Rigby's Going to Market (aka Another T4W Appreciation Post)

Going to Market by Things for Wings

Leyla and the T4W Watermelon Carbunkle

She was chewing on a block of balsa until she noticed me with the camera, at which point she uncharacteristically came closer and started posing (usually she is scared of the camera).





I love this toy, it is so cute!

Rigby at the Playground

Rigby's been hanging out on this little playground a lot lately. He mostly spends his time there either flirting at his reflection (so vain!), chewing on the Bird Candy, or throwing the foot toys off the edge and watching them fall to the floor, silly bird.

Mash Balls for Dinner

Sweet potato, butternut squash, and carrots:

While it was cooking I started some quinoa cooking as well.

Meanwhile I chopped some kale and two hot peppers:

And mixed together some rolled oats and ground flax seeds for the coating:

I mashed the sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots, and mixed in the quinoa, kale, and peppers. I also added some hulled millet, crushed walnuts, and paprika:

After forming into balls and rolling in the oat/flax coating:

The finished product:

All the birds loved them, the bowls were almost spotless when they were finished eating! I just took pictures of the lovies though:

As you can see, the mash balls were definitely a hit! I froze tonight's extra, and I will be making them again!

Not to forget the humans in the house, I also made peanut butter cookies! Yum!

Scratching an Itch

Rigby Decided to Grow a Beard

It suits him, don't you think?

Nin Practicing "Turn Around"

It took just two quick training sessions for him to learn to turn around on cue! He is a little smarty pants!

We are now working on taking liquid from a syringe. He will touch the tip for a treat, but does not like being surprised by a drop of OJ or water!

Lovie Pics

Leyla is feeling much better than she was a couple weeks ago



Nin loves chewing on pants drawstrings




Rigby still does funny head things when he's nervous or anxious. Here he was a little nervous because he was contemplating moving closer to Nin.



Things For Wings Order

A couple of weeks ago Avian Avenue had their big Sidewalk Sale, in which many vendors offered great sales.

I ordered from Things For Wings and Avian Organics, but due to the Canada Post strike the shipments were delayed. I was so excited to receive my Things For Wings (http://www.thingsforwings.ca/) parcel today!

The whole order:

First the lovies toys:

Tisket Tasket, Little Grass Basket x2:

Busy Basket x2:

Circle Of Shred and a Palm Fan:

Sweetheart Rose and Super Slim Slab Stacks Cottonwood:

6-inch Cholla Perch x2 and 5.5" Platform Perch x2:

I am in love with these platform perches!!! So cute!

And Chewy's toys! Medium Willow Wood Snuggly, Mojo, Flounder, and Grape Escape:

And free gifts!:

I also ordered an adorable, hand-painted sign for my dad for Father's Day, which I neglected to take a photo of. It is absolutely perfect and he (and I) loves it!

I highly recommend Things For Wings!

Leyla Update

I took Leyla to a different vet for a recheck and second opinion on Tuesday. He said he would be hesitant to diagnose it as EYP because she hasn't been confirmed a female (hasn't been DNA'ed, never laid an egg before), but he said it was a possibility. He also said it could be a gut infection of some sort and the swollen area could be gas build up. I'm not sure how I feel about that because internal gas build-up usually doesn't feel spongy. Either way, he said to keep her on the meds and see how she is when they're done.

Leyla's been on her meds for a week now, and I have definitely seen some improvement! She is a lot more active again and doesn't look as sad when she's relaxing.

The swollen area has almost disappeared! There's still a mustard-yellow dime-sized spot there, but at least the area is back to a normal size.

I weighed her this morning and she is down to 55 grams! I'm not too concerned about her current weight being more than her normal weight of 52 grams, because it's not uncommon for her to go up to 55 grams just with normal weight fluctuations.

Her Baytril was supposed to last until next Friday, but I ran out last night. I don't know how that happened because I've only been giving her 0.01mL as per the prescription. I'll call the clinic in a bit and see if I can pick up some more tomorrow.

Leyla's Not Feeling Well...

A few days ago, I noticed a slight swelling to Leyla's abdomen, in the same area you'd see swelling in a hen with an egg. When I gently ran a finger over the swelling, though, it was spongy, not solid like you'd feel if it were indeed an egg. She's been very nesty and aggressive lately (moreso than normal), which I had thought was just a difficult hormone season for her, but after looking up health issues that would cause the swelling, I found that Leyla was showing several behavioural and physical symptoms of egg yolk peritonitis that I had overlooked. I blew her bum feathers out of the way and found that the swelling is yellowish, another sign of EYP. I've seen this in budgies and cockatiels before, but in more advanced stages, so I'm 95% sure this is what it is.

So, vet time!

I called the vet clinic to find my regular avian vet is away until next Thursday, and Vet #2 couldn't see us until Tuesday. Not good enough, EYP can be fatal if left untreated for too long, but I made the appointment just in case I couldn't get anywhere else sooner. I tried a third vet clinic, and the actual avian vet there is away but another vet there sees birds and I was able to get an appointment for Leyla yesterday afternoon.

On the phone the receptionist didn't tell me who would be seeing Leyla. I get there and it's the same vet that misdiagnosed Leyla's polyfolliculitis as Giardia five years ago. Whatever, the past is in the past.

So I tell the vet I think Leyla has EYP. She says not likely, because Leyla would look a lot worse off if it was EYP. In my understanding, usually by the time vets see hens with EYP, it's gone on long enough for the hen to become very lethargic and ill, and the prognosis is not so great. I don't know too much about it, but I think Leyla is more in the early stages (the swollen area is much smaller than I've seen in some photos, and she is acting mostly normal), so I'm praying that we caught it early enough.

Anyway, vet weighs Leyla (58 grams, 6 grams more than her average weight), checks her over, and says the swollen area is a fat deposit from being overweight! Uh-uh, I don't think so. Two weeks ago Leyla was 52 grams, I highly doubt she gained enough weight to make that big of a fat deposit in that amount of time. Plus she has no excess fat covering her keel bone, and no fatty areas under her wings, the most common areas for fat deposits from what I've read.

I'd noticed earlier yesterday that Leyla was looking a bit jaundice as well, which I pointed out to the vet. Maybe the vet realized I might be on to something, because she went on to explain that with EYP the liver basically works overtime breaking down the fats in the egg yolk. That would explain the jaundice, I think.

In the end, I walked out with a prescription of Baytril and Lactulose (Lactulose will help her liver) for my little girl.

I don't know how long these meds usually take to start working, but I think they must have done something already, because I'm seeing a bit of a sparkle back in Leyla's eyes. I'm still worried to death about her, but from how she's acting I don't think we're in the red zone.

I think I might just keep the appointment with Vet #2 for Tuesday, maybe see him for a recheck instead of the one we went to yesterday.

In closing, I don't have any really recent photos of my baby girl, but here's a semi-recent one of her acrobatically chewing some apple branches:

Fresh "Backyard" Food for the Birds

We don't really have much of anything growing outside that's ready to eat yet, but I have been making the most of what is available, namely dandelions and lilacs!

I've been mixing both into their dinner most evenings. They really enjoy the lilac flowers.

Pics of the Boys

Two of Rigby admiring shiny things:

 

And two of Nin flying to me:



A Nin in the Hand...

Says, "Let me outta here!"

New Hanging Gym for the Lovies

A member of Avian Avenue forum made a fabulous hanging gym with chain and a tray a while back. I loved it and made my own. I finally got it hung this evening and Leyla and Nin love it! They were especially thrilled with the fresh apple branches I put on it. Rigby has not been on it yet, but he did look interested.

Rigby in the Evening Sun