Monday, October 25, 2010

How Much to Feed African Grey Parrot Babies When Hand Rearing

The amount of formula to feed an African Grey Parrot chick and the times between feedings vary from bird to bird.As stated in a reply to a previous post, African Grey chicks are like children – each has their own needs and personality.



How Often Should you Feed the African Grey Parrot Chick?


 

The general rule of thumb is to feel the chick’s crop. If the crop is nearly empty, it is time to feed the baby.

What we usually do is to start feeding every three hours from the time we take them from the nest – usually at three or four weeks. We monitor the crop clearing carefully during that time to make sure the crop never completely empties. You should also take care not to leave too much food in the crop as this could lead to illnesses in the chick.

When you find that the crop is empty after two hours, you need to decrease the time between feeds and if the crop is still relatively firm after three hours, increase the time between feeds.



Here is an African Grey parrot chick with a nearly empty crop.

African Grey Chick with reduced crop



And here is the chick with a full crop.

African Grey Chick with full crop



Your bird therefore mostly dictates how often he/she should be fed.



How Much to Feed your African Grey Parrot Chick


When the chick is still very small, you need to feel the crop to make sure you don’t under or over feed the chick. When the crop is feeling stiff, not hard though,  the chick will have enough formula for the time being, Overfeeding can lead to the chick bringing up the excess formula and underfeeding will be detrimental to the bird as it would stem development of the bird. As the parrot babies get older, they will stop feeding when they’ve had enough.

They will also begin to show interest in other foods like shelled sunflower seed, fruit and a boiled mixture of other seeds. From about six to eight weeks we introduced these foods slowly before and after feeding the formula to get the birds accustomed to a variety of other food except formula and sunflower seeds.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Abusers are Cowards

Yes, you read correctly. All child-, animal- and woman abusers are cowards. How can I make such an generalization?

Easy, I worked in the courts for 10 years and this included being a criminal prosecutor, criminal magistrate and commissioner of the children’s court. After that I practiced as attorney, so I dare say I have some (although not perfect) insight into what character traits an abuser has. How do I justify the statement? This is my personal opinion not something I read somewhere:


1. Abusers are cowards because they are too afraid to attack someone their own size who can defend themselves against the abuse.

2. Abusers are cowards because they are afraid to face up to what and who they are – they would much rather blame the abuse on the victim by alleging the victim asked for the abuse.

Today I need to share with you the story of Jack and how Jack came to live with us. If I seem harsh, please understand that I have been mad enough to give a puffadder (snake) an open mouth kiss for the last nearly two months.



A Little Background


We live on a farm just outside Balfour on the old road between Balfour and Greylingstad. Due to the Burnstone Goldmine which opened about 4km away, this road carries a lot of traffic. Heavy vehicles make use of the road day and night and because we are situated on a small hill, the speed limit is very seldom adhered to. Road works on the new road linking the towns caused long waiting periods so most people chose to use this road instead to save time.

terrie
I have three dogs of my own, two Jack Russel terriers and a Boerbull, which I adore. The first thing we did when moving in was to ensure the yard is fenced in so that the dogs would be safe. The two Jack Russels, Mica and Terri (for terrorist) sleep with us every night and accompany us wherever we go. They are like children in the house and everyone adores them.


Jack’s History


A couple of weeks ago, I think it was about 7 weeks ago, my son called me to watch as people in a newish Opel Corsa motor vehicle put two small dogs out of their car opposite the entrance to our farm. At first I couldn’t believe what I saw, but then the Corsa slowly pulled away in the opposite direction and the two dogs trotted behind. The car then accelerated and disappeared from view. How far the dogs ran to try and catch up with their owners, I don’t know, but over the course of the next few weeks they often ran in that direction, obviously trying to see if their owners will return for them.

Jack and a Fox-terrier-breed dog were dumped next to the road like yesterday’s garbage. The most upsetting part of this was that the dogs were in good condition and well cared for. I can’t adequately describe the feelings (anger, disbelief, sadness) which I experienced that day. We drove up and down the road to try and find the dogs, but they were nowhere to be seen. 

Two days later we saw the two dogs in our fields. They had managed to dodge the traffic and stay alive. Bear in mind, these dogs were not used to fending for themselves and I can’t even begin to imagine the terror they went through trying to find something to eat and a safe place to sleep. At that stage it was still bitterly cold. What really broke my heart is when we tried calling them and they hurried away. They were petrified of humans.

As they ran away, the fox-terrier struggled to keep up with Jack and Jack would run for a while and after realizing his companion lagged behind, he would stop, look around and wait for the fox-terrier to catch up. They disappeared in the same direction the Corsa drove off in and we didn’t see them again for a couple of days.

About a week later we drove into town and found the dogs next to the road going through garbage. Their condition were terrible. Both dogs were thin and scruffy. Upon our return to the farm, I put down some food next to a dilapidated building some distance from the house in the hope that they would find it.

The first day the food remained untouched, but the next day the plastic tin was empty and dragged some distance away from the building. I thought they were too scared to navigate close to buildings for fear of human interaction (they must have been chased away so many times while trying to get food) and I moved the container with the food to our entrance gate, close to the road. In the photo below you can see the long driveway leading to the busy road.

 Image0109 r
Over the next couple of weeks they often ate from the tin and regularly visited the food source. All of us tried several times to approach the dogs, but the ran away as you approached. Two weeks ago I decided to move the tin halfway up the driveway to get them away from the road.

Jack came to eat, but his friend was not with him. We drove up the road and our worst fears were realized. The fox-terrier was hit by a truck and lay dead in the road. Seeing the terrier lying on its back with its feet tucked up, was a sight I wish on no animal lover. He/she looked so much like our own dog, Mica that I cried for hours, cursing the people who left the dogs. How could anyone call themselves human if they allowed this to happen to an animal that only asked for food and love and in return rewarded you with unfailing loyalty and love?

Jack was now alone and despite the food, he remained painfully thin every time I saw him. About 8 days ago, Jack first investigated the house and surroundings. He must have been extremely lonely without his friend, but he was skittish. It was over the lunch hour and the yard was quiet with nobody walking outside. From my office window I saw Jack sauntering closer and closer to the house. I held my breath as he went to lie in the shadow of an oak tree close to the gate. When my husband returned from town, he didn’t run away immediately, but the Boerboel saw him and barked. Jack ran like lightning down the road.


I Finally Meet Jack


Over the next couple of days he remained close to the house but didn’t venture into the yard again. He ate his food regularly and last Friday he watched me from the nearby hill as I walked down the road to put his food in the tin. The whole of Saturday we saw him around the yard, within viewing distance of the house and we moved his tin to the tree just outside the gate at around midday. Being closer to the house, I could now also put some water in a container for him. We watched him eat and drink water from a safe distance.

By dusk, I checked on the food and water again and as I straightened from pouring the food into the container… there was Jack…crawling towards me…waving his tail. Between the tears, I went down on my knees and he immediately turned on his back so I could scratch his belly. I could feel every single rib with barely any flesh under the skin. He whined softly and wagged his tail constantly. I called my husband to help me introduce him to the rest of the family and Jack immediately went to him and allowed him to pet him.

Jack was filthy, his body riddled with ticks and fleas and before we took him to meet the rest of the family we dosed him with Frontline to help him get rid of the pests. The introductions went well, but Jack refused to let either me or my husband out of his sight and whined when we left him. After a hearty meal and plenty of water he settled down on the enclosed veranda for the night. He was obviously used to being indoors and early on Sunday morning we let him out without him making a mess inside the house. Now, Jack sleeps inside on a warm bed with food and water always on hand. He already accepted us as his new family and is very protective of everyone in the family.


Now meet Jack and tell me why anyone would dump this cutie next to the road and leave him to die.

Image0113

Image0117 

Animal Abuse

So, what constitutes animal abuse?

Failing to provide an animal with sufficient food, water and shelter are the most common methods of animal abuse. Many people want to have a pet and buys one without really thinking it through. Animals have needs just like humans do. They cannot fend for themselves and are totally dependant on their human owners to provide for them.

When the small puppies grow into bigger dogs, many dog owners feel the dogs are too much work. This happens every day, but it still doesn’t excuse the dumping of animals next to the road and leaving them to fend for themselves. The SPCA has branches all over the country and when animal owners feel they are no longer able to care for the animals, doing the humane thing would be to approach the nearest SPCA to assist them in finding a new home for the animal. The SPCA website has a list of telephone numbers that are regularly updated and help is only a telephone call away.

Like I said, abusers are cowards too afraid to face up to what they really are.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Lost the Groove - Where's my Mojo?

Today is one of those days that I wish I worked for a company and not for myself and I could get to say I am sick to go home. Not that I ever did that, but it would be nice to do so once in a while when you're feeling sorry for yourself and it seems that nothing worthwhile is happening in your life - or rather, nothing you do is worthwhile doing as you seem to accomplish absolutely nothing with 18 hours of work per day.

Yep, I am feeling sorry for myself. I guess everyone has those days, its just I am not used to them. Being busy 90% of my waking hours means I don't get much time to ponder things that bother me and which I have no control over. Today though, my attention span is non-existent, my temper short and my patience thin. Why? I have no clue!

Writing usually solves the problem, but today the mojo took a vacation. I have no desire to edit the book I planned to send to the publishers (notice the past tense) nor the inclination to write the myriad of articles needed to maybe someday supplement my income. Going at it for nearly two years with only peanuts to show doesn't exactly create motivation in my mind. Add the dwindling page views (nobody has the answer as to why) and the accompanying revenue drop and you will also feel like slamming the keyboard against the wall and walking out.

Add to the above the fact that a publisher now has been reviewing a novel for nearly 5 months with no answer - not even a peep, you will understand the frustration setting in. Reason? How the hell do I know if the hours spent writing (which is fun) and editing (which is horribly hard work) are good enough to be considered for publishing. How do you motivate yourself to continue writing / editing when you have no clue as to the worth of the stories in your head?

Don't get me wrong. I will keep writing down the stories in my head until the day I die - it is like breathing - a requirement for me to live. Knowing they are not good enough to share with the great world out there, would eliminate the editing process...I hope. Talk to any writer and you will hear that they always strive to do better, to improve their writing skills, to find a way to more effectively tell the story in their minds. Mmm, I foresee a problem. Stories need to be told, which translates to someone has to hear/read them. Editing will thus not be eliminated - a writers ego wouldn't allow unedited work to be displayed.

Darn, looks like I will be stuck with the whole process whether I like it or not. Let me go for a walk and ponder this some more.

Walking is as good as any therapy session - did you know that? While walking on our small farm the sun reflected on the yellowing grass harboring Cape Long claws (Oranjekeelkalkoentjies for the Afrikaans speaking readers) and I realized that I could see. Wow, how many people out in the world are unable to see the miracles of nature and here I am complaining while I can see the wonderland God created.

I can hear the black-collared Barbet fight with the crested Barbet. I can hear the wind rustling the leaves of the acorn trees and feel them floating down on the breeze. How many people will never experience that?


The biggest factor - I can walk! How cool is that?

This blog post just served to lighten my mood. I have NOTHING to complain about and so much to be thankful for. The mere fact that I am able to write this, is a reason to be grateful. How fickle is the mind of a human. We, who are more privileged than at least 60% of the world's population, tend to moan and groan on how bad we have it, but we conveniently forget about war-torn countries where to breathe and be alive is not guaranteed. We forget about poverty-stricken countries where the next meal, how small it may be, is not a given.

Now I am thoroughly ashamed of writing this post in the first place, but like walking, it served to clear my head and focus on what is important in life. YOU HAVE TO COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS EVERY DAY, EVERY HOUR, EVERY MINUTE. Who knows when some of them will be taken away?

For those of you who read through these ramblings - thank you and may your thoughts always be positive. I'm off to continue editing. Until next time.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Winter Blues in Mpumalanga



Today autumn flipped its leaves into winter. The wind howled around the corners and blew Acorn leaves all over the yard. Suddenly, the grass acquired a grayish tint over the yellow waving stalks.
My nose filled with dry earth and my ears rang with the song of the wind begging to be heard. How did I miss noticing the season of the dead approaching?
But, does everything die in winter? Or is everything not as it seems?
To me, winter signifies rest - not death.
Wild seeds rest peacefully underneath the frozen ground, giving the ground above a chance to recuperate after a lush growth period during spring and summer. Grass die down so that it can sprout new shoots when spring arrives. Everything seems to go into limbo, waiting in breathless suspense for the first thaw to arrive.
Nights spend in front of a crackling fire, roasting marshmellows and drinking hot chocolate more than atone for the inability to brave the unrelenting wind outside. Snuggling against your loved one - whether human or animal - on a cold winters night, shoveling snow from your porch (hmmm - not very likely in South Africa as we treasure the little snow we get) or slipping on early morning frost when the night covered the grass in a blanket of ice, are memories only winter can provide.
In all...I love winter!
How do you feel about winter?

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

African Grey Baby/Chick - 10 Days Old

This African Grey Chick is 10 days old and a complete sweetie. We removed him from the nest a little too early ( I think) but he is feeding well and gaining weight. Two days ago the African Grey Chick weighed 130 grams and today a whopping 160 grams. That is a 23% weight gain.



Being alone seems to be the only problem this little one has, but the soft toy we put in with him appears to help ease the loneliness a little. He is much quieter than the other two, but makes soft noises when he notices you or you stroke him.

He is still a bit "naked" and looking at the tiny shafts of feathers appearing, it seems like he will still be that way for a while. At he moment the down on his head gives him the appearance of a semi-punk (which to me adds to the cute level substantially.)



He likes to eat and because the crop didn't clear enough in two and a half hours, we moved the feeding times to every three hours. (After the short break with the other two, this again takes a little getting used to.)

The other two chicks have settled in well with their owners and the reports I get are that they are absolutely the most clever and most cute parrots ever hatched. Hmm, I thought so from the start, but it's great to get positive feedback from their owners. Needless to say, both are being spoiled rotten and are treated like children in the home.

I hope you will enjoy this journey with the growing African Grey chick as much as we do.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Animal Cruelty - NOT FOR SENSITIVE VIEWERS!

WARNING: THIS IS NOT FOR SENSITIVE VIEWERS!

I considered not posting this story to the blog, but I feel that as many people as possible should be made aware of the cruelty displayed against animals every day. If the post doesn't make sense at times, please forgive me, as I am struggling between utter sadness and being stark raving mad at the moment. Maybe a little background would help you understand why I feel this way.

I have a little dog called Mica. She is a "sort of" Jack Russel Terrier and the absolute light of our lives. We got her from a dear friend when she was seven weeks old and since then she sleeps in our bed, sometimes even eat at our table and is generally the love of everyone at home's life.

She gives unconditional love to everyone and likes nothing more than to just play with you and love you. All she asks is food ( not much by the way) and love - lots of love. Look at the pictures in the slide show and tell me she is not just adorable.




Now the reason for this post is an e-mail I received from a friend. Again - this is not for sensitive viewers. I post the e-mail intact below and request you forward this to as many people as possible.

Our society plays host to a couple of truly sick (evil) people. Understanding how anyone could physically harm another human being is difficult enough, but at least sometimes that other human has a chance of fighting back. Being deliberately cruel to animals I could never and will never understand. This is an unequal fight right from the start and being cruel to a dog, whose inherent nature is to love and protect you, is beyond my brain capacity. How could anyone betray such unwavering trust.

Sorry I ramble on. Here is the post - feel free to comment or to send it on.

THE BACKGROUND STORY


Subject: My name is Lucky Lucy and I was tied to a railway line to be hit by a train.

Hello everyone,

This is one of the saddest stories we have to tell! The pictures are the hardest to look at, I know, but it needs to be seen!

Andre and I went to the SPCA Wellington as we often do to go donate some doggy biscuits, cat litter and rub some of the doggies. We then left to go to the rubbish dump to disperse of our rubbish when a man stopped us to ask if we had a knife. We wanted to know why, so he said come and look! He hopped into the bakkie with us and we proceeded to underneath the R44 bridge next to the railway line, where Andre and I discovered one of the MOST GRUESOME acts of cruelty that the word CRUEL CAN NOT DESCRIBE! Please read below, her story, I tried to put it in words but it's so hard for me, I’m in shock too! The pictures will tell you her own story!

The terror and fear in this doggie is unexplainable! Andre cut her loose and gave her to me to hold, we could see some relief as she took another breath, and as he gave her to me, a train roared past OVER THE EXACT SPOT WHERE SHE WAS A MOMENT AGO! How many trains have gone over her before we found her, is hard to imagine as the trauma she must have faced feeling and seeing the train approach her and she couldn't get away.

We rushed to Market street Animal Hospital where she is presently with our great Vet's Dr. Du Plessis and Dr.van Deventer and Assistant Nurse Adri, who dropped everything to help stabilise her.

We want to go big with this story PLEASE the media need to know about this, we need the public to help us with her and we need the public to see this cruelty.

Circulating this email to your contacts could help too, please.

She is a very strong, special girl!

She has to be stabilized for 2-3 days then Andries Venter, Chief Inspectorate of the Good Hope SPCA offered to do further medical remedial operations by their great team of Vets.

THANK YOU SO MUCH ANDRIES FOR THIS, FOR THE CHANCE TO GIVE HER LIFE AGAIN!

THANK YOU YEAL THAT WE COULD RUSH HER TO THE VET FOR TREATMENT BUT MOST OF ALL THANK YOU THAT WE CAN GIVE HER A CHANCE CAUSE SHE DESERVES IT!!!!

After her operation Andre and I will teach her to love and trust a human again. Then when she is healthy, she will show us who her previous owner is, even if it takes us months, we will find the perpetrator and Lucky Lucy will have her justice!

MY NAME IS LUCKY LUCY AND TODAY I WAS TIED TO A RAILWAY LINE SO A TRAIN COULD HIT ME!

ALL I REMEMBER IS THAT I WAS HAPPY AND PLAYING, I WAS FED AND DIDN’T GO HUNGRY, PERHAPS MY OWNER DID LOVE ME AT ONE STAGE CAUSE I LIVED WELL AND WARM, I WAS CLEAN AND HAD FRIENDS TO PLAY WITH AND I FOUND A BOYFIREND AND CARRIED HIS BABIES, BUT THEN SUDDENLY FOR SOME REASON SOMETHING CHANGED IN MY OWNER.
HE WENT LOOKING FOR A STRONG ROPE, SOMETHING THAT COULDN’T SNAP OR GET LOOSE AND HE TOOK ME WITH HIM, WHICH I THOUGHT WOULD BE THE USUAL STROLL YOU GO ON WITH YOUR OWNER, BUT THEN WE WERE AT THE TRAIN TRACKS AND HE GRABBED ME, TOOK MY BACK HIND LEGS AND STRETCHED THEM OUT TO BE TIED TO MY FRONT LEGS, THEN MY BODY, STRETCHED, WAS TIED TO THE RAILWAY LINE, THEN HE TOOK MY HEAD AND TIED IT TO THE BOLT THAT HOLDS THE TRACK IN PLACE, MY HEAD MUST HAVE BEEN A CENTIMETER AWAY FROM THE TRACK.

THEN HE TURNED AND WALKED AWAY, DIDN’T EVEN LOOK BACK, I THOUGHT AT FIRST THIS MUST BE A GAME BUT HE DISSAPEARED. I DIDN’T K NOW WHAT WAS GOING ON, THEN I FELT THE VIBRATION, THEN I SAW THIS HUGE TRAIN COMING AT ME AND I COULDN’T MOVE, I TRIED WITH ALL MY STRENGTH BUT I JUST COULDN’T MOVE……….

THE TRAIN WENT OVER MY LEG, MY PAW WAS GONE AND MY MUSCLE HAD BEEN RIPPED FROM MY ALREADY SMASHED BONE!

I DIDN’T FEEL ANYMORE, I JUST LAY DEADSTILL AND WAITED TO DIE CAUSE A FEW MORE TRAINS PASSED OVER ME…..I JUST CLOSED MY EYES…..

OUT OF NOWHERE THIS MAN SAW ME, HE SCREAMED AND RAN AWAY ONLY TO COME BACK WITH TWO PEOPLE, THEY JUMPED OUT THE CAR AND CUT MY NECK AND PAWS FROM THE ROPES. I DON’T KNOW IF MY LIFE WAS NOW GOING TO BE OVER COMPLETELY CAUSE WHO WOULD KEEP SOMEONE IN MY STATE ALIVE?

BUT AT THE HOSPITAL I HEARD THE LADY AND MAN SAY, “HOLD ON FOR US GIRL, DON’T GIVE UP, WE WILL GIVE YOU LIFE!”

Now I will try my best to pull through, I know they are asking everyone to pray for me, so I will pray for me too

 

We are excited to tell you all that Lucy's operation went very well. Her leg was amputated above the elbow and she's sleeping and recovering well. Unfortunately though, the pups she was carrying could not be saved.


I hope I am not looking too "hospitally" but I tried posing nicely. I don't know why I feel like I am going to stumble to the side all the time but I think I am doing ok, I ate a great meal this morning again. I think I need to thank A LOT BUT A LOT of people for phoning me here at the hospital, for the people who visited, for the people offering to adopt me and all the people who donated, cause Auntie Richelle told me everyday all about it. I’m hoping that people will see I need the long road ahead to recover and I want to do so peacefully and don't want to move too far away from where I feel safe now, close to my doctor's. I will hope though that all these lovely people who are trying to help me would please try and help my fellow K9's too, they may not have experienced what I have but from what Auntie Richelle tells me (wow she does not stop talking) they also have been through some traumatic experiences and still need the help today, be it with a small donation towards them too or even adopting one in the remembrance of my story it will help me with my rehabilitation that you not only want to help me but them too, cause it could have been any of us!

Thank you very much for all the help, I can't quite understand it all yet but Auntie Richelle says thousands of people want to come talk to me so my ears will be buzzing.

Colette Mang
Swartland and West Coast SPCA
Tel: 022 409 2237
Cell: 083 23 53 285
Fax: 086 609 12 18

If you can still read at this point, please spread the word so that we can try and help to catch the person responsible for this.