Bonnie is going to the Vet

Good luck, hopefully they have some answers for you

Bonnie has been to the Vet. She saw a male vet and he was great at handling Bonnie and very knowledgeable.

He suggested a hormone implant to "shut down" her hormonal behaviour. It is called a Suprelorin implant and he said they last for four months (although the 'official' timespan is six months). Apparently it is the same one they use for dogs and it's injected on the front left side of the chest. It can be used for both male and female quakers. So I agreed and it was done while we were there!

When he examined Bonnie the vet said she looked "stocky" and later used the word "rotund" (so it's not just Mr. P who's fat, Sharyn!).  She weighed in at 98 grams, but he could only just feel her keel bone...so I'm not allowed to give her pumpkin seeds anymore (perhaps just one per day, but no more) and I need to cut down the nuts and somehow get her eating more fresh fruit and vegetables. I bought a foraging toy while I was there, to hide fruit/veg in to keep her occupied while we are at work.

So the vet gave her the implant and took some blood at the same time (results of full bloodwork should be in tomorrow - I didn't have to get that done, but thought it wouldn't hurt). Her poop tested fine and her feathers are in good condition. So it seems we are indeed dealing with hormones!

...now here's the funny part - the vet felt her pubic bones and said they feel narrow and more like that of a male. He said that most females' pubic bones are further apart and if they're feeling the urge to lay an egg then some distention is usually felt. But with Bonnie he couldn't feel any. Even though I was given a DNA certificate from the breeder, the vet said that there's one particular DNA company based in Victoria that does not have a good reputation for accuracy. Therefore Bonnie is having another DNA test, just to be sure.

If she turns out to be a male, we'll have to call her Bon Jovi all the time, not just when she's noisy.

We just missed the latest batch sent off (they send them on Wednesdays), so it will most likely be a couple of weeks before we know about the DNA.

Wow.... a vet visit and that shot for hormones.... and then DNA testing. Bonnie has gone through quite a bit on her first visit. I am glad to hear all the good news about her condition. I had never heard of that hormone treatment either. You must let us know if it makes any difference. I would have to think about for a bit before I get Oscar one but believe me... I wish he would calm down some. Lots to think about.

I hope Bonnie is a girl... if would be shocking to all of a sudden start saying... My Good Boy.. lol.

Thanks for posting all of this information. It sure has given me some things to think about.

Good luck Biteybird. Shah went the big attack on me a few nights ago and, unfortunately, I yelled at him cos it really hurt. Then put him in his cage and didn't talk to him for half an hour. I got him back out of his cage after that and he has been a model citizen since then. I know he is hormonal at the moment so make allowances for his extremely bad behaviour. But the bite was on my chest - it bled and bruised almost immediately and then came up in a really big lump. I hate hormones Will be interesting to see what happens with Bonnie once the implant starts working.

Gosh! Really sorry to hear about all of the troubles w/ Bonnie! Interested to hear if this implant starts working, and of course whether little miss Bonnie isn't actually a miss!

Cupcake mauled my hand the other day because she hates my new beard groomer.. It's really interesting because I have a couple of them, and one she really doesn't care about, but this one, it's almost like she's telling me I shouldn't use it.. She'll bite me to try to get at it, and that is *extremely* unusual for her. Even when she bites, she intentionally doesn't break skin. This was not like that. I got two very noticeable wounds in a matter of seconds. But still, this is nothing like what you describe with the lip-lock... That's brutal.

I hope things improve with the implant!!

It's so hard not to yell when they attack. My instinct is to move suddenly when bitten, which is even worse, so I am careful not to fling her into the wall accidentally... how horrible that would that be.

It's so funny... I guess she doesn't like the way this one buzzes. I really think most animals have a vibrational/energy sense that we seem to have lost somewhere along the way. Cupcake also finds the microwave very upsetting. She does not want us to use it. It isn't loud, it doesn't make any unusual beeps... but she *hates* it. Luckily we don't use it very much anyhow.