Big Bird Experiments Treating Feather Cysts

Hopefully you have never had a bird with feather cysts aka feather lumps. Unfortunately, I have one old bird and three young ones with feather cysts. They are all out of mosaic lines and look just like the ones appearing in an article on the blog from Dec.29, 2009 called Removing Feather Cysts.

I am trying an experimental treatment on these birds using Biodecken Molt. Starting today, I will be giving BioDecken Molt in the water for 15 days. This product is high in methionine.

The first bird I found a few weeks ago  had lumps on both wings and a huge one under the skin in the tail. I removed his lumps and he got a few treatments with the other birds with BioDecken Molt but I was focused on feather tightness and quickly lost tract of his lump problem.

 Today when I found the other birds with lumps, I examined him again and the tail lump was totally gone and only clue about his previous problem was one thick feather on the right wing butt! So Big Bird is jumping in and an experiment is in process. I will report back in a couple of weeks. The preliminary first bird results are very encouraging.

Qualife Molt Ingredients:  DL-Methionine, L Treonine, Niacin, Choline Chloride, Pantotenic Acid, Pyridoxin Hidrochloride, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sucrose and Glycerin.

Biodecken is sold by Ricardo Sanchez 214 998-7474 or ricardo@ricardosanchez.cc.

Kale To The Rescue

 This year we changed the garden to three elevated counter-height beds. And instead of planting 10 to 12 broccoli plants, I only planted four.

With bugs and Big Bird using the leaves, the plants are completely stripped! A real crises as my birds are still eating the green egg less nestling food made with broccoli leaves.

This morning at the Farmer's Market, I bought Kale. Unfortunately, after being at the outdoor stand, it was not as crisp as I would like so I emerged it in ice water to crispen it up a bit.

The crisp Kale was then processed in the food processor. Birds do not like to eat limp leaves and at times when I am in a rush and do not have time to do the ice water trick, I put the limp leaves in the food processor and like magic, they eat it!

 My Green soft food now is cous cous with olive oil and poppy seeds (covered with warm tap water to soften), cooked quinoa, processed kale, thawed frozen peas and corn, sprilina, and probiotics.

 Young Border male was quick to find the pieces of Kale!

A young German Roller male picked out a pea and was pacing the cage trying to keep it away from his brothers. With a chest like that, I can't wait to hear him sing his full song! 

Breaking News Boost 250 Available on eBay

It's Fall again and when I looked at my supply of Boost 250, which I use a lot this time of year, I was down to just one unopened bottle which I ordered from the UK in 2012. Surprisingly it was still not expired but I like to have more of this amazing product on hand.

So after searching the web for a US source and not finding one, I wrote Dog Health to try and locate a US sources for Boost 250.

Today, I got this e-mail from Glyn Davies of Dog Health: 

"Hi, I have set up a 'buy it now' for Boost 250 on eBay item 251210600028.

You can now purchase it on there for overseas delivery with a shipping cost of £5

Regards,

Glyn."

EBay is an easy way to order a bottle or two, great for US, Europe, Canada and Australia but if you want larger quantities contact glyn at glydavies@doghealth.co.uk. 

This is a fantastic product for show birds as it tightens their feathers and also for song canaries as it hastens song development without bringing harshness!!!

I have two articles about Boost 250 on this blog which you can easily find using the blog search above. The articles are: Jan. 20, 2012 "Performance Enhancers" and Jan 30, 2012 "From My Mail Bag Laurie UK". 

Special Treat - Johnson Grass

While visiting our pastures and my brother Larry's farm, on the edge of his vegetable garden was several patches of unwanted Johnson grass. Assuring me that it had not been sprayed, I picked all he had for my birds.

Young Borders enjoying the grass treat!

We also selected a number of squash from his pickup bed.

No Fly Zone

I like to keep a couple of flour moth traps (sometimes called insect traps) out just in case a flour moth hatches out. Surprisingly, flour moth traps are amazingly effective at catching flies!

This Spring, I opened the traps up and laid them flat in the aviary window, thinking the light coming through the window would attract flour moths if I had any. I tilted the traps out of eye sight.

Was I ever shocked today when I decided that these traps that had been in the window for several months now probably needed changing, they were saturated with flies!

Oh how gross, no flour moths but flies galore!! I immediately shot this photo and discarded them and put two new ones in the window!

The Traps Make My aviary A No Fly Zone!

Tight Legged Pants Are In This Fall - Tight Feathering Is Always In!!

Tight feathering on a canary where the feathers hug the body like a glove is not only beautiful but often the competitive edge needed to win top prizes at bird shows. I always take moment after judging to quiz exhibitors about their feeding methods and to what they attribute their birds excellent feathering. And it always comes down to excellent nutrition!

On numerous posts, I have recommended World Organic liquid multiple B vitamins in raisin concentrate for normal molting and to prevent and treat abnormal soft molt. I get these from my local health food store, Natural of Course. You can also substitute human multiple B vitamins tablets, just make the water canary yellow.

In addition to B vitamins, make sure your birds are getting amino acids especially methionine. I use a vitamin amino acid supplement called Miracle from Italy which I get from ABBA Products (they call it AA Miracle, don't forget the AA or the clerk may not find it in their computer).

I also recently tried the Biodecken brand, Molt and Optimix. adding the B vitamins to these products resulting in observable tightening of the flanks. Even though it is only mid August, my birds look so good you would think it is mid October. I purchase Biodecken products from Ricardo Sanchez, 214 998-7474. (In addition, I use Biodecken novafood nestling food, neonate formula and their multiple vitamin and immune support.)

Qualife Molt Ingredients:  DL-Methionine, L Treonine, Niacin, Choline Chloride, Pantotenic Acid, Pyridoxin Hidrochloride, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sucrose and Glycerin.


Optimix Metabolism Ingredients: Chelated Selenium, Chelated Chromium, Chelated Zinc, Chelated Copper, Chelated Iron, Chelated Manganese, Chelated Cobalt, Chelated Magnesium, Calcium Gluconate, Potassium Iodide, Calcium saccharate, Surose, and Glycerin.

Excellent Vitamineral Supplement

Recently, I began using Natural Vitamineral, a pigeon product made in Belgium. The product has eight different minerals and vitamin A, D3, E, K3 - thiamine , and B2, B6, and B12. Overall condition improved and I was very impressed with the positive effect on my birds feathering and activity level. This rose colored powder for pigeons, is offered free choice in a small pot so birds eat only what they want. The idea of birds eating how much they wanted rather than adding it to their food really appealed to me.

Enthusiastically, I offered a cage of German Rollers and one of Borders open dishes of Vitamineral. Oh my, did they ever like it! But unfortunately, they jump right in the dish and as you can imagine, the wings and tail feather were promptly dusted to a matching rose color! Oh no, what was Big Bird thinking?

It has taken quite a few daily baths, over a month, for the rose colored feathers to disappear even though I only offered it a few hours in the open dish. Luckily, I had limited my experiment with the open dishes to two cages!

I am now adding it to the green nestling food recipe previously posted.

This product has distributors listed all over the world. For example: Australia - Merryland Products, South Africa - Exeder Produkte, Japan Tokyo  Champion Trade Co or International Fodder Kobe,  Belgium - Natural Granen. I purchased mine at Foy's Pigeon Supply US.

Lucca, my Belgian Malinois, is my newest aviary assistant.

His favorite job is encouraging the birds to fly back and forth. So far, he only works with German Rollers.

After all that work time for a rest and play with the natural sounding squawking duck toy. The duck is fine but wonder if they make a canary one?