Aussie Finch Forum

Havent seen a post on the subject of looking after older birds , Im curious as my Turks are getting on though I dont know how old as I bought them as a mature pair and the breeder whom I rang later that day was a bit curt and his reply was " just a mature pair " .
Im posting a pic to see if anyone can give a rough idea ...

OK a few questions > At what stage do you take away the nest box or do you leave them to breed until they stop naturally ?
Do their dietary needs change ?
What should I look for in regards to ill health in an older bird ?
Only ever had pets grow old on me , new to aviary birds so any tips appreciated muchly.

I just let them go,if they want to breed they will. I had 1 cock Turk that was still filling full clutches at 7 years although the hen had a hard time trying to rear 6 young every nest by that age, she still averaged 4 fledgling every round. Never done anything different for them, but I do give all neophemas, as well as everything else, Condies Crystals in the water once a week, something I got from the old man & have continued with, no reason to stop.

They don't look too old, but hard to tell from a photo, at a guess would be 3 or 4.

Cant buy condies over the counter in NSW anymore , I used to use it on my imported tropical fish at times ... vaguely remember someone saying chemical suppliers would carry it.

I'm still useing a bottle the old man bought back in the 80's, so couldn't tell you where to get it.

What does the Condies Crystals do?.......stop the potatoe famine???

Sorry Deb, off topic..........your Turks look OK, but as VR said, hard to tell from a pic.....one old way to get an indication of age in Turks & other Neophemas was that they develop a bit of orange or red around the belly with age.........probably not all that useful these days as hardly any birds are "Normal" these days. Most are "mutants" to some extent and the red belly is one of the earliest mutations developed.........but yours look pretty "normal" and I dont see any orange or red on the belly between the legs ;)

I think alot of Neophemas tend to get droopy wings as they get a fair age on them aswell.

Condies Crystal itself has been taken off the market but has en replaced with a less effective crystal, cant think of the name, have some in the bird room birds are asleep if old timers doesn't get me Ill have a look tomorrow and post the name.

Not 100% sure on what it does to the bird, but it is Potassium Permangenate, so probably has something to do with the metabolic uptake of other vitamins & minerals (too long out of collage to remember that). But the old man swore by it & I never lost a Neophema under 5 years.

Uses

Almost all applications of potassium permanganate exploit its oxidizing properties.[2] As a strong oxidant that does not generate toxic byproducts, KMnO4 has many niche uses.

Potassium permanganate is one of the principal chemicals utilised in the film and television industries to "age" props and set dressings. Its oxidising effects create "hundred year old" or "ancient" looks on hessian cloth, ropes, timber and glass.[3] It was used on props and sets in films such as "Troy", "300" and "Indiana Jones".[citation needed]
[edit] Disinfectant and water treatment

As an oxidant, potassium permanganate can act as a disinfectant. For example, dilute solutions are used to treat canker sores (ulcers), disinfectant for the hands and treatment for mild pompholyx, dermatitis,[4][5] and fungal infections of the hands or feet.[6] Potassium permanganate, obtainable at pool supply stores, is used in rural areas to remove iron and hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) from well and waste water. Historically it was used to disinfect drinking water.[7]
[edit] Biomedical uses

Related to the use of KMnO4 for water treatment, this salt is often employed as a specialized disinfectant for treating human and animal ailments. In histology, it is used to bleach melanin which obscures tissue detail. Potassium permanganate can also be used to differentiate amyloid AA from other types of amyloid pathologically deposited in body tissues. Incubation of fixed tissue with potassium permanganate will prevent amyloid AA from staining with congo red whereas other types of amyloid are unaffected.[8][9] Permanganate washes were once used to treat gonorrhea and are still used to treat candidiasis.[10]
[edit] Organic synthesis

Aside from its use in water treatment, the other major application of KMnO4 is as a reagent for the synthesis of organic compounds.[11] Significant amounts are required for the synthesis of ascorbic acid, chloramphenicol, saccharin, isonicotinic acid, and pyrazinoic acid.[2]

Use to use it to treat fin rot in Siamese Fighters ...havent seen too many birds with fin rot lately so must be one of the other uses.