transitioning pellet to fresh

Ilovemyparrot

New member
Feb 1, 2021
4
1
Hello,


I just adopted an eclectus and I am trying to transition her from her pellet diet to fresh veggies diet. I've been doing half and half of each now. Her poop started getting watery. is she ok, should I cut back on the veggies? Thank you
 

wrench13

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Parrot of the Month 🏆
Nov 22, 2015
11,383
Media
14
Albums
2
12,567
Isle of Long, NY
Parrots
Yellow Shoulder Amazon, Salty
Not an Ekkie person by any means, but increased veggies means more water in the diet which means more water in the poops. And Ekkies always do better with a minimal pellet diet, so transitioning to a more veggie heavy diet is a good thing.
 

Iyanden

New member
Feb 9, 2021
29
13
Bay area
Parrots
Female eclectus (Celeste, ~3 yrs old)
My eclectus is on a rice, veggie, and fruit diet, and her poops after eating are quite watery. The poop also changes colors to match what she ate (more red after carrots, more blue/purple after blueberries, etc.). I always say her poop splatters are like a Jackson Pollock painting. :D

Also, on this diet, I've basically never seen her drink water. She shows no interest in the water/tea my wife and I drink, but shows great interest whenever we eat something.
 

Alembic772

New member
May 13, 2020
239
52
Spring Hill, FL
Parrots
Basil - 22yr male SI Eclectus
River - male GCC
Nemo - female BCC - handicapped
Summer - female pineapple gcc
Rainbow - male yellow side gcc
Lando - male black headed caique
Paprika - female SI eclectu
Basil, my 23 year old male Solomon island, eats a lot of pellets. His poo is usually very firm and he actually dunks his pellets in his water bowl. We are working on getting him converted back over to a more fresh diet.

Paprika, my 8 month old female Solomon island, eats an all fresh diet with some Tops pellets from time to time. Her poo is nothing like Basils and is all a wet mess. Usually darker if a lot of blackberries and blueberries, or greener if more greens are present. And I barely ever see her drink water either.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Ellie777Australia

New member
Apr 12, 2019
1,280
98
Queensland, Australia
Parrots
SI Eclectus Female, Ellie; RS/SI Eclectus Male, Bertie (both adopted as rescue/re-home)
Hello,


I just adopted an eclectus and I am trying to transition her from her pellet diet to fresh veggies diet. I've been doing half and half of each now. Her poop started getting watery. is she ok, should I cut back on the veggies? Thank you
If she is on a poor pellet then slowly switch to Tops organic as a sub as well as converting to fresh veg and fruit diet. Eclectus also need plant protein and grains. Add appropriate beans and lentils (cooked properly), brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, oat groats etc as well as just veg and fruit.



It is natural for watery poos when converting (more water in veg etc). Go slow and steady. Ensure that you provide vitamin A and calcium loaded foods. My two always have a dry mix of seeds/Tops/gum nuts available. They still eat fresh chop morning and evening no problems and drink/dunk food in their water. Eclectus generally wash their food. If it is warm, offer cold water and they generally lap it up. Purified water is essential as well as veg/fruit liquid.
 

noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
472
Parrots
Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
My eclectus is on a rice, veggie, and fruit diet, and her poops after eating are quite watery. The poop also changes colors to match what she ate (more red after carrots, more blue/purple after blueberries, etc.). I always say her poop splatters are like a Jackson Pollock painting. :D

Also, on this diet, I've basically never seen her drink water. She shows no interest in the water/tea my wife and I drink, but shows great interest whenever we eat something.


I give my bird rice products sometimes, but that's not something I would give daily because it contains arsenic and eckies are much more efficient at extracting nutrients (and whatever else from their food)...while a human may not notice the impacts, a parrot could. That is why they say that pellets should be generally avoided by them, but not other parrots,
 

Iyanden

New member
Feb 9, 2021
29
13
Bay area
Parrots
Female eclectus (Celeste, ~3 yrs old)
My eclectus is on a rice, veggie, and fruit diet, and her poops after eating are quite watery. The poop also changes colors to match what she ate (more red after carrots, more blue/purple after blueberries, etc.). I always say her poop splatters are like a Jackson Pollock painting. :D

Also, on this diet, I've basically never seen her drink water. She shows no interest in the water/tea my wife and I drink, but shows great interest whenever we eat something.


I give my bird rice products sometimes, but that's not something I would give daily because it contains arsenic and eckies are much more efficient at extracting nutrients (and whatever else from their food)...while a human may not notice the impacts, a parrot could. That is why they say that pellets should be generally avoided by them, but not other parrots,


We were doing the double washing/cooking the rice to deal with the arsenic thing. She was only on that diet to check for food sensitives, but yeah, we're back to a variety of fruits/veggies. Rice was replaced with lentils, squash, and pumpkin.
 

Iyanden

New member
Feb 9, 2021
29
13
Bay area
Parrots
Female eclectus (Celeste, ~3 yrs old)
If you have an avian vet recommending this etc, don't listen to me, but rinsing has a small impact on the arsenic in rice.

https://www.fda.gov/food/metals-and-your-food/what-you-can-do-limit-exposure-arsenic.

You should still rinse, but how you cook it impacts it more than anything, although it's still there.

Right, not just rinsing, but double washing/cooking.

We follow the method in this paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720368728?via%3Dihub.
 

ALRAINBOW

Member
Mar 27, 2020
45
8
how many times a day i change the water . i dont know witch one started it and it comes and goes . not consistent at getting done . they eat pellets and veggies but not at same time . its one or the other . i am now trying to lower food intake as well bought a scale this should fun lol
 

noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
472
Parrots
Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
I change Noodles water 1x daily minimum (washing container with a parrot-safe soap, like classic Dawn and rinsing well with hot water). If it's obviously cloudy or contains food, I change it as well.


Why are you lowering food intake?
 

Alembic772

New member
May 13, 2020
239
52
Spring Hill, FL
Parrots
Basil - 22yr male SI Eclectus
River - male GCC
Nemo - female BCC - handicapped
Summer - female pineapple gcc
Rainbow - male yellow side gcc
Lando - male black headed caique
Paprika - female SI eclectu
Usually change Basil and Paprika’s water twice a day. Basil likes to make soup out of his. Paprika seems like she barely touches it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top