Obesity

[jousze]

Well so apparently my amazon is starting to be a bit obese (I don’t know how do we spell this word).
I wanted to ask you all how should I react and how to make him stop suffering from obesity I guess??
Thank you!

 

[itzjbean]

What's his current diet, what do you feed him now? Did you get this diagnosis from a vet?

A good quality pellet with a diverse array of mainly vegetables would be best for him to stay healthy. Fruits should be given sparingly since they have lots of sugar. No table food, no seeds, low fat nuts.

 

[jousze]

What's his current diet, what do you feed him now? Did you get this diagnosis from a vet?

A good quality pellet with a diverse array of mainly vegetables would be best for him to stay healthy. Fruits should be given sparingly since they have lots of sugar. No table food, no seeds, low fat nuts.

Yes she did. She told me he is just starting so that we can stop it and that it might be because in the store he was just eating seeds (sunflower seeds mostly).

He eats a veggie and fruit chop in the morning, and then he has pellets available during the whole day and some seeds, because as you know he doesn’t completely eat pellets yet.

So well he eats that, and sunflower seeds as treat.

How much food should I give him? I have always had this doubt and no one have ever answered me.. he’s a blue fronted. So I’d like to know how many times a day and how much food should I give him.. I give him like 2 table spoons of chop (half of his bowl) the morning and then I just leave pellets available the whole day.

He’s weighting 330gr.

 

[texsize]

I mix just a handful of seed in with pellets for my YNA.
He has to pick through the pellets to find the seeds. He eats other stuff (corn on the cob, birdy bread and some veggies).
Unfortunately he is the biggest beggar for human food when he sees and hears us fixing and eating food. We try to avoid the worst stuff like salty foods but it aint easy.
texsize

 

[ChristaNL]

Before we start discussing weightloss and weighing every day ...
you are still talking about your baby-bird yes?

This one is not even done growing (it was hardly weaned when you got it)-
so I would say (and especially since your vet was spouting nonsense the last time you were there) ignore her and just feed your bird the healthy-stuff,
there are mealplans (what is good ot eat and what not) in the amazon-part of the forum.

A growing bird especially needs nutritional things (so: no peanuts or sunflowerseeds / save those for training if you bird doesn't want to work for anything else) not a strict weightloss-diet.
You are doing great with vegetables and pellets - just give you bird time..

Obese is NOT in numbers on a scale, it's mostly about "can you feel a fatty layer on/ around the keel",
some birds are larger than other birds, parent-raised-birds are generally speaking larger& heavier than the ones taken from the nest early or from incubators -> it's been that way for ages.


Your bird flies / is fully flighted -> that means is has more muscles (and muscles are heavy!) than a clipped, sitting down bird. So of course he is on the heavy side of the scale.

Japie gained about 30 grams since he learned to fly and he does not fly all that much, just short distances (a few metres at the time)

 

[SailBoat]

Excellent information above!

A young BFA at 330 grams does not have a problem with Obesity, yet. As adult nominates, this large family of Blue-Fronted Amazons range from 375 to 550 grams depending on the sub-species.

The diet for a young Amazon includes a very wide and varied array of veggies and as stated a very limited amount of fruits (sugars). Regarding seeds; No Sun Flower Seeds (and its look a likes). But, the very wide and varied array of seeds, grains and low fat nuts are in fact good for the function of their crop and gut. Pellets can become a serious issue if the amount of protein and sugar is not closely monitored. Some types are high in both!

If you are providing Sunflower seed (and/or its look a likes) cut it out of the diet! Peanuts also need to be eliminated from the diet. Both are high in protein and lead to fatty liver problems and Obesity.

Get your Amazon moving around and keep food available all day long. Any Parrot that becomes fearful of starvation develops serious behavioral problems. Never limit the availability of food (low protein /low fat). Look at making foraging part of your Amazons busy day!

Please read with detail that Huge Thread in the Amazon Forum highlighted in light blue near the top of the page: I Love Amazons - ... Within that Huge Thread you will find Segments that speak to Diet and keeping an Amazon busy (flighted) and how.

NOTE: Any Time the Huge muscles of the chest drive the wings and as a result the compression of the Air Sacks strengthens the heart, air sacks and muscles of your Amazon. This uses vast reserves of energy and keeps you Amazon Healthy.


Even a walker and climber will be healthier than an Parrot which sits all day long!

 

[goodfellowsheryl]

My yh Amazon was 500 grams at the vets and vet said he was fat. I'm trying to cut out the bad stuff

Sent from my LG-V533 using Tapatalk

 

[jousze]

Before we start discussing weightloss and weighing every day ...
you are still talking about your baby-bird yes?

This one is not even done growing (it was hardly weaned when you got it)-
so I would say (and especially since your vet was spouting nonsense the last time you were there) ignore her and just feed your bird the healthy-stuff,
there are mealplans (what is good ot eat and what not) in the amazon-part of the forum.

A growing bird especially needs nutritional things (so: no peanuts or sunflowerseeds / save those for training if you bird doesn't want to work for anything else) not a strict weightloss-diet.
You are doing great with vegetables and pellets - just give you bird time..

Obese is NOT in numbers on a scale, it's mostly about "can you feel a fatty layer on/ around the keel",
some birds are larger than other birds, parent-raised-birds are generally speaking larger& heavier than the ones taken from the nest early or from incubators -> it's been that way for ages.


Your bird flies / is fully flighted -> that means is has more muscles (and muscles are heavy!) than a clipped, sitting down bird. So of course he is on the heavy side of the scale.

Japie gained about 30 grams since he learned to fly and he does not fly all that much, just short distances (a few metres at the time)

Yes the baby!
But my vet told me that we know when they start being obese when in the keel the shape starts to be more like an M, and it should be juste like half ball, I don’t know if you understand me here..

And yes he is flighted and flies quite a lot.

 

[jousze]

Excellent information above!

A young BFA at 330 grams does not have a problem with Obesity, yet. As adult nominates, this large family of Blue-Fronted Amazons range from 375 to 550 grams depending on the sub-species.

The diet for a young Amazon includes a very wide and varied array of veggies and as stated a very limited amount of fruits (sugars). Regarding seeds; No Sun Flower Seeds (and its look a likes). But, the very wide and varied array of seeds, grains and low fat nuts are in fact good for the function of their crop and gut. Pellets can become a serious issue if the amount of protein and sugar is not closely monitored. Some types are high in both!

If you are providing Sunflower seed (and/or its look a likes) cut it out of the diet! Peanuts also need to be eliminated from the diet. Both are high in protein and lead to fatty liver problems and Obesity.

Get your Amazon moving around and keep food available all day long. Any Parrot that becomes fearful of starvation develops serious behavioral problems. Never limit the availability of food (low protein /low fat). Look at making foraging part of your Amazons busy day!

Please read with detail that Huge Thread in the Amazon Forum highlighted in light blue near the top of the page: I Love Amazons - ... Within that Huge Thread you will find Segments that speak to Diet and keeping an Amazon busy (flighted) and how.

NOTE: Any Time the Huge muscles of the chest drive the wings and as a result the compression of the Air Sacks strengthens the heart, air sacks and muscles of your Amazon. This uses vast reserves of energy and keeps you Amazon Healthy.


Even a walker and climber will be healthier than an Parrot which sits all day long!

Gonna search that post thank you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jousze]

My yh Amazon was 500 grams at the vets and vet said he was fat. I'm trying to cut out the bad stuff

Sent from my LG-V533 using Tapatalk

But a yellow headed is bigger than a blue fronted right? I don’t see it fat for him 500gr.

 

[ChristaNL]

I understand the "shape"thingy.
The problem is that most vets only see clipped birds - and they have a very different developed breast-part than flighted birds.

(its like comparing people who work in an office all day with athletes or balletdancers -> both human, but very different in shape!)

Never judge on appearences, just feel!
A bird may look just fine, but actually feel like skin and bones, or it may look just fine and when you touch it...it will feel squishy because of the fat.


I had this with Sunny: she really *did* have a layer of fat on her when she arrived here: sugary pellets and peanuts and no excercise -> she is almost 1/4 kilo heavier now!
No more fatty layer! If I lift her now or just feel her keel I feel skin and muscles, not skin and squish.
I did not put her on a diet: I just changed it to better quality pellets, greens, more varied nuts - she is a macaw, so she needs the fattyness!- and she got out more. No flying for her (if ever) unfortunately but just some interactive playing, running around and climbing in a far larger cage did the trick.
.

 

[jousze]

I understand the "shape"thingy.
The problem is that most vets only see clipped birds - and they have a very different developped breast-part than flighted birds.

(its like comparing people who work in an office all day with athletes or balletdancers -> both human, but very different in shape!)

Never judge on appearences, just feel!
A bird may look just fine, but actually feel like skin and bones, or it may look just fine and when you touch it...it will feel squishy because of the fat.


I had this with Sunny: she really *did* have a layer of fat on her when she arrived here: sugary pellets and peanuts and no excercise -> she is almost 1/4 kilo heavier now!
No more fatty layer! If I lift her now or just feel her keel I feel skin and muscles, not skin and squish.
I did not put her on a diet: I just changed it to better quality pellets, greens, more varied nuts - she is a macaw, so she needs the fattyness!- and she got out more. No flying for her (if ever) unfortunately but just some interactive playing, running around and climbing in a far larger cage did the trick.
.

Thanks Christa!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

What's his current diet, what do you feed him now? Did you get this diagnosis from a vet?

A good quality pellet with a diverse array of mainly vegetables would be best for him to stay healthy. Fruits should be given sparingly since they have lots of sugar. No table food, no seeds, low fat nuts.

Yes she did. She told me he is just starting so that we can stop it and that it might be because in the store he was just eating seeds (sunflower seeds mostly).

He eats a veggie and fruit chop in the morning, and then he has pellets available during the whole day and some seeds, because as you know he doesn’t completely eat pellets yet.

So well he eats that, and sunflower seeds as treat.

How much food should I give him? I have always had this doubt and no one have ever answered me.. he’s a blue fronted. So I’d like to know how many times a day and how much food should I give him.. I give him like 2 table spoons of chop (half of his bowl) the morning and then I just leave pellets available the whole day.

He’s weighting 330gr.

330g's??? Wow that's is TINY for a Blue Front lol Amy is almost 30 yrs old and at her "good" weight she wavers between 485 to 505 grs..Her last check-up she WAS overweight tho at a massive 548g's! but her heart condition is causing this. I've stopped all people food and absolutely NO seeds. She has a bowl of Roudybush pellets anytime she wants and eats servant made birdie muffins with 100% all organic veggies,fruits,and other "healthy" things..How old is your BF??


Jim

 

[jousze]

What's his current diet, what do you feed him now? Did you get this diagnosis from a vet?



A good quality pellet with a diverse array of mainly vegetables would be best for him to stay healthy. Fruits should be given sparingly since they have lots of sugar. No table food, no seeds, low fat nuts.

Yes she did. She told me he is just starting so that we can stop it and that it might be because in the store he was just eating seeds (sunflower seeds mostly).



He eats a veggie and fruit chop in the morning, and then he has pellets available during the whole day and some seeds, because as you know he doesn’t completely eat pellets yet.



So well he eats that, and sunflower seeds as treat.



How much food should I give him? I have always had this doubt and no one have ever answered me.. he’s a blue fronted. So I’d like to know how many times a day and how much food should I give him.. I give him like 2 table spoons of chop (half of his bowl) the morning and then I just leave pellets available the whole day.



He’s weighting 330gr.

330g's??? Wow that's is TINY for a Blue Front lol Amy is almost 30 yrs old and at her "good" weight she wavers between 485 to 505 grs..Her last check-up she WAS overweight tho at a massive 548g's! but her heart condition is causing this. I've stopped all people food and absolutely NO seeds. She has a bowl of Roudybush pellets anytime she wants and eats servant made birdie muffins with 100% all organic veggies,fruits,and other "healthy" things..How old is your BF??





Jim

He’s just 5 months, not even.

 

[SailBoat]

As Christa so well stated, its not looks, its feel. Our Julio is a 21 year old, (near) nominate Double Yellow-Headed Amazon, who is a Strong active flyer, walker, climber that continues to push 490 to 500 grams. Based on the 'looks' view, he has a belly. When one feels the chest, that's all solid muscle. And, as Christa so clearly pointed-out, muscle is heavier than fat. Add the weight of a full tail (he is a plucker) and he would be in the 510 to 520 gram range and on the low end of the nominate scale for DYH Amazons.

An active flyer status 5 month old BFA at 330 is more likely a bit light. Target changing the diet and keep your Amazon flying. Also as Christa pointed out, the vast majority of Vets do not see flyers and as a result tend not to feel the chest muscles.

I am a strong believer in educating our Vets, Avian Vets and yes even our Certified Avian Vets. Today's Vet has likely only seen a couple of true flyers from their days in school until now. If your Parrot is a Flyer, I strongly believe that one must clearly state that fact! With the supporting information regarding Muscle being heavier, etc... At that point, their education will kick in and everything will make sense. I always assure that our Amazon Flighted Status is both in his records and I build it into each visit's discussions! Flyers are just that rare!

 

[Amsterdam]

Put him out of his cage watch his diet make him excercise alot!

 

[jousze]

As Christa so well stated, its not looks, its feel. Our Julio is a 21 year old, (near) nominate Double Yellow-Headed Amazon, who is a Strong active flyer, walker, climber that continues to push 490 to 500 grams. Based on the 'looks' view, he has a belly. When one feels the chest, that's all solid muscle. And, as Christa so clearly pointed-out, muscle is heavier than fat. Add the weight of a full tail (he is a plucker) and he would be in the 510 to 520 gram range and on the low end of the nominate scale for DYH Amazons.

An active flyer status 5 month old BFA at 330 is more likely a bit light. Target changing the diet and keep your Amazon flying. Also as Christa pointed out, the vast majority of Vets do not see flyers and as a result tend not to feel the chest muscles.

I am a strong believer in educating our Vets, Avian Vets and yes even our Certified Avian Vets. Today's Vet has likely only seen a couple of true flyers from their days in school until now. If your Parrot is a Flyer, I strongly believe that one must clearly state that fact! With the supporting information regarding Muscle being heavier, etc... At that point, their education will kick in and everything will make sense. I always assure that our Amazon Flighted Status is both in his records and I build it into each visit's discussions! Flyers are just that rare!

He’s a flier but he flies just since he’s with me so 3 weeks more or less.. before that he had never flown..

 

[EllenD]

Something that you need to keep in mind, especially with an Amazon because they are extremely prone to this issue when they become overweight at all, is that the likelihood of your bird starting to develop "Lipoma's" all over it's body...If you look in the Amazon forum right now, the 1st or 2nd post is regarding an Amazon with a large, soft growth on it's chest area, and it's likely it's first Lipoma.

Lipoma's are tumors that initially consist of only lipid (fat) tissue when they first develop, and the cause of them is simply because they are overweight, and extra fat-stores and cells start to form into encapsulated tumors, and these fatty tumors typically develop all over their bodies, and are typically plentiful; birds who are overweight/obese often develop dozens of Lipoma's all over their bodies...And for whatever reason, Amazon's in-particular are extremely prone to both obesity and to developing multiple Lipoma's all over their bodies.

***The danger of your bird developing Lipoma's (in addition to him developing Fatty Liver Disease, which he most likely already is suffering from), is that even though they are benign and do not usually post a cancerous threat, they do however pose other very serious and often fatal complications. If a Lipoma develops, typically Avian Vets don't like to remove them, because of the major risk that anesthesia poses to all birds. So typically the treatment for Lipoma's is to simply get the bird to lose weight and burn fat-cells, thus shrinking the Lipoma(s). However, they never go away completely, and they are encapsulated, so they will always be there once they form. So if the bird never loses weight, or if they lose weight and then gain it back, the Lipoma's that the bird has will continue to grow, and depending on where on the bird's body the Lipoma's are, they can become large enough that they either form their own blood-supply, OR start to "steal" the existing blood-supply from a neighboring organ, OR they can of course grow into/attach to vital organs, or a combination of all of these.

If and when Lipoma's develop their own blood-supply or grow into a neighboring organ or it's blood-supply, then that's when they usually become totally "inoperable", and if they start to rob a vital organ's blood-supply, this can obviously kill the bird. Lipoma's can also cause permanent disabilities in birds if they grow into nerve supplies, grow into muscles, or more devastatingly they grow into their spinal column, into their cranial and/or facial nerves that supply their eyes, ears, sinuses, etc., or if they grow into an area of their body that makes it impossible for the bird to move/walk/fly normally, or at all, such as on their wings, on their legs, around their vent/cloaca area, etc.

****Bottom-line is that when most bird owners are told that their parrot's are "overweight" or "obese", they automatically think about issues such as Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, problems flying, etc. (or other pet owner's for that matter, as this issue effects all types of pets, from dogs and cats to very often occurring in rodents). But what they don't think about are the most common issues caused by their bird's being overweight, the most-common issue being the development for Fatty-Tumors or "Lipoma's", especially in ALL SPECIES of Amazons.

I don't know why Amazons are so plagued by Lipoma's (Amazons develop Lipoma's at least twice as often than all other species of parrots combined, that's how common they are in Amazons), maybe it's because Amazons are just more susceptible to becoming overweight/obese than any other parrot species in the first place, I don't know, but I have seen many, many obese Amazons at the Rescue compared to any other parrot species we see. Either way, if you Google search "Lipoma's in parrots" you'll see not only how common they are, but also how serious these simple, Fatty Tumors can become.

***Something else to keep in-mind is that it's not the amount of food you feed your bird, but rather the kinds of foods you are feeding him. Birds like to eat throughout the entire day, picking at their food sporadically in little sessions throughout the day, all day long, and that's fine, this isn't the issue. And believe it or not, even if your parrot was not weaned onto a daily staple diet of pellets but rather onto a daily staple diet of seed-mix, or if you're having issues getting your bird to transition from a daily staple diet of seed-mix to pellets, that doesn't mean that your bird is automatically going to be overweight or develop Fatty Liver Disease!

In recent years with the huge "push" by some Avian Vets and from the information found on the internet to switch all of our pet, captive birds from a daily staple diet of a seed-mix to one of pellets, it's very difficult to still get the point across that there is a huge difference between a healthy, low-fat, varied, fortified seed-mix and any of the MANY unhealthy, high-fat seed-mixes that are readily available everywhere, and that are very cheap. I am one of the long-time parrot owners and breeders who believes that it's important that my birds still eat seeds, legumes, grains, etc. every single day, as their bodies, specifically their GI Tracts from their crops downward, are designed to digest and process seeds, as are their beaks, and more importantly, their brains. Pellets do not exist in nature, they are totally man-made, and as such our birds do not ever innately look at a pellet for the first time, even as unweaned babies, and say "ooh, pellets!". I have always fed all of my parrots (not my Dove, obviously) a main, daily staple of a Natural-flavored Pellet (no Fruit-flavored Pellets, as they are full of sugars, which simply end-up as stored, unburned fat in captive birds), IN ADDITION TO a small, daily amount of a healthy, low-fat, fortified seed-mix, and then fresh veggies every single day.

So the point is that it doesn't have to be all-or-nothing, and it doesn't have to be one-extreme or the other! If your bird has always been fed a daily staple diet of seed-mixes and has not and will not eat pellets, but you are desperate to improve their overall health and nutrition, reduce their weight if they are overweight/obese, reverse a diagnosis of Fatty Liver Disease, shrink-down Lipoma's that your bird has on it's body, etc., the first step should NOT EVER BE going out and buying a bag of pellets and suddenly just trying to switch them over completely to pellets and no seed-mix at all,
as usually this doesn't go well at all. The very first step in this process should be going out to a pet store, not a grocery store or department store like Walmart or Target, and choosing a new seed-mix that you can start feeding your bird right away and that they will willingly start eating right away (usually) that is healthy, low in fat,
low in sugars, that contains NO SUNFLOWER SEEDS OF ANY KIND, No Peanuts or other Nuts of any kind, No Corn of any kind, but rather contains an extremely varied mix of many different types of healthy seeds, legumes, grains, dried veggies and fruits, and in some cases, such as with Tropimix seed-mix, they even contain a healthy pellet in the seed-mix. Simply changing your bird's daily seed-mix from a high-fat, high-sugar, high starch, junky one to a high-quality, healthy, low-fat, low-sugar one will make all the difference in the world to your bird's overall health and nutrition. THEN, once you make this change which is drastic and huge to your bird's health yet not a big deal psychologically to your bird, THEN you can start to gradually transition your bird from having their main daily staple diet being a seed-mix to being a Natural-flavored Pellet. If you do it this way, you're immediately improving your bird's overall health, weight, and nutrition without feeling like you have to immediately force a transition onto pellets, which usually takes times and can be tremendously stressful for your bird.

 

[jousze]

Something that you need to keep in mind, especially with an Amazon because they are extremely prone to this issue when they become overweight at all, is that the likelihood of your bird starting to develop "Lipoma's" all over it's body...If you look in the Amazon forum right now, the 1st or 2nd post is regarding an Amazon with a large, soft growth on it's chest area, and it's likely it's first Lipoma.



Lipoma's are tumors that initially consist of only lipid (fat) tissue when they first develop, and the cause of them is simply because they are overweight, and extra fat-stores and cells start to form into encapsulated tumors, and these fatty tumors typically develop all over their bodies, and are typically plentiful; birds who are overweight/obese often develop dozens of Lipoma's all over their bodies...And for whatever reason, Amazon's in-particular are extremely prone to both obesity and to developing multiple Lipoma's all over their bodies.



***The danger of your bird developing Lipoma's (in addition to him developing Fatty Liver Disease, which he most likely already is suffering from), is that even though they are benign and do not usually post a cancerous threat, they do however pose other very serious and often fatal complications. If a Lipoma develops, typically Avian Vets don't like to remove them, because of the major risk that anesthesia poses to all birds. So typically the treatment for Lipoma's is to simply get the bird to lose weight and burn fat-cells, thus shrinking the Lipoma(s). However, they never go away completely, and they are encapsulated, so they will always be there once they form. So if the bird never loses weight, or if they lose weight and then gain it back, the Lipoma's that the bird has will continue to grow, and depending on where on the bird's body the Lipoma's are, they can become large enough that they either form their own blood-supply, OR start to "steal" the existing blood-supply from a neighboring organ, OR they can of course grow into/attach to vital organs, or a combination of all of these.



If and when Lipoma's develop their own blood-supply or grow into a neighboring organ or it's blood-supply, then that's when they usually become totally "inoperable", and if they start to rob a vital organ's blood-supply, this can obviously kill the bird. Lipoma's can also cause permanent disabilities in birds if they grow into nerve supplies, grow into muscles, or more devastatingly they grow into their spinal column, into their cranial and/or facial nerves that supply their eyes, ears, sinuses, etc., or if they grow into an area of their body that makes it impossible for the bird to move/walk/fly normally, or at all, such as on their wings, on their legs, around their vent/cloaca area, etc.



****Bottom-line is that when most bird owners are told that their parrot's are "overweight" or "obese", they automatically think about issues such as Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, problems flying, etc. (or other pet owner's for that matter, as this issue effects all types of pets, from dogs and cats to very often occurring in rodents). But what they don't think about are the most common issues caused by their bird's being overweight, the most-common issue being the development for Fatty-Tumors or "Lipoma's", especially in ALL SPECIES of Amazons.



I don't know why Amazons are so plagued by Lipoma's (Amazons develop Lipoma's at least twice as often than all other species of parrots combined, that's how common they are in Amazons), maybe it's because Amazons are just more susceptible to becoming overweight/obese than any other parrot species in the first place, I don't know, but I have seen many, many obese Amazons at the Rescue compared to any other parrot species we see. Either way, if you Google search "Lipoma's in parrots" you'll see not only how common they are, but also how serious these simple, Fatty Tumors can become.



***Something else to keep in-mind is that it's not the amount of food you feed your bird, but rather the kinds of foods you are feeding him. Birds like to eat throughout the entire day, picking at their food sporadically in little sessions throughout the day, all day long, and that's fine, this isn't the issue. And believe it or not, even if your parrot was not weaned onto a daily staple diet of pellets but rather onto a daily staple diet of seed-mix, or if you're having issues getting your bird to transition from a daily staple diet of seed-mix to pellets, that doesn't mean that your bird is automatically going to be overweight or develop Fatty Liver Disease!



In recent years with the huge "push" by some Avian Vets and from the information found on the internet to switch all of our pet, captive birds from a daily staple diet of a seed-mix to one of pellets, it's very difficult to still get the point across that there is a huge difference between a healthy, low-fat, varied, fortified seed-mix and any of the MANY unhealthy, high-fat seed-mixes that are readily available everywhere, and that are very cheap. I am one of the long-time parrot owners and breeders who believes that it's important that my birds still eat seeds, legumes, grains, etc. every single day, as their bodies, specifically their GI Tracts from their crops downward, are designed to digest and process seeds, as are their beaks, and more importantly, their brains. Pellets do not exist in nature, they are totally man-made, and as such our birds do not ever innately look at a pellet for the first time, even as unweaned babies, and say "ooh, pellets!". I have always fed all of my parrots (not my Dove, obviously) a main, daily staple of a Natural-flavored Pellet (no Fruit-flavored Pellets, as they are full of sugars, which simply end-up as stored, unburned fat in captive birds), IN ADDITION TO a small, daily amount of a healthy, low-fat, fortified seed-mix, and then fresh veggies every single day.



So the point is that it doesn't have to be all-or-nothing, and it doesn't have to be one-extreme or the other! If your bird has always been fed a daily staple diet of seed-mixes and has not and will not eat pellets, but you are desperate to improve their overall health and nutrition, reduce their weight if they are overweight/obese, reverse a diagnosis of Fatty Liver Disease, shrink-down Lipoma's that your bird has on it's body, etc., the first step should NOT EVER BE going out and buying a bag of pellets and suddenly just trying to switch them over completely to pellets and no seed-mix at all,

as usually this doesn't go well at all. The very first step in this process should be going out to a pet store, not a grocery store or department store like Walmart or Target, and choosing a new seed-mix that you can start feeding your bird right away and that they will willingly start eating right away (usually) that is healthy, low in fat,

low in sugars, that contains NO SUNFLOWER SEEDS OF ANY KIND, No Peanuts or other Nuts of any kind, No Corn of any kind, but rather contains an extremely varied mix of many different types of healthy seeds, legumes, grains, dried veggies and fruits, and in some cases, such as with Tropimix seed-mix, they even contain a healthy pellet in the seed-mix. Simply changing your bird's daily seed-mix from a high-fat, high-sugar, high starch, junky one to a high-quality, healthy, low-fat, low-sugar one will make all the difference in the world to your bird's overall health and nutrition. THEN, once you make this change which is drastic and huge to your bird's health yet not a big deal psychologically to your bird, THEN you can start to gradually transition your bird from having their main daily staple diet being a seed-mix to being a Natural-flavored Pellet. If you do it this way, you're immediately improving your bird's overall health, weight, and nutrition without feeling like you have to immediately force a transition onto pellets, which usually takes times and can be tremendously stressful for your bird.

I have the feeling that every time I read your posts I get depressed.. [emoji20]
But I agree, it’s what I’m trying to do, and I hope that he doesn’t get any of all those illnesses..