Bird

[fishorama]

His beak is hardening up, I can tell! Of course that "tummy down" squatty posture says he needs more flight time, he's tired, poor baby. He needs more flying time to build up his muscles & stamina but he's getting closer. You're both doing well! I think 2 or 3 weeks but I'm very out of practice judging without watching them fly & eat.

At least he doesn't seem to have "scooter sparrow" problems with crappy feathers. That means you've done a good job with feeding a good diet!! Kudos! We used to get house sparrows especially with weak long feather zones to the point they couldn't fly well at all. That was something I did, pluck out the damaged feathers. But of course that set them back a longer time & held up using their cage/aviary space. I wasn't popular for making that decission sometimes but IMO they needed it to survive more than a short time of very, very poor flying. I usually won than debate...of course, I'd already plucked out the poor feathers by that time, lol. Part of my prerogative as release supervisor...They all needed a "good" chance of survival or why did we bother? Even with non-natives...Euthanize on arrival or let them have a chance, a good chance, of making it back to "the wild" of suburban backyards where they'd likely be happy for years.

 

[NoodleCats]

His beak is hardening up, I can tell! Of course that "tummy down" squatty posture says he needs more flight time, he's tired, poor baby. He needs more flying time to build up his muscles & stamina but he's getting closer. You're both doing well! I think 2 or 3 weeks but I'm very out of practice judging without watching them fly & eat.

At least he doesn't seem to have "scooter sparrow" problems with crappy feathers. That means you've done a good job with feeding a good diet!! Kudos! We used to get house sparrows especially with weak long feather zones to the point they couldn't fly well at all. That was something I did, pluck out the damaged feathers. But of course that set them back a longer time & held up using their cage/aviary space. I wasn't popular for making that decission sometimes but IMO they needed it to survive more than a short time of very, very poor flying. I usually won than debate...of course, I'd already plucked out the poor feathers by that time, lol. Part of my prerogative as release supervisor...They all needed a "good" chance of survival or why did we bother? Even with non-natives...Euthanize on arrival or let them have a chance, a good chance, of making it back to "the wild" of suburban backyards where they'd likely be happy for years.

Yep, minimal stress bars on the feathers.

The parrot pellets, while not a complete diet, are basically a supplement for added vitamins lacking in the cat kibble, egg, and mealworm mix. They don't have enough protein for an insect-eater though.

I introduced some grass seed heads from outside for him, he's been exploring them. Also leafy branches to shelter in as well. And some grasshoppers and crickets from outside to start recognizing wild insects as food.

He is getting daily fly time in the bedroom so he has space to fly and practice turns, stops, and control. Plus can close door so cats are nowhere near.

Only thing worse than being hand friendly would be being cat friendly. The other reason I block his view of the home sides of his cage.

 

[fishorama]

You & he are doing great! Good show!

I think grasshoppers & crickets seem a bit too big for such a small bird but it won't hurt to try them. What does he think about them? Not every bird is like your "killer" lovebird, lol.

 

[NoodleCats]

You & he are doing great! Good show!

I think grasshoppers & crickets seem a bit too big for such a small bird but it won't hurt to try them. What does he think about them? Not every bird is like your "killer" lovebird, lol.

He downs then whole haha I do remove the back legs while he's learning though, makes it easier to start.

His daily mix is this:

Gets that 2x a day

Little fluff ball.



Pardon the clutter and messy drawers, but we even put TV on for him when he's having his fly practice in the bedroom lol

 

[fishorama]

I love the sparrrow tv, great idea!

What's the white stuff in his food mix? & the beetle critter lower left in 1st pic?

 

[NoodleCats]

I love the sparrrow tv, great idea!

What's the white stuff in his food mix? & the beetle critter lower left in 1st pic?

White stuff might be some oats that got in with the mealies, their media for their culture bin is oats--edible to birds though. Or could be a type of seed. He's got some cockatiel seed mix, though I choose the smaller black oil sunflower seeds and not that many yet. There's white millet, red millet, flax, canary grass seed, whole oats, and black oil sunflower.

Then there's the tropican parrot pellets and crushed cat kibble. That's his dry food mix. Lunch he gets the scrambled egg.

The beetle is adult mealworms, darkwing beetles. They're edible, though not as nutritious as the larvae, but teaching him other sources of food, not just larvae. (I've had a mealworm culture going for years). He will starve in the wild if he is picky on what he eats, so getting him used to variety now.


He talks back to the sparrows chirping on the TV, which is what I want.


I just worry about predators, growing up cushy he hasn't had the opportunity to be wary of them, and I'd feel a touch too mean chasing him with my taxidermy kestrel.
I'm hoping videos on YouTube help, the audio of happy bird calls when he's out and about maybe can associate the sound of active birds as a safe time to come out of hiding. So I play the YouTube sparrow Playlist when he comes out to fly.

He flies from his cage, around the room, and goes back to his cage when he's had enough too. So he associates safety and shelter with his cage which is perfect.

Soon the cage will be moved outside where he will be getting used to his environment there, and then the door will be left open for him to come and go as he wants until he no longer has the need to return. Of course, he will have a feeder put out with his food mix for the first while until he doesn't come around for it too.

 

[fishorama]

Oh, I should have known what mealworms turn into, but, well they never did at my wild bird hospital. Just all snarffled up!

My breakfast oatmeal is not so white & so smooth. I thought maybe yogurt but dairy is not on most bird's food list...lol

 

[NoodleCats]

Oh, I should have known what mealworms turn into, but, well they never did at my wild bird hospital. Just all snarffled up!

My breakfast oatmeal is not so white & so smooth. I thought maybe yogurt but dairy is not on most bird's food list...lol

OHHH you might be seeing the bowl in open spots, the way the food is scattered haha. Now that makes sense.

And yeah, no dairy. Plain yogurt can be used as a probiotic following antibiotic treatment for birds, but generally not good as a daily diet thing.

 

[fishorama]

Oops, you're right now that I looked harder.

 

[fishorama]

You know you had to circle fry etc. for me before...Now I need dish ID too, lol. I need new glasses!

I used to share a few bites of dairy (cheese, yogurt, etc) w/my very spoiled quaker. "Want some?" & he'd try just about anything. When he first came home I had to decide he didn't need to be out when we ate our dinners...or land on our plates. He was a wonderful pet in many ways...except for that year long "hormonal rage" thing, he bit hard! I didn't know how to handle that very well & thought we might not be able to keep him. But he eventually mellowed out. I was the preferred person mostly, but he purred to both of us if I was not available for petting/snuggles/food.