Catherine,

Boris was ill since right before Thanksgiving; he has some kind of growth in his mouth. At first, I had him on anti-biotics & we were treating it as a bacterial tumor ( both strep & staph infections showed up on culture.)

He has been to the vet 3 more times than that. they removed some tissue & sent it to see if it was cancerous; it wasn't. Last week, they did a full body scan to see if there were any tumors in the head or internal organs...all clear. The vet has concluded that he has an abscess that is now healing from the bottom up & I have to keep him on antibiotics for another 9 days, then wait a week & take him in for a re-check.

We were going to go to FL in Feb. but didn't make any reservations because of this. So, the holidays were fraught with stress & trying to fool him into believing he was getting a cookie when I hid the medicine in graham crackers & almond butter. He is doing much better now back to chasing me around. I knew he was sick when he would just sit there & let me play with his toys.

I can't believe he could catch those serious infections when I keep things so clean. Hope you guys have a healthy & prosperous new year. I hope to get in soon or I will order on line but I always like to see you in person.

Maddy
 

Dear Maddy 

I am so sorry to hear about Boris not being well, even though he is a pip, he is YOUR pip. Eckie's are tough, they have dietary needs that are different than other parrots and I wonder if they suffer from deficiencies or other maladies due to their diets.

Panda's have to eat Bamboo, Koalas have to eat Eucalyptus. Aviculture is still in its infancy. Things I was taught to be true 20 years ago are obsolete now and the stuff I learned only 10 years ago is now suspect.

 I learn more from my customers than anything. We had a monthly Grooming night for awhile this fall but once it got cold we cut it off. Not enough people to stay open late for anyway and unless we had someone BUY something, the only one that made money was the groomer. And that was touch and go. 

However, the reason I bring this up, we have one Ecky customer who had a very overgrown beak, it was starting to affect his chest. We brought this to the attention of the owner (yes, he got a vet referral from us) and at first the groomer said he would not touch it, but with a dremel he gave it a shot, he got it down some with plans to bring the bird back in 2 months which he did and then the beak was worked on again. He now looks almost normal, the sides are thin but he can eat better and the tip does not dig into his chest. We are working to change his diet, his owner dotes on our store and is very trusting so I want to steer him in the right direction. 

I just recently found out that Caiques need more fruit and nectar in their diet. So I am learning more on what to refer to a customer and what to stock.

 Anyway, I like talking to you. But I have to go. 

I have to create a new listing for Aviclean a new cage cleaner. Like Poop Off, but people like the smell better, I think it is mildly citrusy.

 Stay warm - Catherine