Hello all,
following on from the other post, I just thought I would start a thread about Alfie’s feathers.
A bit of background, Alfie is a TAG, 13 years old and he’s owned me since he was 12 weeks old.
he shares his cage with Casper ( CAG) and is a busy little bee , all the time. He has no fear, nothing has ever phased him and in 2013 he had to have 2 toes amputated due to his curiosity. He has always had perfect feathers as has Casper.
Last Sunday, when I got up, there was some down/ dust on the floor near their cage. Now, this sometimes happens if they have flapped in the night. My immediate thought was oh they’ve had a night fright and I didn’t hear them. I checked them all over and nothing was amiss so didn’t think anymore of it. On Monday, there were feathers on the bottom of the cage.
After work on Monday, the boys had their playtime with me out of the cage and Alfie is happy, lively, playing etc no behaviour change. I was even following him around the room taking pictures of poop! ( all normal)
Tuesday, I phoned the vet but was advised to go for a telephone consultation due to them having having cases of avian flu within a 10 mile radius of the surgery. They booked me in for Friday.
between Tuesday and Friday, I’ve done all the usual things. I’ve been spraying him daily and keeping a close eye on when he does it to see if there’s a pattern.
he doesn’t do it when wet, or at night. Tuesday there were feathers on the bottom of the cage when I got home from work, but not all whole ones. They’ve been snipped. Wednesday to Friday, no feathers at all.
spoke to the vet on Friday and he again, went through everything you’d expect. I’m going to put them back on Harrison’s at his request ( they’ve had it on and off over the years but don’t like it!) I’ve always tried to feed a food diet, they have parrot mash/ chop, lentils, fruit and a little bit of AS30. I’ve never fed ‘human food’ or anything like sunflower seeds or monkey nuts.
yesterday, I decided to stop being so anxious about it because it’s making me ill with worry and I don’t want him picking up on it. That was until last night when I found about 5 or so snipped feathers ( he’d been so good all day!)
Neal and I have been through everything we can think of. Saturday night ( last week just before it started), as we were going to bed there was a massive bang. So loud it made me jump and I actually waited to listen to see if the birds startled. I said to Neal I can’t believe they didn’t react as it was our gate been blown open by the wind and their room is next to our gate. Could that of been enough to freak/ spook him? As it was then Sunday morning it started.
Also, Percy our rosella who we lost in October was very close to Alfie in particular, so much so Alfie mimics his noise. I did realise that Percy’s cage was outside waiting to be sorted and it is in their eye line near the window. Could it be he’s picked up on the cage and no Percy and he’s realised he’s not coming back? It was about 5/ 6 weeks ago so would it take that long for a reaction?
could Alfie be hormonal? He is DNA sexed male.
My biggest dilemma is what to do about the vet. They have said that they can suggest things but ultimately cannot diagnos without seeing/ testing. Which I know is obvious. My problem is, Alfie hasn’t been to the vet for a few years. My vet is 2 hours away and I’m really concerned the journey and visit will stress him more. Added to the fact they have said about avian flu. Now anyone that knows me knows that, if I need to, I would take him there today. I’m just trying to weigh up the best decision.
should I , wait one more week, implement the changes that I am ( I’ve bought a new uv bulb for lamp, Harrison’s food, Nutrobal, aloe Vera juice to add in spray, new toys ) and see what happens? There’s a part of me that feels if it was medical, there would be other symptoms? But of course I don’t want to leave it either. I just want to do what is right for Alfie.
sorry for long post, just trying to give as much information as possible. I have pics but can’t work out how to add them at the mo!
following on from the other post, I just thought I would start a thread about Alfie’s feathers.
A bit of background, Alfie is a TAG, 13 years old and he’s owned me since he was 12 weeks old.
he shares his cage with Casper ( CAG) and is a busy little bee , all the time. He has no fear, nothing has ever phased him and in 2013 he had to have 2 toes amputated due to his curiosity. He has always had perfect feathers as has Casper.
Last Sunday, when I got up, there was some down/ dust on the floor near their cage. Now, this sometimes happens if they have flapped in the night. My immediate thought was oh they’ve had a night fright and I didn’t hear them. I checked them all over and nothing was amiss so didn’t think anymore of it. On Monday, there were feathers on the bottom of the cage.
After work on Monday, the boys had their playtime with me out of the cage and Alfie is happy, lively, playing etc no behaviour change. I was even following him around the room taking pictures of poop! ( all normal)
Tuesday, I phoned the vet but was advised to go for a telephone consultation due to them having having cases of avian flu within a 10 mile radius of the surgery. They booked me in for Friday.
between Tuesday and Friday, I’ve done all the usual things. I’ve been spraying him daily and keeping a close eye on when he does it to see if there’s a pattern.
he doesn’t do it when wet, or at night. Tuesday there were feathers on the bottom of the cage when I got home from work, but not all whole ones. They’ve been snipped. Wednesday to Friday, no feathers at all.
spoke to the vet on Friday and he again, went through everything you’d expect. I’m going to put them back on Harrison’s at his request ( they’ve had it on and off over the years but don’t like it!) I’ve always tried to feed a food diet, they have parrot mash/ chop, lentils, fruit and a little bit of AS30. I’ve never fed ‘human food’ or anything like sunflower seeds or monkey nuts.
yesterday, I decided to stop being so anxious about it because it’s making me ill with worry and I don’t want him picking up on it. That was until last night when I found about 5 or so snipped feathers ( he’d been so good all day!)
Neal and I have been through everything we can think of. Saturday night ( last week just before it started), as we were going to bed there was a massive bang. So loud it made me jump and I actually waited to listen to see if the birds startled. I said to Neal I can’t believe they didn’t react as it was our gate been blown open by the wind and their room is next to our gate. Could that of been enough to freak/ spook him? As it was then Sunday morning it started.
Also, Percy our rosella who we lost in October was very close to Alfie in particular, so much so Alfie mimics his noise. I did realise that Percy’s cage was outside waiting to be sorted and it is in their eye line near the window. Could it be he’s picked up on the cage and no Percy and he’s realised he’s not coming back? It was about 5/ 6 weeks ago so would it take that long for a reaction?
could Alfie be hormonal? He is DNA sexed male.
My biggest dilemma is what to do about the vet. They have said that they can suggest things but ultimately cannot diagnos without seeing/ testing. Which I know is obvious. My problem is, Alfie hasn’t been to the vet for a few years. My vet is 2 hours away and I’m really concerned the journey and visit will stress him more. Added to the fact they have said about avian flu. Now anyone that knows me knows that, if I need to, I would take him there today. I’m just trying to weigh up the best decision.
should I , wait one more week, implement the changes that I am ( I’ve bought a new uv bulb for lamp, Harrison’s food, Nutrobal, aloe Vera juice to add in spray, new toys ) and see what happens? There’s a part of me that feels if it was medical, there would be other symptoms? But of course I don’t want to leave it either. I just want to do what is right for Alfie.
sorry for long post, just trying to give as much information as possible. I have pics but can’t work out how to add them at the mo!
