Parent in waiting

[Rob Bird]

Hello everyone, I found this forum by accident and i am impressed.

After a long research I came to the decision that a Linnie will suit me best. I looked at Bourke’s, Budgies, Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Parrotlets and off course Linnies.
The Linnies captured my heart and are the best match. He isnt even born yet, I am on a waiting list which could probably take another couple of months. I am okay with that, I prepare my home and brush up on my bird knowledge.

I have ordered the cage already which is a flight cage 30 x 18 x 18 or something like that. He will be my only bird and I am making a “playground” outside the cage. For climbing, swinging, foraging, resting etc.
I also will look around for cage setups, to keep my Bird from becoming bored.

through this forum I found the section about sprouting and will already try my hands at to come familiar with the process.
I am planning on buying a K + H snuggle heater, just to make sure he will be warm, even though the temperature throughout the house is warm enough.
I have read that the nails of this particular breed tends to grow fast and might curl, this makes me a lititle uncomfortable because I intend to do the trimming myself. I have watched YouTube videos, but a tamed or familiar bird is easier to take care of.

So here is my question, what is a good position to hold the bird? My understanding is that he shouldn’t be held on the back or never to squeeze the chest, because of suffocation (which makes sense to me). Regular nail clippers look better to me, because you see more of the foot or nail, with the bird scissors it seems to block the view. I also will not have an extra pair of hands to hold my little friend. If all fails I will take him to the vet for a trimming but not every vet is good at handling animals regardless of what kind.

I will appreciate any kind and friendly advice and I am looking forward to get familiar with this forum.
Thank you

Rob

 

[Terry57]

Welcome to the forum, Rob!
Your little Linnie is going to be such a lucky little guy (or gal) with all the research you are doing now.

I have had birds for several years, but I still can't trim nails without my husband holding them. Since your bird will have an avian vet, they should be able to clip the nails easily for you, and show you how to do it.

My friend who owns a rescue has been trimming nails for years. She takes the bird into a towel with the birds back against the towel, and then sits down and turns the bird over in her lap so the birds stomach is showing, She gently holds the bird with her left hand and uses her right to do the nails. I just can't manage it like she does.

I'm really excited for you and so glad you found us!

 

[Birdgirl24]

with the heater though I would'ent have it directly pointed at your bird I had problems when I tried that with my birds so keep it in the room but pointed away from the bird

 

[foxgloveparrot]

Welcome to the forums, thanks for doing research, and good luck on your linnie!
Sorry I can't thing of something else to say-
Other posters have given good advice

 

[Laurasea]

welcome!!! Can't wait for the pictures!
K & h are made to point at the bird and attached to the cage. Excellent in having a radiant heat source!!!!!!! I'm in Florida and I use mine all the time.

I also suggest a digital kitchen scale to track weight.
For solo nail trims, I have to wrap my birds up like a burrito in a hand towel. I use kitten nail trimmers. My birds already trust me, and I'm gentle, lots of treats and snuggle afterwards. So they take it in stride

 

[Rob Bird]

Thanks to you all for such excellent advice. I appreciate it very much. I will post pictures, once my little Linnie has arrived, I am at ease, because I know, should I need help this is the place to go.
thank you for advising me about the weight, something that I wasn’t aware of.

 

[Scott]

Welcome aboard Rob, thanks for a thoughtful introduction! Unfamiliar with linnies but you have time to prepare and develop necessary skills.

 

[Flboy]

Welcome to you!

 

[Laurasea]

Thanks to you all for such excellent advice. I appreciate it very much. I will post pictures, once my little Linnie has arrived, I am at ease, because I know, should I need help this is the place to go.
thank you for advising me about the weight, something that I wasn’t aware of.

Birds hide being sick until they are so sick they can't. When you have typical "sick burd" symptoms they are typically 24 hours from death.

But most birds will start dropping weight when dealing with health issues. So we track weight and when issues get them in to veterinarian. Caught early like that usually makes for quick recovery. A good habit is to weigh weekly and log.

Weigh after first morning poop. Because burds come in different sizes, vets go by % body mass lost. 3% loss see if you can find a reason, get a veterinariancheck up, 5% or more sick bird needs to see the veterinarian , 10% very sick bird need support feeding.
Take grams lost ÷ by healthy/normal weight × 100 = % body mass lost.

Example 60 grams normal weight lost 3 grams
3÷60=0.05 × 100 =5%
5% weight loss needs to see veterinarian likelihood sick

 

[wrench13]

K&H are radiant plate heaters, attaching to the side of the cage next to a perch so the parrot can choose his/her heat level. I been using one for a month and Salty loves it, he is always snuggled up to it when I uncover him in the morning. Very safe product, the wires are even shielded with a metal cover so the parrot cant chew thru them. How did we survive 6 winters with out this?

Hate to say it but 18X18X30 cage is small for any parrot. Rule of cages - get the biggest one you can afford ( and then try and get one even bigger !).

Kitchen scale that reads in grams is EXCELLENT for weighing your parrot, they are like $19 on Amazon, and for a few bucks more you can get one with a suction cup base T-stand for him to perch on. Keep a log of his weight - one of the early signs of any sick parrot is they start to loose weight. More then 5% should trigger a vet visit, and you are not going to be able to detect that small difference by eye or by hand. Peace of mind for $19 is a good deal in anyone's book.

 

[BirdyBee]

Hate to say it but 18X18X30 cage is small for any parrot. Rule of cages - get the biggest one you can afford ( and then try and get one even bigger !).

Although 18"x18"x30" is small, I definitely believe it's fine as long as they get a lot of outside time. 18"x18"x30" is the minimum recommended size for small birds.