Red Palm Oil

[tofids]

Hello all! As you can see I am new to the board. I am owned by a one year old B&G macaw named Harley. Well, I posted a thread on another forum about how I can get her beak to be more black and shiny. I know it will peel and become dirty. However, is there something I can do? When I posted this on the other forum, I got several responsed that siad "use red palm oil" and others similar. Will this really help?
Thanks all!

[CALVINS MOM]

Hi and welcome!

Can you post a picture of her beak? Some peeling is normal. You have to be very careful with red palm oil and the number of tiimes you administer it - should only be once a week in her food. You can also take a very little bit of extra virgin olive oil on a paper towel and "shine" her beak with that. I do it all the time with my birds. Looks like Armour All when you are done!

[Monica]

Red palm oil and coconut oil.... don't know much about either except that it's good for birds.... If you do a search (above) on red palm oil, you'll get many results!

Here is one thread in particular that may prove beneficial to you....
http://birdboard.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28347

Welcome to BB RadD-!!!

[Irish]

Some birds like RPO, and some despise it. If you can get your bird to eat it in small amounts (I was once told .5 cc 1x/wk for our full-size macaws as a maintenence dose), you're one step ahead of the game. My bratlings love it--when I remember to give it to 'em. Makes the water slide off their backs like ducks and their feathers are gorgeous!

[bgmacaw]

Harrison's has a new pellet/treat that contains RPO. Just bought some through their website. Will be interesting to see how the fids react to it.

[Mike B]

IMO the RPO won't secifically give a shiny beak. What it will do is give your bird much needed Vit A. RPO also has all the lil precursers in it also. I'll include a link that explains it better. I'm a firm believer in it. I've seen new feather growth in my B&G, and RF since giving RPO. Now it's not a miracle cure, and it does take time for it to start working.

As for the beak. What kind of toys does it have? Does it chew on blocks? the best way to get a good looking beak is to provide different textures for him to chew on. I.E. wood soft, and hard, coconuts, unshelled nuts, cement perch.

Mike

[Lynjupiter]

I give RPO to all my rescues. Especially the tiels. They all seem to come in with Vit. A deficency. Maxi the rescue pionus eats is every day on pasta and mash. The vet said she could not OD on it. In fact Max would not eat the mash until I put red palm in it.

My vet instructions were to give one drop to the smaller birds each day. Three drops for the bigger birds like Maxi. Only problem with it is the stains on my clothes and hands from dishing it out every day.

Anyone have any RPO that there birds would not eat?? Send it to my rescue! That stuff is expensive!

Lynda

[leighrivera161]

I am also a fan of RPO. It worked wonders for my Grey and his overpreening. Keep in mind, they eat this stuff in the wild. The nut is the biggest part of their diet out there. Some might say its too high in saturated fat and shouldnt be given. Some birds need the higher levels though, to keep the preen gland working properly. Avian Trio is another great source of nutrition!

[Regina U.]

I have used RPO and think it is a great idea to use according to what is appropriate. I did not have alot of success in my one bird using it, as she did not want to eat any food that I had used the RPO in. Only a few times did I have success in her using it. I do think it is great to use and like any suggestions about how to get your bird to eat it.

[leighrivera161]

I put a drop in a scrambled egg. A few drops in a batch of Asian Medley. Sometimes Ill smear a little on some warm birdie bread. My grey stopped overpreening immediately. I did a good bit of research on it, and seems to be a crucial part of their wild diet. Maybe a gradual increase will get them use to it, but only like once a week.