Yes, there's Omega 3 fats in pellets/Nutriberries too. I'm not sure whether it helps with short-term inflammation problems like a sore throat. But it seems to have a significant effect on long-term "inflammatory" diseases like arthritis and heart disease.

On top of the exposure to stuff she's not used to, a major stressful event like this can weaken the immune system and let the bad microorganisms that are normally present in the body get out control and cause problems. So it's really lucky that things have turned out as well as they did.

I usually rent mine, and always amazed how $150-300 value textbook can be gotten for $30.

I rented mine for the first semester, and for whatever reason, the option to rent for this semester didn't come up. Probably because I ordered them before I returned my first rented ones. So I ended up buying some used books, as well as buying the books I rented for the first semester for an even cheaper price.

Okay guys calm down, I didn't make the same mistake again. I was just looking back on it, and thought I'd share some thoughts...

It has been almost a full year since this happened. Lucy in her cage, sitting on top of one of the toys (she appears to use it more as a perch than a toy), preening herself while Alex, the other cockatiel I've come to own through this whole mess, is on a perch above her, playing with some other toys.

Actually just as I finished that paragraph, Lucy climbed up to the perch Alex was on and pushed her off and now they've more or less switched places (Alex doesn't quite know how to sit on the toy like Lucy does).

Anyways, out of all that has happened since that time she got out, there are still some things I haven't quite wrapped my head around.

First, how in the world did Lucy fly 100+ feet in the air and ended up near the top of a tree with clipped wings? She had one full flight feather on each of those wings, but I wouldn't think that to be enough for her to fly so well. I don't remember there being any wind at all, so how much of a strain was that on her?
Now that she is fully flighted, she could probably do that easily. Though I wouldn't want to test that theory out and take my chances.

Second, why did her voice change? I was honestly wondering if it was just because I ended up getting too used to Alex's voice in that little frame of time after I got Alex and before Lucy was found. Alex's call actually happens to be a higher pitch than an average cockatiel call, which could be part of the reason why hearing Lucy's voice that time threw me off. Since then, Lucy's call has gotten higher slightly and Alex's voice has gotten lower slightly so they almost meet in a middle range (Alex's call still tends to be higher than Lucy's though).

I'm wondering if she hadn't learned to almost mimic another bird's call out there. But thing is, we don't really have any birds that would sound anything close to w cockatiel. I did hear some birds out there while listening for Lucy that sounded somewhat similar, although they sounded a little more songbird-like. It could've either been some kind of bird out there I haven't really seen that we happen to have, or perhaps some mocking birds that mimicked Lucy's call.

Actually I'd love to see that. Wild mocking birds mimicking cockatiel calls. Anyone here with cockatiel aviaries seen that happen yet?

Either way, I'm glad that things ended well. Lucy is safe at home and she and Alex get along pretty well for the most part. Lucy's a little more calm now, probably because she's older, but she's still a busy-butt and Alex is still a total clutz.

Funny how things just work out in the end. Needless to say, unless if I can train them to put on a harness, I don't think either of them will be going outside again (even then, I don't think I'd go far with them on a harness).


(P.S.: Lucy went back to sit on the toy as Alex started eating when this was taken. )

You can still take them outside in the cage that has secure locks - for the vitamin D sake. I think sunshine improves their mood and well being.
I have a problem that my flock sometimes gets very scared and panics outside when they hear a wild bird they consider scary. They start flying like crazy, bumping into aviary walls - I have to let them into the house to prevent injuries.
Lucy was in danger when she escaped, this could enable her to fly better than you thought she could (just an idea). I think she just lost some of her voice probably screaming from being scared. But again, jut my version.