Need help with what to feed

[mcmalott]

I have a rehired 30 year old YN Amazon whomever we love dearly!

I am switching him over to pellets -his former owners had him on seeds/nuts from Walmart! A breeder that i am purchasing an Eclectus from suggests Roudy Bush so that's what I am using.

In addition to the pellets he gets fresh fruits and veggies every morning.

What are your thoughts on this diet? Do I need to add anything? What percent pellet and what percent fresh?

Also he seems to to eat the fresh and very few pellets.

Please help the vet said he is a chunk and needs to slim down!

 

[henpecked]

Welcome to the forum. Good quality pellets should make up 70% or less of diet. 50-50 would be good. Fresh fruits are good but fresh veggies are better and i'd push orange/yellow veggies that are high in Vit A such as sweet potatoes,carrots, squash,etc. Another good additions is sprouted seeds and peas. Most of my zons are 30+ yrs old and older , they seem to do well on this diet. Many of the rescue zons are also this age and have been feed a diet similar to the one you described your bird being fed by old owners. Most of these birds have liver issues caused by high fat diets such as seeds and nuts.Vit A deficiency is common and leads to infections that are hard to cure and compound liver issues leading to shortened life spans. I would research foods high in Vit A and try to convert an older zon to a better diet. PS i've been feeding Milk Thistle seeds which are high in Omega 3 fats and help fix some liver issues, of course these are just a part of a balanced varied diet . Hemp seeds are another seed that is better for them and might help convert a old seed junkie. You might want to consider not clipping him and teaching him to fly, hard to teach an old bird to fly. Flight would help with the over weight problem but don't over do it , any exercise you can come up with should help.

 

[mcmalott]

What do I do about him having little to no interest in the pellets. He has nibbled on a few. I have totally removed the old seed diet. He is well settled in our home - we have had him over a year. He gets the fresh in the morning and then it comes out around lunch time at dinner he usually gets some of what we eat unseasoned of course but its bot much.

Thanks so much for your help - I hear you are great and very knowledgeable !

 

[henpecked]

I don't know much history about you and your zon. Does he take treats from your hand ? Try giving pellets as treats to "break the ice". I'd try small bags of different brands and see if there's one he prefers. I would pull the fresh stuff after only a couple of hours and leave a TBS of pellets in his dish. Sometimes they'll eat more if there's only a few left. You could also try handfeeding pellets when your chilling out in front of the TV. I've able to switch over even the pickiest of eaters ,just keep trying different ones. Once on pellets you can usually switch to better quality if desired. I would also invest in a small digital kitchen scale . With little practice you can have him step up on them in the AM before feeding and keep track of his weight. This will help with weaning him on to new foods and with weight loss which could be a early sign of sickness. Thanks for giving an older zon a second chance. BTW don't believe what everybody says, LOL

PS i leave pellets in the cage 24/7 for my zons but they all eat them very well, many like to "dunk" them in the water dish so keep clean water handy. You could also try handfeeding new brand of pellets that are softened with a few drops of water, but don't leave them out long. Pellets spoil in a hour or so when wet. damp pellet might be the trick to switching him over.

 

[mcmalott]

Lamont (we do not know if he is really a boy lol) has dunked a few of the pellets in the water (I change it several times a day because he is always putting food into his water). I will try to moisten them also and see if that helps. When I give him one a treat he basically looks at me like I am crazy tosses it and then begs for a real treat using every word in his vocabulary!

I noticed a little bit of go that his droppings are very watery with little consistency and I am worried that even though he is eating a lot of his fresh food that he is not getting enough to eat!

I do not want to give up on cutting out the seed....switching his diet is really a lot harder than I thought - I have even tried to pretend I am eating the pellets!

 

[henpecked]

If your worried about him eating enough, get the scales. maybe 20$ at Bed,Bath and Beyond. The watery dropping could be due to him eating more fresh foods which are higher in water content, especially fruits. If you can handle him , get the scales, make a simple perch that fits on them and weigh him every AM before feeding.

 

[mcmalott]

I will get the scales today - yes we handle him every day - he is out of his cage a lot of the time - I ordered a java tree and it should be here today so he will be out even more! I will cut the fruits in half and increase the veggies - of course he likes the fruit best! Thanks for your help I will keep you updated!

 

[henpecked]

Please do. Also read the recipe section for birdie bread.

 

[mcmalott]

Thought you might like to see a picture of Lamont!

 

[SandyBee]

What a cutie,

Our Vet said for food 50% pellets, 40% vegetables, grains and seed, 10% fruit.
We leave pellets in all the time, he eats his breaky and dinner with us and that's where he gets his vegies and grains from as well as that is what we feed for fresh food. He gets treats of seed and nut.
I have not been able to get my Amazon to eat fruit yet, he just doesn't seem to like it.
I do give him red palm oil everyday with his breakfast.

 

[MonicaMc]

Cut out the dry seeds and replace with sprouted seeds! A great way to provide a healthier diet without completely removing seeds!

If he's not big on eating pellets, you can try different sizes of pellets, different brands of pellets (Harrison's, TOP's, Mazuri... wouldn't currently recommend Zupreem or Kaytee), moistening the pellets (water or organic fruit juice), crushing the pellets and mixing with other foods, etc.


I typically recommend a fresh/cooked foods to consist of 30% healthy grains (cooked or sprouted), 15% healthy legumes (health food store, not grocery store! - cooked or sprouted), 45% fresh mixed vegetables (frozen would be ok, best fresh - be sure to get vegetables rich in green, red, yellow and orange colors!) and 10% fruits (mixed berries and exotic fruits best, i.e. papaya and mango! Apples & bananas are alright, too!)... along with the occasional cooked eggs.


In short, use a huge variety of foods in small amounts! This is better than a small variety of foods in large amounts.


I also agree, get him flying! If he hasn't flown in years, his muscles may have atrophied, so it may take time to get him exercising properly, but exercise is a great way to help them lose weight.




Has he been to an avian vet for blood work and fecal? This would tell you what areas of the diet you need to concentrate on if he's lacking in anything.

 

[mcmalott]

I know the 2 owners prior to me (since he was 3 and he is now 30) and none of them have ever seen him fly - the last owner never clipped his wings nor have I - I do not think he knows how to fly....in addition to that as much as I would like for him to fly, our home is not set up for him to fly (we have a Westie and 2 cats - they would then see him as a toy and probably hurt or kill him)

I am going to try the organic juice with the pellets - I really think that might work with him - he adores fruit especially pomegranates

Thanks so much for your suggestions - I am NOT giving up!

 

[henpecked]

Oh Lamont is a good looking bird. Even if he does look like a girl to me, But i'm usually wrong about such things.

 

[mcmalott]

LOL so funny you should say that - my vet is doing a DNA test on him/her so we will finally know if he is a he or she! My husband is always calling him Flamont so I guess if he ends up being a girl that will be the name!

 

[mcmalott]

Curious why do you think he looks like a girl?

 

[MonicaMc]

A bird that has never really flown is unlikely to fly just for the hell of it (i.e. to enjoy the flight). An adult bird learning how to fly is more likely to fly from point A to point B and have no other reason to fly. This means that an adult learning to fly is probably going to fly less than a bird that has always flown. You can also teach a parrot to fly to certain places, and only allowing flight when the four legged creatures are elsewhere.

I also have a dog (1/2 akita 1/2 [insert breed, pit? lab? pit mix?]) and two cats. Charlie (my largest parrot at over 200 grams in weight) has chased the cats. I try not to allow interaction between them, but one time Charlie flew to the back of a couch. Squirt (our hunter cat) chased him by following him then jumping up on the back of the couch. I was running over to intervene when Charlie turned around and chased Squirt right back off the couch! Said cat has been known to chase and terrorize the poor dog. The dog? He's left to chasing animals outside, but he will not get closer than 6' to a cat who stands his or her ground!


I do understand the concern of having predator and prey in the same home! In fact, I worry more for my little birds (and the cats) than I do with Charlie! But it's still possible to have a flighted parrot in a home with predators!

 

[henpecked]

Just the shape of the head, boys are "square" looking. But it's very hard to tell,just a feeling really.

 

[Boysmom]

I feed my Zons a mix of half Roudybush pellets and half TOPS pellets. You might could try mixing the pellets with sweet potato mash or some bananas, then slowly add less of the additive.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

It can take a long time to switch birds over, it took Rosie 6 months to eat pellets and get off seeds.

Roudybush has a lot of fillers in it, I feed Rosie a mix of totally organic and Harrison pellets(she likes fine) and she is healthier then ever before.

A great way to save money is to make a chop mix and freeze it in week long baggies. I spent around $30 on food that's going to last at least 2 months but probably past 3. I made her this recipe

 

[henpecked]

I would remind you that fresh foods should not replace daily maintenance pellets. The pellets are formulated with trace minerals and vitamins and are meant to supply all needed nutriments. Something that is hard to do with fresh foods. Variety is the key.