Lovebird health questions

[awfulwarlock]

hello, new here

got some questions about the health of my two lovebirds; any help would be appreciated

my main concern today is with my male lovebird, Rio.. he seemed a little lethargic and fluffed up inside of his cone earlier today and the both of them are usually quite hypo lol

i decided to let them fly early to see if he'd come out of his cage and lucky he did, although soon after leaving i noticed Rio defecate unusually large and of a slightly greener colour

if necessary i can post a picture haha

i'm not sure if i'm being overly concerned here so any advice would be great to calm my anxiety

next is the diet of both my lovebirds, Rio and Cleo; they only eat standard seeds.. no vegetables or fruit, it seems to be the texture they're not happy with more than the flavour as they've never taken a bite

unfortunatly Rio and Cleo are from a pet shop but other than my concerns here they're doing great!

does anyone have any suggests about improving my lovebirds diet?

thanks for your time!

 

[SailBoat]

.... although soon after leaving i noticed Rio defecate unusually large and of a slightly greener colour ....

The amount will vary fairly widely either side of standard depending on a choice to hold or not. Very watery is concerning if there are a series of them. The variation in green can be fairly wide. The concern is a change in colour. The most concerning is a change to Red or Black! Unless you have feed something with that colour, it is off to the Vet!


.... he seemed a little lethargic and fluffed up ....

The activity level is something that is always to be followed. A Parrot that is normally everywhere at once and than lethargic is to be concern about. If it is something more than needed to nap, it is off to the Vet!


.... they only eat standard seeds ....

Target 'Human Grade' Dry Products. Seed, Grains and Nuts. Also, look a those mixes that include freeze dried Veggies and Fruits. There are also high end mixes that also include mini pellets and pasta.

We feed a cross-section of veggies and fruits first thing in the morning, first meal if you will and later morning provide for the rest of the day, the dry food. The texture is a reality and cutting or chopping or thin slices /thick slices, etc... is something that is played with to find your Parrots favorite variation.

Enjoy!

 

[awfulwarlock]

thank you for your response, i appreciate it

.... although soon after leaving i noticed Rio defecate unusually large and of a slightly greener colour ....

The amount will vary fairly widely either side of standard depending on a choice to hold or not. Very watery is concerning if there are a series of them. The variation in green can be fairly wide. The concern is a change in colour. The most concerning is a change to Red or Black! Unless you have feed something with that colour, it is off to the Vet!

it wasn't watery or a seriously unusual colour, just seemed abnormally large

.... he seemed a little lethargic and fluffed up ....

The activity level is something that is always to be followed. A Parrot that is normally everywhere at once and than lethargic is to be concern about. If it is something more than needed to nap, it is off to the Vet!

his activity level does seem unusually low today so that's something i'll defiantly be keeping a close eye on, if he doesn't improve i will take him to the vet

.... they only eat standard seeds ....

Target 'Human Grade' Dry Products. Seed, Grains and Nuts. Also, look a those mixes that include freeze dried Veggies and Fruits. There are also high end mixes that also include mimi pellets and pasta.

We feed a cross-section of veggies and fruits first thing in the morning, first meal if you will and later morning provide for the rest of the day, the dry food. The texture is a reality and cutting or chopping or thin slices /thick slices, etc... is something that is played with to find your Parrots favorite variation.

Enjoy!

i really appreciate your advice

i've kept a close eye on the both of them today, he does seem slightly stressed around Cleo, whenever he's at the food bowl he seems to dart back to his cone, he's defiantly not in the mood today lol

maybe it's one of those days for him.. i'll defiantly be keeping a close eye on him though!

thanks again

 

[Pureblood]

My lovebirds rarely touch various vegetables or fruit (except lettuce leaves) so I got an advice here to offer it in the form of bite-size chunks to them So far there's a little bit of progress!

 

[itzjbean]

My lovebirds rarely touch various vegetables or fruit (except lettuce leaves) so I got an advice here to offer it in the form of bite-size chunks to them So far there's a little bit of progress!

That's great they are liking the bite-sized pieces. My two cockatiels wouldn't eat any fruits or veggies unless they were chopped up in my food processor! If you need any help putting together some CHOP for your birds, be sure to check out my thread about my latest batches HERE!

Many birds enjoy a variety of fruits and veggies, but also legumes, beans, grains, yum! But DO NOT give them onion, garlic, rhubarb, chocolate, alcohol Hope that helps a little!

 

[wrench13]

Warlock, you want to experiment with size , temperature, , moistness and other variables to get your lovies to try and even accept veggies and fruits, with veggies being the prefferred food group. If you finally end up with a 60% veg, 30% fruits and 10% seeds, you are going good! It can be frustrating, since some parrots are very stubborn about dietary changes,,,, Take it slow, but consistently, good luck.

 

[awfulwarlock]

Warlock, you want to experiment with size , temperature, , moistness and other variables to get your lovies to try and even accept veggies and fruits, with veggies being the prefferred food group. If you finally end up with a 60% veg, 30% fruits and 10% seeds, you are going good! It can be frustrating, since some parrots are very stubborn about dietary changes,,,, Take it slow, but consistently, good luck.

really appreciate your advice as i must admit i've been quite lazy with trying to improve their diet up to now.. really need to work on consistency!