Parrot eating a bad batch of food

[Talithahorse]

I have a 35 year old African Grey named Walter. Well many months ago I had him on a specific type of feed and he became ill. After an expensive round with the vet we got him healed up and feeling better. (We didn't think that it had anything to do with the food as he had also gotten a hematoma which had to be removed). Anyway, just to be on the safe side, I switched feed until I knew he was all healed up and had picked up the weight that he had lost while sick. So the other day I bought a new batch thinking I would slowly rotate him back. I fed him one pellet. A couple of hours later he had some foam that he had regurgitated. Now I am paranoid about the feed and won't try it again. The problem is that at his age he is very picky and won't eat any of the pelleted diets anymore. I know that a seed based diet is not ideal and I do supplement his feed with fresh veggies, fruits, rice and other goodies from our meals that I know are good for him. Should I worry about his seed fetish? I know that pelleted diet is supposed to be better for them but I also know that if we were given a pelleted diet, we would rebel too. Also do you think that he may be allergic to something in that food? Could that "aversion" be part of the reason why he loathes pelleted food? Just wondering. (BTW, since I have not fed him anymore of the feed, he has not had any more foaming and has been his active, noisy, eating drinking, taking a bath, playing kind of bird). Just wondering. I have had him since he was one year old and so we go way back.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Seeds make them fat, not a good thing for a parrot. I offer a good pellet. My Amazon eats it but will always prefer the goodies. Given enough goodies they will never touch the pellet. I suppose a parrot doesn't require a pellet, but I wouldn't be substituting a seed based diet for it especially if you want it to live a long life. I find a good pellet to be a good balanced base for a parrots diet and I don't need to worry about what my bird might be missing in her diet.

 

[Talithahorse]

What brand of pelleted diet do you feed?

Seeds make them fat, not a good thing for a parrot. I offer a good pellet. My Amazon eats it but will always prefer the goodies. Given enough goodies they will never touch the pellet. I suppose a parrot doesn't require a pellet, but I wouldn't be substituting a seed based diet for it especially if you want it to live a long life. I find a good pellet to be a good balanced base for a parrots diet and I don't need to worry about what my bird might be missing in her diet.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

What brand of pelleted diet do you feed?

I've fed Kaytee, and Zupreem. It just depends where I'm at when I need some, and what I can get at that store.

My bird doesn't eat a whole lot a day, a 1/4 cup or less a day, and she gets a few other items for a variety.

Things like peas, corn, carrots, apples, and various nuts.

Her favorite naughty stuff that is fed in a limited amount are cheese, and Ritz crackers. She also likes scrambled eggs, noodles, cherrios, pizza, bit of bread, to name just a bit of what I offer. I also sometimes add in a small amount of seeds as a treat.

Before pellets all there was to feed was seed mixes which isn't the best diet for most parrots. In the wild most parrots live on fruits and nuts and some seeds I believe. Mine doesn't go nuts over sunflower seeds like many do. Mine loves peanuts in the shell.

I can tell when she starts getting too heavy and I cut back on stuff as needed, but never the pellets. Parrots can get fatty tumors like dogs do if fed too much of the wrong things. My Amazon is 26 and so far hasn't had any problems, except for a crabby demeanor, especially during breeding season.

I do dump any uneaten pellets daily and give fresh stuff, and I store my pellets in a Tupperware container to keep it fresh.

 

[Talithahorse]

Mine loves peas, bananas, apples, cooked carrots and rice. I have had him for 35 years. He started out on a seed diet as there were no pelleted diets back then. Then i switched him to the ZuPreem pelleted diet which he was on for probably 15 years until he became sick. He developed a hematoma which he broke causing pretty significant bleeding and forcing an emergency surgery. He spent about 3 days at the vet and another 6 weeks recovering. I had switched him to Lefeber about 3 weeks prior to his illness as he was spending more time sorting his pellets than eating them and then throwing large amounts all over the floor. After his illness he will not touch the pellets. I think that he is allergic or intolerant of something in the Lefeber food pellets. So now I am using ZuPreem sensible seeds and he gets daily treats from our plate. Other than being a bit anemic from the blood loss, the vet said that he was in good health and that it was obvious that he was well cared for over the years. I am at my wits end trying to convert him back to the pellets and am hoping the large amounts of fruits and veggies will make up for the seed until I can get him converted back. Prior to his illness he had never been sick the entire time I owned him. I hope that he continues to be healthy for a long time to come.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

When I first switched mine to a pellet diet he didn't eat much of it either for a very long time, but now he munches on them if he had nothing else. Sounds like yours is doing okay with what you are feeding him. I would keep offering some pellets. Our pet parrots don't always get much exercise so they don't need a lot of food.

Did you ever find out what caused the hematoma? Just a hard landing? Glad he's doing okay.

 

[Talithahorse]

Not 100 percent sure but he likes to swing his toys and then stand under them to use them as a back scratcher. Ever since he gave himself a black eye with one about 20 year ago, I try to keep his toys fairly light. It may have hit himself with a toy. We also had a young kitten who liked to climb up to the shelf in the living room and would go on a small shelf behind Walter's cage. Walter would lounge at him and may have banged himself on the cage. Either way we switched out his toys (except for his favorite). Hopefully we won't have another one. Too scary for me. I was just so lucky we have a bird vet close.