A rather long story of mismanagement...?

[zazi]

Hi Guys,

I joined this forum with a specific purpose... I am in charge of my neighbours African Grey while he is away for a long while.

Since i met Sam (parrot) i've just had this sinking sensation that the poor guy was being a bit... mismanaged. Not mistreated because his owner does genuinely care for him ... just a lot of bad habits have been allowed to fester.

For one, Sam used to drink wine, chew on meat from the BBQ, and eat all sorts of table scraps... Such is his love for wine that apparently one night he drank a half a glass and kept toppling over. When my neighbour told me the story i nearly had a heart attack!! Anyway, the wine habit has stopped. Thank god!

I feel the main problem is diet related. He subsists on nuts and some fresh fruit every now and then but nothing else... He has plucked himself bare... His skin looks dry and scaly... AND his breast bone is showing!!!

I don't know that much about birds (my expertise are in cats) ... Can anyone PLEASE help me make a difference in this poor little parrrots quality of life? I'm willing to put in the effort and whatver else needs to be done to get him back to normal again... i know it will take time, but i think it can be done.

I've nursed all sorts of sick cats and kittens back to health.

Right now one of my cats is keeping him company. She seems to know that he is distressed and is sitting on a chair next to his cage purring very loudly. She's not being aggressive towards him at all.

What would be great is if someone could detail a meal plan for me. Like a daily plan or a weekly plan...

[Rue]

...oh wow! Doesn't sound like his owner researched proper care does it?

I guess you have to ask yourself how much you're willing to invest in the bird and take it from there.

How long will his owner be away? Would the owner be willing to give the bird to you if you found you bonded with him?

In this instance a vet visit would be in order so you know what you're dealing with - if's he healthy or if there are issues with his health.

Then you need to get him on a good diet. A good diet for the average bird would consist of appropriate, non-coloured pellets, fruits, veggies, bird-appropriate table scraps (including some lean meats)...and some seed, the kind and amount depending on the bird...

He'd also need regular baths - in the shower, in the sink, a bowl or being misted all work (ex. I shower with my 2 larger parrots, mist the 'tiels, and the budgies bathe in a bowl). Regular can mean anything from daily-weekly - but shouldn't be less than weekly. I find, weather depending, I can comfortably to manage to get in about 2 baths per week per bird - and their feathers look great.

He also needs toys to shred, chew, destroy or otherwise play with. They don't need to be expensive - just made of safe products. Milk jug caps are fun, old pens without the ink refills, most cardboards should be okay, brown paper bags, junk mail (non-coloured, non-glossy)...

Finally, he needs supervised 'out' of cage times, and some road trips would be great as well. While out he needs to be played with and stimulated and needs to get exercise (flapping is great for clipped birds, climbing, swinging, walks on the floor if it's safe).

And of course, lots of cuddling if he's cuddly...if not, he'll need other quality one-one time...

[Alika]

You're going to get all sorts of great advice here.

The nuts and fruit are great dietary supplements, but they don't make a diet by themselves. Nuts, for example, are very high in fat and can cause a lot of health probles if too many are fed. Fruits are great, too, but only when used with lots of veggies, grains, and a good commercial diet.

Commercialized bird diets are now readily available on the pet market. They're commonly referred to as 'pellets' and contain everything that a bird needs nutritionally. Most pelleted diets recommend that they be fed exclusively as the bird's diet, but most bird people feel that fruits, grains, veggies, nuts, and occassional seeds and eggs are great complements to a pelleted diet. The biggest reason is this: how would you like it if your food looked and tasted the same every single day?
It's pure enrichment to add different tastes and textures into the mix.

Not all pellets are created equal. In my opinion, the two best brands on the market are Zupreem and Mazuri... besides Harrison's, which is THE best choice of food to feed, but it's very very expensive, especially for a bird that isn't yours. Mazuri is the choice food of zoos, and we feed it to our parrots at the aviary. I had already started my birds on Zupreem before Mazuri became available, and I like it enough to keep it that way. I use the colored pieces. Some people think that the colored pieces don't mean a thing for the bird, but I think it's more stimulating than eating the same color over and over again, and my birds actually have colors they like better that they eat first and colors that they hate and leave for last.

The pelleted diet should be fed every day as the staple.

In addition, fresh fruits and veggies should be offered every day. Don't get too carried away with them; make sure there is still more pellet than anything else.

Egg or meat products can be offered two or three times a month. Make sure it's thoroughly cooked and contains no sauce or anything like that.

Likewise, seeds can be offered a couple times a month as well. Again, make sure its just a small treat.

Nuts can be offered 2-3 times a week, in moderation (in other words, only one nut at a time, depending on size!)

Grains can be offered 3-4 times a week. Obviously, wheat bread is one of the best grains, but my birds go absolutely nuts for plain pasta as well. Stay away from salted crackers.

A plucking CAG with irritated skin would also benefit from 2-3 showers a week. I haven't worked too closely with CAGs, but from what I hear, most don't enjoy this. Offer him a dish of water to bathe himself first, and if he doesn't seem interested skip right on ahead to misting him. Try not to scare the crap out of him, but make sure he gets wet. It will benefit him in the long run.

Additionally, make sure he has plenty of toys. CAGs have busy minds and need to be kept stimulated.

There will probably be some differing opinions on what to feed and when to feed, but overally you should get a good idea of what to do.

[Jer]

Hi Zazi,

First of all, this bird needs a vet check. Birds normally don't let you know when they are sick. I have two african grey congos and a maxmillian pionus parrot. When you say the breast bone is showing, do you mean it is literally showing or protruding? Does he have feathers on his breast bone?
Sounds like the owner of this bird has NO clue on diet. Anyone will tell you that you NEVER give CAGS, (congo african grey), caffeine, alcohol or chocolate. It can be deadly to them. If this bird is eating seeds only, you need to slowly introduce him to other foods. My birds eat everything I eat, excluding what I mentioned above. Do you know how old the bird is? Maybe to put some weight on the baby, you should try bird baby formula. Feed out of a spoon. Be extra careful not make it hot as it can burn them easily. But they also won't touch it if its cold. Broccoli is usually a real hit with them also. Cook up some scrambled eggs, shells included, but make sure the shells are cooked well to get rid of any bacteria. Banana's, apples (no seed or peels)grapes, cantalope. Then use the food he is use to eating and add pellets. Mine won't eat the plain kind. They will eat the colored ones. Some people feed pellets only, but I feed a variety of things. He may not want what you are giving him, but you have to be consistent and keep offering it everyday. It takes a long time for them to adjust. My maximillian, I have because he was abused and ate seeds only. I have had him for about 5-6 months now, and he is just now starting to eat like my other birds. ITs takes time and patients. But the results are very rewarding for you as well as the bird. As far as bathing, I shower mine every other day. They get full on showers.. bottom of the tub, turn on the water and they love it. If he is not use to the shower, mist him daily until he is comfortable with the shower or at least a bowl he can clean himself in. It will take a while to see physical improvement, but you will see a change in attitude with this bird. Also if you live in an area where the air is dry, he needs a humidifier. That is one reason birds pluck. I live where the air is very dry and I have to keep one going all the time or my birds start to pick themselves. I wish you good luck with this and hope you can stick it out. Its worth the wait. These are things that have worked with my birds, not all are the same tho. Hope some of it helps.
Also TOYS TOYS TOYS!!! Another reason for plucking is boredom. They need to have things they can destroy, even if its a piece of cardboard. Keep us updated, I will be curious to see how this develops.

Jer

[zazi]

THANKS GUYS!!!

Wat a lot of info you've given me... just wat i was looking for.

I will definetly start incorporating all the diet changes. I started to day by giving him some green apple. And will over the next few weeks start adding pellets, fresh fruit and veg and some grain to the mix and slowly wean him off the nutts until they are a treat as opposed to a staple.

MISTING:
How do i do this misting thing? Up until now the mist has been used as a training device... How can i slowly undo this so that he eventually enjoys the mist? Also is it true that i can add aloe to the mist to make it more soothing for him? His skin looks very dry.

PALM OIL:
I've read some good things about palm oil... any idea how much and how frequently to add this to his food?

Toilet training:
How does one do this??

[Rue]

Glad the info is helping (although I noticed we're already giving you some conflicting advice! )...

Misting: Put warm water in the mister (it will cool as you spray it, but most birds don't like COLD water on them)...and then aim it upwards so that the water falls on him, rather than a direct hit. Talk to him the whole time, tell him how fun it is! Sing the Rubber Ducky song - whatever it takes to make him think this should be fun!

Not sure about the Palm Oil as I haven't used it. Someone else will know.

Toilet training: This isn't hard to do - but you have to decide if you want to do it. Some birds, when toilet trained, will NOT poop unless you command them. This can cause issues if you're not around, or get delayed, or go away and have a house sitter than isn't as diligent as you are. I opted NOT to potty train so I don't have to worry about the birds holding it too long.

I've found though, that if I pay attention and put them in their cages often enough or on their stands (as opposed to my shoulder) they prefer to poop there, instead of on me.

[kensbuns]

I personally think fresh is the way to go here. I dont know that a pelleted diet is the best. That is a matter of opinion. However broccli, cauliflower, carrots, sweet potatoes, brown rice, chicken breast, greens of some kind. Mine like turnip greens. Eggs are a good source of calcium if you leave the shells on, I offer whole wheat toast with peanut butter a good source of protein. I use the browns mix for both of my birds and offer seed daily. Not a lot but they always have some in their cage. Browns has a good mix of fruit and nut and biscotti and some seed. Frozen mixed veges is also a good choice . Pasta is good in small amts. I stay away from fatty food. I feed the broccli, carrots, cauliflower, brown mix weekly and make enough to last my 2 guys a week. I add stuff as the week goes on. Also for the plucking try the
AVICALM. And definately a good vet visit.

[Monica]

For the palm oil, check out this website:

http://www.claviaryonline.com/pollypalmoil.html

It explains near the bottom how much to feed, and you may want to try getting the smaller bottle first. This stuff helps gives the greys vitamin A, and increases the brightness of their feathers. I've never used the stuff before as I don't have a grey (or any larger parrot for that matter), though someone recommended it from another site, and said it's somewhat more close to what they would be eating in the wild (the palm nuts that is).

[zazi]

Ok...
Got it....
THANKS!!! :)

Is there a list of good foods for parrots anywhere?
He's a bit fussy.
A sunflower junky

[Rue]

...well, we mentioned the pellets...then there are seed mixes...sunflower seeds are okay for treats but are too fatty to be the mainstay of the diet...

...any foods you eat are fine for the bird provided they're not too oily or salty...

...but avoid giving the birds junk food...not good for any of us...

...DO NOT offer chocolate, avacado or alchohol...

...mostly try to offer fruits and veggies...veggies can be fresh or cooked. Canned are too salty, but frozen veggies (heated up) are fine.

Sometimes you have to offer a bird a particular food for a LOOONNNG time before they'll eat it. I think it took me 6 months to get Izzy to eat broccoli...but now she loves it.

Feeding can be very confusing in the beginning. I offer Ever (who's closest in size to a Grey) about 2 heaping TBSP of pellets daily - but give her more if she eats it all. About 1 TBSP of seed mix (has dried fruit in it among other things) - and no more. She also gets 3-4 TBSP of fruits and/or veggies daily (today it was apple, banana and tomato) and the rest varies...a bit of meat if we're having meat, or eggs, or pizza, or pasta and sauce, etc.

If she eats everything, I'll give more...if not it gets tossed...but this way I don't waste the dry foods unneccessarily either.

Does that help simplify it all for you?