Weight Loss?

[Dayna]

Hello, fairly new to the board. I have had my Blue Fronted Amazon for about a month now, she is 7 months old. Do you know if they loose baby fat? I live in a remote area and have no access to an avian vet. I did however take her to my dog and cat vet who just happens to have an older blue front male.

When I got Maya she weighed 406 grams, now 4 weeks later she weighs in at 316 grams. Her Keel bone is not too prominent according to the vet. My vet feels she might have been a bit fat before. But that if she drops more weight then we will have to gas her and take blood samples for nutritional problems.

I am not a new bird owner, I have had cockatiels (and still have them!) for years now, I breed Lutino cockatiels twice a year. I also have finches. Parrot nutrition has always been an interesting subject to me and I cook for my birds on a daily basis. I am wondering if Amazons might have really different needs than my tiels. I have read lots of sites and everyone seems to have a different opinion regarding Amazon diet. I prefer very little seed, and only a small amount of pellets. I would rather cook for her that way I know what she is eating cause I am making it.

Any advice for a skinny Amazon. I do know that the lady I got her from fed her cockatiel seed. Maybe that was too fatty for her. She will eat most anything I eat or put in front of her.

Thanks for any advice!

[Stacey32]

Hi Dayna,
I do not know what to tell you re the topic of your post. However, it may be better placed in the "ask the experts" section to gain a better response. do you know what an 'average' weight is for an amazon?

[Dayna]

Average for a blue front can be anywhere from 300 to 600 grams. Quite a spread. It is really up to the individual bird.

[The Outlaw]

Dayna:

May I ask a few questions? Has she fledged and if so is she flying a lot?
When you say you cook for her, I assume you mean fresh veggies, meat, starches and protein. Am I correct in that assumption?

Baby birds usually continue to gain weight through the first year. Normally, amazons are good eaters and are more prone to be fat than thin. I would weigh her weekly if not more and if you see a continued weight loss, then it has to be something that must be immediately addressed. Good luck. There's been a lot of bad news around her lately. Sooner or later, something good has to happen.

THE OUTLAW

[Dayna]

Thanks for your reply. Yes I cook for her beans, veggies, breads, the whole setup!

She does not fly as she came to me "clipped". I clip my cockatiels first 2 or 3 flight feathers so that they can't get too far if they get out. But they can still fly from one part of the room to the other. She was clipped ALL THE WAY DOWN FROM THE PRIMARY TO THE SECONDARY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.

We run down the hall with me holding her feet and she "flies". She really loves that. She went from being "cage bound" for 2 months before I got her to not being caged except when I am out (one or two hours max).

I am weighing her daily at this point and she is loosing a few grams a day. :(

I will give her through the rest of this week. If she continues to loose, we will just have to gas her. I was really hoping to avoid that stress though.

[The Outlaw]

I'm gonna make a wild guess and that's exactly what it is. Since you live in Alaska and I'm not sure what kind of set up you have, I would be suspicious of aspergiliosis. Please do an internet search and see what you come up with. You may find that you caught it early on (heck she's so young you would HAD to have caught it early) and its very treatable. And, its not an uncommon illness for Amazons in general.

Please understand this, however, I'm no vet, not in any way shape or form an expert and just happen to own a lot of vet texts and have 10 parrots. I constantly read and educate myself. I'm nothing more than a housewife in Maryland who raised a family and has always had good instincts about disease, for some strange reason. An early sign of aspergiliosis is weight loss.

THE OUTLAW

[Dayna]

The reason why she would have to be put under for blood tests, is that she was very unhappy at the vet and did not want to be touched she may be a baby but she does not like to be touched by strangers. We toweled her and she freaked.

I will suggest that sickness to my vet and see if she can get in touch with some of her collegues for more information.

Do you know if there is a blood test for aspergiliosis? I will start googleing as soon as I get more then 5 minutes on the computer (after my kiddo gets to school!).

Thanks a bunch.

[Dayna]

Well Maya lost another several grams. She is now at 300 and she started at 406. We called the vet and she is going in for some blood tests and possibly x-rays of her chest.

Cross your fingers and toes!

[Tiki]

Moved thread to "Ask the Experts"

[Dayna]

We gave her the gas and got blood and a culture from her mouth area. Should have the results back by Saturday or Monday, depending if the planes get out today or tomorrow.