Need a good quality vitamin supplement..

[Doris48]

Our new adopted Amazon could really use a boost.I really think some kind of supplement to dust his food would work best.
Also can Amazons have that red palm oil stuff I was reading about? how do you give it to them?

His feathers are kinda dull and bedraggled and his feet are very dry.

 

[Spiritbird]

You will not know which vitamin is deficient unless you take your bird to an avian vet for an examination. You can do more harm than good in supplementing without knowing why and what.

 

[MissyMe83]

Not sure about the oil...I think I've heard people use it in warm foods. As for the supplement maybe egg food? I just bought a small bag to have on hand in case I ever needed to give Tate a boost for any reason. It states that its for all birds/sizes, but I've never used it or heard much about it. It's made by Higgins so I think that says enough : )

Higgins Snack Attack Proteen Eggfood 8 oz Bag - NEW ITEMS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

 

[roxynoodle]

My vet sold me a powdered vitamin for Pete that is sprinkled on his wet foods (veggies, fruits, pasta). I also put him in the Harrison's High Potency pellets to give him an extra boost as well. Serve him a good variety of veggies as different colored ones are high in different vitamins. He will need orange veggies for vitamins A and K. Broccoli has all kinds of good stuff in it.

 

[Pedro]

Before any bird is given supplements I agree with Spiritbird. It is so important to see your Vet & have a full blood panel done.

If your new bird is on a balanced diet & eats it's fruit & veg there is no reason to give any supps at all. The only time i would give my parrots supps if it was recommended by my Vet.

To get his feathers back to looking good give him a daily shower. That will encourage him to preen & groom himself better. Also he may not have gone through a molt yet.

I feed my Amazons about a tablespoon of dry seed with a bit of pellet mixed through, sprouted seed & bean mix, heaps of veggies & a bit of fruit. Raw nuts. Once a week they get hard boiled egg, shell & all. Cooked bones from either a roast beef or lamb or chicken. So if your bird is having a variety of foods It's not a good idea to overload on extra supps.

 

[roxynoodle]

Yes, Pete went in for a check up right away. I knew as soon as I saw him he had malnutrition issues, but needed the vet's opinion on how to best help him. Plus I still had to get him converted to pellets as he was on seed his whole life when I got him. So based on the vet's advice that he should get additional vitamins, and the best kind for him, I bought what he wanted me to give him. Some vitamin deficiencies will require injections from your vet to best help the bird quickly. It may not be something you can address entirely on your own, at least at first.

 

[roxynoodle]

I should add that I now also have a new vet, who has also seen Pete. She also wants him to stay on the supplemental vitamins at this time.

 

[Doris48]

I took our dog in to the vet on Monday and asked her if she ever treated birds.She said the last and only bird she treated was in Vet school(LOL)...
So I guess I will have to call the "other" place.I really dont like them.Its a teaching college with a vet office but the only one with an exotic vet.They wont let you go in with your animal and who knows how many people they let poke and prod them behind closed doors.And they charge you about twice as much as everyone else.You'd think it should be cheaper.
Also Paco doesnt eat the veggies very well at all(he did seem to like the cooked sweet potato and the oranges and corn)..
I made some pumpkin birdie bread(greenie goes ape of this stuff)..Im hoping to tempt him with that(its got veggies in it too)

Anyway I was just hoping to get some supplements to give him for a few weeks till I could make sure he was eating right.It may take awhile, it did with our greenie..

 

[lizardsmells]

What about Nutriberries? Kazi gets a few every day. He doesn't need the vitamin boost but he loves them.

My vet told me to restore Kazi to full and fine feather he needed to molt. So I upped the fat (via almonds) and fed him lots of vitamin A rich food with every meal. It worked. He's molting and his new feathers look magnificent.

But I agree with everyone else here, definitely get him checked out by a vet to see if he's deficient in any vitamins before supplementing. Most birds aren't from what I understand and giving them supplements can cause all sorts of problems when they get too much of something. So nutriberries are as close as I'm willing to come to vitamin supplments for Kazi. He gets a wide variety of foods and pellets so his vitamin needs are likely being met. he just really loves those nutriberries

 

[roxynoodle]

Nutriberries are approximately equal though to what they are getting from pellets. However if he is not eating the pellets they may be worth a shot if he likes them. I also give them to Rowdy and Merlin, 1-2 each per day because they enjoy them. Pete has not wanted to try them yet, which surprised me being a seed junkie.

Keep trying the veggies every night. At first Pete was only eating the corn. Now he eats pretty much all of them. It's actually funny to watch him suck up a carrot or green bean, lol! The whole thing hangs from his beak and he sucks it up bit by bit like a strand of spaghetti.

But, yes, I think I would only supplement if the vet wants you to. I know too much of certain vitamins can be harmful to us, so I'm sure that's true for animals as well. I had a student taking extra B vitamins thinking they would make him grow taller. They perforated his intestine and he became critically ill. Thankfully he was ok after a few days in the hospital.

 

[Clueless]

I thought I read somewhere that Vitamin A was pretty important. My amazons have rather flaky beaks - they were originally on an all seed diet. I now have them eating pellets. MC didn't like Nupreem (but oddly, he loves to eat the Nupreem biscuits) - and Secret didn't like Roudybush so I have two different diets to contend with.

They originally liked sweet potatoes (cooked) but I was told that the skin could harbor some kind of fungus that would harm them?

What other vitamin A veggies do Amazons like? Mine will mangle a broccoli stem, take the seeds out of a green bean and turned up their beaks to a cooked brussel sprout.

 

[Pedro]

nutrition

This link should help with what your looking for.

My BF Amazons will eat almost everything i give them. I use this list so all my parrots have a varied fresh balanced diet.

 

[roxynoodle]

All the orange veggies are high in vitamin A. So try carrots or orange squash if you don't want to give sweet potatoes. They might also eat baby food carrots or sweet potatoes. Maybe they would eat it the way it is out of the jar, or if you put it on toast or something.

 

[mele]

A few days a week I give my birds Red Palm Oil with their pasta type veggie mixes. I also sprinkle bee pollen on fresh fruits and veggies. My vet loves to see them for their check ups. They've all come along way since I first adopted them. They all had vit deficiencies A being the most common with my amazons. He recomended the right dosage needed for each one. They get a well balanced diet and are healthy now. The vet said these additions to their diet are fine and I can continue giving it to them.

 

[Doris48]

Pacos feet are really Dry and flaky.His beak isnt bad though, but does look a bit dry.He does have alot of pin feathers right now too.
Ive read about the Red palm oil, it sounds like a good addition to the diet.
I found this site, looked good to me.
RP - Diet