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Post by melody0and0cheeno on Sept 21, 2005 10:06:44 GMT -7
I am taking Cheeno for his first vet checkup on monday. She is not an avian vet but does specialize in tropicals and birds. The local pet store uses her as well. My concern is that the receptionist told me I have to drop Cheeno off in the morning and they will call me when they are done the check - which is a complete physical. Is it ok to just drop him off and leave him with the vet? I am so scared of causing stress as I don't want him to start plucking. But I need him to get checked because he has been doing a lot of scratching and rubbing under his wings and losing quite a few fluffy white feathers. Is it common to just leave a baby in the doctor's care? ??
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Post by lidiam on Sept 21, 2005 10:42:30 GMT -7
I've never heard of a vet doing that for a checkup. Anytime Joshua is being checked over, I am there. Do they not make proper 'timed' appointments? It sounds a little inconvenient to me.
Lidia
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Post by sue on Sept 21, 2005 12:18:04 GMT -7
i took my baby to the vet last week for her first ever check up too, and the vet was excellent, he spoke to the bird as well as me, and was very gentle with her, he examined her while speaking to her and she was very good and calm, her wrapped her in a towel and i held her while he checked each wing carefully, it took no longer than 20 mins and she was not stressed at all, after the check up he held her for a while talking to her and she didnt bite or flap, i think i would be nervous of leaving my bird so young without me being there, thats just my thoughts , Sue
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Post by melody0and0cheeno on Sept 21, 2005 12:20:50 GMT -7
Actually, I just called them to enquire if I could just try to book a time to stay with him, and actually ended up cancelling, I am going to a different vet today and they want me to stay with Cheeno.
One more question: When CAG's molt (spelling?) do they seem to just pull the fluffy white feathers out? He has been losing a lot of the fluffy ones, about 10 or so in his cage per day.............
Thanks
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Post by Adele on Sept 21, 2005 12:27:42 GMT -7
Manzi, my cag, was stressed with the vet. She came to my apartment and was very gentle with him. Although he likes almost everyone who comes into the house, he didn't like her (especially when she listened to his lungs). He was very happy to be back in my arms when she left. The vet was great though. She examined him about 30 min and then talked to me for about an hour more on care and handling, etc. She was very informative. I couldn't have imagined leaving Manzi with her all day long. He would return a nervous wreck! But then again, I just had him checked, not tested/vaccinated, so maybe that is what takes so long.
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Post by Jane on Sept 21, 2005 12:51:45 GMT -7
There are two ways of spelling it - molt or moult. Molt is the American version. They usually lose some small white down feathers on a daily basis not related to molting. However, you said Cheeno has been scratching and rubbing so there may be something causing him to pull them out.
Jane
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Post by agmommy on Sept 22, 2005 6:30:59 GMT -7
AG's naturally lose the fluffy down type feathers all the time.
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Post by melody0and0cheeno on Sept 22, 2005 7:01:57 GMT -7
Cheeno's vet visit went quite well, the vet confirmed that he is molting, he's got a new blood feather coming in too, he weighs 400 grams and he checked out fine. She clipped his wings, and trimmed just the tips off of his nails. He wasn't too fond of the car ride, but he did so good. I wasn't going to get his wings clipped but he has been flying around a lot when I let him out of his cage, and yesterday, he flew all the way to the basement and my cat was right there. I clipped for safety reasons. She did a good job and understood when I said I didn't want him to be flightless.
For all those out there who have CAG's that have their favorite person, the vet said it is extremely important that other family members take turns feeding, cage cleaning, socializing, etc. If he/she is treated like a flock member and not your one and only, then he/she should start accepting other family members more. I was doing everything, I am the only person who Cheeno will step up to, and I have to start letting the rest of the family help out with him or he might become aggressive towards others who come near me. It all makes sense to me..........
Thanks
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Post by Jane on Sept 22, 2005 7:14:27 GMT -7
I am glad the visit went well. I don't necessarily agree with her comments about favourite people though. Monty and Mitzi were brought up exactly the same but Mitzi turned out to be a one person bird and Monty didn't. Plenty of socialization might work for some Greys and it is certainly a good recommendation, but there have been numerous examples of Greys on both this and the old forum who have picked a favourite person regardless of how many people share the cleaning and feeding etc. I think it is often quite a natural thing because in the wild they do pick a partner for life and they are probably only trying to replicate this in captivity.
Jane
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Post by lidiam on Sept 22, 2005 7:51:23 GMT -7
I also don't agree with her advice on socialising, though I don't think there's any harm in what she suggested. I have had sole care of Joshua for almost sixteen years, and the bird is a promiscuous little monster. He really likes other people, is interested in them, etc. It's only other people's nervousness with him that hinders closer relationships from developing. He'll sit with, be preened by, and kiss anyone who is confident enough to do these things! Anyway, I'm glad you found a decent vet who knew what to do and how to do it. The first vet you spoke about sounded very odd indeed and I wouldn't have felt at all comfortable leaving my beloved pet there on his own. Kudos. Lidia
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