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Yogie
Jun 17, 2007 6:23:37 GMT
Post by freswood on Jun 17, 2007 6:23:37 GMT
Hi there! I'm new to the forum. In 2 weeks I'll be picking up my new rainbow lorikeet "Yogie", which was in urgent need of a new home. He's 11 months old and is hand raised. I've never had a bird before, so this seems like the perfect place to start.
I've spent the last hour looking up information on the net, particularly regarding feeding. The previous owner told me he has been fed a diet consisting of commercial lorikeet mix (dry), apples, and milk arrowroot biscuits. Somehow this doesn't seem right to me..... Can lorikeets eat milk arrowroot biscuits?
Can anybody give me advice about feeding? I found a recipe for wet mix which is as follows:
o 1 litre water o 1 tablespoons pollen o 1 tablespoons of honey o 0.5 litres of high protein baby cereal o half teaspoon of calcium carbonate o half teaspoon of multivitamins o 0.1 litres of powdered skimmed milk
However I'm not sure about some of these ingredients. What is pollen, and where can I buy it? Can I use glucose syrup instead of honey? Where do I buy calcium carbonate? And what do they mean by multivitamins?
Sorry about all the questions. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything exactly right.Thanks!
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Post by freswood on Sept 5, 2007 9:11:01 GMT
I'm wanting to get a friend for Yogie in the Christmas holidays. I've been trying to suss out breeders, and those that I've contacted still aren't entirely sure if they'll have rainbows by then. Does anyone know of any reputable breeders in SE Melbourne? Thanks for your help
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Post by freswood on Feb 5, 2008 10:55:14 GMT
I'm so upset right now - the vet said they won't hand the magpie back to us because nobody in my family has a wildlife license. They're looking to either put the bird down, or give it to a carer with the intention of keeping it permanently in captivity. I just don't think either of those are the right course of action. If there's a possibility that it can survive out in the wild, then damnit we should give it a shot. The only problem seems to be the leg - it doesn't appear to be in pain, and there is no sign of illness.
It's so sad that the magpie will never see its family again. I just imagine how I'd feel if I was in that situation, and it compounds my grief. We're going to ring the vet tomorrow to find out exactly what they're doing with the magpie.
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Post by freswood on Feb 5, 2008 1:05:00 GMT
Rest assured, a magpie with the use of only 1 leg will survive in the wild. Where I live for 10 years was a female magpie with only the use of 1 leg and every year she raised a clutch of chicks & brought them round to us to feed - they loved small amounts of bread. Isn't there also a Birdworld or similar name in Melbourne? I'm sure they take in rescued birds. Otherwise I do know an experienced wildlife person in Brisbane (doesn't do wildlife anymore but did in the past). I'm so glad that they can survive with only one leg. Thanks so much for the contact - I'll email her straight away.
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Post by freswood on Feb 5, 2008 0:42:22 GMT
I really need help with this urgently
This morning there was a magpie with its leg caught in one of the components of the power line pole. We called the fire brigade and they rescued the bird. We took it to an avian vet who discovered that it is lame in one leg. It seems perfectly healthy otherwise, however she believes there could be some nerve damage. We left the magpie there for observation, but need to pick it up within 24 hours.
The vet didn't seem to think it would survive in the wild. There is no way we're euthanasing the magpie because it is perfectly healthy otherwise. It was the most beautiful, gentle thing. And nerves can regenerate - we rescued a possum that couldn't use its hind legs, however it was fine in a few days. And our late pet rabbit was lame for 6 weeks but completely recovered.
I just need some help with caring for the bird. I don't have a wildlife license, however I'm not wanting to surrender the bird to a wildlife carer because they are often too willing to put creatures down. If anybody has any contacts who have had experience with magpies, I would love to give them a call. I'm in Melbourne. Thanks for your help - I'm really upset about this at the moment.
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Post by freswood on Sept 27, 2007 6:13:42 GMT
UPDATE:
I found out today that it's not zinc poisoning, so everything's been ruled out apart from epilepsy. Yogie's still fine, so I'm relieved that it's something that can be controlled.
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Post by freswood on Sept 23, 2007 23:36:41 GMT
It's absolutely killing me having to wait for the test results. Yoges has developed a tic - he holds his claw up in the same manner that he does when having a seizure. I think he's realised it gets him attention, because everyone comes running! What a dag. In the meantime I've been keeping him out of his cage as much as possible. He's got the most awesome play area on my desk and the surrounding floor. He's taken up both my shelves, which have all of his toys, and bits of cloth hanging up that he likes to hide behind. A stick leads down from the top shelf to an open shoebox on the floor, in which he loves to play with his ball. I love my Yogie Though he's quite distracting while I'm trying to study! Yr 12 exams in a bit over a month!
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Post by freswood on Sept 22, 2007 5:26:01 GMT
Yogie had two more seizures - more severe than the first one. I wasn't home, so mum took him to the vet (for 2.5 hours!). He had an X-ray, so we know there are no tumours. The vet has narrowed it down to zinc poisoning or epilepsy. The blood test results come back next week. In the meantime, in case it is zinc poisoning, I'm wondering what to do.
I suspect it could be his cage causing it. We got it from the previous owner, and looking closely at it, it looks like some of the enamel has worn off. How do I distinguish between zinc and other metals? I'm really not sure what to do - I've kept Yoges out of his cage most of the day and he's only gone back to eat.
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Post by freswood on Sept 16, 2007 1:47:08 GMT
He's going to call on Monday, because he's not in during the weekend. However, he said it could most likely either be epilepsy, or a lorikeet-specific disease (and they don't really know what causes it).
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Post by freswood on Sept 15, 2007 0:06:42 GMT
My rainbow lorikeet had a seizure two days ago. His blood test results came back negative, so we know it's not a toxin, diabetes, heavy metal poisoning, etc. Has anybody had experience with bird seizures?
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