Hi everyone!

My bird has been refusing his cuttle bone and now I'm starting to see his beak grow. Does his beak look long?
Thanks!

Jen

hi and welcome to the forum...

cuttlebones are not about beaks being kept groomed they are for calcium..mineral blocks are better and also have calcium....

order two of these perches and place in the cage...the ones saying cement oyster shells...comes in three sizes...id get some soon...place one of them when you get them on a upward angle...see pic. these are GREAT beak groomers..and id say your birds beak is too sensitive now being long to use the cuttlebone...



from what i see the beak is cracking but that second pic isnt too clear to know for sure and yes it does look long...also incorporate some vit. A into your birds diet....with some beet leaf...crushed red pepper seed like you put on pizza ...sweet potatoe....carrot....vit. A is VERY important for many health issues....and give it time offering these because they dont always go for veggies right away it takes many many many times of offering in different ways before most birds will. Under the circumstance id say to make sure the carrot is in small lengths and or diced small and semi cooked to soften it ..and STEAM the sweet potatoe then remove skin to offer.

http://www.birdguys.com/bird-conditioning-perch.html

Thank you for your input! I'm bringing him to the doctor tomorrow to trim his nails and get his beak checked out. Aren't those perches bad for for the bottom of their feet though? I'll be giving him some potatoes and see if he'll eat that. Thanks again!

noooooo they are not bad for the bottom of the feet SAND paper is bad and if you have only a couple of these in the cage as well as SEVERAL other perch types such as rope perches ...a natural branch OF SAFE WOOD...boodah rope things etc they then get the foot excercise they need so all perches are not the same diameter including if you use a platform somewhere but...these are not harmful MANY use them and as you see so do i for a LONG time now...thing is you dont fill the entire cage with just these.

and not just any potatoe ...SWEET potatoe as mentioned as well as the OTHER things also...im sure you have some crushed red pepper seasoning in your parents spice rack ...if not just pick some up at the grocery store in the spice aisle...

Thank you!

your very welcome young lady

Rose (aka Buddy) got his nails and beak trimmed. The avian would like to see him for a physical soon, so he'll be seen again next month.
I will be working with him to eat carrots, sweet potatoes, and more veggies.
He seems to only enjoy toys with mirrors on them and refuses all other types of toys. I don't understand it, but the site you recommended showed great toys with mirrors.
One more question...
I don't have an air conditioner for the summer, so do you recommend misting a parakeet with water? What would you suggest?
Thank you!

reason he dont like any other toys but mirrors is because they are in there....remove them then he has no other choice but to bond with a different toy YOU mainly ...

i dont have AC either...just keep offering and it will take many time just like offering veggies before it will happen a VERY shallow dish with just a bit like ankle deep water and a large green leafy veggie put in it too...eventurally he will take a dip...but they all seem to HATE misting....so i wouldnt go that way.

important thing is ...patience and doing these things SEVERAL times a week...and offering the veggies different ways...raw ..cooked ..altogether as sometimes they like seeing the different colors...so red bell and green bell peppers...what i mentioned before some brown cooked rice ...bean sprouts like what you get in chinese food...a bit of plain cooked pasta ...a bit in a bowl of several of these might work quicker but no matter what it will take time and at first he will probably just play with it all TESTING it lol

and why did the vet want to see again so soon ...to make money...they could of just did a wellness check when they did the rest ...gawd basically all they do is look over the bird ...weigh it and say yup its healthy...they dont really do test...unless you ask for them ...one to ask for is psittacosis even if you dont suspect something as they can be a carrier and never show signs and thats something you may want to know if your bird does have it or not.

When I mix apples into his Roudy Bush Crumble, he loves it. I'm going to get some veggies and mix it with his food to offer it to him at first.
Okay, now I'm paranoid about psittacosis. I've had my bird for 4 years and never had him checked for it. I will have him checked out during his physical. His last physical was in 2010, so that was why they needed to see him again.
I'll be trying everything out that you suggested. Thanks!

dont mix the veggies in with his food have a separate cup or small crock bowl to place on the bottom of the cage for those...and if he likes apples your ahead of the game as keets omg they usually look at fruit like its from mars...

well super happy to hear your a reg. at your vet but i still dont understand when they did the beak and toes they could of done the rest right then so as not to keep stressing the bird with unnecessary trips????