Obese BF Zon!

Hi, I just recently took in a BF Zon (name is Del) as a foster and the poor girl is severely overweight! She came in at almost 1000 grams and got down to 800 grams in her first foster home. Backstory: an elderly woman was give the parrot when it was a year old. For the next 9 years Del was fed an all seed diet of wild bird food and kept in a too-small cage. Now she can hardly balance herself and her feet are a mess. Difficult for her to grip. Any ideas for safe weight loss for this poor thing?

Best thing really is just getting her on a healthy diet and getting her active. If she has things to do, the weigh will come off easy, but Zon's are notorious porkers! It might take some time, but the weight will come off.

Hey snookie, welcome to the forum. Yeah that's a lot of extra weight. I'd have the AV check her for enlarged liver. Could possibly require being anesthetized for an Xray. A risk in unhealthy birds but if there's an issue , now is the time to fix it. Zons change diets well and variety is the best diet. Does she have natural perches? that are big enough? How long did it take to lose 200 grams? How old is she? Is she now in a forever home? Is she cage bound now? Lots of older threads in this section, check them out. Feel free to contact me anytime. give us a little more history ! Oh and pictures/videos, we love pic and stories about birds.

I did that when 11 years ago I adopted a then 9-year-old BF Amazon that was really a mess due to poor diet (she was fed pigeon food, pizza, twinkles and french fries), had NEVER had a toy, and was kept in a cage so small she could barely turn around (think parakeet travel cage). Her first stop was to the vet (high cholesterol and elevated liver enzymes, but no diseases). It took two years for her to look normal (feathers the right color, no stress bars, blue on her head, feathers under her wings instead of grey fluff). It also took her two years to learn to eat pellets and veggies (although she immediately would take legumes, sprouted seeds, and most fruits). I let her feathers grow, which helped a lot with her condition. It was close to four years before she could fly with any skill. Before that, I just let her flap on my hand with a thumb over her toes (she doesn't bite when I do this but some parrots might). Her first toys were made from balsa wood. As she built her confidence, we moved up to other more challenging toys. Once she was eating well, I hid her food all over her large cage, in cups she had to tear into, both high and low, in puzzle toys, in boxes. I also put her out in the outdoor aviary on the covered back porch on every nice day. Now, at 20, she doesn't look like the same bird. She is queen here, full of confidence and vitality. Her feathers glow and she flies where ever she wishes. I wish you luck with your new bird. She sounds like a great one to help. Can't wait to follow her progress.

Thanks everyone...(Snookie...ha!). I'll add some pics because she is a hot mess. Currently I am just fostering her although they rescue would be happy for me to adopt her at no charge. I know she had bloodwork done and she does not have FLD and the bloodwork looked normal. I was told she weighed close to 1000 grams when she came to her first foster. That foster had her on Higgins Safflower Gold for three months when I got her. I weighed her right away and got 797 grams. So she lost a lot of weight in the first few months. I have so idea if that is too much or what.

I've had her for a week and she's getting a big cage tomorrow and I will set it up nicely with rope perches (her feet are in some bad shape with fatty tumors and a missing toe), toys, food bowls, etc. She is unbalanced and has to hook her beak to the side of the cage when she naps so she doesn't fall off!

She seems like a nice bird but when I try to touch her she growls in a whiny voice sort of. She doesn't understand how to step up and I don't want to push that too much right now with her having so much weight.

I guess I'm worried about how to convert her to a good pellet based diet without stressing her out. She is ignoring the Harrison's and Zupreem and I've decreased her Higgins to 2 Tablespoons a day along with fresh veggies/fruit. I think that might be too severe. She will forage around her cage for Nutriberries which is good exercise.

Oowl, she doesn't have that pretty vibrant blue on her head---colors are dull. Thanks for your stories and support.

And what do you all think of Lafeber Pellet Berries? Pellet-Berries | Lafeber Cares – Pet Bird Food This might be the ticket since she is totally ignoring the Harrison's and Zupreem.

my bf amazon i rehomed wouldnt touch Harrisons or convert to Harrisons and veggies until i used Bird Builder in the water for 2 weeks.

Henpecked, she stays in her cage with the door open...doesn't seem to want to come out and flops all over the place and screeches when I try to get her out. But the last foster said she did come out of her cage. She's only been here a week. I use rope perches supported by a wooden perch b/c of her weight. When she was brought in her feet had to be aspirated and green pus came out---her leg band had to be cut off as well. Her feet look a lot better now. Let's see, she's 10 years old and she speaks with a British accent (haven't heard it yet) b/c the elderly lady who had her was from the UK.

Thanks again for helping!

Poor thing

Diet is very important, it will most likely be slow going but it will be worth it. My galah was in bad shape when I got her but seeing her learn to play, become healthier, and the bond we have is all amazing to look back on. Rosie was severely underweight when I got her rather then obese. Also teaching this blue front to Fly once it's a little healthier will be a great benefit to getting him in shape again

Aww, the poor dear.
The best of luck to you on this noble and amazing task.

Hey snookie, She feels like her cage is her safe spot and needs some time to adjust.Let her come out on her own. Offer treats to encourage her, but don't push too hard. Her social skills are very poor and she'll need some patience. She would love having a flock and a good mate. Your big chance. Be confident,out going, and dole out small doses of affection. Try and see the world though her eyes. Thank you for giving an older zon a new home.The diet issues will take care of them selves. zons are good eaters and you just need to give her lots of choices. Remember variety is best. get a digital kitchen scale and make a routine of weighing her every AM before breakfast.

Oh my god she's so cute but she's not a parrot, she's a TURKEY! That you SO much for taking care of her!!

My conure likes pellet berries, but my BFA not so much, I would say maybe follow one of the birdie bread recipies in the recipies section for one where you mix pellets into it? My BFA LOVES his cornbread.

my FYH loves his cornbread too, making my first homemade with pellets added this weekend

Thank you Copper and SandyBee. I think a slow-going approach is the best and exercise. Will document the transformation!

Today she let me kiss her beak and scratch her head through the cage bars---it's a start. Also, she has been moving around a lot lately in her cage--much more mobile. I'll get a weight check on her later today or tomorrow.

She is really cute. congrats on your new baby

Update: Del has been adopted! She is going to a good friend who lost her 32 year old Amazon not long ago. My friend came over and Del went crazy for her! She was talking and regurgitating for her and really came out of her shell. I think I found a love connection! And thank you everyone for your support.

Those are some awesome news!!!! Sure sounds like a love connection to me. Well done!!!

Awesome! Sounds like she found a forever home. Keep us updated on her progress!!

This gives me hope! I just got a Green Cheeked Amazon who should be nicknamed Tom Turkey. I figured we would keep the same diet since he had just been pretty inactive and not worked. If his calories stay the same at first (and we don't feed junk food) then just the extra exercise and attention should be sufficient to help him start trimming down. I DO look forward to hearing on any progress you may have...