Help Needed with Red Lored Amazon's new behaviour after changing pellets

[n67]

Hi

I need help and advice about converting my RL Amazon to Harrison's Adult Lifetime Coarse pellets. He is almost 12 years old and was on a quality seed mix/fruit/veg diet until October 2011 when I converted him to Harrison's High Potency pellets. The conversion was easy and he took to it right away, preferring them moistened - about 7 pellets offered 3 times a day (so fitting the 3 tablespoons allowed). He loves them a lot, waits in anticipation for them to be served, [i.e. screams blue murder yells if they aren't dished up on time].

However, I read about the dangers of fatty liver disease for Amazon parrots, worried about the fat content in High Potency pellets and the fact that the excess protein in the High Potency pellets also increased his breeding behaviour immensely. So after about a 7 month conversion period in May 2012 I started offering him Adult Lifetime Coarse, putting in gradually less High Potency pellets until I stopped them completely. At first he was ok with the plain Adult Lifetime pellets, for about 4 or 5 days. Then he stopped eating more than the bare minimum - 5 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon and 3 in the evening (this started about 3/4 days ago). I keep a bowl of quality seed mix in his cage just incase I'm not able to make it for his lunch but when he was on High Potency he would never touch them. Now he's started eating them again, but eating more of the dried fruit in the seed mix. He's also become fairly nippy during this time whereas he was cuddly and very active with his toys/foot toys before. He's not withdrawn by any means but there has been a change in his behaviour.

What I'd like help with/ advice about is whether I should put him back on the High Potency pellets and whether that would damage his liver long term. Alternatively, is there any way I could get him to like the Adult Lifetime pellets? He does get 3 Power Treat pellets every alternate day but I'm really worried about him not receiving all the nutrition I feel he had when he guffed the High Potency pellets.

Just in case this info helps, he is housed in a separate bedroom with a large cage as a eating/sleep cage with a shelf under it on which is a big 'toy' box. He usually spends his mornings doing flying exercises with me for a little bit and then alternately plays on his toy box, tossing out everything and then chasing it round the room, or naps on the edge of it, {guarding it with his life}, or walks on foot about the flat, searching out his favourite people (me and my mum). He goes up to the cage to eat at his mealtimes and and to sleep covered at night for about 12/13 hours. I should mention that about 3 days ago we had re-arranged the room i.e beds/ desk/ shelves moved around though his cage is in the same place, wondering if that's a factor.

Would be grateful for any help at all. Thanks for reading & sorry for the length {can you tell I'm an English major >.<

)

 

[friedsoup]

Well doesn't sound like it's panic time, but did I read you right you leave seed and dried fruit in his cage all day? Seeds and dried fruit are big time fatty foods, being as seeds are almost all oils and sugars and dried fruits are concentrated sugar pills, best to feed them only a little say ten minutes then replace them with the pellets which have vitamins and nutriants added to grain(Seed) which are ground and the oil and sugars removed then mix with the good things and pressed into the shapes you see. Hope this helps but unless you see a change in his weight I wouldn't be worried.

 

[henpecked]

If i may offer a bit of advice, he's going to prefer the higher fat pellets/diet. i didn't read if he was clipped or flighted.If clipped and mature (at least 6-7yrs old) then i'd keep his diet at less than 6% crude fat. Immature and flighted then 8=9% is OK.ONCE you have him on pellets ,forget the seeds.If you want to use sunflower seeds as a training aid,that's fine but once you have him weaned on to pellets don't ever offer seeds as a daily supplement.Buy a set of scales and weigh him once a week or more often if your switching diets around.I would find a pellet he will eat and then try to switch him to what ever pellet you want him to eat.(no seeds involved). Experiment with different sizes of pellets. You've already noticed that wetting the pellets helps but remember that they spoil much quicker than the dry. Your right, extra fat will help trigger hormonal behavior,so diet and exerciser will help control that. Hope that helps.

 

[stephend]

The only things I can suggest are mixing his favorite pellets with the ones you want him to eat, and asking your vet about health risks of leaving him on his favorites.

 

[oled]

Some perrot is increasing weight easier that other. The only way to check if the diet is correct is to check the waight ones a week. I also thing that you only shold give him pellets, no seed etc

 

[n67]

Hi everyone, thank you so much for responding!

friedsoup & henpecked: yes I do leave a handful/small coop cup of proper seed mix in the cage because I'm not around during the day and he doesn't eat dried pellets, just crumbles them into dust. So if I'm around for the day he gets 3 servings of moistened pellets and if I'm not around he gets 2 slightly bigger servings of the above.

It's a waste, in his case, to give expensive pellets, dry, in a bowl filled for the whole day if he just grinds it into tiny bits and mounds of powder which I would empty from his tray daily. That was my reasoning behind the cup of seed mix - v. worried that he would get hungry and not have anything if I somehow couldn't make it home on time. As you can tell, I worry about him a lot...

That said though, I do think that you guys, stephend & oled are right...I should start limiting the seeds. He does get fresh veg but only when I'm there (like the moistened pellets), simply for the reason of easy risk spoiling. These past two mornings when I lift the cage cover I've seen suspicious crumbs on his upper beak and a 'food beard' on his lower beak so even before breakfast he is snacking (the cheek of him!).

Have to get working to remove the seeds then I suppose & save up for a decent scale (have an oldish kitchen one), but have you any ideas for alternative dry, non-spoiling food that I could leave for him if I wasn't certain I would be able to be home during the day/afternoon? Thanks again!