Howdy

[Iptuous]

Hey, all.
I've not lurked at all, so i don't know much about this place yet.
I've got a 14 yo congo african grey. it was my parents until a couple months ago. they had asked my permission when they first bought it, knowing that i would be caretaker some day. well, they haven't been able to devote as much time as he needs, and after prompting, they agreed to make the transfer.

so after the first month or so, Jake falls off his perch rather ungracefully, and i laugh because he acts goofy sometimes. then a week later, he does it again. twice in one day. and he squawked. that's not right, i think.
then he does it a few days later, and it's obviously an awkward thing that he's not controlling. i need to get that checked out real soon, i think.

today he had what was obviously a seizure. it lasted some 15 seconds, was quite distressing, and he regurgitated a bit. we'll be going to the avian vet immediately. trying to get in tomorrow.

so anyways, i did my homework, found out about calcium deficiencies in the african greys, bought a UVB lamp for him. will boost up on calcium rich veggies, etc. I learned a bit in one day, and one of the best resources was hearing individuals experiences on the net.

So i figured i'd start a thread on this board from our experience, in case it can help anybody else in the future.

 

[Iptuous]

Here's Jake.
he's basking under his new lamp.
i've heard reference to the lamp having to be some close enough distance to the birdcage. i just stuck it in the existing light fixture that is situated about that distance from the top. he likes to sit on the perch above, and it is only about 8 inches from him to the bulb when he's there.
can this level of saturation be bad?

 

[Iptuous]

Took, Jake to the vet this morning, and she said his calcium levels were on the very low end of normal. he got a Ca injection and hopefully that will stop the seizures, confirming the cause.
if they don't, further blood test to send of for toxin evaluation.

he seems to really like his new lamp, though.

 

[tab_xo]

hello and welcome!

i think i read that the bulb should be no closer than 12 inches.. but i am not sure! but he does seem to be enjoying the light

hopefully his calcium levels will get better soon!

 

[MonicaMc]

The bulb should be at least 2 feet away from the cage during the burn in period (at least 2 hours or longer), but then can be 16" near the cage after that period. If the bulb is on and too close to the parrot during or after the burn in period, it can cause severe burn to the eyes and potentially damage them.

You can buy Vetri-DMG Liquid to give as a supplement. It's supposedly a natural supplement that may help birds with seizures, among other things.


If you'd like him to benefit the most from the lamp, then get a long tube fixture and install an appropriate full spectrum tube light into it geared towards birds, or with the proper specs for birds.


What is his diet like? I have heard that african greys benefit from receiving Red Palm Oil.



Hope he gets to feeling better soon!

 

[Iptuous]

He gets a diet of Harrison's pellet and supplement with veggies (broccoli, lettuce, almonds, spinach, carrots, etc...)

 

[wenz2712]

Welcome to the forum

As long as the bulb is 18 inches or more away, it will be fine!

 

[SpringCottageParrot]

Cuttlefish bones are a great cheap source of calcium and Casper loves to chew on his. So he is getting nourishment whilst playing. Be prepared for the bottom of the cage to look like there has been an explosion in a chalk quarry.
After some unsuccessful attempts at fixing the bone to the cage I now drill a hole through the middle and bolt it to the bars with penny washers. Hanging it on a thong from the top of the cage could also be fun for him, I think I will try that with the next one. He loves it when I do that with a cored apple.

 

[Iptuous]

we've had a cuttle bone in his cage, but he's not too keen on it. :/

in other news, the vet had asked about his cage, specifically whether there was any rust spots, or spots where the powder coat had worn off. i had said that the only spots i knew of were down on the catch tray. but yesterday i looked at the inside top, and found that he's flecked away a good bit of the powder coat there. i'm hoping he doesn't have metal toxicity due to that, or if he does that it can be rectified.

has anyone had experience having a cage re-powder coated?

 

[SpringCottageParrot]

The powder coating material is I believe plastic so non toxic but may be difficult to digest. The rust as you have already pointed out is not good.
My experience with powder coating is limited to car parts but that is not important because the attitude of the company is what counts. If they are not interested in hearing about how sensitive our birds are to toxic materials so they need to do a thorough job I would go somewhere else. Ask if they have done other cages before. When the job is done give it a good look over to make sure they haven't missed anywhere. You may find that there is not much difference in the price of high quality powder coating and the cost of a new cage. However the finish might last longer.
It may be worth researching the modern paints used by car finishers as some are water based and may or may not be parrot safe. The chap who does my cars wont use them though because he is a traditionalist and likes his lungs full of nasty chemicals.

 

[Iptuous]

Update:
Seizures are still occurring. (irregularly)

The vet said from the blood test when she looked at his calcium that he didn't show any of the visible signs for metal toxicity that is commonly seen (i believe she mentioned malformed cells) but i'm thinking i need to get this done anyways.

His calcium levels were merely at the low end of the normal range, and he's had a very calcium rich diet, so the vet doesn't believe that is the issue.

She also gave us some Avi-Calm to add to his food since we said that he went from an environment that was extremely calm to one that is very active and boisterous, and stress can perhaps trigger events. he does seem a bit calmer perhaps, but that may be perceptual bias on my part.

We've kept a very close watch on his diet, and haven't found any significant correlations in that area (indicating a food intolerance)

One thought that i just had was that we have CFL bulbs in our kitchen, and i'm not sure if my folks did where he was before. Are they able to perceive flicker at significantly higher frequencies than we are? I think i'll change out the bulbs in the kitchen (except for the full spectrum light) with incandescent and see if that makes a difference...

 

[MonicaMc]

Yes, birds can perceive movement better than we can. This is imperative since they fly and things can be moving by them pretty rapidly! Here's one page about their vision.

Bird vision - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Movement

Birds can resolve rapid movements better than humans, for whom flickering at a rate greater than 50 Hz appears as continuous movement. Humans cannot therefore distinguish individual flashes of a fluorescent light bulb oscillating at 60 Hz, but Budgerigars and chickens have flicker thresholds of more than 100 Hz. A Cooper's Hawk can pursue agile prey through woodland and avoid branches and other objects at high speed; to humans such a chase would appear as a blur.

Birds can also detect slow moving objects. The movement of the sun and the constellations across the sky is imperceptible to humans, but detected by birds. The ability to detect these movements allows migrating birds to properly orientate themselves.

To obtain steady images while flying or when perched on a swaying branch, birds hold the head as steady as possible with compensating reflexes. Maintaining a steady image is especially relevant for birds of prey.

You never mentioned what his diet is like, and I'm curious to know if you've noticed any difference since buying the UVB light? Do you also feed eggs? Or have you considered a calcium supplement with vitamin D?