upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

Unix showed liver problems at a few years old. It was thought that diet changes reversed the problem until about 10 when another vet found problems again. Funny enough, it didn't show up on bloodwork at the beginning, just in the phisical exam.

Claudia wrote:She's an outside aviary bird F8.
And ummm are you going to stand there all day to stop her from mating with her brother .......I think not

As for her diet well I do live in Oz so I guess my birds have an enormous advantage over yours as they have access to native trees/shrubs which is what their wild counterparts would eat.
Apart from branches of those native trees, which I give my birds at least once a week, they obviously get the standard "greens"............

That's great IMO that she is outside in an aviary, I did not see you say that in any of your posts in this thread - unless maybe I missed it.

I personally would not keep brothers and sisters in the same aviary though. I am one of those who does not believe in destroying life or potential life inside fertile eggs. I know I am in the minority on that subject, so I will leave it at that.

Thanks for enlightening me, as I did not realize cockatiels were big branch or shrub eaters = interesting. Can you tell me what vitamins and minerals, etc. they derive from eating branches and shrubs and if you don't mind and have the time, could you let me know what specific branches and shrubs they eat so maybe I can locate or grow same/similar in my neck of the woods? You wouldn't by any chance have any videos of cockatiels consuming branches and shrubs, would you?

I would not agree that your birds have an "enormous" advantage with diet over mine, as mine do get an excellent and varied diet, as natural as possible. We have tropical items on the menu here all the time besides good quality seeds, grasses, veggies, fruits, etc.

Have a google to see if you can find a video
And no I can not tell you what vitamins they derive from branches and shrubs that are native no, maybe again you could have a google?

I only have one aviary with one tiel family in it, one boy is about to be sold as he is becoming too dominant and chases his mum around
I am not going to separate the others and will not give them any nestingboxes anyway so there should be no egg laying happening, if it does, they will fall to the ground and break.
I have been a member on this forum for a very long time and most of the time the people that I discuss my birds with are regulars on this forum and therefore know I have aviary birds so I am sorry that I did not clarify this in my earlier post F8

When I ask for advice I do not like other members "telling" me what I am doing wrong, you might have been a breeder/owner for a very long time F8 and it is great that you obviously have such devotion and love for your birds but I do too
These are Ozzie birds and I strongly believe in giving them occasional access to what grows here abundantly.
Mine go absolutely crazy over the "Agonis Flexuosa"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agonis_flexuosa
In the past when I did breed my birds I would use the leaves of that tree to put inside the nestingbox underneath the woodchips to keep flies etc away. Worked a treat
Apart from these native branches I give mine mainly broccoli, bok choy, snow peas, corn, capsicum and red chillies, I have two birds in particular that go crazy over the red chillies and it's all over their little faces, so cute
I do not feed mine grasses however as I am too concerned about (my) dogs having peed on them
Fruit mine definitely don't like apart from our indoor pet tiel Holly, she likes apple, in fact that is all she seems to eat, she is the fussiest bird ever
She was a fly-in so no idea what type of diet she was on before we took her in but it can't have been very varied

I don't know why you are so sensitive Claudia. I for one would want someone telling me what I am doing wrong - if I was doing something wrong, regarding the keeping or breeding of my birds (etc.). That is how we all learn, isn't it. Anyway, I was NOT telling you to do anything or not to do anything, I was simply saying what I would do if I were in your situation and what I thought was best for your or anyone's birds. Take my advice or leave it but I certainly have a right to voice my opinion.

You are forgiven for your admitted failure to clarify certain things - lol.