Orangewing amazon not pooping.

[cshushu]

My OWA does not seem to be pooping regularly. He has started recently eating only sunflower seeds, he's a real picky eater. What should I do? Please help.

Thanks all,
cshushu

[cherriesanglea]

are you making sure he is gettin enough water??? and what else are you offering him to eat pellets fruits veggies how long has he been only eating sunflower seeds?? ect we need more info have you changed anything what does his poops look like?? give us as much info as pos!!!!!!!!!!

[birdiemommy]

Does he eat any fruit and veggies, even if not right now? Try cutting up some fresh food or take a bowl of pellets. Sit beside him and make a big deal about how yummy it is, and eat or pretend to eat a bit. Offer some, and if he won't take it, go back and "eat" some. Soem birds will try foods this way.
What is his usual diet? Sunflower seeds, a lot of them, are not very good. Deos he eat any pellets? We could offer more ideas if you give some more info

[cshushu]

He is still drinking water as per usual. He's been eating mostly sunflower seeds for about 3 or 4 weeks. He usually will eat peanuts, but lately has been tossing them out. I can't offer him fruit or pellets because if I put these near his dishes he will not go near them for days. I have tried in the past to change his diet for the better but he is very stubborn and will not eat at all rather than give in to change. He will occassionally eat certain apples, but usually only when they are in season. He is older and came with baggage and I try to keep him as happy as possible.

[cherriesanglea]

have you tried pellets???? sunflowers and peanuts is a very bad diet for a bird not sayin that your doing anything wrong you may not know!!! but they are very fating sometimes and some people will disagree with this but you have to go to extreme measures to get your bird to try new things i have to put things on my lips to get my u2 to get him to try them not inside as human spit is bad for birds but just on your lip and try this with foods to see if he will try it if you trust him enough ( i take a chance of losing a piece of my lip every time i do this but my too is under weight and i will try anything at this point!) also pasta rice birdie bread (if you need a recipe pm me) reg wheat breads oatmeal ect have you tried any of these?

[cshushu]

I have tried everything. He will not eat pellets at all. I had him to the vet several years ago and she said the same thing. So I tried and tried to get him to eat at least a larger variety of foods, including pellets and he wouldn't eat for over a week. However, the vet also said that surprisingly, although he only eats peanuts and sunflower seeds, grapes and the occasional small piece of apple and once or twice a piece of banana, he was not overweight. I mixed the pellets with other things, such as baby food, per the vets advice and he would not even try them even after I tried to force him by not feeding anything else for many days.

[stlbirdgirl]

Cherriesangela is completely correct. I understand that you are having trouble getting him to switch over to healthy foods but this is really really important, especially with zons because they are so prone to fatty liver disease.

I would start offering a bowl of good food in his cage at all times. If you offered before and he avoided it and then you removed it, you could be teaching him that all he has to do is avoid what he sees as bad food and his junk food will show up again. For now, could you start off by putting his normal bowl in the cage and possibly a bowl of fruits and veggies or pellets on top or on a play area? It often takes birds a while to realize that new goodies are food. You may have to keep changing the good food bowl for a while before he ever tries it but it is extremely important that he is being offered good food.

[cherriesanglea]

the only thing i can say is take him to the vet then!!!! will he take a feeding from a spoon or a syringe? if so maybe get his fav baby food or whatever and crush up some pellets into power and mix it in there!!!! my too is very picky too but he at least eats pellets! but nothing else have you tried crackers?? my picky too likes them and i sneak peanut butter on it and then i will sneak other items to him with peanut butter on them just so he'll try them im jjust throwing out ideas for you sorry if im not helping!!!! have you tried the putting the food on your lip?? or do you think the bird would eat you instead??

[cshushu]

I have tried everything you are suggesting. Cranky is very, very stubborn and if I put something new in or on his cage he will NOT go near it. He won't test it or try it. He also will not eat food from my lips, have tried this also. He was not very socialized in his former home, kept in the cage most of the time, and it took me over a year to get him to let me touch him or pick him up. He does love me now and accepts my husband and seems to like one friend of ours, and he did love the dog until she passed away in October. Could the dog dying have anything to do with this? He got close to her first. He does not like anything new and will starve before trying it.

[stlbirdgirl]

You've got a wierd amazon there! My guys are little piggies and love trying new foods.

Honestly, he could be depressed because of the dog but I would suspect there is something else going on too. My best advice would be that it's time for another trip to the avian vet.