Parakeet Spinal Injury Update

Question
I don't know how old he is.  Under a year according to the pet store.  We just got them not more than a month ago.  He may have beem hand fed as he eats millet and seed from our hands. Anyway - I'm very pleased to say he seems to be recovering well.  He started moving around a bit more about 24hrs. after it happened.  We have another parakeet with him, (got them together as they seemed to be buddies at the store) and his friend is giving him lots of beak kisses and is very protective of him right now, hanging out with him off and one at the bottom of the cage most of the day.  I took him out of the cage today to check him out and he moved his little leg for me.  His claws seemed to try to grip on my finger too, but he's still favoring it and unable to put weight on it. He's eating and drinking - and tonight 48+ hrs. post incident and he's climbing the cage with his beak to get onto the lower pirch and sit next to his buddy.  I really appreciate your help.  I would like to try the water bottle, it seems it's much cleaner for them than the dish.  If I just add it to their cage will they figure it out, or how can I train them on it?  Also, how do I get them to eat fruits and veggies.  I was told it's important for their diets.  I have not had any luck getting them to take an interest in it.  Thanks again.

Answer
Hi, Tina.  WONDERFUL news on your parakeet!  Thanks for sharing with me.  I'm glad he has a buddy in the cage to help care for him.  

To get your keet used to using a water bottle, keep both a water bottle and water dish in the cage at the same time.  I've seen birds either take to the water bottle immediately or take a few days to get used to it (sometimes their curiosity gets the best of them!).  Anyhow, leave both in the cage until you either see them drinking out of the water bottle or you notice the water level in the bottle going down.  If you see them using the bottle, then you can remove the water dish right away and not use it again.  If you notice water level going down but don't actually see them drinking from it, then I would remove the water dish for 3-4 hours at a time per day until you see them drinking from the water bottle.  Then you can stop using the water dish all together.  You have to know that they are using the water bottle before you remove the water dish completely.  However, in order for them to use the water bottle, they can't have access to water in a dish!  Really very easy to transition a bird from a water dish to a water bottle.  
   
I've not seen many keets eat fruits, but they do like veggies.  Not to say they won't eat fruits, just that my gang prefers veggies and other to fruits.  Birds won't eat what they don't recognize as food (they don't know if what you are offering to them is food, a toy, something that will get them, etc.), so you have to keep offering them different foods until they eventually try the new foods (and they eventually will).  This may take a few days or a few months, depending on the bird(s).  And if a bird sees another bird eating the food, the bird will try it, too.  I feed my keets a mix of cooked brown rice with different types of diced/shredded veggies mixed in (peas, carrots, zucchini, squash, etc.).  I sometimes will shred an apple or other fruit that can be shredded for this mix.  I never make this mix the same way...I start out with cooked brown rice then add anything nutritious to it.  Key to good bird health is variety of nutritional foods.  Keets also like corn bread, multigrain/whole grain breads/muffins, pasta (without sauce), etc.  I make this mix fresh every other day, but you can also freeze mix in ice cube trays, then store in freezer in a baggie, and defrost what you'd use in a day (then you'd only make a batch say once per week).

Visit my website for more info on feeding (I may have already given you this):

http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

I hope your keet continues to get better and better.

Chrys