Need help! What should I feed my new house guest?

[komodo]

Yesterday, a parrot took up residence on my patio. She can't fly very well, so I believe she is the pet of one of my neighbors. I live in Colombia and the parrot appears to be a species from the Amazon. I went to the store and bought some sunflower seeds, a banana and an apple. So far, she has only nibbled on a slice of banana and taken a little water. Can someone tell me what type of food to feed her? I live in a small town, so I probably can't find specialty pet food, only natural foods. I think her owner is on vacation, so I might need to care for her for a few weeks.

 

[SandyBee]

Vegetables, cooked or raw. Nuts, Grains and seed. Fruit in small amounts.
Yep that's an amazon.

 

[komodo]

Thanks, Sandy. So far white bread is a favorite. The neighborhood grocer suggested bread with chocolate, but that doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

 

[JerseyWendy]

No, NO chocolate at all. It's toxic.

Here is a list of safe food items AND toxic items:
http://www.parrotforums.com/general...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

 

[komodo]

Don't worry, Wendy. I wasn't planning on following his suggestion. Thanks for the list.

 

[komodo]

It's all about the bread...it seems.

 

[SoCalWendy]

Aww she looks like she is enjoying her treat. Do you have something to keep her safe in?

 

[komodo]

She is living in a covered part of my patio. I'm trying to build a little habitat for her that will connect to the roof. She can see her own house from there. So far, she likes bread, tomatoes and green beans. I will try some new foods today. When she's at her real house, we often whistle back and forth to each other. So, I'm guessing she came to my house because she was lonely being at home alone (her family is on vacation, it seems). She started talking a little yesterday, but still seems frightened. I'm teacher her to say "thank you" in English, which should be a surprise for her family, since they only speak Spanish.

 

[SoCalWendy]

She is living in a covered part of my patio. I'm trying to build a little habitat for her that will connect to the roof. She can see her own house from there. So far, she likes bread, tomatoes and green beans. I will try some new foods today. When she's at her real house, we often whistle back and forth to each other. So, I'm guessing she came to my house because she was lonely being at home alone (her family is on vacation, it seems). She started talking a little yesterday, but still seems frightened. I'm teacher her to say "thank you" in English, which should be a surprise for her family, since they only speak Spanish.

Try sweet potato, carrots, broccoli. It's so nice of you to do this for your neighbor. They will be so relieved, I'm sure.

 

[henpecked]

That's a very nice panama amazon you have there. Looks like it could be a immature male, hard to tell. Have you tried mango, papaya, make sure the sunflower seeds are NOT the salted type, no salt,sugar added stuff. Wish that bird would show up in my backyard. Thanks for helping a birdie out.

 

[komodo]

My neighbor is a real sweetheart--who brings me homemade tamales every Christmas--so it's my pleasure to host Greenie (the parrot's temporary name) for a while. I know nothing about birds, but somehow my partner and I must have become known as guardians in the bird world. We have several nests on our patio and we put seed out every morning for canaries and doves. A couple of the canaries have started coming in the house every day to say hello and some of the doves like to fly in the backdoor, through the house and out the front window. Must be fun.

 

[Karigan]

Is it just the angle or is that sweetie a pugger? She/He looks broader than other amazons I've seen. Cutie though!

 

[Pajarita]

Try whole grain bread (pan integral) instead of white. Parrots love white bread but it has no nutrients to speak of, just carbs which are not good for amazons. Any and all fruits are good, too.

 

[komodo]

Greenie is actually Rebecca. SHE told us her name this afternoon.

 

[brianlinkles]

I'm confused how did your neighbors just leave without making sure their parrot was taken care of. Nice of you to care for him though, he sure is cute!

 

[henpecked]

It's not uncommon to keep native parrots outside of your home. Owner might have had trouble getting the bird in or had an emergency ,had to go.Growing up in Central America my mother kept our pet amazon outside all day, perched in a tree. She only came into the laundry room on a perch stand at night.Not that the bird was excluded from the house. Most mornings she was on a kitchen chair. However a large part of her day was spent perched in a tree. Knew how to call all the dogs and kids in the neighborhood. Never really had a cage.

Any food you can get that bird to eat(that's safe) would be alright at this point. The reason she looks puffy is because of stress, mental and physical. These birds aren't good at taking care of themselves, yes they live outside but depend on their human owners more than you might think. They're not wild.

PS the OP lives in Columbia, where you can buy baby zons in the local open air markets, cheap

 

[JerseyWendy]

Wish that bird would show up in my backyard.....

I was thinking the EXACT same thing.

 

[Merlee]

I had a co-worker who was originally from South America. She said as a child she would raid parrot nests for babies and sell them at the local market. Would you believe the price then was $1? She also said the wild parrots in the area would become pets because they enjoyed human company. It must have been the free food. lol.

 

[komodo]

I am positive my neighbor did not intentionally leave the parrot unattended. I live in a town where people take very good care of animals, even street dogs, which are completely socialized and well fed. The lady has been waiting on a surgery, so she may have had a health emergency and left suddenly. Rebecca (the parrot--at least we think that's her name, since she keeps repeating it) lives on the lady's patio. She can get out at any time, but, to my knowledge, never has in the past. Rebecca often sits on the patio wall and I talk and whistle to her. I'm guessing she got lonely and came over to my house for some company. She has taken up residence on an old bicycle and seems pretty content. She's eating like a horse (carrots, tomatoes, bread and green beans) and likes to have a long chat every afternoon. She is still frightened at times and won't let me touch her. A few times, she's gotten scared and flown off her perch. So far, I've been able to coax her onto a little stick to return her to her bicycle.