-new-woodstoves-they-safe.html

Honestly, we don't burn ours too often, only when it is really cold outside and I always keep the doors closed on the rooms the birds are in and run a PTFE free electric heater so this room is usually about 10-15 degrees warmer than the rest of the house.

 

[Zazu]

Okay, now I feel a lot better about the dried fruit! I did buy an organic kind that had no preservatives or sugar for I knew that was a no no. So whew, relief on that score. It figures I actually did have a wood stove beforehand but my husband passed away on the fourth of July and my inlaws (living beside me) thought they would help by replacing the wood stove with a propane one. I also have an electric furnace as the main source of heat and the propane is a back up. They knew I was now unable to get the wood for the other stove and that is something they have in their house. My sun should be okay as long as he is not in the same room though, I am hoping! Maybe in the future I will go ahead and upgrade to the electric one for I like the looks of them anyways! (nice excuse,huh?) Thank you all so much for the wonderful answers to my questions! One more though, what is the earliest that a Sun starts to show some "sexual" behaviors? I just had a wonderful quality time with Zazu!! He loves to "preen" me and make the cutest little chirps!! Love It!!

Zazu

 

[roxynoodle]

Well, I have a wood stove and it's in the same room as the birds. Smoke doesn't come out of it. If it did I'd be choking on it, too, and the smoke alarm would be going off. Heck if there is a power outage, it's the only way to keep the birds warm. So at least in that case I can move their cages over to it easily and put blankets around the sides and backs of the cages to help hold heat in for them. We had to do that 3 years ago during a 3 day power outage during some of the coldest weather we've ever had. They were ok thanks to that wood stove or I'd have had to take them somewhere.

I don't know much about the ventless propane heaters. But I would have to think they aren't giving off any propane fumes or people would get sick as well. And the gas companies add something to the propane to make it smell so you know if there is a leak. If you don't smell it, you should not have any propane fumes. Now as for other fumes the heater may give off due to coatings on the metal, I can't say. If you aren't sure what propane smells like, ask the person who comes to fill it up to show you.

I think the other problem with dried fruit is the sulfites added to preserve it. I know I get horrible migraines from sulfites. I don't think they are healthy to birds. I can't eat fruit myself anymore so I admit some goes to waste in order to provide it for my birds. At least with 3 now there isn't as much waste.

 

[Zazu]

I also do have a carbon monoxide detector as well that is in the same room and all seems ok so far but maybe I can get someone to come out and inspect the stove to see if there are any leaks or other issues that could be a problem. I know that I have only had my birdie for a couple of weeks but I already absolutely ADORE him!! He loves to cuddle with myself and my daughter and he is soo cute with the things that he does!I don't want to take any chances.It is just not worth it in the end. He is a lifetime investment and I want to have him around for as long as is possible! He deserves that. It is OUR responsiblity to make sure that our animals are kept safe and well taken care of since we, after all are, the caregivers. They didn't choose us, we chose them. I get so mad when people use animals as disposable "toys." They are so innocent. I refer to my house as the local petting zoo,Lol! I love them all! Thank you all again for the replies! Very appreciated!

Zazu

Whoever says pets are not work are crazy, I work FOR my animals!

 

[amysaviary]

My experience with wood stoves is when u walk into someones home and u smell the smoke! If I can tell they have 1 going when I walk in, then to me that is not safe! Maybe the people I know that have them r not done correctly.? I am just super picky with my birds and would never do it! I will not do many things others say r safe because to me it is not! I believe we all have to do what we feel is safe.

 

[roxynoodle]

Sometimes you can smell the wood burning, but there isn't smoke coming out of it and going into the room. And it seems to depend on what wood you are burning as well. Cherry and Walnut have unique smells, as does oak. But, if I'm even cutting any of those woods, I can tell you what kind it is based on the smell. The smoke though should all be going up the chimney. If it isn't, you need to repair the stove, clean the chimney, or open the damper more; or the wind is causing a backdraft down your chimney and you need to shut down the stove asap for everyone's safety. Smoke and warm air rise. So if they aren't, something is blocking it from doing so.

 

[Amber]

On fruit, look for no added preservatives or sugar. Sulphites are added to dried fruit as a preservative, and thats not something you want your bird eating in large amounts!

I have a lorikeet block in Alex's cage. It's a block of dried fruit (processed for birds, no added sugar, no preservatives) covered in a nectar protein matrix. He's not MAD about them (which is good, too much of a good thing and all that! i would not give them to him if he pigged out on them.), but he does pick at them. It lasts about a month. It's no replacement for fresh fruit or veg of course, but its a nice snack for him.

 

[Zazu]

Just from my own experience with having owned a wood stove prior to this replacement propane stove, I did smell the smoke when it was running and being used. I have allergies to certain types of wood and I know anytime that we burned this one kind of wood my sinuses would get all stuffed up and I'd be miserable. But I do think too that it may depend on how well the stove is set up.My husband put ours in by himself so with not being a professional, I think that may have made a difference.I am going to have someone come out and inspect my propane stove and make sure that it is installed properly. My father-in-law installed it so I have my doubts!Lol!If I found out any info about how they are for using around the birds I will let you all know the answer.In the meantime, I am going to leave Zazu where he is for now until I found out if it will be safe or not to move him. I also think personally that the larger cage that I am looking into should be fine for him. I can't with until it is here and he can be moved into it! I'm sure that he will love it! He does things every day that just endear him to my heart. He loves to honk it seems. I notice that he does this a lot!! I wonder if he is trying to communicate with us and so we have been nicknaming him our little honker. Too cute! He also likes to hang upside down from the cagetop like a bat and swing back and forth. He's just so fun to watch.Interacting with him is really one of the highlights of my day! Thank you all for the replies!

Zazu

 

[roxynoodle]

Ok, well I can also sometimes smell it when my neighbors are burning trash. That doesn't mean the smoke from the trash penetrated the house somehow, see what I mean? So just because you can smell the smoke doesn't mean the smoke is actually in the room with you rather than going up the chimney. Pete should be close to 29 years old now and his former owner also had a wood stove.

I should probably shut up now

It's never a bad idea though to have something professionally inspected, especially if you are concerned. Anything to do with gas/propane is something I won't install myself. I had my furnace and duct work put in professionally, and it's the only thing in the house I did that with.

 

[erik7181]

I have a jotel wood stove and it does not let any smoke in at all. On the fruit, i buy a type of food from bird paradise in NJ and it is a mixture of fruits,vegies,pellets. I recently bought the healthy bird cookbook.

 

[Zazu]

I do really miss my woodstove, especially now that I have Zazu!!It would certainly have helped with piece of mind! I know that I myself get very leary when something is not installed by a professional or someone who does that for a living, which is not the case on my propane stove unfortuantely. I just can't wait to get this taken care of so he can be out here with all of us all day where he belongs!Although, I'm sure that he doesn't mind the one on one attention he has been getting all to himself daily!!

zazu

 

[roxynoodle]

One great thing about a wood stove is that you have emergency heating if the power is out. Even though my furnace is propane, it needs some electric to run. The only other thing that will heat without electric is a kerosene heater, but you have those fumes, which you can't have with birds.

The blower won't work for the wood stove with no power, but it can at least keep this room warm.