3/31/25 – Well, here it is the end of March already. Where has the time gone? 3 months of the new year has breezed on by. Oh boy, where do I start?

January was a roller coaster of challenges with Igor Dove and his damaged beak. On January 5th, he began singing again which hadn’t happened since before his attack on 12/24. On the 12th, he stopped singing and was losing weight & feathers since I ran out of the critical care formula 4 days prior and had to use the baby bird formula while I wait for delivery. Back to feeding 3 times a day and he was still losing. Besides ordering the Rx formula, I also ordered a non-Rx bird formula and hoped that one would work just as well. January 15th I received the formula. Igor began gaining weight but was still not eating seeds which concerned me. However, he gave me one hoot when I got home that day but no singing, but the great day was the 19th when he started his daily song again. Yay!

The damaged part of his beak fell off on 1/23 which left a definite size difference between the upper and lower beak. He required tube-feeding three times a day. I scheduled a vet visit but couldn’t get in until the 28th. By then he was beginning to eat some seeds. The vet said it looked good considering it was a parrot pinch. It could have been so much worse. She wanted me to send photos weekly of the growth as it would probably need reshaping later. Like everyone else, she thought he’ll eat vegs and fruit all mushed up. He’s 15 and went from crop milk to seeds and millet. Never had mushed anything. She suggested putting seeds on top of his formula. Okay, I tried it and once his beak touched the mush formula, he jumped off his dish and never went back. LOL.

February was a much happier month except that the 1st marked the date mom passed in 2022. I tried not to dwell on my loss and believed I accomplished that. But wait, on 2/6 Igor was acting “off”. Not normal. He was making a weird call and dance. February 7, he did it again. I thought perhaps he was trying to go the bathroom or had something stuck in his crop. So, I held him and stroked his crop. He did the dance and hoot several times and then stretched his neck and upchucked a yellow ball. OMG, it was a dried pea that manufacturers put in dove seed. What the heck? However, it wasn’t dried. It had been expanding a bit because of the water he drank and tube-feeding. This poor boy. These peas are too big for a dove like Igor’s beak but because it’s damaged, he was just trying to scoop up anything he could. It was a happy day on the 14th when he weighed in at 161 grams which was the weight he was before the accident but getting him to maintain this weight required at least one tube-feeding per day with at least 15ml of formula. Once a day was fine and manageable but it would be nice if he could eat more seeds.

On the 10th of this month we visited the vet for a beak shaping. She trimmed the bottom until it bled and did a little sanding on the top tip. Four days later both tips had turned black! The vet was gone on a three week road trip. I have no idea if this was her intentions. He was in pain for several days and I gave him some meds. He fought me with the feeding but I didn’t blame him for it as I’m sure he didn’t want it touched. The dead pieces fell off yesterday and he still has a beak that is not proportioned. In fact, it doesn’t look any different from before the reshaping! Go figure.

Today, he is singing, maintaining his weight, eating what seeds he can and I still tube-feed him every night. Sooner or later we will get back to normal.

Let’s move on to Max. He was uninterested in food around the first of the year for several days, but his stools looked okay. So, not sure what his issue was. Then again several weeks ago, he started leaving food. It was either a fur blockage or March weather. I upped his cod liver oil a little and added laxative to his water dish. For three days, he was on and off with the food and finally passed his fur ball on the 17th. Yay! I am trying to comb him daily to help with the fur shedding. It will take several months for him to get down to his slim, brown coat.

Recent YouTube videos – Hello 2025 and Unleash the Fur

The weather has not been cooperating with us and I haven’t been able to spend the time I’ve wanted with Max. If it’s too cold, my fingers freeze. If it’s raining, I get wet. However, here are a few photos of him.

1/19/25

1/27/25

2/8/25

3/14/25

3/16/25

All of my other animals seem to be doing well. Porkchop Hedgehog has gotten really fluffy! Burt Parrot is still very vocal and likes to steal Igor’s seeds. She knows how to open a Tupperware container! Poppy rabbit turned 11 in February and Lil Bun turned 3. The Chin sisters, Ruby & Pearl are well too. I upgraded their cage to a 2nd one with platforms that they can leap from one to the other. A friend gave me the idea and they love it. I have plans on adding a few more platforms but will need to wait until I get some spare funds. Frannie Ferret is slowly losing her fur due to adrenal gland disease and her tumor surgery scar is completely gone and the fur is growing back. She is so spunky when she’s awake but does sleep a lot. (no photos of her) My two cats continue to mark the furniture although being on medication to calm this behavior down. So, I have kept the pup pads up in the spots they still mark. It’s down to a week or so between markings and is very frustrating but not much I can do. I love them. I will up their medication dose and see if that helps.

Chin Sisters new setup

Burt stealing Igor’s seeds

Poppy turned 11!

Porkchop not so little

Lil Bun turned 3

Lastly, I will tell you about what’s going on with me. I started having AFib back in July of last year. I noticed it during one day and then looked at my smart watch and it seemed I was doing aerobics in my sleep, too! I mentioned it to the doctor in September, wore a heart monitor for 2 days in October and results came back in January. She put me on a blood thinner and I went to the cardiologist who put me on a heart med. He wanted two meds but insurance only covered one for which I’m glad as I don’t want to be a walking medicine cabinet. I was very emotional at first and then through research and time, it’s like no big deal now. I had an ultrasound done on my heart and then wore a monitor for 2 weeks which by the way was horrific. With such sensitive skin, I needed to wear the monitor with 5 wires and special electrode pads. The hives and blisters were bad and dealing with all those wires frustrating. This was back in February and I haven’t heard anything about the results. I saw the cardiologist again earlier this month and basically, he blames my sleep apnea for the AFib because the ultrasound was okay with a small valve issue when I go into AFib. I haven’t been using the CPAP machine because I hate it. It’s like being in prison although I’ve never been but you know what I mean. So, I go back in 6 months. I asked to be taken off the heart meds because it makes me tired but he said no. He thinks my tiredness is due to the sleep apnea although I wasn’t tired before I started the meds. Jerk. Do you think they would ask me how many cups of coffee I drink? No. Do you think they would ask me if I take OTC sinus meds? No. Both of which could contribute to the AFib. Also, diet and exercise which I do neither. I decided to take my health into my own hands and have reduced my coffee intake along with going to half-caffeine. Nothing I can do about my sinuses although when I can’t breathe through my nose, my heart beats faster. I probably should go to a ENT to have it checked out but I’m tired of doctors. My last change is I’m hitting the treadmill and trying to be more conscious about what I’m eating. I have gained some of the weight back that I lost three years ago. Thankfully, only 10 pounds but 10 too many! I have a goal! Additionally, I’m trying to go back to the CPAP machine but it’s not working out so great. Baby steps.

Well, there you have it… news of my zoo crew and myself. It’s not all bad. I get lots of love from them, my family and friends too. By the way, Max will be turning 14 on May 4th. Any idea as to what I should get him?