Need to know list for vet trip

Gunnsa · Snr Member Joined: Aug 26, 2011 Posts: 42

I have an appointment with an avian vet at the end of the month. The birds are all going for a general check-up and I do have faith in this particular vet but I do not know how much he knows about kakarikis. So I'm hoping that you can help me with some general knowledge that I've not been able to find through the quick search.

Claw lenght. Kak's claws are supposed to be long, but how long is long? 1/4 of the toe length or longer?

Weight. Is it correct that the average weight of kak's is between 60 - 70 grams? I've got a newly aquired hen that I suspect is severely underweight. She's not yet tame so I've not been able to weigh her properly myself.

The hen is going to have a more thorough check-up than the other three males, as I am a bit concerned about her general health. She doesn't eat fresh food except for a small amount of broccoli or sweet corn, she prefers seeds and won't touch the greens even though the rest of the flock eats them. She also seems occasionally have trouble swallowing her food and I suspect that she does not drink enough. Her feet feel papery and dry, not smooth. All birds have recently had mite treatment but I will ask the vet to check for mites and parasites.

I am basically prepared for the vet visit except for knowledge of the claw length and weight, which is what I know the vet will ask. So, if some of you knowledgeable people could answer these questions I would be very grateful.

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4550

Georg · Snr Member Joined: Jul 12, 2009 Posts: 174

Most vets look for austrailian parrots as buggies, kakariki's claws are longer. Good vets do see the veins in the claws, in the bright ones better than in the dark. The ending of the veins show the shortest cut, ... but kakariki like to have longer claws, than this minimal cutpoint.

The weight of our kakariki varyfies between 50g ( yf hen ) to 100g (rc cock) and all they are in best conditions.

It's not the first time we hear about kakariki not eating freshfoot. (... ... ... i'm a vegetarian human... my life is very good without meat ... <v>

)

For ten kakariki we have to collect 10 favorite crops / foods - they are only human Shocked

Gunnsa · Snr Member Joined: Aug 26, 2011 Posts: 42

I recently got the hen and a juvenile male, both are rehoming cases from the same home. They were kept separately in a quarantine cage and all birds both new and old got treated for mites at the same time.

I was unfortunately unable to keep the old and new birds separated very long as one of my older birds got hit by the father instinct towards the juvenile (who was only 7 weeks old) and broke into the quarantine cage, which made his brother follow suit. I do know that I will have to treat all birds for parasites, should it be that what is wrong with the hen. She is very active, eats seeds very well, has bright eyes and good plumage, the only visible signs that something may be wrong is her dry feet and how light she feels compared to the males.

As a rule I always use 50/50 vinegar/water solution to clean the cages once a week and i sprinkle a dash of apple cider vinegar on the fresh food regularly and I will continue to do so as the older birds seem to thrive well on it.

The newcomers are rehoming cases and I know very little about the hen's background other than that she was born in Sweden, is two years old and the only pure red-fronted. The juvenile was born at the previous owner's house and is a hybrid. Both birds lived with 9 other kaks in an aviary (2m long x 1m wide x 2m high). When I went to pick them up I noticed that the aviary was not as clean as I would have liked it to be and some of the other birds had bald spots around their eyes, so I suspected that there would be a mite problem.

I would not have bought these birds from any breeder, but since all birds had to be rehomed and I could find space for two I offered to take them. I had no intention of getting a female, but as the previous owner seemed totally unaware of the fact that the hen was pure red-fronted and the other were hybrids and announced that she could be bred with any one of the flock I decided to take her in order to prevent some hybrid breeding.

I'm posting some pictures of the hen and her feet if they can be of some help.

Steptoe · Site Admin Joined: Oct 06, 2004 Posts: 4550

Those claws maybe a little longer than usual, other than that ok.