Prayers for Mario....

[L in Ontario]

Hoping he can have some company soon.

[Ursula]

You guys know how much she hates cages!!! It is almost clinical how much she hates cages!

[Ursula]

Thanks for al the well wishes and advice. There will never be another Mario....
I give my birds probiotics every single day sprinkled on their sprouts. Every day! I started doing this about 6 months ago as it was suggested by a very knowledgable person. I wil continue this.

I am going to leave him in the cage at least through the weekend. IF Mario doesn't improve soon I will give him a "friend " in the cage and keep him there. As much as I hate this.... and when I stay friend I do not mean a mate. I certainly do not want him to breed but just for some company...when he is better.

I'm glad he is at least better!

Interesting about the probiotics. What do you use? (I know probiotics on a regular basis are good for me, makes sense that it's good for the birds... )

Can you place the cage in the aviary? Then he wouldn't be so alone but still in company...

[dfcauley]

You guys know how much she hates cages!!! It is almost clinical how much she hates cages!

Hummm....."clinical"???? Please explain that.

[lovemyfinch]

Interesting about the probiotics. What do you use? (I know probiotics on a regular basis are good for me, makes sense that it's good for the birds... )

Can you place the cage in the aviary? Then he wouldn't be so alone but still in company...

Ursula I buy the probiotics from Morning Bird. A little mixed in with the eggfood.

[dfcauley]

Can you place the cage in the aviary? Then he wouldn't be so alone but still in company...

I think I just might do that this weekend!!!

[DVBourassa]

Best of luck. Hope he'll get through this.

[MLaRue]

A few thoughts from the posts -

When they are doing a severe body molt they will sometimes loose too many flight feathers so you could catch him and open his wings to see if he is missing these flight feathers. Usually they don't loose them all at once so as not to be able to fly but anything is possible.

Does he grip the perch tightly? Is he having a hard time actually holding onto the perch with his feet or is he gripping the perch fine and can't keep his overall balance?

In the picture it looked as if he still had his wing feathers since they were open a little - but his posture seems off to me. Mario has always been a very relaxed bird that he tends to hunker down on the perch - those pictures made him seem erect - perhaps it was the pictures frightening him...

Is he tilting his head at all?

If he was my bird I would keep him caged so that he doesn't injure himself anymore since he isn't 100% - from what you told me in the beginning I'm still leaning toward an injury. What kind I'm not sure but from start to now he seems to be improving from the original scare? Perhaps he just needs more time to heal from his injuries.

As you know I firmly believe in probiotics but we also know that Laraine doesn't and I can't help to think they certainly can't hurt.

If he is in a hard molt you will need to find a way to get him extra protein - he will need this to keep his healing process and to be able to withstand this impending hard molt. I also agree that a cage mate/buddy will relieve some of his separation stress of being in the cage and hearing his flock thru that window.

As for the "clinical" it was meant to razz you on how much you really hate cages (nothing more or less) - and how we all subject our own feelings on how the birds might feel in general. I'm sure all birds would rather be free in an aviary but there are times when it is to their detriment.

I do hope he continues to improve Donna - hoping for a speedy recovery!

[annague]

I don't know how I missed this post but I wanted you to know I am thinking about you and Mario, Donna, and hoping for the very best outcome.

He is a stunning boy and a wonderful daddy and a very special bird I know it will be a huge loss if you lose him.

I will be keeping you and him in my thoughts and prayers!

[dfcauley]

Other than eggfood, what is a good source of protein?

He has all his flight feathers. I caught him up a few minutes ago and they look fine. But his head, neck , chest etc... they look terrible!!
He grips the perch fine. But he seems to be a bit off balance when he lands. He is holding his head up okay, but I agree about his posture. Just not like Mario.... I am also still believing that he ran into something in the aviary and has an injury.
I do not notice any head tilting.
I am going to keep him in the cage. I know this is best for him.
I have moved his cage to the window and he can see out into the aviary and his friends are visiting him at the window wire. He seems to like that and perked right up when I moved him. I am going to leave him alone in there for a while.

[MLaRue]

I know we talked but for others since they are keeping up with this post...

My suggestion since he is favoring the millet right now was to sprinkle the vitamins on his millet - since this is his favorite and only food he is really eating right now. Just to get him over the hump as he continues to mend.

[bugaboo5]

I'm so sorry to hear about your beloved Mario - what a spectacular looking bird. I agree, provide him with various options that are high in protein and calcium to tide him over this brief rough patch. Whether it be with spray millet, his favorite veggies/fruit, or a high quality moulting/egg food mixture, try different things to see what he's eating the most. Supplementing with an lamp or some sort of heat/light source may be helpful as I'm sure the loss of neck, head, and chest features make it slightly more difficult to maintain body heat. My sincere best wishes to you and lovely Mario.

[MRobinson]

How's little Mario doing today? I'm hoping he's getting better each day!

Mary R.

[gina]

Thanks for al the well wishes and advice. There will never be another Mario....
I give my birds probiotics every single day sprinkled on their sprouts. Every day! I started doing this about 6 months ago as it was suggested by a very knowledgable person. I wil continue this.

Just a thought, Donna. Were you giving Mario the daily probiotics while he was on antibiotics? If you were, the antibiotics would not have full effect.
Hope Mario is on the mend. He is such a special guy!

[dfcauley]

Mario passed away last night. It is a sad day for me.....he was the light in my aviary.