love birds: long feathers at its tail, and i found..grow back…

Hi Nancy. I'm so glad such a caring person has given a home to this poor little bird. That just enrages me. It would no matter the type of bird involved but Tiels are such loving and sweet nature birds, there is no excuse for that kind of abuse towards one. The jerk should be under the jail. You have already done the best thing you can for her by getting her out of that situation. The rest is going to take time, patience and tons of loving care. With that kind of treatment in her background, it's impossible to predict for just how long it will take for you to earn her trust. Before I get on that subject, let me answer about the feathers. Not to worry about that. They will eventually replace themselves. Feathers are constantly coming in new, and molting off anyway. So long as she doesn't have any actual injuries with any open skin sores, she will be fine from that standpoint. First you are going to have to earn her trust. After that, you will start to build a bond with her. The way to start is to spend as much time as possible near her cage, staying down at eye level with her. Don't stand up over her as that's very frightening, especially with one who has been mistreated. Pull up a chair, be close by and just talk to her in a soothing tone. Under no circumstances, should you attempt to reach inside the cage any time soon. That will come much later on. If she currently has no tail feathers, it's not really safe for her to be out and about anyway as she will be off balance because of that. I am going to give you a ton of reading material on everything from basic Tiel care, to diet, to toxic products and items you have in your home that you will no longer be able to use, .lest you poison her. If this is your first experience with birds, you may be under the impression that she only needs seeds to eat. In fact, seeds and seed products should not be more than around 25% of her entire dailey intake. She needs a very good brand of seed mix and a good brand of pellets mixed with them. My personal favorite is LaFebers with no added colors but there are several good one on the market. Then in addition to that, everyday, she needs veggies, cooked brown rice, well cooked bean mixes, cooked pasta, hard boiled or scrambled eggs, green leafy items like Kale, Mustard, Collard or Turnip greens and Romaine lettuce. No ice berg as it has no nutritional value and no spinach because it contains oxylates which can interfere with her absorption of calcium. That is important regardless of gender but if, in fact, you do have a female, it will be critical. If and when she reaches a point where she decides to lay eggs, she absolutely must have good reserves of calcium to make firm shells for her eggs. Otherwise the shells will be too soft for her to pass and she will become egg bound. That is a life threatening emergency and without immediate intervention by a well qualified Avian Vet, she will die. Links to assist you with locating a proper vet will also be included. I'd urge you to locate your closest one right away and put that information with all your other emergency numbers. Odds are when you need one, it will be an emergency and you won't have the time to be looking for one. Ideally, you will already have a relationship with one because all birds should have, at the least, a "well bird checkup" once a year. Also pay very careful attention to the list of toxins because I can pretty much guarantee you have a housefull of them. The problem is, it's things that are harmless to us and to most other pets so we don't give them a thought. But with a bird in the house, they can be a death sentence. The list is long but just to hit some of the high points for you, and to list the things we hear about causing bird deaths the most; non stick cookware, any kind of aerosol product, any kind of air freshener, almost all commercial cleaning products, (clean her cage and her toys with a vinegar and water solution only) burning candles or incense, cigarette smoke, nicotine from the unwashed hands of a smoker and cooking fumes. Almost all strong smelling things can be dangerous. Birds have extremely delicate respiratory systems and it doesn't take much to harm them. If you can smell it, it's probably doing some harm, to some degree. What I always suggest to new bird owners, is to go to these sites, print out all the information and start your own "bird owners manual". You will find yourself referring to it often because no way you ar going to remember it all from one reading. You will also want to constantly research and add to your book because what we know about our birds is changing, almost dailey. One word of warning, don't ask questions at the pet store and don't let them talk you into any of their over the counter products. Don't ever add "junk" to her water and don't ever spray anything on her. By all means, don't let anyone talk you into one of those awful "mite protectors". Not only will she not need it, they are dangerous. You cage probably came with dowel rod perches and those need to be replaced. Those are one of the worst things we can do to our bird's feet and legs. She needs at least 3 different perches, of different diameters, shapes and materials. I suggest one of the branch types of Manzanita perches, one of the true nail trimmer perches, (not the sandpaper covers, again, very dangerous, and one of the twisted rope types. She needs at least one soft surface to rest her feet. We have to keep in mind, our birds spend their entire life on their feet. Without proper varities and materials, they can end up crippled for life. I hope all this information will be both helpful and informative for you but if you have any more questions at all, just let me know. Best of luck with your little girl. Be patient and loving with her and you will end up with a little companion that is unlike any other pet you have ever had. Patricia

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