parsley as well as spinach and brocolli are calcium blockers/inhibitors/binders so should not be fed excessively and NEVER to birds who are about to lay eggs...but the benefits do suggest SOME is good once in awhile...

also cilantro and thyme an thistle are SUPER at detoxifying for heavy metal posioning...which certainly can be and often in this site with owners has been a very strong plausability with inferior cages and their coatings and even some toys not to mention some water sources which i always recommend pure spring water if you are not absolutely certain of your water and pipes...

i do add these spices/herbs of different things to my own home made mix of "organic or wildcrafted" seeds and grains every time i make a batch in small quantities...commercial seed mixes are far more of a risk to our birds with all the chemicals and food coloring than a small amount of these spices/herbs added to seed...and indeed benefical for what they supply

if you suspect mites i STRONGLY suggest getting to a AVIAN vet and NOT try to self medicate with over the counter medications of various types...and do this ASAP...mites can become a devasting thing to the growth of beaks and other areas of the bird...also along with treatment the ENTIRE AREA the bird is kept in along with cage covering will need to be thoroughly cleaned.

Here's a pic of my Cheeky with the hyper keratosis:



Doesn't look like mites at all. It's just an over-growth of her cere. No messed up patches of skin or missing feathers around her beak and cere, no constant scratching, etc.

my next question was this diagnosed by a AVIAN vet who ran test...not a reg DVM...

is there extreme temperatures ..or what would be deemed so for a bird in your house...air to dry etc

smoking ..

heavy use of some sort of cleaning agents or chemicals...around the bird ...say maybe new carpet installation or any carpet freshers or cleaners anything chemical related near the bird or maybe even airborne...???? or perfumes or after shave lotions etc ...think think of anything at all...

I never took her to a vet. I'm hesitant to considering what happened to Chuckie. Chuckie was very tame and unafraid of humans and his last trip to the vet was still too much for him to handle. Cheeky is afraid of almost everything. She gets panicky when a car passes by, if the tv is on too loud, or if you try to take her more than a foot away from her cage.

No extreme temps, smoking, or any chemicals around her.

Anyways, I don't mean to go off-topic here. Got her some cilantro, watercress, cauliflower, crushed red pepper, and alfalfa. She seems to just nibble at the cilantro and watercress leaves a little and doesn't seem to like the crushed red pepper when fed to her directly. Haven't tried giving her the cauliflower or alfalfa yet. I know this'll take some time.

yes it will take time and the sooner the better to a avian vet i assure you

the red pepper seeds you add to her seed mix you dont feed that directly...if she is that skittish how big is the cage she is in and let her just get use to things instead of trying to feed her by hand if thats what you are doing.

females take a lot more patience and time ...sure wish you could get some pictures of cage and her as well...

Getting shopping list together. Anise seed...ground or whole?

Whole seeds so they can crack them

all herbs or spices should be either whole or flakes with exception to beet and carrot POWDER...

they love the crushed red pepper its not hot to them like it is to us and you mix a good amt into the reg. seeds you feed...same with the other herbs and spices...and powders on the powders tho just barely enough to coat the seed as too much makes them sneeze a lot so stir it all up good.

when transporting a bird COVER it in the car and secure it...do not have windows open in car the bird should ride ok..especially if in a smaller transport cage but if you dont have a smaller one just be sure the cage is covered and secure and nobody keeps poking around at the bird while its being transported...the radio on mid way while in the car will help also...as well as talking softly to the bird.

you never force a bird away from its cage this is something they will do on there own ...coming out...and getting about ...you shouldnt physically remove the bird for just some out time and play allow the bird to do this on its own without interference

your other bird i dont know what was wrong with it when you took it to a vet but possibly it was very very ill by the time you got there and so it did stress it out however,,,you dont have a choice really in these instances as no medical attention can mean death also an the bird has a better chance with medical attention

I just returned from the store and this is what I have so far. I couldn't find a lot of items on my list but I hope I have enough to start. Anis seed,hulled hemp seed, golden flaxseed, buckwheat (all I could find is creamy but it really looks like flakes) Also steel cut oats and couscous, sweet potatos. I will try and find more items listed in this thread. waiting for the carrot and beet powder and Herb Salad. Can I start offering them any of the above now? I tried to purchase the seed you recommended off ebay from the Alta Loma Seed Co but ebay tells me they do not exist. Any other place where I might buy healthy bird seed or am I going to try and get them off birdseed entirely?

It is my hope that I do not need to transport my bird at all. Thanks for the instruction on capturing and removing so I can clean their cage.

The pellets aren't even real food!!? Arrgh!

it should of mentioned that alta loma no longer exist in that thread just enter into ebay search engine any of the individual grains using the words seeds and organic you will find them and you do not want HULLED hemp at all you want STERILE hemp.... but its good enough for yourself to eat just to high in protein for the birds...all these things should look like a grain or seed ...so im not sure what you got for buckwheat also as that should look like a hard seed....but again its good for you also to eat...so not wasted just you got yourself a couple of new foods to eat for yourself.

you need plenty more of the seeds and grains...what type of steel cuts oats??? are they organic??? you also need barley... (NOT pearl) but, barley WITH hulls not hulless, some apistle or whats also called canary seed, and white proso they are on ebay...

for the record much of this is bird seed too under grains and seeds just not commercial stuff ..so your not getting them off seed persay just commercial crap...and going organic...so dont say you want to get them off seed as they will still be on seed plus grains...just that its not treated with food colors and artificial vits and chemicals etc...dont forget if you dont know your water and how good it is to buy pure spring bottle water instead for the bird.

and the oats n groats, white proso, and apistle or canary seed is whats known as a basic budgie seed mix...once you have them thats a start with the golden flax, but not a full start, as you will still need some other things...like the *sterile hemp with hulls not hulless, barley reg not pearl, buckwheat, some niger and thistle eventually as well...again always think organic i think the only thing you cant find thats organic is the canary seed/apistle

you can partially cooked the sweet potatoe and then skin it cut into small chunks VERY small as well as some mushed up with some kernel corn, and peas and just place a bit onto a regular plate at the bottom of the cage ..cook some brown rice up too and add that...i dont do couscous and dont know where in the thread that may have been mentioned...you only need to cook very tiny amts...each day and it only takes a few minutes you dont need to cook the corn or peas even.

dont panic wait to get everything your bird wont starve itself as long as you see poops its eating...an dont overfill your food cups where you cant tell whats hulls an whats actually seed because the bird wont be able to find the viable seed...just put in 1 1/2 TBS of seed into each cup stir it up in a day then toss it after two and do it again ...till you get the rest...you dont want to mix what you have with what your getting because some seeds and grains need certain ratios and this stuff is already in what your feeding so that would be overdoing some of these.

some of the herbs you have you can sprinkle those into what your now feeding..like your anise and crushed red pepper thyme and cilantro also if you have some ..fennel ..parsley and celery flakes if you cook with any of these in your daily cooking ...dont worry too much about the parsley flakes you wont be using all that much to be concerned about the calcium ...thats if you were to feed fresh parsley then the spice too and do it everyday ...so a bit of the herb in your seeds now is fine

and dont expect immediate success on the bird eating the corn and peas and sweet potatoe and rice that often takes MANY MANY times of offering it ..just toss it at the end of a day ...a small teaspoon of each on a dish altogether is fine each day ...and then dont stare they dont like it when someone watches them eat but...it helps if you make believe your sampling some of this stuff in front of them to give them the idea...

there is other things while your waiting you can feed like a bit of cooked pasta without any sauce and some toast or some cereals like corn flakes or cheerios which my bird dont like any cereals at all but some people have success with it ...even a bit of a hard boiled egg mushed up every now and again.