# heres my cocky..



## redbellybite (Sep 1, 2009)

There is a bit of a story behind him ..we have had him for a few years he found us at our old place ..when we moved he came with us ,vet said he wasnt gonna live past 6 months well we have had him for 4 years now and he keeps on going ...anyway he gets fed a cup of seed at the tree daily ..and GOD help any other bird that trys to get his seed ..hence the crow ..


















happy now that he has told the crow to get lost ...
but now he wants more seed and this is how he gets it ..





up the tree and then ..........






I hate that bird :lol::lol::lol:


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## Asharee133 (Sep 1, 2009)

lmao, whats wrong with it? did it get burnt or something


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## dickyknee (Sep 1, 2009)

Did you run that cocky over with a lawn mower RBB ???


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## redbellybite (Sep 1, 2009)

no he has beak and feather disease ..nothing we can do ..my hubby trims back his beak when it gets to long ..but the feathers just dont grow properly at all ..he is a tuff old chook ,he isnt caged and basically has free range of the area ,he lives in the gums out the front ,he climbs up them and he even has at times gone missing for a few months ,we thinking well nature has got him hence a snake or goanna but then we hear that wonderful squawking that yellow cresteds have like running your nails down a black board it goes straight through you ....I do like him most times but that noise drives me mental and he wont shut up till you feed him ...


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## mazzarella (Sep 1, 2009)

Hes kind of ugly  in a cute way... My cocky beats up doves, he hates them, he calls our dog if too many come


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## kupper (Sep 1, 2009)

Lol god bless the cocky , mine beats up the cat the dog my miss's and occasionally the local swan that keeps making my backyard home


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## Kitah (Sep 1, 2009)

Are you aware that psittacine beak and feather disease is contagious, non-curable disease? By letting him run around, climb trees etc. your exposing all of the wild psittacines (parrots, like lorikeets, wild cockatoos etc) to the disease. By him climbing around, he's shedding the virus in his feather dust and faeces, and the viral particles can remain viable in the environment for months after he's been there. 

This bird should be isolated and not be allowed contact with other birds, or in areas where other birds have access to. Sorry, I think its good your letting him live out his days more comfortably, but he's a serious risk to other birds, do you want them to suffer the same fate as this guy?


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## Jay84 (Sep 1, 2009)

yes, i was thinking the same xshadowx. its amazing that you are looking after him so well redbelly, and he really is cute ! But unfortunately it is contagious and incurable  we had one at our place that we caught and took to the RSPCA. Poor little things.


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## moosenoose (Sep 1, 2009)

Hahaha that's a funny story! I love the running narration!


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## redbellybite (Sep 1, 2009)

No wasnt aware of that ...thanks for sharing that info will get hubby to do something about it ...anyway the vet said it could be ..beak n feather ..so we were not given 100% yes that it was ...he has been in a cage but breaks out and he has been around my other birds and they have nothing of this nature ..not saying your not correct if that is what he really has but he sort of is an outlaw this bird he found us we never claimed him ,he was living in our front yard for 8 months before we moved and then when we came to the new place he came with us ..like I said we did cage him as we were worried he would be a meal for a reptile or dinner for a fox but caging him didnt work ...with beak n feather do they get worse as the disease prolongs? cause he in actual fact has been able to keep his beak short now for over 12 months and he actually got some new feather growth ...


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## Jay84 (Sep 1, 2009)

I believe it mainly affects the primary and secondary flight feathers, and these will never grow back. Its such a shame as we wanted to look after the one we had in our garden. But after hearing what he had and that it was passed onto other birds we had to take him to the RSPCA


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## Kitah (Sep 1, 2009)

Based on what the vet school taught us, birds with beak and feather usually die within about a year due to infection; these infections are secondary, because the birds are immunocompromised, i.e. they can't fight off infections, so even a minor virus that may not even affect a healthy bird may kill these (kind of like HIV/AIDS).

It does sound like he has it, and it certainly looks it. Regardless, he's got something wrong with him, especially if he was a wild bird to start with and you caught him; sounds bad, but natural selection. There have also been a FEW (very, very few) cases where birds have had partial recovery, but I seriously doubt I'd ever see. 

If he has malformed/incorrect beak growth and abnormal feather growth, then it does sound like beak and feather, and he looks like it too.

edit: forgot to mention, there are a few ways to diagnose it
- histopathology; take a sample, make a slide and examine it, you can see viral inclusion bodies within the cell cytoplasm and nuclei
- detect viral DNA from a sample


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## Noongato (Sep 1, 2009)

Could you isolate him and just never let him breed or be exposed to any wild birds?
Would any sort of sprays kill off any of the infection on the ground etc.

I believe he should have a chance to live, but under controlled conditions to prevent further infection.


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## redbellybite (Sep 1, 2009)

so we have had him now for four years and all that time bar a short brief stint ,he has been free roaming ,,subjected to the cold and heat ,rain ,cyclonic crazy weather and has survived ...and who knows how old he really is ...his beak was rather long when ha came into our life ..he has only ever had one beak cut and its been the same length for almost 4 years since cutting it back ..his feathers have increased in mass and even has a yellow peak one that sticks up when he is going cross at something ...so it could be possible that he doesnt have this disease at all and may have something that looks similiar in appearence but doesnt have the detrimental effects of beak and feather?


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## Noongato (Sep 1, 2009)

Actually come to think of it, back in the olden days when we would go scabbing at the tip (we all did it, dont deny it) there was thousands and thousands of cockys that would flock to the tip. And many many many of these scrappy looking ones living in the garbage. We piked out ones that were the grossest and named them. And they lived there the whole time i was growing up. Dunno if theyre still there, been away from that town for a long time now.
That tip was used by the flour mill, so there was plenty of wheat for them to eat.

Theyre a tough bird, cos they arnt exactly rare to see..


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## Kitah (Sep 1, 2009)

Midnightserval, beak and feather is very resistant to a lot of substances, like bleach etc. 

redbellybite, it may be something different. Do you get many other birds around that could transmit any other pathogens? surely if it was beak and feather they would have picked up another pathogen, but having said that you still never know. does he always look 'dirty', does he have the 'powder' birds normally have on their feathers, and are his feathers properly formed? i.e. hold together properly, don't break too easily etc


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## redbellybite (Sep 1, 2009)

shadow his feathers seem normal ..just sp**** he always looks clean ..and like I have been told not only by you but others that a bird with beak n feather wont last for years ..he has and is not showing anytime soon to up n die ..and like I said GOD knows how old he is ...


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## Brown_Hair (Sep 1, 2009)

mazzarella said:


> Hes kind of ugly  in a cute way... My cocky beats up doves, he hates them, he calls our dog if too many come


 
lol same as mine. He is flightless as he had a problem with his tail when younger. He is caged however has free range of the backyard on permiting days. My dog hates the other birds and buggers them off for him when they go in his tree or trys to eat his seads lol, its very cute


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## redbellybite (Sep 1, 2009)

redbellybite said:


> shadow his feathers seem normal ..just sp**** he always looks clean ..and like I have been told not only by you but others that a bird with beak n feather wont last for years ..he has and is not showing anytime soon to up n die ..and like I said GOD knows how old he is ...


 s.p.a.r.s.e lol I forget it blanks out words with that in it :lol:


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## Kitah (Sep 1, 2009)

redbellybite, if you really wanted to find out if it is beak and feather, the best people to contact would be the australian wildlife hospital; when I was working there they were conducting research on the disease, so they would know more about it I would imagine. 

Would perhaps be best to check up on, just incase it is B+F. Anyway, I really do think its great that your giving him a chance, I just hope it isnt contagious 

edit again; He's not feather plucking (I dont see why a initially wild bird would start this, but you never know), and have you tried treating him for lice/mites? does he scratch much?


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## melgalea (Sep 1, 2009)

RBB that is so funny those pics. hehe. 
i have a cocky. and i think they are wonderful animals. 
its funny when they go off there brain squawking. lol. 
all the best with your wild friend.
cheers
mel


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## TahneeMaree (Sep 1, 2009)

Possibly a form of French Molt? (spelling) it's like a constant state of loosing their feathers... (french molt is a budgir thing... but who knows...) the beak problem could just be an after effect of the feathers, like not being able to wear it down normally on treee branches (when you see them swinging around) or any other ways they naturally keep their beaks in check...


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## xander (Sep 1, 2009)

I am 100 % certain its PBFD. In Cockatoos and Parrots ( Except South American and Cockatiels dont get it) beak and feather affects the feathers and beak and claws. It does end up killing them, the reasonhe has lived so far is that he has been support fed.They basically succomb to other diseases, much like how a aids victim dies. In Lorikkets it only affects their feathers and if they have a strong immune system they can regrow their feathers and live a normal life, however they still will carry the virus and continue to shed it. Beak and feather normally only affects birds under the age of 2. So if this Cockatoo was in contact with a 1 year old Cockatoo, 99% sure that the Cockatoo will die in a few months.I honestly think you may need to get him euthanised because he will not get better and he is unfortunately spreading this horrible disease.


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## xander (Sep 1, 2009)

TahneeMaree said:


> Possibly a form of French Molt? (spelling) it's like a constant state of loosing their feathers... (french molt is a budgir thing... but who knows...) the beak problem could just be an after effect of the feathers, like not being able to wear it down normally on treee branches (when you see them swinging around) or any other ways they naturally keep their beaks in check...[/Q
> 
> ? Not true.


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## PhilK (Sep 1, 2009)

xshadowx said:


> Are you aware that psittacine beak and feather disease is contagious, non-curable disease? By letting him run around, climb trees etc. your exposing all of the wild psittacines (parrots, like lorikeets, wild cockatoos etc) to the disease. By him climbing around, he's shedding the virus in his feather dust and faeces, and the viral particles can remain viable in the environment for months after he's been there.
> 
> This bird should be isolated and not be allowed contact with other birds, or in areas where other birds have access to. Sorry, I think its good your letting him live out his days more comfortably, but he's a serious risk to other birds, do you want them to suffer the same fate as this guy?


Agreed with everything there Shadow, beat me to it! I only just saw the thread..

Red belly Shadow is right. I would bet my last dollar on that bird having PBFD.. it looks exactly like it. As Shadow has suggested, take it into the A.W.H.. when I was working there they had heaps of BFD birds come in and they can diagnose it in a snap. Very interesting he's gone on this long!! There's a great vet in there called Stacey who is mad keen for birds, but he only works a few days a week (well, he did when I was there anyway). AWH is your best bet.


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## kupper (Sep 1, 2009)

Beak and feather affected cockies have been known to live a full healthy life there is one that is still alive after 12 years , the blighter has only got his head feathers but is still hanging in there

just see how you rbb definantky get him in a secured area though just in case


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## TahneeMaree (Sep 1, 2009)

xander said:


> TahneeMaree said:
> 
> 
> > Possibly a form of French Molt? (spelling) it's like a constant state of loosing their feathers... (french molt is a budgir thing... but who knows...) the beak problem could just be an after effect of the feathers, like not being able to wear it down normally on treee branches (when you see them swinging around) or any other ways they naturally keep their beaks in check...[/Q
> ...


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