Feeding my precious... vitamins + minerals?

[Versatile]

Usually my bird gets by fine, his feathers alright intact, and his feces always perfect. But then, there are times when I'm concerned about B.G. (Baka - Baka means foolish in Japanese - Grey, my bird), because he'll just completely skip meals.

I'm only 17, my parents bought B.G. without really reading anything up on him. I saw that he was starting to get a bit sad (plucking, poor diet, etc) so I took after him. It's been years without serious problems, but now I see he's starting to lose appetite.

I'd like to ask if anyone knows how much vitamin D and other nutrients my bird needs for optimalhealth. Just how should I go about giving it to him, if he doesn't really drink water or eat much either? I'm giving him a bath once a week, under the supervision of my mom. I'm also giving him coconut oil today and couple weeks before.

P.S. Is an African Grey's system similar to human's system on processing foods?

[Joolesgreyuk]

Oh dear, I don't like the sound of this. First and foremost it sounds like you need to pay a visit to an avian vet, when birds lose their appitite it is usually because of illness. If your grey has a vitamin or mineral difficiency then this may well be the cause of the sickness but you won't know that unless you take your grey to an AV and have him looked at and/or have tests carried out. Please do not delay in doing this as there is rarely time to lose when a bird stops eating.

Good luck and please do let us know the outcome of your visit.

[Greywings]

Not really like a human digestive system. Can you tell us what he is offered in the way of food? Can you get him to a vet or at least call one, they have very little in the way of reserve energy so when you see something is wrong then you need to move fast to get some help. Please let us know what happens next and how Baka is doing.

[danmcq]

I agree with Julie and Greywings.

You really should have a complete work up done on him at an Avian Certified Veterinarian.

Supplementing vitamins in very dangerous and not recommended at all unless an Avian vet gives you specific instructions to do so.

Vitamin D is vital to all life forms and if missing by having no direct sunlight, Avian lighting or Pellets that contain it, will suffer serious health issues.

[Versatile]

He hasn't LOST his appetite, rather, it's becoming lost and I have to sit with him there to eat. I think it's more an emotional problem - poor B.G. is never let upstairs (where me and my parents live - but the basement is kept nice and clean by me). Starting today I've been sitting down and eating with him on my own time.

For food I offer him almonds, usually roasted, peas, corn (which I'm adding coconut oil to - he doesn't seem to mind), seeds, and egg yolks. I seldom feed him fruits, as they're expensive and my parents oppose. Perhaps dried fruit.

Just how much food should he be eating a day? B.G. is usually hyper (TOO hyper) so he almost never seems sick. But I know he has some problems with magnesium and calcium because he doesn't eat much of these. I have bad health trouble too, so I see some of his health problems in me and I know what to supplement with. That's why I'm here - to figure out the SAFE upperlimits.

I'll try to set up an appointment, but usually that never gets me anywhere. I've learned to take care of myself and others from research, unless its an emergency. This is how I'm healing from my own health problems. =P

[judygram]

I will echo the other's advice, you need to get this bird in to see an avian vet for a workup.

I see one main problem and that is when you say he is in the basement and you and your family live upstairs, you need to bring your bird and his cage into the part of the house where you all spend your time. A grey craves human contact, you are part of his flock and he needs the attention, that could account for his lack of eating. They don't like being left to themselves all the time especially when they know the family is home.

Please contact your vet and let us know what you find out.

[Versatile]

I'll try and take him to the vet this weekend.

But like I've said before, both doctors and vet have almost never significantly helped me figure out my health problems (or my bird's problems) or help treat it. I somewhat loath doctors.

I'm searching in the meantime.

[Joolesgreyuk]

I have to agree with Judy, your grey does seem to be suffering symptoms of being left alone, parrots (greys especially) are far too intelligent to be left alone and will become bored and depressed (and may even pluck)if this happens. A move to a busier place should help perk him up but only if there are no other health issues going on.

Your grey should be getting fresh fruit or vegetables (cheaper) every day, dried fruit is good also - maybe if you find fresh too expensive you could give dried on alternative days. Tinned sweetcorn is good as is frozen vegetables, it doesn't have to cost the earth!

If you are worried about calcium levels you can buy calcium drops from a pet shop or the internet but please read the instructions and use sparingly. Daily essentials 3 is also a good suppliment especially in winter and is a good substitute for natural sunlight.
Really though you won't know what your bird is lacking unless your avian vet carries out tests.

Which country are you in? This will give us a clue as to the problems you face with doctors/vets, finance and other stuff.

[Greywings]

Do read the labels on both canned and frozen to avoid added salt and sugars. You can also hide some of his food in little paper bags or cardboard rolls but let him see you hide them first so He knows what is in there. Foraging will help to occupy his mind and his time.

[Dave007]

Vit D is gotten from a large variety of different veggies--basically, the greenest ones. Tht should be available all the time. They shouldd be a basic part of the bird's diet. Your bird won't like all of them which isn't unusual. Other nutrients are gotten from the same source. It's a matter of trial and error. Luckily for you, fruit isn't that important to a parrot's diet.
You say that he's now skipping meals so I'm gonna assume that you feed a certain amount of meals a day. A parrot doesn't eat like us. They should have food available all day long 24/7. Comparing eating to human beings------if you were being given 3 meals a day, would you find it unusual that you may not be hungrey when one of those meals were given? I've seen parrots do the same thing with their favorite treats. It happens to people and parrots and dogs and cats and other animals all the time.
You said that he used to pluck, had a poor diet but that's in the past and you said that all is well now so you're basically wondering about why he looks sad. Coconut/palm oil----if your bird likes it, it should be given 2x a week.
You're judging how you are health wise and assuming that the bird has the same problems. Parrots don't show the same signs of illness even if the problem is exactly the same as a human being.
You've had no uck with vets in the past. Were they avian vets? Big difference between a DVM vet and an Avian vet.
It's hard to judge a parrot's situation when he/she is alone in an area. maybe it's boredom or maybe there's not enough stimulation. We all get bored and need new stimulation.
Yes, the bird needs a checkup by a proper vet and yes, they have much better tools to determine deficiences and they also have proper ways to correct that problem/problems.
You need to talk to your parents about having the bird in and amongst the family upstairs . That's the way to judge what a bird is doing all day and also reacting badly to certain situations.
A bored bird can easily look like a sick/sad bird, especially greys who are known for being quiet. sitting still and not interested in many things at different times.
There's a big thing you need to do right now and that's to make that bird a family bird.
PS--a parrot who's around the family constantly will see those people eating and giving that bird some of that human food will make for a much happier bird plus that human food is safe. Parrots are scavengers and will eat many things and they'll get nutrition fom different types of human food.

PS---concerning 24/7 foods. That'll mean giving your bird a decent parrot mix plus parrot pellets besides veggies. Those foods don't go bad.

Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/28 18:25<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2010/01/28 18:31