Need Help!

[Niteldy]

I weighed my Stan today and to my shock and horror he has lost 1 ounce. I saw the vet a month and a half ago and he said he was healthy- Now Im not sure why except he isnt getting potato chips or cake or bad things anymore- previous to coming to me he was living in a bad situation not getting the right food- then he went to another person who couldnt spend anytime with him and let him just free roam in a room with other birds and they ate mostly sunflower seeds and junk food with very little attention because Stan hates men and refused to be touched by the man caring for him- Then I entered the picture one day- I visited and Stan went absolutely crazy whistling and yelling apple and trying to get at me, my friend was stunned as he watched, It took awhile ( 3 months and many visits) but I got him to finally allow me to take StanLee. Now I have taken away the sunflower seeds and replaced with a good seed mixture od 2 tablespoons a day , fresh fruit and veggies along with chop ! he eats twice a day and for training treats he loves popcorn. I fed this and he put on alot of weight when i got him he was skinney! Then I went to Vet and he weighed 10.6 ounces to my horror today he weighed 9.6 ounces that a loss of an entire ounce. I have noticed he is refusing to eat some foods and he refuses chop and always had no matter what I have done - I have tried all the tricks, sprinkling seed o it, fruit juice ugh you name it!! I am scared!! The feather plucking is getting harder he is plucking big feathers now and I put him in his cage or on one of his play perches when he gets to rubbing his back end on my shoulder and regurgitating on my ear!! Anyone know a Bird Psychologist???? Or can someone please help me?????? what can I do about his weight loss??? I am freaking out!!!

 

[benbfishin]

An once, isn't overly concerning..especially if changing his diet...the plucking could be stress related to the change of diet and lifestyle he was accustomed to...I would try an experiment...not to go back to his unhealthy ways, but give him a good seed based food for a bit..low in fat...pumpkin seeds for a treat instead of sunflower seeds..and experiment with dried fruits...see what he likes...spray him with water in the morning daily, as winter can cause thier skin to dry...if he continues to lose weight, by all means..take him to your vet....I hope this helps

 

[Laurasea]

28 grams is a lot!
Feather loss from plucking equals continuous calories burned trying replace lost feathers.
Plus depending on amount of bare skin from plucked areas a lot if calories are burned to maintain body temperature.

So a big help in saving calories would be to provide radiant heat. There are cafe Warmers by K And H . But I like the Sweeter heater you can find on Amazon. Radiant heat is safe not heat lamps.
Birds burn a lot of calories to stay warm.

When I had my old girl drop weight my vet allowed more seeds back to her diet.

Making feathers takes protein, so I'd offer boiled egg with some shell. Cooked lentils or chickpeas. A few nuts , I use walnuts.

On veggies. Most parrots like peppers and they are a great source of vitamin A! Mine like yellow bell pepper abd red chili pepper best. You can offer warm cooked sweet potatoes mashed mine love that as well. Sometimes some steamed veggies chopped up and mixed with warm cooked quinoa go over well. There is also pasta made from chickpeas cook and serve warm. But don't save and reserve as pasta and rice grow nasties even in fridge thst birds are way more sensitive than people.

For birds that don't have a great diet and don't eat well. You can get baby burd formula and make thick like yogurt and served warm from fingers. As a supplement once a day. Its complete nutrition.

Also I hide ground up and moistened pellets in everything! In oatmeal or scramble eggs, in home made bird muffins, or with the healthy pasta and veggies i mention earlier. Its important to get calories and nutrients into them...especially pluckers.

Some older burds can be real stinkers about taking veggies. But don't give up, it took 2 years for one of mine to really start taking a wider range of veggies. The more different texture and foods they will eat the better and better they fat at trying new foods. I offer all kinds of foods by hand this has helped them get better at trying stuff.

Sometimes I really suck st math.....so im going to ask Saxguy! Because if this really is 9% weight loss then you need to check with your avian vet. As anything over 5% body mass is a big deal . And you probably are going to have to give back more seeds.

I also give just a thumbnail size dab of peanut butter once a day as a high calorie snack to skinny / sick burds.

Even if was obese before a rapid weight-loss can hurt the liver.

Get a digital kitchen scale and weight in grams. I weigh daily if there is an issue otherwise weekly and log.

 

[Laurasea]

I'm hopeful your bird is not sick and that is just from rushing diet change.
But I'm linking this article because it talks about % weight loss and yours is at thst threshold of loss that is serious

Going Light and the Sick Bird Look - Bird Vet Melbourne

My Bird Looks Fluffed Up, What Should I Do? My bird looks 'fluffed up' - what should I do? Going Light and the Sick Bird Look . Birds in the wild have a natural instinct to hide their illness or injury so that they do not become a target for predation. This means that a

birdvetmelbourne.com

Excerpt from above
" WEIGHT LOSS:

“Going light” – weight loss in birds

Weight loss in birds or “going light” as it is sometimes known, can be a sign of disease, stress or malnutrition. Loss of just a small amount (even 5-10% body weight) is significant in birds, especially in small birds, as they don’t have much to lose.

Almost any illness can cause weight loss in birds. Diseases that cause weight loss include enteritis (caused by bacteria, viruses, worms or protozoa), immune suppressive diseases such as beak and feather disease or lymphoid leucosis, psittacosis, liver disease, hardware disease (which is the ingestion foreign materials that damages the gastrointestinal tract), toxicity including heavy metal poisoning and many other illnesses. Weight loss over a longer period of time may indicate more chronic diseases such as cancer or nutritional deficiencies."

Dog Conditions - Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Recovery, Management, and Cost

Dog condition information to check symptoms, discover causes, diagnose conditions, price check treatment and seek recovery.

wagwalking.com

Except from above
" A weight loss of more than 3% of body weight from your bird over several days, indicates that your pet should be taken to your veterinarian soon. If your bird loses over 5%, then this is a very serious situation and needs immediate help. It may be life threatening for your pet so don’t linger. "

But I don't want to stress you out, because I don't know how fast this loss was. And you do have a change in diet and not wanting to eat the good stuff that you can hopefully blame this weightloss on. But I do want to agree with you that it is a big deal to have lost so much. If it was me I would have vet check out bird, abd if it was my vet she would have me give back seeds and go slower on diet conversion

 

[Laurasea]

An once, isn't overly concerning..especially if changing his diet...the plucking could be stress related to the change of diet and lifestyle he was accustomed to...I would try an experiment...not to go back to his unhealthy ways, but give him a good seed based food for a bit..low in fat...pumpkin seeds for a treat instead of sunflower seeds..and experiment with dried fruits...see what he likes...spray him with water in the morning daily, as winter can cause thier skin to dry...if he continues to lose weight, by all means..take him to your vet....I hope this helps

Because weight doesn't translate well across species of different sizes. Its best to go by body % mass loss .

Again my math can be questioned but I believe its weight lost in grams divide by original weight in grams x 100 = % lost.

 

[Niteldy]

Thank you all so much! and thanks for the food tips!!! I did take StanLee to the vet and he said that he is fine- that he had a seriously stressful life before I got him- He knew him previously, lucky for me... He told me to continue and to let him know if he loses any more weight. But for now he is living the life he should have had all along and he is happy. Thanks to you all I was so scared!!!

 

[SailBoat]

We have long discounted any weight change when the weight is taken anytime not first thing in the morning prior to morning meal and after morning movement (poop). This assure a solid base to compare against other weights take the same way.

We have a DYH Amazon and a gram one way or the other is less than a moment.

Great advice above!!

 

[Laurasea]

Great that vet gave him the once over. Blood work?
Any thoughts on his diet conversion and dislike for all things healthy?

Hopefully he will decide veggies and pellets are yummy.

plucking often get worse at first in a new home even if its a better happier place. You are doing a great job with him.
Glad he is with you getting a chance at a better life!