First vet visit

[Taprock]

We did finally find a vet 100 miles away about 2 hours each way. Thankfully Buzzy does great traveling.

Buzzy did great with the toweling and check up. He is underweight and doesn't have good muscle on his chest/keel area, which I expected. We had a good talk about diet, bedtimes, showers and more. We had a question about a breathing noise he makes, we are not sure if it's a sound he picked up from the previous owner or a problem. The vet listened to his lungs a couple times because that was a question. He said he heard one crackle but it didn't repeat so so we chose not to do X-rays and blood work at this point. They did do a chlamydophila culture since his owner was sick and we truly don't know all the details.

The vet really wants him on 80% pellets which is different than what we had been thinking. What are good items to fatten up a parrot?

It was a good visit and much less stressful that I expected.

 

[Jerseyjeff62]

I'm surprised the vet didn't tell you

 

[plumsmum2005]

Really great to hear it was a good first visit to your AV, it's always a nerve racking experience. The remaining 20% of his diet will need to be balanced too. Does Buzz have a good appetite and therefore will accept what you offer him even if it's new and does he fly regularly? You don't say what you feed at the moment.

 

[Taprock]

When we got Buzz he was on an all pellet diet. Kaytee exact rainbow large parrot. We wanted to get him eating other things. We have added seeds to his pellets but then that's all he wants to eat. We have added fruits and veggies and they are hit and miss in if he will even try them. We've been trying to find what he really likes to use for training. He loves peanuts in the shell and gray sunflower seeds so I've taken to hiding them in foraging toys. He just used one last night for the first time. He also loves Grape nuts and I've thought they are small enough to use for training. He also had his first hard boiled egg yesterday and went nuts with it.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Good news he likes egg and something I rely on to get meds into mine, rarely fails.
Grape Nuts here are a rock hard bran cereal for humans, you don't mean those do you lol? You may find if he is given seed and likes seed, that the other good stuff is not taken seriously. Have a look at some of the chop recipes on here for him, you dont have to prepare mega amounts to start with and experiment to see how he likes it? Bare in mind if you give plenty of treats he may not be hungry for the good stuff. They are very cunning regarding food. Flying will help him too if he is up to it, little and often to help build him up. I hope this is useful to you?

 

[Taprock]

Yes the human food. I didn't see any thing to hurt him in them. He will do anything for one of those bitty little things so I've only used it for training. We've cut way back on seed because that was all he would pick out. His wings are clipped but he spends time out side the cage and does flutter around some. He will finally step up on a stick for me so I can get him out of the cage without my sons help or getting bit.

 

[plumsmum2005]

It takes patience and perseverance re veggies etc. I have been trying with mine for two years and he is only now starting to take it seriously.