Rehomed DYH Diet Transition

Greetings everyone! New to the forum with 10 years of living with parrots under my belt. All but one of my birds are rescues or rehomes having been given to me, two from our local animal control. Recent addition is a DYH amazon, beautiful girl we’re calling Bonfire. I’m worried about this bird and would love some guidance on how to proceed with her for this, her second full day with us. She is 28, possibly obese, and was on a junk food diet. Her previous owner provided some food for her which included a bag of sunflower seeds, sugary dried fruit, and a bag of junk pellet mix. She’s not eating, or barely eating when I’m not around to see it. I put a mix of Zupreem vege pellet (her previous owner said she does eat that) and the junk pellet in her bowl, as well as a few pieces of the dried fruit. Just checked her bowl and I can’t detect anything eaten. Her poops are quite liquid, small and have a white or green center. She steps up gingerly and I got her out of her cage three or four times yesterday for house tours and to sit with me on a perch in the kitchen. How worried should I be about her eating today? Any wisdom will be appreciated. None of the other parrots in my care have ever come to me with this combination of issues, it’s new terrain.

Welcome to the forums, so glad you're here! Thank you for taking in this lovely girl. I think it's not uncommon for a brief period of not wanting to eat when first coming in to a new home. Try to think of it from their perspective. Good or bad, they've just been ripped away from their life as they know it. Change is often a slow thing to accept for many parrots. She doesn't know you yet, and is likely scared in general. Time and patience are your friends right now, and with that, I'm sure she'll get there.

Thanks so much for the reply Saxguy64. Should I offer her more of what she’s used to in order to get her to eat? (Sunflower seeds, French fries etc) or let her nibble as she's willing to?

One sure way to know if your parrot is eating is to have a digital kitchen scale that reads out in grams, and to weigh her daily, at first. Record the results so any drop can be noted. Generally a drop of 3-5% or more is cause for getting to a certified avian vet ASAP. As Saxguy noted though, a new parrot might not eat a lot or at all for the first few days, but continued not eating is certainly a cause for alarm. Transition to new foods can be challenging! My own YSA treats new foods like they are radioactive, and have to take weeks before he will even touch them. But it can be done. Things like seeing you or other parrots eating the new foods can help a lot ( you dont have to really eat pellets etc, just look like you are, and make a lot of MMmmm Yummmy sounds while you do it).

A Starvation response can be common!!!

The goal is to get her to EAT! And, at this point, I really do not care what it is as long as it is not deadly. Make sure that there is an abundance to choose from! Refresh the water fairly often during the day as well!

I cannot understate the importances of getting her to eat.

An Avian Medical Professional visit ASAP. There is a wide cross-section of illness that an older Amazon can have. Poor diet can affect their liver as well as their heart just to cover the major organs.

Thank you Salty- I have a scale and will get her weight this morning. We’ll try to have a fun day today with lots of tasty things. Today’s program also includes a shower. She’s kind and is not aggressive, stepped up cautiously but willingly here a few minutes ago. ❤️

NikiBA said:

Thanks so much for the reply Saxguy64. Should I offer her more of what she’s used to in order to get her to eat? (Sunflower seeds, French fries etc) or let her nibble as she's willing to?

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Agree with Sailboat above. She needs to eat! Contrary to the popular belief that she'll give in and eat the new stuff if she gets hungry enough, parrots can and will starve themselves. So yes, give her what she'll eat. The best quality food is worthless if they won't eat it. Change is scary. You can possibly mix some better stuff in, which for now will be ignored or tossed, but she has the option. If she's really fearful of new foods, even the addition to the familiar menu can be off putting enough to keep her from eating. Pay close attention to her reactions.

This answers my question precisely ����. I will post an update tonight. Thank you both.

When I adopted Jonesy ( Goffin 'too) from a friend who no longer wanted him he was on a terrible diet,just seed. So I set up his bowls,one with fresh veg's and fruit and his main bowl with a seed mix and roudybush pellets. I got nervous after a couple days coz I didn't see any seed shells or pellet powder anywhere
On the fourth day I peeked around the corner and saw him vigorously diving into his bowl. I'm pretty sure a lot of his apprehension was due to being in a totally new home. His previous owner,imho,treated him terribly..a piece of banana once in a while or a crust of pizza or pasta of some sort.
Within 6 months with me he was off seed,eating pellets and enjoying fruits and veggies (mostly to toss in the air)


Jim

Something had been eating at me, like I had missed something, on the re-read, I noted your concern regarding her being possibly obese. DYH Amazons are a combination of three species with very little difference between them that with the exception of overall size /weight and a bit of red splashed on the neck it can be very difficult to define, which one you have. And just to add to the confusion, they have been cross-breed extensively to a point that one could say that there are four or five.

From a weight standpoint they, as a family, range from 500 to 725 grams. That said, I have come across a couple of females that are pushing 750 grams. As a family, they tend not be over-eaters, but will eat here and there during the day.

Our male is on the light side at 500 grams, but I have been told he appears on the heavy side. Not True! He is an active, strong flier, and it's not fat, its muscle.

The true method of determining if your girl is on the heavy side is to physically place hands of their breast bone. Best handled by an Avian Medical Professional. NOTE: If your girl is a flier, it is something that you will have tell your Professional and assure that is clearly stated in her medical file!

I believe she is eating when I'm not looking, at least picking through to find the safflower and other treats. We are at midday and I haven't seen her eat. Just put her back in her cage with her bowl of goodies. She had been sitting near me on a playstand; she hunches down very close to the perch. Is this her anxiety? She makes quiet vocalizations when I come near and talk to her. I've weighed her and am going to leave her alone for awhile.

I got her on the scale and she weighs in at 374 grams. I realize that's below the average. She is small in stature. She has not eaten anything that I'm aware of yet today. She spent the past couple hours close to me on a playstand very still and quiet, with a bowl of treats and good food in front of her. She vocalizes softly when I go close to her and talk to her. She has been hunching down and closing her eyes a lot, not sure if the whole experience is just overwhelming her. My house is quiet except for the other birds, lol, who do vocalize plenty in the mornings. It gets quiet in the afternoon. I'll try to get a picture of her in this position when I take her out later.

Hi,
The green urine or urates is infection or liver issue.

If she is fat and didn't eat that's big trouble with fatty liver disease. So you want to get her eating, try warm eggs, warm oatmeal.

Because of all the rapid changes, if she was dealing with a chronic health issue, it could now be overwhelming her.

I think you need go get go a vet right away! With watery poop, not eating and green something is going on. And its more than the typical don't eat first day thing.

Please get her to a vet today or in the morning

https://www.littlecrittersvet.com/sick-birds.pml

Supporting care will be so important . I used baby bird formula from Kaytee, it has a good history and has 2 added probiotic. Harrison main ingredient is soy, soy sucks and us a cheap cheap ingredient.

You start out thinner incase they are dehydrated. Then after a few feeding you can make thicker like greek yogurt thickness. Consistency was important in whether my birds would except or not as was warmth.

This is a link to emeraid, basically same thing as baby bird formula but made for sick ones. I did fine with Kaytee baby bird formula . But this talks about make thinner and lots of tips.
https://emeraid.com/vet/emeraid-intensive-care-basic-use-guide/

Yes, I just made the appointment. We are going down to Omaha tomorrow. I might try to syringe feed her eggs tonight. What do you think?

Grind up pellets and cooked sweet potatoes and water make your own formula. I have a you tube link i will get. Warmth is so important in supporting her. Feed her now. I ad a little Greek yogurt with live culture and no artificial sweetners to support her gut flora. I hsve done this with great success.
[ame="https://youtu.be/6RvSs_jDtoQ"]How To Take Care of a Sick Bird | Syringe Feeding an African Grey Parrot - YouTube[/ame]

I agree with Sailboat bellow, im afraid she is very sick. With Hutching, and eyes that keep closing.

Azithromyacin is a fast acting broad spectrum antibiotic. That saved my critical sick burd.

Sorry, this is going to sound weird, but are you sure you have a DYH Amazon. Her weight and per your description, overall size is far below normal. YES, variations do happen, but?

- Her upper and lower bill are horn, yellow-cream, to clear in color as are her toe nails. Eyelashes are clear and as a result very hard to see.

- The yellow head cap with color deep down the neck is traditional, have seem some with a bit less yellow on the neck.

DYH Amazons have a long history of being in your face, standing-high, etc.

Not trying to scare you, but if she was mine Amazon, I would have an appointment and be pushing to move it up! I fully admit to be crazy when it comes to the health of an Amazon.

FYI: Happy to see that you have made an appointment!!!

Here is her photo. Yes I’m sure she is a DYH. The avian vet is not in today; he works at the Lincoln Zoo in Nebraska also. Tomorrow is the soonest. I’m attaching her photo, now running out to get a few supplies.

Quick way for pictures. Click go advanced, thrn paperclip, choose pic, click upload on far right, when loads close window and post.
If you can find a cage warmer get it. Warmth is so critical for sick birds. You are trying to get temp to 80-85 f
You can use human baby pediolyte instead if water the first time you make feeding formula. I only use once tho, but can help electrolytes

Yiu can offer a half teaspoon of peanut butter. Just to tide her over while you are out running around. Or applesauce is great to.

Pics of Bonfire. Running out now to grab some formula and oatmeal.

Looks skinny and weak. First pictures wing drop is a weak burd. And both pictures down on hocks weak bird.

Warmth, don't have her cage by those cold windows