Girl Cage
- Nagdabit
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Apparently I am an idiot. I 'm trying to figure out how to dose out this guardian angel and it's calling for 1 level teaspoon in 150mls of water. But when I mix it as such, it seems extremely thick and soupy. (Actually kind of smells like chicken soup) Am I missing something or is it supposed to be like that?
30+ Zebra Finches (The actual number constantly changes) 2 Rabbits (1 Mini Rex, 1 Dutch), 1 Grouchy Old Fart, and 1 Dang Redhead
- nixity
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Rory what do the directions say in terms of administering it to the bird?
If it's supposed to given via crop needle/syringe then it makes sense that it would be more of a slurry than something they would drink on their own. But you'd have to know how much your bird weighs and administer the proper amount based on what the instructions say.
If it's supposed to given via crop needle/syringe then it makes sense that it would be more of a slurry than something they would drink on their own. But you'd have to know how much your bird weighs and administer the proper amount based on what the instructions say.
- Nagdabit
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Re: Girl Cage
Well, Miss Nika finally lost her battle, Sherry found her when she came home for lunch this afternoon. Never really figured out what was wrong with the little girl. The breeder kept insisting we were giving her too much calcium, but I'm thinking for that to be a problem it's going to have take longer than a month to build up in her system. Plus we didn't even start with the liquid calcium in her water until after she was already displaying symptoms.
Actually our vet thinks she had a calcium deficiency. The breeder told me she did not supply her birds with any extra calcium, no cuttle bone, no egg shell, nothing. Only what was available to them through their food. And since the breeder wasn't exactly sure of their ages, I'm going to have to guess that Nika was one of the older hens.
Unfortunately this means we are going to need another hen now. Anyone have any suggestions? Don't think we will be dealing with the breeder we got Nika from again. We had been trying to get a black cheek hen for almost two years and now that we finally got one, she dies in less than 2 months. And she was a little sweetie too, dang it.
On the plus side, the girl with the pasty butt is looking a little better. Seems like the guardian angel is working.
Thank you all for your help in trying to assist our little girl. It was greatly appreciated.
Actually our vet thinks she had a calcium deficiency. The breeder told me she did not supply her birds with any extra calcium, no cuttle bone, no egg shell, nothing. Only what was available to them through their food. And since the breeder wasn't exactly sure of their ages, I'm going to have to guess that Nika was one of the older hens.
Unfortunately this means we are going to need another hen now. Anyone have any suggestions? Don't think we will be dealing with the breeder we got Nika from again. We had been trying to get a black cheek hen for almost two years and now that we finally got one, she dies in less than 2 months. And she was a little sweetie too, dang it.
On the plus side, the girl with the pasty butt is looking a little better. Seems like the guardian angel is working.
Thank you all for your help in trying to assist our little girl. It was greatly appreciated.
30+ Zebra Finches (The actual number constantly changes) 2 Rabbits (1 Mini Rex, 1 Dutch), 1 Grouchy Old Fart, and 1 Dang Redhead
- lovemyfinch
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Re: Girl Cage
So sorry to hear of the loss of Little Nika.
On the other side glad to hear that the other is doing better.

On the other side glad to hear that the other is doing better.

Janine
shaftails,gouldians,societies,green singers,owls,cubans, and 1 parrotlet
shaftails,gouldians,societies,green singers,owls,cubans, and 1 parrotlet

- nixity
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Re: Girl Cage
Well that just really stinks.. and it stinks even worse that the breeder wasn't willing to accept any of the responsibility.
If it had been months and months after you'd purchased her, I could understand. But wasn't she displaying sick symptoms within a week or so?
That's just disappointing, I'm sorry
If it had been months and months after you'd purchased her, I could understand. But wasn't she displaying sick symptoms within a week or so?
That's just disappointing, I'm sorry

- Nagdabit
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Re: Girl Cage
Thank you for the words of encouragement, and in a very appropriate manner, too. Since this breeder kept reminding me of her 14 years experience, there were times we were unsure, and those lapses very well could have been Miss Nika's undoing. After a nice conversation with the vet on Friday night we settled on a plan of attack, but it was probably too late by then.nixity wrote:Well that just really stinks.. But wasn't she displaying sick symptoms within a week or so?
Up until last night, she was eating well and could fly around half decent. Although last night when I caught to give her medicine, her underside / breast bone area was hard. That's what the vet told us is a sure sign that they are on their way out. And then this morning she looked like she was trying to lay an egg but was just too weak to push anymore. I just don't think she ever recovered from laying that partial egg the other night.
She didn't start displaying noticeable symptoms until about a month after we had her. But I had expressed a concern over a lack of eggs from all three girls at least a week prior, which of course the breeder blew off as though we were reading too much into the situation. I'm guessing since Nika was smaller than the other girls (only weighed 13 grams) the lack of calcium would have affected her more.
We're just really frustrated. Not only at losing our little sweetie, but also on the lack of finding quality birds locally. Here we thought we had found a reliable breeder, but obviously that's not the case. You would think Zebras would be easy to find. There are quality breeders of Owls, Societys, Cordons, Goulds, while another lady here in York even has Strawberries and Goldbreasts, but we just can't find any stinking Zebras.
30+ Zebra Finches (The actual number constantly changes) 2 Rabbits (1 Mini Rex, 1 Dutch), 1 Grouchy Old Fart, and 1 Dang Redhead
- nixity
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Re: Girl Cage
Rory there was a gentleman in Southern NJ I believe that I contacted before to ask if he had any Goulds, and he has a huge selection of Zebras (Penguins, Black Cheek, etc.)
I don't know how close/far he is from you, but I'm trying to locate is his contact information nonetheless (so far not with much luck, though
).
Hopefully it's not the same person!!
The birds I have seen of his (photos, online) look stellar.
I don't know how close/far he is from you, but I'm trying to locate is his contact information nonetheless (so far not with much luck, though

Hopefully it's not the same person!!
The birds I have seen of his (photos, online) look stellar.
- nixity
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Re: Girl Cage
I found one of his ads...
I emailed him and gave him your email addy - then I figured I could give you the link to his ad, too..
http://www.hoobly.com/0/0/814591.html
I emailed him and gave him your email addy - then I figured I could give you the link to his ad, too..

http://www.hoobly.com/0/0/814591.html
- Nagdabit
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Re: Girl Cage
Thanks Tiffany, No it's not the same breeder. Totally different state. Thank you very much for the information. We will definitely check into it. I did find a gentlemen above Allentown through craigslist as well, but that's always an unknown variable there.
I'm thinking they are both about the same distance away from us, which would still be about 3 hours. What's so ironic is that the other breeders of all these more exotic finches are a whole lot closer, and they have have all been vouched for quite hardily.
I'm thinking they are both about the same distance away from us, which would still be about 3 hours. What's so ironic is that the other breeders of all these more exotic finches are a whole lot closer, and they have have all been vouched for quite hardily.
30+ Zebra Finches (The actual number constantly changes) 2 Rabbits (1 Mini Rex, 1 Dutch), 1 Grouchy Old Fart, and 1 Dang Redhead
- CandoAviary
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Re: Girl Cage
Sorry to hear of your loss. Sounds like you put up a good fight to save her. She may have been an older bird that it was just her time.
Candace
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- Sally
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Re: Girl Cage
Sorry for your loss. You worked so hard to save her, that must be very discouraging. I'm surprised at a breeder that doesn't supplement calcium at all. They can get some calcium from their food, especially veggies, but breeding hens need more.
- Nagdabit
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Re: Girl Cage
We had informed the breeder we got her from of Nika's passing and didn't hear anything back for a couple of days. Finally last night she responded and offered to provide another black cheek at no cost. Thought that was a nice gesture on her part. Unfortunately she's about six hours away and doesn't actually have a hen available at present, but her couple that produces black cheeks is in breeding mode and hopefully they'll produce a hen by the time the fall show in Baltimore comes around.
On some level I can understand her position. She had a friend that gave her cockateils a diet that was very rich in calcium and it seems that after hearing of her friend's horrific experience, she decided to err on the side of caution and went too far in the opposite direction. (This is the link she gave me about her friend's experience... http://cockatielworld.org/health.html)
It doesn't seem to me that what we went through with Nika was anything like the ordeal her friend endured. We only had the girls for a month before Nika's showed any signs of being sick. Plus the girls hardly ate from any of the calcium sources we supplied them with and they never produced a single egg during their entire month of quarantine. On top of that, we didn't add the liquid calcium to their water until after Nika displayed the classic egg bound symptoms.
Anyway I didn't think it fair to speak negatively about someone without providing the whole story. Still, while she has offered a replacement hen, we are still out all of the vet costs and the companionship of one sweet little girl.
On some level I can understand her position. She had a friend that gave her cockateils a diet that was very rich in calcium and it seems that after hearing of her friend's horrific experience, she decided to err on the side of caution and went too far in the opposite direction. (This is the link she gave me about her friend's experience... http://cockatielworld.org/health.html)
It doesn't seem to me that what we went through with Nika was anything like the ordeal her friend endured. We only had the girls for a month before Nika's showed any signs of being sick. Plus the girls hardly ate from any of the calcium sources we supplied them with and they never produced a single egg during their entire month of quarantine. On top of that, we didn't add the liquid calcium to their water until after Nika displayed the classic egg bound symptoms.
Anyway I didn't think it fair to speak negatively about someone without providing the whole story. Still, while she has offered a replacement hen, we are still out all of the vet costs and the companionship of one sweet little girl.
30+ Zebra Finches (The actual number constantly changes) 2 Rabbits (1 Mini Rex, 1 Dutch), 1 Grouchy Old Fart, and 1 Dang Redhead