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From: mm@lectroid.sw.stratus.com (Mike Mahler)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: INDOOR:  Need advice for the purchase of bird supplies.
Message-ID: <3102@lectroid.sw.stratus.com>
Date: 15 Nov 90 14:42:38 GMT
References: <962@babcock.cerc.wvu.wvnet.edu> <9003@cognos.UUCP> <273716A3.4683@intercon.com> <9033@cognos.UUCP> <2741C060.5FA1@intercon.com>
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Reply-To: mm@lectroid.sw.stratus.com (Mike Mahler)
Organization: Stratus Computer, Software Engineering.
Lines: 49


	Mikki's got a good point here.  The are some seed diets that
	are great for SOME birds.  My folks have always had parakeets
	that live to 12 years feeding ONLY Hartz Mountain seed mix
	and lettuce.  I doubt my nape would do well on this, in fact
	he hasn't and recently had a bacterial infection that we believe
	was caused by a immune deficiency PERHAPS caused by bad diet
	or stress (from lack of attention due to our new dog) or
	BOTH.  The bacteria is very common and should not have settled
	in the bird like it did.  Luckily it was easily knocked out
	with Bactrin but I might not have been so lucky if he
	didn't start picking his feathers since he showed NO other
	symptoms in stool or behaviour.  

	Some suspected causes now are dog food (Mikki mentioned this
	to me and it never occurred to me that the food might contain
	pastorella) that I was giving occasionally, the dog's interest
	in the bird and his sticking his tongue and nose in (which the
	bird quickly pecks but to my misfortune the dog LIKES) and
	something else (Mikki I didn't mention this to you)... 
	where I live the water is pretty loaded with Chlorine
	(from a reservoir) to kill the algae growth that happens at
	the change of seasons.  Towards this end I bought a activated
	carbon water filter for the kitchen drinking water (not the 
	little dinky ones you screw on, a bigger table top unit)
	and it cut down ALL the chlorine taste which is what I bought
	it for.  However it occurred to me that these units DON'T
	kill bacteria and this might be where the bird caught it.
	My birds now only get bottled water (and even then I check
	to see where it comes from and how it's filtered).
	Added 80 watts worth of VitaLite to their cage area (two birds)
	and they are doing much better!  

	Was it the dog food?  Water? Dog? Light? Me? All of these?
	
	Who knows (no one really does actually.  In fact many vets
	who claim they do don't) but I learned alot from this experience.
	
	I, unfortunately, learned that my vet's a total shnook and
	I was fortunate to find another very good one.  $oy$...






--
Taking action is a choice.
	Taking NO action is a choice as well.