I hope you allow me to make a collective post in response to all your input. I appreciatel your help more than you could ever know!
Diet: the "base" food are Nutri-berries, recommended by both the bird store and the vet. He only picks out the safflower seeds, he will not eat anything else - it goes to waste.
Although Roudybush pellets are offered on a permanent basis, he doesn't touch them. I've tried feeding him oatmeal mixed with water, orange juice, apple juice, cranberry juice (all of the juices freshly extracted from fruit). He will NOT even try the oatmeal or any fruit, but I keep offering.
I've tried every vegetable I could think of, raw and cooked. No go.
I give him "Bean Cuisine", a mixture of cooked brown rice, peas, a variety of beans, barley, pasta, green and brown lentils, and some other seeds I don't recognize. He will eat some of it, but is very picky. He mostly eats the small white beans. I also have a veggie "soak" that he refuses.
What he loves to eat: what I eat, minus the vegetables. I trick him sometimes but he's too smart. He spits them out every time. Spaghetti, rice, bread, fish, and chicken are never rejected. He pretty much displays the same food predilection as Clover, but she at least eats apples, grapes, corn, and broccoli. I've read that Quakers aren't into veggies very much. Lately she's even trying strawberries, but they have to be on the green side... she hates anything pink, orange, red, or dark blue. If the grapes aren't green, they have to be PEELED (thank you very much).
Now that he is disabled because of his collar I am going to grind up his Roudibush and I am lighly cooking some veggies. I will grind them into mush and mix with the ground up pellets and some fresh carrot juice. He will get it by syringe... he seems to love the syringe. Maybe I'll start mushing up all veggies and fruits and feed them by syringe, that way I know how much he eats. He can eat his Nutri-berries (or part of them) to keep himself entertained as long as I know he's getting some real nutrition.
Heavy metal toxicity test: I will ask for an X-Ray (in case there's a problem with the bone in his leg) and the metal toxicity test to be done first. Thanks for that suggestion.
Toys: he's attached to a large bell that (I think) is his mate. He will sometimes pick at his preening toys, but prefers anything with a bell on it. Bells are definitely a turn-on though! I will ask the vet whether he believes that sexual frustration could be the cause of his behavior. Could it be that Clover's presence frustrates him even MORE? She was DNA'd female and he has tried to feed her regurgitated food. She wanted no part of it and gave him the cold shoulder.
This morning he ate from the syringe, but now he's being very aggressive towards me. I don't blame him, he's miserable and can't move around much.
Can I still at least mist him while he has the collar on? There is a lot of new feather growth, specially on his shoulders, his neck, throat, and wings. His belly will unfortunately remain bare forever. There is nothing growing there, not even a trace. he does have some small yellowish bumps on the belly, but I doubt those are going to turn into feathers, I think they might be fat deposits.
Again, thank you all and keep it coming. I can't try everything at once, but one thing after another, or I won't know what works! I'll update tomorrow after the vet visit!
I keep having to edit my posts because I don't notice mistakes until AFTER I post
Sorry, I have to add a quick question: is it normal for parrots to produce crop milk?
? The onions and mushrooms are mine, but he will get to eat abundantly from all the other things on the table I brought home after my weekly grocery shop.
