The "lets get Charlotte healthy!" Thread.

[jugoya]

Re: The "lets get Scarlett healthy!" Thread.

Yards ales and fifty cent novels xD
I soak them for fifteen seconds and leave them to dry all krinkly and open in the sun

 

[BeatriceC]

Re: The "lets get Scarlett healthy!" Thread.

Another great idea!

We actually do have a ton of paperbacks we need to get rid of. MrC is a packrat. I swear the only reason he's not a hoarder is because this house is so huge we have space to put it all. He's got a ton of books like Sweet Valley High and The Babysitter's Club series left from when his (now 31 year old) daughters were in Jr. High and High School. If Charlotte goes through those, yard sales area great idea for getting more.

 

[BeatriceC]

Re: The "lets get Scarlett healthy!" Thread.

Next question: she fell again. The first time it was after her shower and I blamed it on the perch being wet. This time she was trying to reach for me as I was walking towards her. She's going to the vet on Tuesday, but between now and then, I was hoping for advise on what to do to help her not fall. We have her perches in padded only areas since the first fall, and I'm buying more foam mats so she can go outside. She shook herself off and immediately went for a walk to check out the next room over, and seems fine (landed on her chest, not head). I'm watching her for any signs of abnormal behavior to see if another emergency vet visit is in order and will call in the morning otherwise. I've been concerned about her grip strength since she came home, but I'm not sure what else I can do. Is there some sort of birdie physical therapy?

And in cuter news, in going to upload a video of her playing peek a boo later tonight.

 

[jugoya]

Re: The "lets get Scarlett healthy!" Thread.

Its likely a Balance Issue; like I mentioned with the travel cage.

A bird uses its wings to steady itself when unbalanced just like we do with our arms. Instead of just regular perches you might want to try perhaps setting up a table with table top perches on top of it. Perhaps a ofoot up or even less, give her something to fall ONTO instead of several feet to the floor.

WIthout her wing the poor baby is going to be a little clumsy; no way to steady herself at all; another thought are things to 'catch' herself on; like a netting below her perches; something soft like fleece that will catch her before she hits the floor?

I'm not certain on that idea myself but... it might help?

 

[BeatriceC]

Re: The "lets get Scarlett healthy!" Thread.

Oh, I'm sure there's a balance issue at the very least. She's getting braver and reaching out for interaction, which is a good thing. I like the idea of a net, and I was going to get some sort of plastic liner to put on the bottom of her cage and fill with some sort of bedding in case she falls while in her cage. I hesitate to put her low enough to the floor where she can get down on the floor itself. She's a curious little chicken and I'm still working on macaw proofing my house! Let me think on the netting idea. That might be a solution.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Re: The "lets get Scarlett healthy!" Thread.

Oh, I'm sure there's a balance issue at the very least. She's getting braver and reaching out for interaction, which is a good thing. I like the idea of a net, and I was going to get some sort of plastic liner to put on the bottom of her cage and fill with some sort of bedding in case she falls while in her cage. I hesitate to put her low enough to the floor where she can get down on the floor itself. She's a curious little chicken and I'm still working on macaw proofing my house! Let me think on the netting idea. That might be a solution.

Why not have a look at what is available for dogs/cats to see if there is anything that would suit? I have a nice fleece one side, material on the other cover which I use for Plums travel cage in case he slips off a perch whilst traveling - washable just stick it through the machine.

 

[BeatriceC]

Re: The "lets get Scarlett healthy!" Thread.

Oh! Maybe a dog bed that's mastiff sized would cover the bottom of her cage. She seems to do best in her cage, but that's likely because she can grab the bars with her feet and beak if she needs to.

We've also come to the next stage of settling in. She's testing us now. She "complains" when we take her out of her cage. It's more like a two year old human pitching a fit, and she's happy once she's out, so I think this is just figuring out who's in charge here (hint: not her, though she's well on her way to spoiled in other ways). She squawks loudly and won't put her foot up, but she's not lunging or biting, which is why I'm sure it's just her trying to test out who's in charge.

 

[BeatriceC]

Shower time! This actually makes me nervous because of her balance issues. I've ordered some foam mats to go under her shower perch but they haven't arrived yet. Today we're getting all pretty for a vet visit. Her back claws are way too long, which is probably contributing to her balance issues, but they're so long that even MrC is nervous about trimming them (he does all the birdie manicures in this house), so we're going to let the vet do it the first time. I will update when we get home from the vet.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML28d_7vF_c"]Charlotte takes a shower - YouTube[/ame]

 

[psychocircus91]

Yay, she's loving it. Let us know how the vet goes.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I'm notoriously paranoid about every little thing where the Rickeybird is concerned, but...

I have always worried about possible ink toxicity when it comes to choosing stuff to let him shred. I guess I'm wrong?

 

[BeatriceC]

Vet visit went very well! She gets a clean bill of health pending blood work, but he thinks that will all be fine based on how she looks and how she behaves. He recommended some changes to the types of perches she has because of the balance issues, and we're off to Home Depot shortly to get the stuff required to make the perches he thinks she should have, but other than that, he's pleased with her progress given what we described of her past. She's really being more interactive with every passing day, and she's curious and friendly with almost everybody. She's even stepping up on my arm now. And because I'm a hopeless new mommy, here's some more pictures.

 

[GaleriaGila]

This story gets nothing but better!

 

[BeatriceC]

Thanks! I'm so happy with her I'm practically vomiting rainbows. Even now that she's in the petulant toddler/testing phase, she's just such a great bird. If I believed in fate/god, I'd be certain that this was the universe/divine intervention bringing us together.

I also forgot to mention that he's suggesting meeting with a bird behaviorist in our home (for the low, low rate of $150/hour) to try to figure out ways of getting her to fully stop plucking. She's got new feathers coming in, but she's plucking most of them out. There's also some medications he can put her on, but would rather try a few months of behavioral intervention first. Now that she's letting me handle her, I'm going to start training her to see if I can't keep her too busy to think about plucking (a plan that also meets his approval). We've just dropped a huge amount of money on her between vet care and new toys, so I'm going to put off the behaviorist until next month, and in the meantime, try to learn as much as I can on the subject myself and see how far I can get with her on my own.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Vomiting rainbows? I feel ya!
I just stated in the Rickeybird scrapbook thread that people here were making my heart feel so warm and fuzzy that I thought it might turn into a chipmunk or something.
Gotta love this place. It inspires the craziest/sweetest metaphors/analogies.
We love you, Parrots Forum!

 

[BeatriceC]

I started target training this morning. We've done two sessions. She was afraid of the stick at first, but she's coming around. By the end of the afternoon training session (she gets bored after about 10 minutes) she was responding quickly to the target stick if it was just a step or two away. She still won't go after it if it's farther away, but we can work on that. I also dropped some colored balls into a bowl in front of her and she was very interested in what I was doing, so I think I can teach her that trick soon.

 

[BeatriceC]

Okay, I lied. She learned a little bit more than just targeting. Here's a short, 7 second video of her first "trick" She's learned "touch the ball". There's a ball in the bowl and she's reaching down to lick it.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUdvA6ZYp0k"]Charlotte's First Trick - YouTube[/ame]