Warning to all parrot owners!!!

[skywoman]

I joined the forum to specifically warn all owners about something the vets here in Virginia won't tell you. My beloved female Sun Conure, Ti Lu" of 15 years is dying right now. She's only been to the vet 3x in all this time. One was for an impacted egg and the second was for an infection - both scenarios learning experiences for me but rectified and never repeated. Both time the vets said - well, you really should switch to pelleted food because the seeds and black sunflower seeds aren't the best for her - they did not tell me that sunflower seeds and parrot commercial seeds will CAUSE YOUR PARROT LIVER FAILUE AND KILL HER. - OF COURSE NOT - IT TAKES THEIR BUSiNESS AWAY....my Tilu has accompanied me for years outside and loves me. If she flew it wasn't far and her comical little self would laugh at me as I would try to find her in the tree branches. She is dying because no one told me seeds were bad and that the pelleted foods were best until it was too late. Liver fatty damage causes seizures in the later stages. Two nights ago she fell off my shoulder into the sink. Last night she knew something was bad and changing and she kept telling me about it when I put her in her favorite evening place inside my shirt. Anyone who is reading this - this is no joke, please save yourself the heartbreak. Merry Christmas

 

[weco]

I'm sorry for your birds, but virtually every bird group and/or forum I am on and that's over 50 is rife with warnings/cautions about the continued feeding of seed only diets to companion birds and there are as many cautions about changing bird's doets to pelleted and fresh foods diets.....

I'm not trying to sound flip, but it is really hard to read through the archives of the postings/threads of any group or forum without reading at least half a dozen posts/threads concerning proper diets, with many of the more recent threads/postings dealing with specie specific diets.....

You are right about the failings of some veterinarians to disclose problem possibilities in diets, but 30 some odd years ago, when I first got involved with companion birds, there was considerably less information available than there is today.....

Unlike many, I tend to not take proffered/suggested information, without credible supporting data, so I've alway felt that it is incumbent on we parrot owners to seek the best care & most current information on diets, rather than wait for someone to tell me.....

Good luck, but the effects of bad diets can be slowed and in some cases reversed by feeding other than commercial bird foods.....

Good luck.....

 

[veimar]

I'm so sorry... Those vets are morons! My vet always recommend pellets, but... not all birds will eat pellets - none of mine ever touch Harrison or Zupreem no matted how hard I try. I use Volkman sunflower free seed mixes with fresh fruit/veggies, and give sunflower seed as a treat. I was told on day one on this forum that sunflower seeds are bad (my gcc loves them like crazy). Don't blame yourself - your bird might have not eaten the pellets. They are very hard and don't look like seeds - I wish they made softer crunchy pellets that would look and feel like little seeds!

 

[SilverSage]

I have to agree with weco, unfortunately, even 15 minutes on the internet looking for proper diets will reveal that dry seed diets are the junk food of the bird world. Pellets are better, but fresh food is best. I am sorry for your loss and I hope you are able to have a better, longer life with your next bird.

 

[Taw5106]

My nieces and nephews ask why I give Buddy and the dogs "people food" like fruits, veggies, egg,etc. I feed them real food along with pellets and kibble, all that meet recommended diets for each breed. The sad part, the kids think birds are suppose to eat seed from a bag, and dogs eat kibble from a bag. My response to them is in their history classes, did they learn about the kibble and seed factories going back to the dinosaurs yet? They say no, I ask why not. They tell me they didn't exist. Exactly. It's sad they think you feed pets from a bag, a sign of the times.

Buddy eats 100% fresh fruits, veggies some proteins and nuts as treats. He has pellets but won't eat them so I make sure he gets a nutritious mix. I agree with Weco, there is a ton of info on great diets and while we depend on vets for their skill and knowledge they are human too but we know ourselves and our pets the best.

 

[Kiwibird]

I'm so sorry to hear your beautiful girl has end stage liver disease Unfortunately, birds can appear healthy for many years with this condition leading you to believe they are healthy. Seed mixes were also the 'standard' diet for captive birds for time and eternity, and up until probably the last decade or so, pet stores still told new owners seed was what birds ate. I think pellets didn't even exist, or at least weren't available to the public until the 1980s or 1990s.

There is nothing at this point that can be done, but I do hope in the future if you choose to get another bird, you become active on a forum like this one so you can learn things you never knew and have a place to ask questions. And again, not that it matters at this point, but in the future if a vet suggests something without further explanation, ASK them to explain or go home and research it for yourself. New information on avian care comes out all the time, so it's important to be ever-diligient on keeping up with it.

 

[Birdman666]

1. Get as much aloe detox into this bird as you can... Aloe detox can, in some cases, REVERSE the affects of fatty liver disease.

BettyMills: Aloe Vera Supplements - Detox - Lily Of The Desert 45553

READ THIS! Carolyn had a prized eckie hen that she was told was going to die! She crammed as much aloe detox as she could into the bird, and at the next vet visit the bird HAD PERFECTLY NORMAL LIVER VALUES. Based on that recommendation, I did the same thing with my BFA. Her liver values went from "this bird should be dead by now" to "within normal limits!" THIS STUFF WORKS!!!

Land of Vos - General Care and Information Articles/Talk/Weaning/Aloe/General/Entertainment

2. The dangers of a seed diet are actually pretty well known, and the information on fatty liver disease is out there.