Eko's first visit to vet and more feeding advice><

[nicki]

Unfortunately I had to take Eko to a vet in a major pet retail chain which was definitely not my first choice, for his first check up.

The vet came in and looked at him for about 5 minutes and said wow yea he looks healthy so the next thing I can tell you is *rambles on about generic parrot advice* He must've been bored. It was seriously about an hour he did this.

He didn't weigh him, but he said "He seems to have a lot of heft, like my chickens, so he seems a pretty good weight." Also he told me that at 3 months I need to cut back on his hand-feeding and wean him onto pellets because they are "nutritionally complete". Veggies as a treat. No opinion on beans and rice.

Plus, he stared at my boobs the whole time. lol

It is true that my bird will tell me when hes done hand-feeding, correct? He's taking less formula, decreased about 10 cc's per feeding in the past 2 days. The vet said that he will basically take hand-feedings forever, because well, its nice When I hand feed him, he is extremely receptive and excited. I wish I could say the same about all the other foods I offer him. He picks at the smorgasbord I make him every day but I hand-feed him after pre-sleep squawking and after my alarm squawk goes off Not sure when to take one away, if at all, at this time. He is staying same weight, btw. Fluctuation of about 2 grams. But he is *calling out* twice a day, and after hand feedings, I have one sweet chatty bird

Thanks for anymore advice and sorry for spamming forums with my incessant need for advice

 

[sodakat]

Why did you take him to a vet? Were you worried about something? I hope you didn't pay much for that "advice".

I think you need to talk to someone with years of experience hand feeding Eclectus parrots instead of a vet that knows nothing about Eclectus. Their weaning process is not the same as other species.

There is NOTHING more important than food for a growing baby. They need to eat, eat, eat. If you provide fresh food twice a day and he is interested in the food like it appears, then eventually he'll eat more and more. Meanwhile, feeding him formula until he refuses it seems more realistic than withholding it just because he has reached "X" age.

My advice to you would be go with your gut. You know if this baby is hungry. A hungry baby worries. A baby who worries does not develop normally, does not play and cannot relax because all they are thinking about is food.

 

[nicki]

No, I took him to the vet because the shop advised I get him checked out soon after to make sure everything was OK. Thanks

 

[Peeker]

It's a shame Dr. Boring spent half the day ogling your boobs and wasting your time with non-information! Did the shop say to use that particular vet? Some stores will have a relationship with a certain vet and will ask you to see them for the "vet check". I've always felt they were all in cahoots and the real vet check comes afterwards when you see a vet of your own choosing.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Was it a Petsmart? They have vets, a exotic Petsmart vet would be someone who see's everyone, they would learn about parrots but not be passionate about them like a avian vet. Although I bet there is a parrot obsessed Petsmart vet out there, I'm just saying in general. The vet at the store I used to work at only liked to see dogs and cats, but would also take small animals like ginea pigs and rats. They refused to see birds and more exotic animals because the vet wasn't trained in that field, I found that great that he wasn't going to see animals be wasn't confident in.

Weighing is something all vets should do regardless of the animal, it is especially true for birds like parrots. My avian vet weighs parrots on every visit, no matter the condition of the bird. Even the vet I take my dog to weighs on every visit.

I would never go to the vet again! They are clearly not parrot savvy, and they only wasted your time and money. If I was in your place I would write a letter to the corporation with a complaint.

 

[nicki]

No the shop did recommend someone that they used close to them, but unfortunately it was kind of out of the way. I want someone closer that I can rely on in case of emergencies. So I called around to the local pet hospitals and this one vet came highly recommended by a few people and had great reviews online. I called his office and he is out of the country until May 2nd. This is who I plan on going to, but yes, unfortunately I had to take him to a Petsmart vet because it seems to be the only other "avian", but I guess exotic vet in the area. It was a complete waste of time, and I would never go back. I used to own ferrets, I know how difficult it was to find a knowledgeable vet for exotics, ugh.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I'm glad you have a known avian vet in your area at least, too bad he was on vacation.

Yeah, what you describe doesn't surprise me knowing it was a "exotic" petsmart vet.