Archive for the ‘Medical Behaviors’ Category
Luna Had a Seizure
I know it’s been almost a week since my last post here on Birdie School, and for that I apologize. We’ve had a pretty tough few days around here, and avian education has had to take a back seat. The birds have been getting plenty of attention, just we haven’t done any proper schooling in almost a week.
Things first got tough around here because everyone in the house (except the feathered ones) caught a nasty cold. When I say nasty, I mean nasty. This one drug on for more than a week and left me feeling tired, fuzzy-headed and unmotivated. Although I did sit down at my computer and do at least some work that week, I couldn’t put in full days. I was in that crummy state where I felt too lousy to be productive, but not lousy enough to where I could just crawl into bed and sleep the germs off.
Then, just about the time I started to feel better, Luna had a couple of seizures.
Progress, Not Perfection
The hated and feared postage scale of doom
According to Static, we have a new bird-eating monster in our house. It is what is now being known as the hated and feared postage scale of doom. Static fears the scale, and we have the problem of trying to convince her that it’s entirely benign, because we want to use it to track her weight.
For those new to living with companion parrots, one way to keep track of your bird’s health is to weigh her on a weekly basis. If you see a sudden unexplained change in weight, it might be a sign that your feathered buddy needs a quick trip to your avian vet for a check-up.
Of course the trick is convincing your bird that this is a brilliant and necessary idea.
Nosedrops for Luna – Part I
Our hapless victim requires medication
As I mentioned earlier this week, we’ve figured out that we have a definite need to train medical behaviors. Our last visit to the avian vet wasn’t exactly what I would call fun.
Well, unless chasing your bird around the exam room and listening to her scream is your idea of a good time.
No? Not so much for us, either.
Although there are quite a few medical behaviors that are useful for regular maintenance, such as weighing, toenail clipping and wing trims, there are others that are important in the event your bird becomes ill. If your bird is comfortable taking liquid from a syringe, it becomes a whole lot easier to give her mediation.
The Need for Training Medical Behaviors
On Tuesday, we had a rather traumatic visit to our avian vet.
Since our 34-year-old African Grey, Coco, passed away, the girls have been acting strangely. At first, I chalked it up to them being upset about his passing, but after it stretched on for a couple of weeks, I decided maybe we ought to go see the vet, just to make sure.
Vet visits are never fun around these parts. Although both girls will somewhat cooperate if they aren’t feeling well, there is zero cooperation to be found when they are feeling fine. This last visit was no exception. Both birds behaved like little banshees. If they were children, I would have been dreadfully embarrassed. Since they were birds, all the humans in the room simply shrugged at each other and tried to attend to the business at hand.