Skeeter the Red Bellied Parrot

[Weka]

Hi all --

Don't have much time for a super-detailed update tonight, but Skeeter is indeed home with us now, and wow, does he seem ever so much more happier. He made so many new sounds, whistles, and garbled phrases -- and he was making them nearly as soon as we got him in the door(!) We did have a bit of a mishap (he escaped his carrier inside when we were attempting to transfer him to his cage) and since he'd already been toweled earlier at the bird shop, we took a couple of hours and eventually he was gently, slowly, herded back into the carrier on the floor and then into his cage. Here's an interesting thing we figured out: if my husband and I both softly sang a song together while slowly moving towards him, he would stop acting scared and begin to groom himself.

Right now as I type this, he's sound asleep. One question: is it normal for a red-bellied to sleep with its head slightly lowered, both feet down, and body somewhat parallel to the perch? Poor thing was exhausted from all his adventures, and I think we are, as well...

Hopefully I'll report more tomorrow, but if not, on Monday for sure.

Best,

Weka

[KimberlyAnn]

Oh good news! He sounds so happy! What a cool journey home.

I don't know about Red-Bellied Parrots, but my conure will sleep on her back, side, belly, hanging on the side of the cage, head hanging below the perch, (or my finger and if I move she falls over haha) with her head under her wing, on one foot or two. Or her favorite position in winter during a nap, on the side of my cheek with her head on my eye.

I'm assuming that Red-Bellies sleep in a few strange positions too. He sounds so tired! Lots of changes for him. I would expect him to take a few naps tomorrow too. Any trips we take with Emmi, means an extra long nap the next day.

[Pajarita]

Oh, poor baby, he must be real tired! And what great omen that he was vocalizing so as he was going into your home for the very first time! I had a feeling from the very beginning that he was going to be one of those totally exceptional parrots and this confirms it!

And, yes, good idea about singing! I sing to my birds while I clean their cages prior serving them fresh water and food and they are so used to the songs (particularly one that I sing to them most often) that, on the very rare occasions when I've had to go into the birdroom at night and they wake up startled, I sing it very, very softly and they all quiet down immediately and go back to sleep. I call it 'the cricket song' because I feel this song is like the crickets going CHRRRRP CHRRRRP in the forest, as long as you hear them, you know there is no danger -LOL

[Weka]

Argh, the long post that I just composed got erased. Ah, well.

To summarize my previous summary:

Day One went well. Skeeter ate all of his food, napped and preened a lot, and really seemed to enjoy having our company.

Day Two has also gone well, although he has been napping through most of the morning and afternoon. I'm hoping it's just that it's just part of the transition and not a health issue. Thankfully, we're scheduled to go to the avian vet tomorrow for his wellness exam. I worked with him for about 15 minutes on getting him used to self-entering into the carrier using the "bread crumb" technique seen in Michael's video of Santina. If he's up for it and more alert, we will practice going in the carrier again about an hour or so before his bedtime. That way, it won't be so stressful in the morning.


--W

[KimberlyAnn]

I hope he's not sick :/

I bet he's just like...THANK GOD! I'm away from all that noise at the bird shop and now I can sleep! Lol Emmi has days where she naps more then normal if the day before was busy.

I really hope the vet visit goes well!

[Pajarita]

Mine also nap more if the day is gray or rainy. Don't forget to put a bit of millet spray in his carrier. It will distract him on his way to the vet -and carry another little bit with you and put it in when he goes into it for the trip back.

[Weka]

Thanks for the tip, Pajarita! Unfortunately I didn't read it until just now. I'll try that next time...

So the vet report: from the outside, Skeeter checks out okay, but his blood work will have to wait at least a couple of weeks because when the doc tried to get him to step up out of the carrier, Skeeter spooked and flew desperately around the examination room, refusing (understandably) even to step up from the floor. I'd explained earlier how Skeeter had become somewhat untame and rather cagebound, but I think the doc didn't believe me entirely until he saw for himself. He knows the lady at the bird shop quite well, and was genuinely surprised at this "very independent red belly" as he put it, because the rest of her birds have been completely tame.

So poor Skeeter was cornered, caught with a towel, and wrapped up like a squeaking burrito while the doc checked his eyes, nares, vent, wings and so on. His heart was waaaay going fast, of course, when his heart/lungs were listened to. They put him in a basket scale, towel and all, and then subtracted the weight of the towel. He weighs about 140g, which was described as normal for his species. The doc said the reason his blood work would have to wait was because he'd been completely stressed out and that would throw off the readings. I explained how Skeeter has been sleeping so much; he said it could just be the transition, but that I should keep track and give him a call if he kept it up. He also said perhaps I should look into getting him a cozy hut, as this could make him feel more secure at night. Skeeter's feet and beak are also a bit roughed up, due to the three concrete perches that had been placed at well-used places in his cage for who knows how long. Normally the doc would advise rubbing some aloe on them, but he said that for now just getting a humidifier might help with the rough dryness. In addition, one sample of Skeeter's guano looked "like it should, like he's on Harrisons", whilst another sample appeared a bit on the watery side, but that could be because we might need to "ramp the fruit and veggies back a little."

Oh, and when he first looked at Skeeter in the carrier, the doc noted that he was fully flighted and advised that we might need to have his wings lightly clipped. But after seeing how winded and fatigued Skeets got after just a few rounds of frightened flapping, I think he conceded that this might not be necessary.

So I let my poor bird calm down in the warm parked car for about twenty minutes after the visit, then took him on the 30 mile ride back home. I gave him some of his favorite treats, let him rest some more while I cleaned and rearranged the perches, then gently let him transfer himself back into his big cage. (I hadn't rearranged the concrete perches immediately upon getting him three days ago, as I wanted him to feel somewhat more comfortable). So he was a little confused for a minute, but then seemed okay with the comfey-foot change-around. As I'm typing this, he's out cold.

I really don't like having to not know how his inner condition is, but I suppose I've no choice but to wait things out until Skeeter is up for another round of poking and prodding. He really took today like a champ, preening and softly chatting in the car on the way home. I really hope he doesn't have any fatty liver issues or other problems that come with being so sedentary. It's my biggest wish to have him out for supervised flying as soon as we know what we're dealing with. Until then, it'll just be target training in the cage and LOTS of love and attention.


--W

[KimberlyAnn]

I'm glad he seems healthy. I bet he's fine. Emmi takes at least one long nap a day normally. A few long naps when there has been any changes. And yes, dark weather...she's out. I would not be so worried about him sleeping so much for now. And hahaha! Squeaking burrito! That's a great name for that!

I'm glad the vet didn't clip his wings! He will get to exercise a lot now and be much healthier. It takes so long for them to grow back. We have been waiting months. :/

[cml]

Dont let that vet talk you into clipping please!

[Pajarita]

And I second CML's request! As to reducing fruits and veggies, don't do it. Parrots are not supposed to have dry poop, it's supposed to be wet, for heaven's sake! Vets are so used to seeing the poop of birds that eat mostly pellets that they think that's the way they are supposed to look but they don't. My birds all eat fruits and veggies every single day and their poops are perfectly normal. Their poops do look a bit watery when you first switch them but once the enzymes and beneficial bacteria from the fresh produce colonize their gut, they become normal. Try it and you'll see I'm right.