Freddie
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May, 2007 |
August, 2007 |
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Enough, but here is FREDDY!!!!
The pictures of Freddy touched me so we started talking....
May 28, 2007
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May
30, 2007| Eric sent me pictures of his other two pets (Tommy and Chilly) and you can see that they are well cared for: | ||
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Because of my time limitations, I had my daughter, Lisa, write back and ask a zillion questions. Here are more details of just how hard they were trying with Freddy and what great care they were giving this boy!
May 31, 2007 |
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Hi Lisa,
We've had all of the tests done to
make sure he's not sick, I'm not sure on giardia, what is
that and is it common?
We've had Tommy the Amazon for 16
years, and got Freddy from Chirp & Dales 6 years ago, as a 6
1/2 - 7 month old. Freddy has his own cage. His plucking
originally started when we went on vacation 4 years ago.
He'll start doing great, then for no apparent reason, he
starts tearing them out, he's usually fuzzy with down
feathers, but I guess he's getting ready for the summer heat
and now he looks like a little walking chicken breast :(
We are following Beleeks info posted
on your site, although we have not gotten him sprouts
everyday or the palm oil, maybe that would help. He really
does not enjoy the mash, but he gets lots of fruits and
veggies. He does have a bowl of pellets, it's the Eclectus
blend, I think Zupreem, I can't think of the brand name off
of the top of my head, we have a big pretzel jar it goes in
when we get it for freshness.
He gets fresh water 3 times a day
sometimes more, in the morning he gets a teaspoon of Apple
Cider Vinegar and in the afternoon he gets a little aloe
juice in it, both organic.
He loves apples, grapes, papaya,
mango, pineapples, corn, split peas, lettuce, zuccini,
cucumbers, carrots, and the occasional watermelon.
He has lots of toys, a good size cage,
the cage gets pressure washed every other weekend and gets
papers changed at least every other day, usually daily.
We got Freddy at 7 months, he plucked
at 1 1/2 years old when we went on vacation, and it was on
and off for about 1 1/2 years until he was 3 years old, from
there he's pretty much been fuzzy with down feathers up
until this last year, and he has been naked a couple of
times as he is now.
He's gotten flax seed, but I have not
been able to find the palm oil. Locating some would be a
huge help. I looked at GNC, Hi health, sprouts and walmart
and have not been able to find it.
He has 6 windows and a sliding glass
door to look out all day, he gets outside a couple of times
a week and gets the full spectrum light at his cage with one
of those flourescent UV lamps a couple of days a week.
How do I give him an aloe detox? That
would be a great start, I am currently detoxing myself and
cleaning my liver and blood, how can I do that for Fred?
I have not seen Dr. Burke. I would
prefer to try some things at home first as I have had 3
rounds with vets, each costing me betweem $500 and $750 each
round. I have well over $2,100 in vet bills in Freddy's file
not counting routine visits, I really don't mind the expense
except that at the end of each huge expendature of money,
the vets have basically said, well, that's it, that's all we
can do, just deal with the plucking, money nearly wasted.
Freddy gets sprays and bathes daily.
What do you mean by bathing for a long period of time? I do
need to get a new spray bottle, has been on the shopping
list for 2 days, so we can do aloe sprays.
He gets those pinata style toys
monthly, he's really not into them for a couple or 3 weeks,
then he shreds it, then he gets a new one. He absolutely
loves his new pinecone toy, it has little pine cones at the
end of strings, I'll be getting more of those and he eats
spray millet daily.
Please let me know if any of the
things I am doing are wrong or not enough.
He does get into Tommy nuts once in a
while when we let them out and Pam forgets to remove Tommy's
bowl. They go play in each others cages as they are side by
side.
Thanks for your time and effort, it is
really appreciated.
Eric H
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We gave them much advise and then waited. Here is a Freddy update that came to us in June. Eric is referring to our page about Belleek in this email. Belleek is what prompted Eric to email us and ask for help.
June 1, 2007 |
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Hi Beth!!!
Thanks for your help!!!
Some of this info was on your site,
sorry.
Pellets are gone!!!! Sorry Fred.....
He is getting his aloe sprays again,
we missed 3 or 4 days due to nozzle failure on bottle, I
have some back ups now.
I bought both palm oil and aloe detox
I'll get it when it arrives, I found the info on how to
administer the Palm oil, but have not found the info on how
to administer the Aloe detox. Probably same way, just wonder
how much. I don't believe he'll like getting that baby
syringe again, but I'll try when it gets here :)
Also I saw the link on the edible
flowers. I have several Purple Sage bushes that are
flowering, are these ok and the same as sage listed on
flower list? If so Freddy will get some everyday, I got 10
to 12 of them.
I plan on getting more plants from the
list to help him along with fresh branches and flowers. He's
getting 15 minutes direct sunlight in the morning and 1/2
hour at night, then some 2 to 4 hours of the vitamin lamp.
Hope that's enough.
I will have him tested for giardia
next week.
Thanks again for your help, we (Pam
and I) and Freddy sure appreciate it.
Eric
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And again on June 17, 2007 |
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Hi Beth,
Freddy seems to be doing better, he's
stronger and his feet sure are pretty. He has a little fuzz
on him now, but we are still seing some feathers in the cage
floor with moist butts, plucked I'm sure.
He's getting his palm oil and aloe
flush in his bread, its more mush than bread, but he likes
it that way, otherwise he dunks it in his water. His first
water bowl of the day gets a little Apple Cider Vinegar, and
the other 2 or 3 get some aloe juice. In his food bowl he's
getting 1/2 sprouts and 1/2 mash, with some grapes, oranges,
apples or pineapples, 2 serving per day, bowl cleaned
mid-day. He also gets what we're having at breakfast, lunch,
or dinner when we eat those meals at home. He loves pasta,
and will eat it until he looks miserable, he looks like he
has a water baloon on the front of his neck and he sits
there and makes baby sounds that sound pathetic, so we limit
what he gets
He's finally settling down in the sink
bath/shower, not quite to the level of Beleek's video, but
he is improving with his calm state. He's also getting an
aloe spray shower with 40% aloe juice / 60% distilled water
in the afternoon.
Haven't seen a ton of plumage
improvement yet, but he may have damaged a lot of feathers
where they won't grow back.
I do have a question, he has a lot of
flight feathers that he chewed off of his wings that have
shafts that are still attached. I've seen a couple of
articles where these shafts are to be pulled out, is this
the case or just leave them alone? I'm sort of afraid to go
tugging on them with pliers like in those articles, I don't
want to hurt him or make him bleed, or most importantly at
this point, not traumatize him, the new bathing technique is
enough trauma for now.
If I'm missing something, please let
me know.
Thanks again for your help!!!!
Eric
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August 31, 2007 Let the Celebrating begin. We were so thankful to get these updated pictures from Eric and so overjoyed for them all. |
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Hi Beth!!!
Just sending a few pictures to show
you where Freddy is, he seems to be getting better.
I'm sending the old pictures for
comparison.
Thanks again for your help, I'll keep
you updated from time to time, please feel free to post
these on your site if you wish to show people how you helped
me.
Eric
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I asked Eric to summarize the changes he made and here is his response. September 2, 2007 |
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Hi Beth,
The major changes are just eliminating
the pellets, adding the mash and sprouts, and a piece of
bread saturated with palm oil and the aloe detox. I think
Freddy is done with the sprouts, he very rarely even touches
them now, which is good because about half of the batches I
make are getting tossed before they mature because they get
a funky fuzz on them. In his food bowl he gets grapes and
blueberries, pasta, carrots (oh man does he love carrots
lately he makes num-num sounds when he eats them), pasta,
brocccolli, and other stuff we get on veggie platters from
costco and other fruits veggies from sprouts. He gets a beta
carotene tab every 3 or 4 days, and he gets the full
spectrum lamp for a couple hours on most days. He'll get
more real sun when it cools off, and that's hard because I
have Lupus and can't be in the sun long. Can't forget the
Grapefruit Seed Extract and Apple Cider Vinegar in his water
bowl daily.
I also made a repair to the water
softener and the water isn't as hard, since then he is
filling up in the shower again, when he was naked it looked
like a little water ballon on his neck, the water must taste
a ton better to him, and he's actually playing in the water
again, so that's a nice change.
He's is still not good at preening,
his feathers look frayed etc, maybe some day he'll get
better at it, but at least he's not a walking cornish game
hen. He's sitting next to me working on a feather sleeve
right now.
We also got a new family member a few
weeks ago, Chilly, a family friend had a Green Cheek or
Mexican Red Head Amazon 5-7 yrs old, we took him in. He
could barely climb and walk when we got him as he had been
confined to his cage always, he also had an infection in his
throat, we got him all fixed up and I made a tree for the
top of his cage and we let him out and give him tons of
freedom and toys.
Now he's an expert climber and he
flies way too well, he's a different little guy now, not as
skidish, he loves my wife and almost tolerates me. I'll send
pictures of him and Tommy when I can get them off of the
flash card.
By the way, we got a new bird store
here on Gilbert at Lindsay and Williams Field North East
Corner. Very nice guys, clean place and they seem to be very
good with the birds, Exotic Bird World. Not sure if they are
looking for birds, but you may want to contact them.
Sorry I rambled on so long, but,
Thanks again for your help!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eric |
I am stating this at the beginning of this page and at the end...We are sharing this information only to motivate YOU as a parrot owner to look for help if you have a plucking Eclectus. My first referral would be to the great people on "The Eclectus Connection." You can find this email group by going to the Landofvos.com. This email group is composed of phenomenal knowledge and folks willing to share. I am active on some email groups and co-moderate (with Joyce Baum of www.ringnecklady.net) one in Arizona called arizonabirdtalk@yahoogroups.com These email groups like The Eclectus Connection and Feeding Feathers are wonderful places to get information. We as breeders can help too, but our time is limited so be patient when you write one and realize that bird breeding is a passion and not a business. Even the "helpers" on these email lists are completely volunteer and their abilities to spend time on the computer varies with seasons of their lives.
