Birdie Diet??

[LtlWngdAngl]

Okay....In two weeks my peach front conure has gone from 83 to 86 grams, and he's supposed to be 80. I can, almost, not feel his breast bone anymore, and it's supposed to feel like the bow of a ship looks. I'm really worried about him b/c he's very active. His diet is what I feed the other small birds, a diet of the Cajun Lagniappe entree mixed with dried green and red peppers, dried tropical fruits, power grow seed mix, and NO SUNFLOWER SEEDS.
What could be wrong?

How do you put a conure on a diet??

[danforth3]

His diet does not sound too bad to me (imo). Conures are primarily seed eaters and he is eating fresh as well. I would add some pellets to the mixture as they need that as well for better nutrition (more vitamins in pellets).

He made need more exercise. The May issue of Bird Talk has an article on engaging our birds in fun exercises. See if you can get him to chase a paper ball around the floor, encourage him to flap his wings while on your finger (you put your thumb over his toes so he cannot fly off), if you have stairs see if he'll follow you up and down.

I checked the avian weights site and did not find specific listing for peach fronted conures, but did note that the birds in the aratinga (sp?) family, which is the family of conures that your peach-front is listed in, most of the weight are between 90 grams and 130 grams.

Reduce the amount of the seed mixture you leave daily. See how much he is eating daily and then leave a little less than that and add some natural pellets to the mixture. Ratio of seed and pellets should be equal.

[smallonion]

As far as the exercise goes, my mom plays 'chase' with Corbett - in other words, Corbett chases her. She has a long house from front to back, and says, "Come on Corbett" and walks fast - Corbett has to run to catch up to her. Corbett is overweight too, so my mom does try to get him to exercise.

I read about the flapping exercise Cathy mentioned. Have the bird perched on your hand and secure his feet with your thumb. Drop your hand down swiftly and that will make him flap. I'm sure you should probably ask your vet for advice on diet and exercise though, too.

Best of luck!
Michele and Humphrey

[Franciscus]

Most seed mixes are oil seeds grown for humans. The dried fruit that would be in the mixture would not be great, it my have sulphites, and would definitely be high in sugar. I suggest you put him and all your birds on a diet of pellets, augmented with a fresh vegetable mix, consisting of leafy greens, such as spinach, Swiss chard, cale, etc. , orange vegetables such as carrots and sweet potato (cooked), red peppers, beets, broccoli. The ratio should be 50% pellets, 40% vegetables (and limited fruit), and 10% seed. It's good to offer seeds soaked and/or sprouted, the nutrients in those multiply as it becomes a live food.

In the wild a lot op parrots are seed eaters but the seeds they consume are vastly different from the oil seeds we give them in captivity. Also, in the wild they get a LOT of exercise.

[LtlWngdAngl]

Thanks for the ideas!

Dewey is my "turbo flapper" meaning that he's ALWAYS FLAPPING, I can't imagine that he could flap much more. I'll try the other exercises though!

As far as diet, I have a GREATmix of pellets, but he picks each and every one of them out. The seed mix I add to the entree diet (which is pellets, dried veggies, and other mix with no seeds) I use at a minimum.
The only fresh stuff he'll eat is apples.
The rest of my birds are in perfect weight brackets, and look and feel healthy. Dewey's my only overweight one.

[Franciscus]

It's not just a weight issue but a nutrient one. Dried vegetables and fruit have little nutritional value. It can be very ticky to get most parots to try new foods as they may not recopnize it as such. Sometimes it works to eat some of the things in front of him with gusto. It's best to introduce new foods in the morning but supper time works too. Offer things in different ways, eg. carrots sliced, grated, in chunks, cooked and mashed, etc.

[Adi]

Dried fruit and veggies are the next best thing to fresh. It's a nice addition to a picky birds diet but don't give up on fresh stuff.

You just want to make sure that there is absolutely nothing added to them. No sulfites, sugar or salt, preservatives, or coloring. I'm sure you could find something like that at a health food store.

[Skyebirdsmom]

Originally Posted by danforth3

His diet does not sound too bad to me (imo). Conures are primarily seed eaters and he is eating fresh as well. I would add some pellets to the mixture as they need that as well for better nutrition (more vitamins in pellets).

He made need more exercise. The May issue of Bird Talk has an article on engaging our birds in fun exercises. See if you can get him to chase a paper ball around the floor, encourage him to flap his wings while on your finger (you put your thumb over his toes so he cannot fly off), if you have stairs see if he'll follow you up and down.

I checked the avian weights site and did not find specific listing for peach fronted conures, but did note that the birds in the aratinga (sp?) family, which is the family of conures that your peach-front is listed in, most of the weight are between 90 grams and 130 grams.

Reduce the amount of the seed mixture you leave daily. See how much he is eating daily and then leave a little less than that and add some natural pellets to the mixture. Ratio of seed and pellets should be equal.

I might agree that he may need more exercise, but do NOT feed him pellets if he is already eating a good varied diet of fresh foods. Pellets are not necessary and many people have had problems with their birds in all areas because of them eating pellets. I know this is a controversial subject, but pellets are not a natural food for birds so why go there? Plenty of fresh foods, veggies/fruits, grains, brown rice, sprouts, etc and SOME Organic seed with some 12 grain bread occasionally, egg sometimes with shell, and your bird will do fine :icon_smil
Sincerely,
Linda & HRC~

[Skyebirdsmom]

Originally Posted by Franciscus

Most seed mixes are oil seeds grown for humans. The dried fruit that would be in the mixture would not be great, it my have sulphites, and would definitely be high in sugar. I suggest you put him and all your birds on a diet of pellets, augmented with a fresh vegetable mix, consisting of leafy greens, such as spinach, Swiss chard, cale, etc. , orange vegetables such as carrots and sweet potato (cooked), red peppers, beets, broccoli. The ratio should be 50% pellets, 40% vegetables (and limited fruit), and 10% seed. It's good to offer seeds soaked and/or sprouted, the nutrients in those multiply as it becomes a live food.

In the wild a lot op parrots are seed eaters but the seeds they consume are vastly different from the oil seeds we give them in captivity. Also, in the wild they get a LOT of exercise.

Also a lot of the 'seed' birds eat in the wild are already sprouted....which is much healthier! :icon_smil
Linda & HRC~

[LtlWngdAngl]

well, I guess I'll combine some other things and mix his food speacially apart from the other birds who are thriving on the food mix that I make now.

I weighed him last night, and he's gained 2 more grams just in 10 days.