HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: sauron@femto.engr.mun.ca (Patrick Ryan)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Need Ferret Advice
Date: 13 Oct 92 14:18:23 GMT
Organization: Memorial University of Newfoundland

rrome@nyx.cs.du.edu (Robert Rome) writes:



>I give him plenty of food and water,
>but he still seems to enjoy tormenting my hands (that is, biting and
>scratching).  I have attempted mild discipline, like a spank in the rear
>or a thump on the nose, but this just seems to get him nastier...like he
>just wants more.  

There's one thing you definitely need to learn - ferrets are
indestructible.  Their skin is tougher than pigskin, and mine has
survived chewing on a live 240-V line with no ill effects.  When mine
needs [needed, actually] to be punished, I tap (sharply) his nose, shake
him till his little eyeballs almost fall out :v) and yell "Bad!".  He
gets the idea after about 200 repetitions... :v)



--
   ,---, ,---, ,-----, /  Of course I said it!  Do you / sauron@ / o o
  /   / /   /    /    / think  MUN  even acknowledges / femto.  /   v
 /---` /---/    /    / my existence, let alone allow / mun.ca  /   `-'
/     /   /    /    / me to speak for them?/chris@zeus rented this space
From: scafati@thor.med.ge.com (Victor-charles Scafati 4-6784 MR Srv)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: Another Ferret question
Date: 14 Oct 92 16:31:37 GMT
Organization: GE Medical Systems

In article <bacchus.719050879@mcl>, bacchus@mcl.ucsb.edu (bacchus@mcl.ucsb.edu) writes:
|> I live in Santa Barbara right now, and I was wondering if people know if it is
|> legal to have ferrets in California, if so where I could find them, price, and
|> so forth.  Also, and good stories, horror stories, etc.  THX!
|> 

Well, I lived in So. Cal for nearly ten years, and I heard, on numerous
occasions, that ferrets are VERY illegal in CA.  The state is paranoid
that they would do quite well in wild in California's climate, and would
upset the balance of things.  I'd call the Animal Control people to be 
sure, but that's what I heard.

-- 
________________________________________________________________________________
                        |     The views expressed herein do not     |    Fear
 Victor-charles Scafati |   necessarily represent the views of the  |     no 
 scafati@mr.med.ge.com  |  author, let alone his employer or client |    Art!
________________________________________________________________________________
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: "Amy Young Leith" <alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu>
Subject: Re: bunny chewing and pulling on H2O bottle
Organization: Indiana University, Bloomington
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 19:51:41 -0500

In article <Bvzp3u.MrI@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> "T.C. Bradley" <bradleyt@silver.ucs.indiana.edu> writes:
>
>I have a question. My male dutch bunny, Gandalf, chews and pulls on the water
>bottle in his cage.  It's almost as if he isn't getting enough water, but it
>seems to come out of the bottle ok.  Is this a problem?  Should I get another
>bottle?

Dink does the same thing.  He also chews on the little "bars" of his
pet carrier... even when he's on the outside.  =)  He chews on
everything.

I think he's trying to just gnaw on something... 

>BTW - Chekhov, our female rabbit, has gotten over her hairball and is eating
>normally again, we switched brands of food and she loves it.  Thanks for all 
>the advice and help on that situation.

Good to hear!

>MTIA,
> Lisa, Gandalf, and Chekhov Bradley

Where do you visit the vet here?

amy
-- 
alyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu for personal mail
			    All business mail to alyoung@silver.ucs.indiana.edu
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       I only speak for myself.  Anyone who thinks differently is a fool.
From: hart@vax.sonoma.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: New Tiger Oscar: Munch the Bloodthirsty
Date: 15 Oct 92 14:20:10 GMT
Organization: Sonoma State University

Hi -- helpless new owner of a very active, bloodthirsty baby Tiger Oscar

is seeking any and all advice as to the best care, feeding, and TLC for

the toothy little pisces.  I'm already attached to him, and want

him as good a life as possible.  His name is Munch, and he is only

big enough to handle feeder guppies right now.........

--  What exactly CAN I feed him?  (I intend to live feed, being a snake
	owner and partial to that mode, but one of my brothers INSISTS
	his friend feeds his Oscar cooked hamburger)

-- How often can I feed him without making him sick?  (He's eating once
	a day, but I get the feeling he would eat more if I let him)

-- What other fish (if any) will cohabitate with him without becoming
	Munch-lunch?

-- He is in a 30 gallon tank by himself at the moment -- how fast is he
	going to grow?  Am I going to have to think about getting a bigger
	tank in the future?

Thanks in advance for the help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Lady Jane
hart@vax.sonoma.edu

** There's too much blood in my caffeine stream **
From: wood-smithc@vaxb.gbus.virginia.edu (Chrissi Wood-Smith)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: Housebreaking Cockatiels
Date: 16 Oct 92 15:14:47 GMT
Organization: Darden Center, University of Virginia

In article <1992Oct13.194838.24421@enterprise.rdd.lmsc.lockheed.com> ross@grove.ops.lmsc.lockheed.com () writes:
>From: ross@grove.ops.lmsc.lockheed.com ()
>Subject: Housebreaking Cockatiels
>Date: Tue, 13 Oct 92 19:48:38 GMT


>pet from some college friends, so we don't know a lot about him (her?).
>Age is one thing we have not been able to determine.  My husband likes
>to let Powder out of his cage, but he is not housebroken (Powder, not 
>my husband) so his times out are limited.

Well, you should be able to determine Powder's sex pretty easily if Powder 
is a common grey cockatiel.  The males have yellow and orange patches over 
their ears ( and I mean bright orange and yellow). The females do not.  They 
may have a hint of color, that's it.  Unless Powder is a lutino (white) this 
should hold true.  Some of the other color strains follow weird rule like a 
pearly pied (?) can only be female -- the males lose the color after the 
first molt. 

I have found my birds to always be willing to learn and to please me.  I am 
kind of lazy about potty training though.  But generally my cocaktiel poops 
every 20-30 minutes and I guesstimate from there. Unless you are consistent 
with Powder he/she won't learn, so start right away and make sure everyone 
follows the same ritual with the bird.  Good luck.  Maybe I'll give it  
a shot too.
From: brad@SSD.CSD.HARRIS.COM (Brad Appleton)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Keet with a foot fetish
Date: 12 Oct 1992 14:08:55 GMT
Organization: Harris Computers Systems Division, Fort Lauderdale,FL
NNTP-Posting-Host: hcx1.ssd.csd.harris.com
Summary: What should I do?

I have two lutino parakeets: one that is about 3-1/2 yrs old that Ive
had for 3 yrs, and one that is about 2 years old that Ive had for
2 yrs.  The older bird is named Sunshine and the younger one is named
Mystique (we call them "Sunny" and "Mysti" for short). Sunny is a boy
and Mysti is a girl!

Sunny seems to have a foot fetish (and has had it for over 2 yrs now)!
He cannot resist feet - he likes 'em bare or with socks. What he'll
do is mount your foot and then precede to ... um ... shall we say
"do the wild thing" on your foot!

I was hoping this would only happen during spring and/or that he would
grow out of it but no such luck!

Do any of you have birds that do something similar?  Is this a habit I
should try to break him of? If so - how do I do it?

I should probably mention that although Sunny and Mysti are of opposite
gender they are NOT mates!  When we first got Mysti - Sunny tried
to jump all over her and get something started but Mysti was way too
young to respond (she had just gotten all her feathers in).  By the
time Mysti was "adult" enough Sunny had given up on Mysti. The birds
get along very well (although they do not preen each other). I would
say their relationship is more like "brother and sister" than "lovers"
or "best friends".  Mysti does NOT seem to approve when Sunny starts
mounting feet. She wants his attention and will often "tease" Sunny
by coming just close enough to the foot to get Sunny riled enough to
chase after her.

Anyway - I was just wondering if this is a common problem (after all,
we all know how much "dogs" love "legs" so why not a bird right) and
what (if anything) I should do about it.

PS - If it makes a difference ...

The birds have a very large cage but we let them fly free most of the
time. Their diet consists mostly of LeFaeber's Nutri-Berries (which
are supposed to be a well balanced diet) plus we try and give them
fresh veggies (spinach or brocolli) and fruit (mostly apple) from
time to time. We also will occasionally let them have part of what
we are eating - they seem to like bread (toasted or plain), pasta,
iceberg lettuce, bean sprouts, and Pepsi!
______________________ "And miles to go before I sleep." ______________________
 Brad Appleton           brad@ssd.csd.harris.com       Harris Computer Systems
                            uunet!travis!brad          Fort Lauderdale, FL USA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Disclaimer: I said it, not my company! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: dowzycki@andromeda.rutgers.edu (Ken Dowzycki)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: BUDGIE MATING
Date: 15 Oct 92 19:53:50 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

Debby.Steele@bird.com (Debby Steele) writes:

>Hi Ken, I breed both English and American budgies. If you want to try and breed
>set up 1 pair in a separate breeding cage. It doesn't matter what color you
>breed with your blue male. With budgies you will probably end up with a variety
>of colors in the babies. I have found the english to be harder to breed then
>the Amer. They are often infertile, slow to go to nest, and can be very
>aggressive with the babies. It's not uncommon for the hen to attack and even
>kill the babies as soon as they fledge. I have not had this problem with the
>Americans. If you can work with these birds it's very fun and rewarding to look
>into a nest box full of adorable colorful babies. Good Luck, Debby
> * Origin: Bird Info Network Gateway 303-423-9775 (1:104/234)


Thanks Debby!

   A few questions?  Why does the hen attack the chicks?  I got the
impression that this happens 7 out of 10 times.

   Do you breed the English for show or to sell?  Or just for the
enjoyment?  Do you keep every bird?

   Is the Spring the best time to breed? or will any time of the year
do?

   What important tips would I learn by joining the American Budgerigar
Society in Killeen TX, and a local chapter here in NJ, Tri-state 
Budgerigar Society?

Thanks,

Ken
From: king@cbnewsk.cb.att.com (joyce.l.king)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Cincinnati avian vet?
Keywords: rds:  Anyone?
Date: 9 Oct 92 18:01:23 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T

A month or so ago I posted some questions for my sister, who has
a bluefront Amazon in Cincinnati.  Madeira (the bird) came from 
the Florida Keys to live with my sister, so there was no chance
for pre-adoption vet searches.  She had some trouble with a vet
that had been suggested.  He was considered an avian vet, and there
were many birds in the office, but the bird was not handled well and
my sister is still looking for another vet.

Anyway, several of you on the net said you had to check with someone
and would get back to me, but I haven't heard from you.  Knowing how
email sometimes dies, I'd like to ask again....does anyone know of a
good avian vet in the Cincinnati area?  If necessary, Dayton, Indianapolis,
and Columbus are possibilities.  Also, Jim Miller, who is from Cincinnati
but is currently going to school in Bowling Green (Jim, please run over
to my son's apartment on Clough St. and see if he is studying), and reads 
this news group, wants the answer, too.

Thanks

                                

-- 
                       Joyce Andrews King
From: Debby.Steele@bird.com (Debby Steele)
Sender: FredMail@bird.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: BUDGIE MATING
Date: 13 Oct 92  19:39:45 EST

Hi Ken, I breed both English and American budgies. If you want to try and breed
set up 1 pair in a separate breeding cage. It doesn't matter what color you
breed with your blue male. With budgies you will probably end up with a variety
of colors in the babies. I have found the english to be harder to breed then
the Amer. They are often infertile, slow to go to nest, and can be very
aggressive with the babies. It's not uncommon for the hen to attack and even
kill the babies as soon as they fledge. I have not had this problem with the
Americans. If you can work with these birds it's very fun and rewarding to look
into a nest box full of adorable colorful babies. Good Luck, Debby
 * Origin: Bird Info Network Gateway 303-423-9775 (1:104/234)
From: melton@skat.usc.edu (Mike Melton)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: I am sure! (Was: Bird-down-the-shirt)
Date: 9 Oct 1992 15:17:23 -0700
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: skat.usc.edu

In article <Bvu85u.KFM@access.digex.com> dougnews@access.digex.com (Doug Humphrey) writes:
>I was told by a guest once that she thought the bird
>going down the shirt was neat, but that her nipple-ring
>was something that she needed to be aware of, and steer
>the birdo to the opposite side...  Good advice I should think.


I am sure that no friend of *mine* would have such adornment! And I am
also sure that I would not want to subject my poor, innocent macaw to
such an element! Especially since Jupiter thinks he's human, he might get
the idea that he can get his nipples pierced too. Think of the dissapointment!
First I'd have to say "no," then I'd have to tell him that he doesn't have
nipples anyway.

M

Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: rnewlund@vitalink.com (Robin Newlund)
Subject: Re: Budgie Pellets?
Reply-To: rnewlund@vitalink.com (Robin Newlund)
Organization: Vitalink Communications
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 16:27:32 GMT

LAKE'S SELLS BUDGIE PELLETS, AND SO DOES PRETTY BIRD. BY THE WAY FOLKS,
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH PRETTY BIRD, DID I MISS SOMETHING. DO WE NOT LIKE
PRETTY BIRD FOR SOME REASON? I WAS THINKING OF GIVING IT TO MY ECLECTUS
PARROT. WHY SHOULDN'T I. IT DOES SEEM MORE APPETIZING THAN THE OTHER STUFF
THAT LOOKS LIKE RABBIT FOOD.

Robin Newlund
rnewlund@vitalink.com
From: rdmiller@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Ruth D Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: Urgent Plea from the Father Tongue!
Keywords: bartina+oriental rug=destructo bird
Date: 8 Oct 92 05:46:34 GMT
Article-I.D.: matt.1b1l4qINNaok
Organization: Kansas State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: matt.ksu.ksu.edu

In article <1992Oct8.105732.5969@cbnewsh.cb.att.com> bgt@cbnewsh.cb.att.com (barbara.tongue) writes:
>folks,
>
>the following is an urgent plea from my father.  now, as you might
>remember, my mom's african grey bartina has run of the house, and
>amuses herself at times by chewing up the carpet in my old bedroom.
>apparently her tastes have evolved to more exquisite realms, in 
>particular the oriental rug in the living room.
>
>the father tongue would like to know of any birdie repellent usable
>on the carpet.

A good question, so I'll post rather than mail.  How well does BItter Apple
work on different species (we had minimal luck with it on a lovebird as
a deterrent for her friend who liked to pick on her.)  ANd then of course,
does Bitter Apple stain?  This latter can be checked; if it's oriental rug
you're worried about check it on a scrap of wool.  As I recall the stuff
is colourless.

Over in r.p.cats they recommend stuff like red pepper sauce to deter cats
eating computer cords and the like.  I dunno if that's stainproof, and birds
often _like_ hot peppers.  Then there's just training--if someone's around
to supervise--squirt offending bird with water bottle every time she ventures
near the rug.  Unless she likes water spray? :-)

Ruth
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: vu@news.cis.ohio-state.edu (Danny Boy)
Subject: budgies questions.....
Organization: The Ohio State University Department of Computer and Information Science
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1992 23:18:15 GMT


Hello,

I have recently tried my hands at breeding budgies...and lt me say I am
no guru in the topic.  So I would like to ask some question on the topic.

1) I have three pair of M/F in a cage of 4ftX3ft.  2 pair are mating and the third is not.. Should I take out the pair that is not mating?  Would that  pair
cause more harm than good being in there?  And is it possible that the pair
would do harm to the new nestling?

2)  I would like to hand feed these new nestling to get them use to the feeling
of being handle..when should I start doing that?  They are about 1mo. old already.

3)If I remove the nestling, will the pairs still lay more eggs or will
they stop with what they have now?  One pair has 2 babies and 1 egg left.
The other has 2 aussi but had two and threw one out of the nest??..WHY?
I am sorry that wasn't clear...she had two unhatched eggs left and threw
one of the eggs out.  WHY?


4)  Once the mating pairs are done should I removed the nest or leave it in the 
cage..will they continue to mate or not..?


Bare with me..and help introduce me to the wonderful world of budgies LOVE :-)


Thanx a million,

Dan
From: fairchil@helix.ucsd.edu (Kevin Fairchild)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: Housebreaking Cockatiels
Date: 14 Oct 92 01:43:37 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego

When we got our cockatiel, we read about this "potty-training."  The deal is 
that you're supposed to hold the bird over her cage (or wherever you want her 
to drop) and give a codeword, like "Go potty."  You keep repeating this using 
positive reinforcement, rewarding her when she does it, etc.  The only catch 
is that birds can't "hold it" very well, so you would have to take her to her 
cage and give the code word every 20 minutes or so.  My wife's mother 
correctly pointed out that this was training _us_, not the bird.  We have 
since elected to just keep an eye on her, as most of her little gifts are 
solid and easy to pick up.


Kevin Fairchild
Soon-to-be-late-of-UCSD

**UCSD has no opinions, only official no-comments.  I'm not so lucky.**
From: cb14@prism.gatech (Debbie Bragg)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: vita-lite
Date: 8 Oct 92 15:52:07 GMT
Article-I.D.: hydra.70455
Distribution: usa
Organization: GTRI

Hi birdie people,
I have been concerned with the lighting in our new house.  The other house has a porch
enclosed with thick tempered clear glass.  That was the childrens room.  All of our 
children are very healthy with beautiful vibrant colors.  So after all the talk about 
full spectrum lighting I have been asking questions and looking around for these lights.

The vet said that the vita-lights are great but plant grow lights are okay if you could 
not get the vita-lights.  Well I just went out and purchased 2  four foot floresent (?) 
vita-lites.  They were  $14.00 each, about the same price as a 2 ft. plant grow light.

I purchased these at Georgia Lighting.  They had all kinds of lights, everything from 
carved rooster lamps to $35,000 chandaliers to the vita-lites.  What a place! 
I really enjoyed the visit to that store.  They even had a three tier bird house lamp,
that was really unique.


Debbie
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: rnewlund@vitalink.com (Robin Newlund)
Subject: Medicating parrot
Reply-To: rnewlund@vitalink.com (Robin Newlund)
Organization: Vitalink Communications
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 18:04:36 GMT

I'm hoping to get some helpful hints on how to medicate a parrot.
He needs oral medication, liquid twice a day. I've tried putting
it on bread - he mushes it up and spits it out. I've tried rolling
him in a towel and dropping it on his tongue. He blots his tongue on
the towel. I've tried putting the towel around his shoulders and
trying to hold his head until he swallows - I don't have enough hands.
What has worked with you all in the past. I need help, we have
18 more sessions to go!

Robin Newlund
rnewlund@vitalink.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
From: hubler@galaxy.lerc.nasa.gov (Dale Hubler)
Subject: Re: Medicating parrot
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1992 11:23:09 GMT

In article <1992Oct15.180436.12363@NOC.Vitalink.COM> rnewlund@vitalink.com (Robin Newlund) writes:
>I'm hoping to get some helpful hints on how to medicate a parrot.
>He needs oral medication, liquid twice a day. I've tried putting
>it on bread - he mushes it up and spits it out. I've tried rolling
>him in a towel and dropping it on his tongue. He blots his tongue on
>the towel. I've tried putting the towel around his shoulders and
>trying to hold his head until he swallows - I don't have enough hands.
>What has worked with you all in the past. I need help, we have
>18 more sessions to go!
>
>Robin Newlund
>rnewlund@vitalink.com


I typically use the towel method but I cannot stress enough the dangers
of mishandling here.  I do medicate birds myself this way but you should
probably try to have an assistant to begin with.  One person should hold
the bird and concentrate on nothing other than whether the bird is 
breathing OK.  The other squirts the medication down the throat with a
syringe.  What you do is drop a towel over the bird and grasp the head
with your left hand, the fingers reaching around on either side to control
the beak.  The right hand (I am right handed by the way) should be under the 
bird and should control the feet and GENTLY hold the breast.  The wings
are controlled by the towel.  The assistant locates the beak and uses
a syringe (needle removed of course) to squirt the medication into the
mouth.  It is VERY EASY to restrict the birds ability to breathe - don't
do it.  The person holding the bird must make sure the breast is rising
and falling and that the bird can breathe.  But this method is very
effective for me.  Water soluble antibiotics are preferable but not
always effective.  With practice, one person can do this.  And with
practice, the bird gets succesively harder to trap with the towel.  Some
of mine have learned the rolling onto the back method of avoidance and
present me with nothing but a snapping beak.  Hope tis method works
for you.

Dale

--
Dale A. Hubler  (216) 977-7014   hubler@lerc.nasa.gov
For each and every low-tech problem there exists a high-tech solution
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds