Help with rescued bird

[parrantula]

Hi

Can anyone help with the age and sex of bird please?

[parrantula]

[parrantula]

[Marianne Marlow]

Looks like a hen. No idea of age.

[Marianne Marlow]

Please use newspaper at the bottom of the cage instead of sandpaper and take of the sandcovers for the perches.

Sandpaper really hurts their feet and can give them bumblefoot which is really painful.

[parrantula]

Oh OK will do. Thanks. Is there anything they need for scratching claw / beak? And do I need to give grit or cuttlefish or both? I am feeding mixed seed budgie food. Millet and occasional treat stick. Will also try bits of fruit. is anything else needed in diet.? Sorry for all daft questions but I don't trust Google.

[mona]

Chewing toys with a variety of different bird safe wood. Even a natural branch with bark would work well for that purpose. Thick rough branches (but without splinters or sharp edges) help with nail trimming too. I have cuttlefish bone and mineral block for them. Mine have an inclination towards natural toys and perches - depends on birdie persona.

Along with seeds, try green leafy bird safe veggies, cooked mung beans, chickpea, brown rice, etc. Please make sure that the treatstick doesn't contain honey. I don't feed them sugary things including fruits to avoid fat and microbial growth inside their crop, as suggested over here earlier. Most of people here provide Apple cider vinegar (raw, unfiltered with the mother) - 3 drops in 100 ml overnight water. Change water twice or thrice a day and keep it at a height. Same goes with food bowl. Look out for seed husks daily.. don't let them dig their nose inside for finding seeds.. they might sneeze due to that.

[Hezz]

Definitely a hen.
Get her eating vegetables rather than fruit. The odd small piece of fruit is okay but the sugar content of fruit is what they don’t need so veggies are a better option. Initial favourites are snow peas, corn, carrot, leafy greens broccoli. Sprouts are usually popular as well.

Natural perches from tree branches are the best for the feet - just give a scrub in hot soapy water and rinse with weak vinegar solution, allow to dry in the sun if possible. Different variety of thicknesses helps feet massaging and exercise, and keep claws trimmed.

[parrantula]

May 20, 2021 22:19:03 GMT mona said:

Chewing toys with a variety of different bird safe wood. Even a natural branch with bark would work well for that purpose. Thick rough branches (but without splinters or sharp edges) help with nail trimming too. I have cuttlefish bone and mineral block for them. Mine have an inclination towards natural toys and perches - depends on birdie persona.

Along with seeds, try green leafy bird safe veggies, cooked mung beans, chickpea, brown rice, etc. Please make sure that the treatstick doesn't contain honey. I don't feed them sugary things including fruits to avoid fat and microbial growth inside their crop, as suggested over here earlier. Most of people here provide Apple cider vinegar (raw, unfiltered with the mother) - 3 drops in 100 ml overnight water. Change water twice or thrice a day and keep it at a height. Same goes with food bowl. Look out for seed husks daily.. don't let them dig their nose inside for finding seeds.. they might sneeze due to that.

Okay thanks. What does the vinegar do and what you mean by with mother?

[tweetiepiesmom]

I agree with what everyone else has said. You might try hanging fresh leafy herbs in the cage first - dill and basil are hits with my two budgies. Look for organic raw apple cider vinegar. Bragg's is a favorite with many people here. The "mother" is the sludge you see in the bottom of the bottle. Shake well before using it. The vinegar water will help prevent the over growth of yeast in the crop and tummy and adjust the tummy to a correct pH.

[Hezz]

May 21, 2021 12:47:50 GMT parrantula said:

What does the vinegar do and what you mean by with mother?

Apple cider vinegar has many beneficial properties but the main reason to give to our caged birds is to keep the pH in their crops slightly acidic, leaving an unfriendly environment for opportunistic pathogens - bacterial and fungal - to overtake the natural good crop and gut flora. Yeasts in particular like a slightly alkaline environment to grow.
Whether “the mother”, the growth component of the vinegar, is necessary for this is debatable, but most people like to use organic products for their birds and “the mother” certainly doesn’t cause any harm. It just means that the vinegar hasn’t been filtered.