Vitamin a deficiency and Picky Eater

[ParU2]

My 35 year old Amazon Mexican Redhead has a vitamin A deficiency. He is being seen by a vet, but I'm looking for any suggestions on ways to incorporate more vitamin A into my parrot's diet since he is a picky eater. He mostly eats seeds and some human food. He will not eat pellets. I've tried many of the foods high in vitamin A and the only two that work on occasion are making him drink carrot juice and he will eat sweet potatoes from time to time.

Any suggestions on how to get more vitamin A into his diet is much appreciated.

 

[ravvlet]

Our similar age amazon had the same issue; he ended up really liking peppers - which our other amazon hates! I’m sorry you are struggling with this; it’s very frustrating. Have you tried different preparation or maybe odd/exotic stuff? We found trying different kinds of peppers helped, and chopping them very finely and mixing in seed garnered some interest also. Red peppers tend to have the highest concentration of vitamin A, but I believe all peppers are a decent source. I could be wrong.

 

[Cottonoid]

My parrot Cotton had Chlamydia when I adopted him and an assumed Vitamin A deficiency. I just kept trying different kinds of peppers and sweet potato until he tried enough of one thing for me to know he liked it. He LOVES those little mini sweet peppers you can buy now, and any mild pepper I grew in my garden, but he doesn't care as much for sweet potato raw/cooked/cubed/mashed doesn't seem to matter to him.

It also helped to sprinkle food he did like on top of the pepper chunks - he'd go for a seed and bite a little bit of pepper.

So maybe try preparing sweet potatoes in different ways each time - cube some up, do think slices, do some sticks, mash some. Mix some seeds into it and sprinkle a few on top, and see if that might entice him?

Good luck! I was SO relieved when Cotton started eating red pepper!

 

[Terry57]

My birds (even my very veggie-averse Amazon) love sweet potato cookies.
If I make the sweet potatoes just mashed and add cayenne pepper, they go crazy for it.
I'm going to link a thread with some recipes for different kinds of birdie bread and things like that, hopefully you'll find one he likes

Birdie Bread/Homemade Treats Recipes Resource Thread

Here is a link to different chop recipes for some other ideas:

Chop Recipes Resource Thread

 

[ParU2]

My parrot Cotton had Chlamydia when I adopted him and an assumed Vitamin A deficiency. I just kept trying different kinds of peppers and sweet potato until he tried enough of one thing for me to know he liked it. He LOVES those little mini sweet peppers you can buy now, and any mild pepper I grew in my garden, but he doesn't care as much for sweet potato raw/cooked/cubed/mashed doesn't seem to matter to him.

It also helped to sprinkle food he did like on top of the pepper chunks - he'd go for a seed and bite a little bit of pepper.

So maybe try preparing sweet potatoes in different ways each time - cube some up, do think slices, do some sticks, mash some. Mix some seeds into it and sprinkle a few on top, and see if that might entice him?

Good luck! I was SO relieved when Cotton started eating red pepper!

I really appreciate all the great suggestions from everyone. I had not thought about cutting up the peppers and mixing them with his seeds. I definitely going to try the sweet potato cookies I'll bet he will eat those...
@Cottonoid sounds like you have some experience dealing with a sick parrot. My parrot is sick and we are trying to figure it out. The parrot has never been around other birds. I first noticed some feathers coming in yellow. Then started noticing him closing one eye. He became very tired and the eye problem got worse and is now in both eyes. At this point, I visited a vet who said he has sickness in his throat. The vet put him on antibiotics and gave him a vitamin A shot. On the second visit, the vet said his throat was clear. However, he is still having eye problems and tiredness. Vet has given him some antibiotic eye medicine. Do you have any tips you can offer on dealing with a sick parrot and the best approach with a Vet?

 

[HeatherG]

My birds have sampled more peppers if the seeds are visible. So, I prepare peppers with the seeds showing.

bell peppers I will actually feed the seed core. Jalapenos I slice across or in half to show the seeds inside. Scotch bonnet peppers I cut in half to show the seeds.

The birds enjoy picking out the seeds, at the very least, and may sample some of the flesh of the pepper, too.

 

[Cottonoid]

The three main things I did when my parrot was sick was to wipe down his whole cage every day (he had chlamydiosis so this part was super important to prevent him reinfecting himself); make sure he was warm enough (I kept the room really warm, 80F, and also used a Sweeter Heater panel above his cage); and offered baby bird formula with his meals (I made it into a paste, like mashed potato consistency, and mixed some of his seed in.

I have a friend who checked in with me every day and showed me how to feed baby bird formula off a spoon or syringe but Cotton wouldn't get that close to me yet. It was super helpful to have someone in my corner that also agreed he was sick.

Do you have any other avian vets around to get a second opinion? I'm sorry you haven't gotten more answers about what could be going on! Have they done bloodwork yet to see how his kidneys and liver are doing?

How's he doing today?