Wrong coloring of Greenwings feathers

[Bubba27]

3 yrs years ago my 34 yr old male greenwing started showing feathers that were showing yellow in some blue and green feather area's. This coloring is on the 2 innermost large wing feathers that lay on his back and the occasional couple of smaller feather someplace else

My vet said to start giving him prime vitamins in his water which i have done every day since. The Bird vet said it would take several molts before i would see a change back to normal coloring.
I'm still seeing the strange coloring in new feathers after all of this time.

Has anyone else experienced this and found a solution, or know what the Vitamin deficiency is that's causing it?

Thanks for any help.

 

[chris-md]

Is your vet a certified avian vet?
What is the birds diet like?
Did you do a full blood panel?

A lot of times yellow feathers popping up can mean liver problems. Can sometimes just be a freak molt and will return o normal the next molt, but I’d want blood panels to check for signs of physiological distress.

 

[Bubba27]

I think his diet is good, he always has roudy bush pellets with a few raisins and peanuts in shell (3 a day).
His fresh foods include kale spinach carrots grapes apple cheese chicken or other protein,
Black Beans raw cauliflower broccoli scrambled egg, oatmeal, usually daily. Depending what we eat and we eat pretty healthy, he will get a little of that.
This varies depending on what we have. Hope that helps.
Unfortunately I’m 3 - 4 hrs from my vet and yes he is a certified bird vet.

 

[Scott]

Chris-md raises the excellent issue of lab tests. Avian vets typically run blood panels in search of scientific validation to diagnosis. On occasion they can "triage" common issues based on vast experience.

Moderation is key with high protein human foods such as eggs, chicken, and cheese. Macaws do require a bit more fat than other parrots. Please use extreme caution sourcing peanuts - aflatoxins often present with shells and potential risky.

 

[Bubba27]

I think you are on to something with to much high protein foods.
Bubba gets eggs, chicken & cheese daily. Probably 1/2 his intake or more. I give him healthy fruits and veg but he picks at and through it, eating some. Same with the pellets.

Is there a thread or site showing a better diet and foods to moderate and avoid ?
Thanks for all your help!

 

[chris-md]

That’s easy, you don’t need a website you have us!. Just for the record though, becuase im concerned you did this same thing to your vet, when someone asks you “what’s the diet like” and you neglect to mention possibly half his calories come from chicken/cheese/eggs, opting to gloss over to the fruits/veggies, you do your bird a disservice. You need to be honest about what you’re feeding your bird when seeking health related help. It can mean the difference between life and death.

The answer to your question is simple: if it’s not fruits, veggies, grains, legumes, or pellets, it should be minimized. Maybe a nip once a week, something like that. And nowhere to approach a meal replacement.

 

[Scott]

I think you are on to something with to much high protein foods.
Bubba gets eggs, chicken & cheese daily. Probably 1/2 his intake or more. I give him healthy fruits and veg but he picks at and through it, eating some. Same with the pellets.

Is there a thread or site showing a better diet and foods to moderate and avoid ?
Thanks for all your help!

Our Parrot Food, Recipes, and Diet thread is a free buffet of advice! Two of our most popular threads:
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

I no longer have macaws, but my flock receives a small piece of low-fat string cheese, roughly 3 almonds and 1/2 walnut at weekly intervals.

My guess is Bubba holds out for eggs, chicken, and cheese at the expense of healthier fare. Best advice is to taper him off fairly aggressively, saving them for treats in lieu of dietary staples. My technique for sparking interest in healthier foods is preparing one bowl of veggies/fruits each for you and Bubba. Begin eating from yours, make "mmmm" sounds, bob your head with enjoyment. Parrots are flock eaters and you are part of his "flock."

 

[noodles123]

I think you are on to something with to much high protein foods.
Bubba gets eggs, chicken & cheese daily. Probably 1/2 his intake or more. I give him healthy fruits and veg but he picks at and through it, eating some. Same with the pellets.

Is there a thread or site showing a better diet and foods to moderate and avoid ?
Thanks for all your help!

yeah, chicken and cheese should be very rare occurrences...Eggs in moderation. Diet should be far less heavy in protein, salt and no milk (except in extreme moderation). A salty treat like chicken or cheese, etc should not happen often at all...Maybe a few times a week..like, if you are feeding a cracker bit smaller than a dime, but otherwise, that's too much.


Do not cut him off-- think of a drug addict in rehab...slowly cut it down and make sure you know his weight etc when you start to taper his consumption of unhealthy foods.

 

[Bubba27]

Thanks for all the help.
Bubba's diet is in for a big change, slowly, starting today. Drug attic in mind.
Did my research on chop and other things and man i had no idea his diet was so bad.
It won't be any longer. I will slowly convert over a 2 wk period giving less bad foods and more quality every day.

 

[noodles123]

Thanks for all the help.
Bubba's diet is in for a big change, slowly, starting today. Drug attic in mind.
Did my research on chop and other things and man i had no idea his diet was so bad.
It won't be any longer. I will slowly convert over a 2 wk period giving less bad foods and more quality every day.

You may need more than 2 weeks- just track weight like crazy, as parrots are one of the few animals that will starve out of stubbornness.

 

[Scott]

Thanks for all the help.
Bubba's diet is in for a big change, slowly, starting today. Drug attic in mind.
Did my research on chop and other things and man i had no idea his diet was so bad.
It won't be any longer. I will slowly convert over a 2 wk period giving less bad foods and more quality every day.

Great job, keep us updated on progress. Your experience with Bubba may help others in the future!!

 

[wrench13]

HI There. The best of luck changing Bubba' s diet !

somethings I learned over the years regarding veggies. Some need to be cooked or steamed in order to render the veg digestible. Carrots for one - I had been feeding a whole carrot to Salty for a few years, raw. He loves to tear them apart, but they have issues trying to digest raw carrots. And I believe Broccoli is the same deal, maybe one of the food guru's here can chime in. Too much kale and spinach is also not great for them as it blocks calcium absorption. Both are once in awhile veggies. However, something I didn't see on your list is hot peppers. These are really good for parrots, lots of digestible Vit A. The hotter the better, seeds and all. I will bet Bubba will love them, as they taste good to parrots ( they have 1 taste bud for every 100 we have, so scalding hot peppers are just ;tangy' to them).