#AmbrosiaSoftware – Pet Momma

Happy 32nd Hector D. Byrd!

Having this bird in my life is so special. She’s my bestie. We chat all day while I’m working or doing things around the house. She may not be cuddly, but she’s such a good girl. Happy 32nd Birthday Hector!

We are not only celebrating her birthday today, but also the fact that results came back from the test the vet did last week and everything looks good! We are going to continue her “new” diet, and she doesn’t have to go back to the vet for 60 days, and that’s just a quick weight check to make sure she is continuing to do well.

I’m so thankful I found this great Avian vet that is super easy to work with and close to home!

We will be celebrating today with MUSIC – currently playing a bunch of random kids songs, happy birthday songs, the Beatles, and any songs that have whistling, all Hector’s favorites!

She’s having a special breakfast with her normal diet, but some extras of her favorites like sweet potatoes, blueberries, and an extra almond to really celebrate!

Hector Goes to the Vet

Well, I honestly can’t remember if I’ve written about Hector’s vet trips recently, so a brief recap. A couple of months ago, I realized that Hector was drinking more water than usual for her. Hector’s vet was about an hour drive away, so to be honest, she hadn’t been in a long time. It was such a traumatic thing to put her in the car for an hour, deal with the vet, and then have another hour drive back home. Have I mentioned that Hector gets carsick?

The people that adopted one of my foster parrots, recently told me about an avian vet they used that was close to me. Between the excess drinking, and the long time without a check up, I decided to try out the new vet, and he’s awesome!

So Hector went to the vet about 2 months ago. We did an extensive (and expensive) blood work up to get some base lines and figure out what was going on. Overall the blood work looked pretty good for an older lady, but the vet was concerned about her drinking too much.

We started a new diet, low carb, high veggie, low fruit, no seeds, very limited nuts, and plenty of healthy pellets. Hector likes Fruit Zupreem pellets. She went back about a month ago for a weight check, and the vet was happy where she was at.

Today we went back again. Let me tell you that Hector knew what was coming as soon as she saw the cat carrier. I don’t know why, because the cat carrier comes out all the time and doesn’t usually affect her, but she knew.

I had to towel her to get her in the cage. Not the best way to start the journey, but she had to go. She threw up in the carrier on the way. This is the second time this happened and I even made a point of not feeding her breakfast this morning, but apparently it didn’t matter.

The vet said her weight was good and remained stable which is great. I was worried she hasn’t been eating enough, but apparently she is doing just fine. We talked about taking her to a specialist in Boston, but that would be expensive and stressful. The other option was another poop test which he would send out to a bird specialist he knew with better lab equipment. We just needed a sample.

Hector was sitting on a perch on a scale in the vet office clearly listening to everything we were saying. When we were done chatting and she still hadn’t pooped, the vet suggested I bring home a tube and pipette to collect a sample myself. I told the vet I wasn’t in a huge rush and I was happy to wait in the office a little longer to see if she would poop and just make it easy.

Well, as soon as I mentioned waiting around in the vet office, Hector made us a giant poop! The vet was able to collect enough of it to test, and we could head home. I swear she knew she had to poop to get out of there!

Post poop, wondering why we haven’t left the vet yet!

For now, she stays on her special diet. I have a feeling this is her new diet for life, but we are managing. We’ll see what the test results are when they come back in the next week to ten days.

The vet thinks she may have renal issues, hence the special diet. Hoping the test results don’t show anything too serious! Anyone have any experience with birds with renal issues? Let me know!

Hector Goes to the Vet

It’s been too long since Hector has had a check up. I’ve known this for a while, but have hesitated for various reasons, my Avian vet is an hour away, the mobile vet I found is super expensive, she seems fine and healthy, I don’t want to put her through the stress of a vet visit, etc.

With having two foster birds in the last few months, it made me think about the fact that Hector isn’t getting any younger. In fact, she’ll be 32 in January.

When I met the adoptive parents for the last cockatoo I had, they mentioned an Avian vet that is only 20 minutes from me. I decided it was time Hector had a check up. After having that thought, I also started realizing that Hector was drinking a bit more than usual.

I called the new vet earlier this week, and they were able to get me in this morning. The vet was awesome! I am shocked at how well behaved Hector was for him. Hector steps up for me, when she feels like it. She lets me scratch her head, when she feels like it. Today she just did whatever that vet asked of her like it was nothing. It was almost like she realized there was no point in fighting this guy. He was going to do what he wanted, and she should just cooperate. I half expected the poor vet to end up with bloody fingers, but no, Hector was an angel.

The vet said she looked great from the visual exam, but birds are good at hiding things. Considering how long it had been since she had a check up (about 10 years) we decided to do blood work, and a urinalysis. The vet said they usually have to do a mild tranquilizer to do the blood draw, but Hector was perfect for that as well and didn’t have to be sedated!

It turns out the Bird Street Bistro food that I’ve been feeding might not be the best base food for Hector now that she is getting older. The vet wants to wait until we get all the test results back, and then he will give me more specific diet feedback. As she is getting older, less grains and pastas is probably going to be a healthier choice for Hector. She’s not going to be happy about that!

Books say captive grays average life expectancy is about 50 years, but I’ve always found that a bit hard to believe in my personal experience. I asked this vet what he thought about average life expectancy for greys. The first thing he asked me was if I knew about Dr. Pepperberg and Alex the parrot and if I had read her book, which I have. He reminded me that Alex had the very best of care all his life, and he lived to be 34. He said in his experience anything beyond the 30s is rare. He said a 40 year old African Grey is like a 90 year old man. It happens, but it’s not the most common thing. I’m having a really hard time processing that thought.

I’ll update when I get test results.

Happy Hatch Day Hector D. Byrd!

Busy day today! Picked up Skye the foster dog to bring her to an adoption event this morning. She was such a good girl! Lots of people really seemed to like her. Hoping she met her forever family today!

Hector D. Byrd is celebrating her 31st birthday today! She’s happily whistling away. She enjoyed making lots of fire alarm noises earlier today when my husband was checking batteries in the fire detectors! Tonight she will celebrate with a nice, fresh, birdie omelette!

http://Www.TreatPlanet.com sent me a lovely sample bag of treats to check out. Looking forward to sharing more info on their products soon! Cali is already going crazy just smelling the bag. I wonder what her favorite will be! Does anyone have a favorite Treat Planet treat, let me know!

Logan and Hector

Poor Logan is back in quarantine. If you read the post from a couple of weeks ago, you already know we thought she had some kind of urinary/bladder infection and treated it, but apparently there is something else going on.

After the “Sh*t Show” I’ve been cleaning up the aftermath, and making sure the Catlink boxes are working properly, but two days ago I found fresh urine by the fireplace. With three cats in the house (Marty moved with my son), I had to do a little detective work to make sure I had the right cat. Since Logan had recently been ill, I guessed it was her, and moved her to a nice big bathroom on her own. No more accidents in the house, so it was time to call the vet again.

Last time they told me bladder stones were very unlikely for whatever reason, but since the antibiotics didn’t completely clear up whatever Logan has going on, they think that might be the problem. Monday morning she’ll go back to the vet for an abdominal X-ray to see if we can figure this out. I’m hoping it isn’t anything too serious. Logan isn’t super old, but she is almost 1`5. For now, she is enjoying a break from the boy cats, eating and drinking well, and she seems to be acting fine. I’ll update after the vet on Monday.

Puck loves his heating pad in the colder weather, actually all year round!

I wish I could share the info on this pad because I love it, but I can’t find it on Amazon anymore. This particular pad stays safely plugged in all the time. It turns itself on with pressure, so when a pet climbs on, it heats up, and when it isn’t being used, it shuts down. It’s auto controlled not to overheat, it gets warm, but not hot. I’ll keep looking for something like it and post if/when I find one.

In Hector news, she took a bath this morning! I’ve posted about Hector hating baths before, so just wanted to update. I think I mentioned the green litter box that Hector has decided is OK for bathing in. She has a great bath routine now. About once a week, I fill her box with warm water and put it on top of her cage.

She doesn’t always touch it right away, and she didn’t use it at all yesterday, but this morning she decided it was bath time. She climbs in her box and splashes around, then chirps happily and I know it is time to go spray her. I have a fine mist spray bottle that I fill with warm water, then I stand there and spray her while she plays in the water, until my hands get sore, then I spray her some more!

She flaps her wings, dips her belly, and dunks her head in the water. It makes me so happy to see her enjoy a bath! It has been a very long road with lots of trial and error to find a bath system she likes!

Have a great weekend!

Hector Turns 30! And Quick Updates

Hector D. Byrd hatched 30 years ago today! I feel so lucky to have her in my life. Her cage is in the center of our living space, halfway between the kitchen and my desk space, so I spend a lot of time with her every day. She’s sort of become my therapist. She’s always there for me to talk to, and she’s a great listener. She’s not a cuddly bird, but she loves to whistle, destroy anything made out of cardboard, and eat nuts! Her happy chirps and whistles have become part of our home. Love my red tailed Jungle Chicken!

My Logan girl has had a rough couple of weeks. About two weeks ago, she jumped on the back of the couch and peed a couple of drops, yikes! The boy cats had been chasing her, so I thought maybe they had just made her really nervous and I didn’t worry too much about it. Then I found a cat bed covered in pee. Hmmmm something wasn’t right. That night, Logan went over to scratching toy, climbed up on it, and peed a couple of drops again. The next morning I took her to the vet. Poor baby has some kind of urinary infection. The good news is that we caught it. A simple antibiotic shot seems to be clearing it right up, and she is back to her old grumpy self.

Since I got the CatLink boxes, I haven’t been using Pretty Litter, but I do have a couple of bags of it. When I had to confine Logan for a couple of days, I used the Pretty Litter in the extra litter box for her. I have to say, the crystals were turning red, a sign of infection. This morning, a couple of days after her antibiotic shot, the crystals are back to normal yellow. I guess they do work!

Speaking of the CatLink boxes. I still love them. It is truly life changing to not worry about cleaning cat boxes all the time! About once every five days, I open up the bottom, take out the waste litter in its easy little bag, throw it out, and put in a new bag, so easy! When I change out the bottom, I usually add some more clumping litter, and that’s it. Worth every single penny we spent on those boxes! With the optional step in front of the box, there is even very little litter tracking. Truly cat owner heaven!

Time to bring Hector more nuts and some new cardboard boxes, a perfect birthday for my feathered friend!

Doggy Stick Review and Hector Story!

It’s always amazing to me to find connections to Hector D. Byrd’s past. Last week I received a message on Facebook from someone who had been a Hector fan back in her Ambrosia Software days. He was such a fan that he named the family’s cat after Hector! After reading an article that reminded him about Hector, he googled and found the Petmomma.co Facebook page and was happy to see that Hector is still thriving. I feel so lucky to have this girl in my life and it is always special to hear from others who have been impacted by Hector in the past! Any other Ambrosia software fans out there?

Cali girl has been lucky enough to test out Doggy Sticks recently, and we’ve both been super happy with the results.

We have two Doggie Sticks, Moisturizer and Prevent Itchiness.

Cali has skin allergies and is often itchy. We’ve been using Cytopoint injections recently with good results, but she still has itchy paws, especially in winter. I’ve been using the stick on her paws whenever I see her chewing on them, and she instantly stops. The stick is super easy to apply, just pull off the top and twist up the stick. I hold her paw in my hand and rub the stick on her paws, easy as that. I use my hands to rub it in a little, but I haven’t noticed any issues with the product getting on floors or carpets, it sinks right into her skin. I really like that the stick doesn’t have any strong odors.

According to the company, the formulas are handmade each day. Ingredients are natural: “The original moisturizer is made with organic, sweet almond oil and bamboo. The itch-free formula is made with coconut oil and a specialized bamboo mix for anti-itch that also recovers the skin.”

The key seems to be the bamboo used in both formulas, the company says it is a great natural anti-fungal solution. Original formula treats dry skin with bamboo as well as Vitamins E and A. The Anti-Itch formula also uses Coconut oil.

With its all natural ingredients, Doggy Sticks can be used as needed. For Cali, I sometimes used it morning and night when her itchiness was really bad, but other times I didn’t need to use it every day.

I know with road salt I end up washing Cali’s paws quite a bit in winter, and I’m excited to have the Moisturizer Doggy Stick to help combat winter dryness and cracking. I’m guessing it will also be handy to keep her paws dry and comfortable in summer. The Anti Itch stick will be something I always keep on hand for her. It’s so nice to be able to give her some relief when she is chewing at her paws.

You can find Doggy Sticks at Doggy Stick.com . The regular formula is currently selling for $5.99 and the Itchiness formula for $8.99.

Hector D. Byrd Arrives

If you haven’t read Hector Part 1, it’s just a little background on my history with birds. The important thing to know is that my husband talked me out of rescuing a little Lovebird because he knew it would just fuel my fire for a bigger parrot. He figured we should skip the little parrot part and just get the bird I actually wanted. I appreciated that!

The other important thing to know is that Hector is a girl. Both sexes of African Greys look the same, so the only way to tell the difference is with a blood test, or if the bird lays eggs. Hector was named before she laid her first egg, but she’s quite proud of her name, and didn’t want it changed.

Silly me thought it would be hard finding the right bird to add to our house. I start doing some research on bird rescues to see what was out there. My husband thought he was being funny and posted to Twitter about his decision to talk me out of a Lovebird and into an African Grey. The post was something about how he thought he might regret the decision, but it seemed like the right choice at the time. Be careful what you wish for!

The universe has a funny way of reacting to things some times, and the husband’s Tweet lead to a friend joking about how we should adopt the old Ambrosia Software parrot, Hector. Next thing you know, the guy that took Hector in when Ambrosia no longer wanted an office parrot was reaching out to my husband. John Magnus Champlin, from Ambrosia, had been working with Hector for a few years, and gave her a great start on moving from being an office ornament to actually figuring out how to be a pet. While John loved and cared for Hector, he also felt that he wasn’t a “bird guy” and hoped to find her a forever home someday.

My husband Dave runs The Mac Observer, Inc., a website about all things Apple. John loved the idea that Hector could move to another Tech home after being the Ambrosia mascot. So at 21 years old, Hector moved from New York to New Hampshire and became the new mascot for The Mac Observer.

John is a super caring guy, and insisted on driving Hector to us to help ease her transition. On the drive, John stopped for gas. It was a nice day, so he took Hector’s carrier out of the car for a little air. John says, “If I remember right they recognized the Ambrosia logo stickers and some other Apple related thing on my car and it spawned a conversation. They didn’t realize I was associated with the company. When they saw the bird and realized it was actually *the* Captain Hector it blew some minds.”

And Hector made her way to New Hampshire. She loves my husband, she loves my son, me? she tolerates. I’m the one who researches parrot diet, makes her homemade food with organic grains and fresh veggies, buys her toys, cleans her cage, and gives her the most attention, but she loves the boys. It’s OK, she mostly doesn’t bite me, and I love her.

When Hector first came to us, she rarely wanted to leave her cage although she would climb up on top to hang out and liked having her cage door open. She was super nervous about anything new. If I bought a new toy, I had to hang it across the room for a couple of days, then slowly bring it closer to her cage. After a week, I could usually hang the new toy on the outside of her cage and then move it in after another couple of days. She is not a bird that likes change.

After five years with us, I’m happy to report that Hector is much more comfortable here, finally! She doesn’t really fly even though she could, but she loves to climb down from her cage and stroll around the house. She chases the cats and looks for anything cardboard to chew up. While she has always talked and whistled, she is talking more than ever lately. I think she has finally realized that we are her forever people and she doesn’t have to move again. Maybe she’ll even learn to like me some day!