IndianRingNeck.com

Melika

"Be informed and make your own decision based on that information." I thought this was a good suggestion for galvanized wire, thoroughly and carefully brushing with a stiff wire brush to remove any 'chunks': http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/1624342/reload=0;jsessionid=c9q5egJnEU004qOPNi4...

Melika

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound as if I was censuring you. :( Taking things out of context happens a lot on forums, and to people reading, they might think the galvinization industry is horrid and should be stopped- toxic to all! But perhaps they would be forgetting how much waste would be produced wi...

Melika

You won't ever know until something goes badly. Every bird is an individual. Maybe they will get along, maybe they won't. Personally I am wary, because of the damage that can be done. A cockatiel can rip the beak off of a budgie- imagine what a mad IRN could do??? They are wild animals in a cage. We...

Melika

Very informative, thanks :D I'd heard that avocado was no good for sparrows and mynahs as it could be toxic; does the same apply to IRNs? Avocado has been found to be toxic, especially in caged birds. I don't know of any bird-keepers that feed avocado, instead preferring to play it safe. http://www...

Melika

Melika... wow you are well informed. OK, here's something I didn't find in the list... horned melon, AKA African cucumber, AKA Kiwana. I read that they were a superfood for eclectus-- I am guessing they would also be ok for IRNs? BTW, I thought it tasted pretty good. The texture is all gel-like and...

Melika

Don't get any of that galvanized stuff. I read that you could wash it to get the toxic powder off but someone, maybe Melika, advised me that more powder would happen... Right. The powder is simply what happens as it oxidises. Basically it's rust, but in the form of zinc oxide. It isn't considered a...

Melika

19 Chickens (four of which are roosters named Prince Edward, Rockstar, Frederick, and Gimpy) Your pets poop sadness. Mine poop breakfast. XD

Amadeus, canine, aussie shep.
Persephone, avian, cockatiel.

Melika

I wonder if this will help in putting the large-scale unscrupulous breeders out of business- the ones that don't spend time with the chicks and just stuff their throats as quickly as possible while trying to make a profit. Similar to puppy mills. The smaller breeders wouldn't be affected as much sin...

Melika

Hold off on the 15 bean mix until you do some research on that. My memory banks have a warning label on raw beans. Raw beans certainly, but sprouts are a whole new thing. :) Here is a caution taken from http://www.landofvos.com/articles/sprouts.html "NOTE: Many people have fed all of the beans...

Melika

Nice to have so much info in one place. A couple people mentioned canned - FYI - cans are lined with Bisphenol A unless marked Bisphenol A free. I would really avoid this stuff. If it is bad for humans and especially human babies, I cannot imagine it would not build up quickly in a bird. Besides, f...

Melika

Smart human baby! Once you use up that stash you can feed something better. Nothing wrong with baby food, MissK. :) Sally Blanchard's famous "Glop", for instance https://companionparrotonline.com/Diet.html features it. The objections to jarred baby food (puree with no added thickeners- th...

Melika

First of all, are a bird's taste preferences seasonal? (this is why i asked about older birds or people with more birding experience than I have) Secondly, I know peppers are good for them, but is it okay to eat them everyday while ignoring cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, collard greens, carrots, ...

Melika

ranechild wrote:someone had on their webstie to add citrus seed extract to the sprouts... It's supposed to be antimicrobial

Right, grapefruit seed extract. Great stuff. This is probably my favourite Ekkie site, http://landofvos.com/eclectus.html

Melika

I have found a good way to trick picky eaters into eating healthier is to make a basic wholegrain "bird bread" use pureed baby food in place for some of the liquid and throw various fruits and veggies in there. I use 3 cups whole wheat flour pour 5-6 jars vegetable baby food (I use mostly...

Melika

Glad to hear he seems to be better. What's the update now?

Melika

No l don't think Melika is making it up just puzzled. AJPeter Don't worry, AJPeter, I know what you mean. How can a company put something on the market that they know is unsafe? Perhaps the oil is only unsafe digested in certain amounts. I don't know. All I know is that it is considered toxic. How ...

Melika

The type of calcium would also be a factor. Not all types of calcium will be used by the body.

Melika

Hey! I missed this, grats Nila!

Melika

Hane's favourite colour is green- I believe because he himself is green. So anything green he tends to love, and he loves ANYONE wearing the colour.

Melika

Thanks Melika! So, you're saying essential oils ARE safe for use around birds? If so, all of them or just specific ones? I knew artificial ones were generally considered unsafe, already tossed out all my wallflowers :| Again, I don't have a problem with my house smelling weird, it just doesn't smel...

Melika

The idea that grit is bad came from some cases of crop impaction from birds eating the grit when not needed or eating too much and causing crop-impaction and death. Especially cockatiels. Even birds that require grit can kill themselves if they just eat it constantly. It was generally concluded that...

Melika

I'm not convinced the commercial air-smellifiers are safe for humans in the long run, much less our birds. Febreeze actually has a warning on it saying not safe to used around birds. Some of the compounds in artificial "fresheners" are suspected carcinogens while others are known to damage...

Melika

Greenpitbul1113 wrote:a small amount of bread is like the size of the finger nail so as to use it as a treat?

That's just fine. Sometimes Hane will grab more and run off with it. I'm not completely paranoid about it- relax and enjoy food time with your FID.

Melika

I made a bunch of Hane and Tsume's Sweet Potato Mash the other day and have it frozen in ice-cube size blocks ready for when my birdies arrive. It's such a great idea. Thanks so much for posting it Melika. But how much should I give them? Do you find one block per bird per day is the right amount? ...

Melika

Yep. Only dry foods though, depending on the smell. I remember Hane's pellets that I used to get smelled like candy. They most assuredly did not taste like candy!

Melika

I was just wondering, I have heard that IRNs are lactose intolerant but there is yogurt on your list? Thank you all for your advice Teresa They aren't really lactose intolerant, they simply do not digest lactose. The bacteria that makes the yogurt also eats the lactose leaving a very nearly lactose...

Melika

AJPeter wrote:Smallworld wrote that Tee tree oil was posinous but Johnson's sell a plumage spray that contains tea tree oil which encourages preening, it smells nice but is it really posinous?
AJPeter

Tea tree oil is considered to be toxic.

Melika

It is good for them to let them out of their cage. At a training session I went to, the presenter, Pamela Clark recommended a minimum of 4 hours out of cage time split between morning and afternoon/evening. I aim at that but don't always get there... and of course some days they get more. Ellie. Th...

Melika

For the most part, our meat here isn't safe enough to be eaten raw even by people. Hard to know how fresh it is and the source... but poultry and pork should never be eaten raw anyway. Beef is another matter. Fish too, if you want to call it meat. And even still it carries risk for humans. But parro...

Melika

White bread is basically sugar when processed in the body. That really goes for all grains, but the more processed, the less nutritive and the more quickly is becomes sugar. Birds eat grains in the wild, but live and unprocessed. So it basically should be limited to a treat. It's not going to harm t...

Melika

For everyday cleaning, before changing the papers I'll spray mist with a vinegar/water solution over the floor grate and through to the papers. This minimizes dust while changing the papers, as it is moist and won't fly away easily. It also softens any droppings on the grate, which I can wipe with a...

Melika

It looks like a great cage. I am always changing stuff around in the bird cages, I have these great ideas, try them out and find most of them are completely impractical once I put the bird in :lol: I'm not too sure about placing cages by window's. I have read some mixed reports on that, some people...

Melika

Thanks for posting this! It's full of wonderful ideas to spark the imagination when the time comes for making all these changes. I still have years and years with Hane before these become real issues, but good to prepare the mind in advance. Told my husband how old Hane was recently, and he was happ...

Melika

What a nice large cage! Fitting it out is really going to end up depending on your bird's preferences. Having a few larger perches like you have will be good exercise for your bird's feet- as long as the wood is rough so he can't slip and fall off. :lol: I like to have all sizes for optimum foot hea...

Melika

Oh man...I have a seriously long list here. I show favoritism towards a certain big beaked sweetie so he gets a large portion of my attention. I couldn't stand changing paper every day out of the cages so I switched to corn cob that I can scoop out the clumps every other day. I get lazy sometimes w...

Melika

Congrats on your free 'dna sexing', the only type that can never be wrong. XD Definitely leave the egg. Wait until she stops clutching and shows no interest in the eggs. If you remove the egg and she wants to lay more, then she will replace it which, if done continually, will deplete her calcium sto...

Melika

I agree that I don't think it is necessary for them to step up to get put of the cage. However I remember reading articles saying you should do this many years ago. Loo, I've also had bites when offering my hand to get out of the cage (not recently - when Janey was younger). The way we do it now is...

Melika

You can use regular vinegar too. I clean my bird cages with a vinegar solution. The smell fades relatively quickly.

Melika

I fine Hane prefers the larger seeds, with the exception of millet sprays. I think he's just lazy and doesn't want to spend time on little seeds. ;)
My cockatiel has a hard time with anything larger than a sunflower seed- actually took her years to eat a sunflower seed.

Melika

Avian Adventures cages snap together, no bolts or screws, and thus are easy to take apart. But any parrot cage is quite the investment. What about a dog kennel/crate? They're much cheaper and foldable. I've used them in the past as temporary housing. Also I have a budgie/tiel cage, which is fine for...

Melika

Once she can move around pretty well and has most of her feathers, I would offer water in a SHALLOW dish. Something she could get out of easily and not drown in.

Melika

If you can find a way to build a frame with pvc or plastic then it'll last alot longer. My cage is only 6 months old and I can already see the non treated wood starting to decay. Most of the cheap PVC piping and plastics won't hold up after a few years of harsh sunlight. So if anyone else here is f...

Melika

If the pan is truly just a ceramic coating over aluminum, then it seems safe. I couldn't find any definitive answer to what exactly the 'non-stick ceramic coating' is. Perhaps if you can contact the company and ask them, and the reason why you ask, you might get a good answer.

Melika

I have a question or two. Can I give my birds frozen mixed veggies? During summer I think it would be a nice cool snack. I was thinking like the frozen veggies you get from the supermarket in the freezer section. I ask this as I do not have a car and it is hard for me to go to the supermarket to ge...

Melika

Hrm. Bad habits? Probably not cleaning the cage often enough. Sometimes it can go a week or two if things are busy. Granted, I don't feed him veggies/fresh foods often in his cage (if I did, I would HAVE to clean it daily to keep bugs/moisture away). Every once in a while, things will be nuts and I ...

Melika

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v94/Melika/Ferments/currentferments10-23_zpsa78c5681.png From left to right: lacto-fermented pickles, purple/green (PINK) cabbage sauerkraut, green cabbage kraut, beet kvass. DH also raised a kombucha scoby and is currently brewing, but I didn't get a picture. That...

Melika

Here's the second batch of sauerkraut, this time both red and green cabbage. Nothing else was added except salt. The first batch (green cabbage) was so TASTY!

Melika

Wellington zoo lost some rare kiwi chicks to aspergillosis in their bedding material this week. Exactly why focusing on peanuts is so strange when it comes to aspergillosis. One article about the kiwi chicks said, "It is thought the birds' weakened immunity from the nematodes [worms] made them...

Melika

Dandelions. I keep hearing how good they are for birds.. are these the same dandelions growing in my backyard... the ones that make the fuzzballs that little kids like to blow into the air? How did this question end up in this topic? Anyway- yes. Dandelion greens are very edible by both you and you...

Melika

I used to feed the aviary birds from an outdoor bird feeder. I had it sitting on the floor of the raised aviary, but I don't see why you couldn't hang it and give them a perch or two to stand on and feed. I didn't want to make them try and land on the rim of the feeder, since the space was so narrow...

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