conure health question

Hi all..I hope I could get some advise.. I have 2 greencheecks.. My younger one has been vomiting his food for over a week now.. He is not acting sick and he is still drinking eating and playing. I had him at the vet last week and he thinks its from the red dye on some of the new seeds he was eating. I went back to giving him the other food and he is still vomiting his food on occasion. Any suggestions? Or advice? I have been giving him Browns Vitamin fortified Encore Premium. I would gladly switch foods if it will help him. Any advice is welcome.. Thanks, Jill and peetie

is this vomiting, our is this a "feeding" behavior? How old is the younger one? Is he/she old enough to be sexually mature (about 3 years old) and is he/she vomiting on the other bird, on you, on a favorite toy?

Healthy birds don't vomit, only REALLY sick birds vomit and since he/she is still alive a week later, and still taking in food (is he/she pooping normally - this is another clue would lead me to believe digestion is still taking place ... ) she/he probably isn't really sick ... going to guess that this is a "normal" regurgitation behavior ...

Regurgitation usually means, I love you - ParrotChronicles.com

Only thing I can think of is if he's not vomiting but 'regurgitating' which is a normal loving trait. I hope not to patronize, but I don't know what your experience level is, so this may likely be obvious and you have already ruled it out. Regurgitating food is a sign of affection usually done while bobbing their head up and down.

Jinx! Now you can't post till someone says your name....

wait, no, that's no good, you just came back.

beat you to it ... slacker!

SLACKER?

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Where are you on that list? Oh, not on there... thats right, you've fallen right off


Sorry for sidetracking BizzyBe - I get so few chances to poke fun at this slacker Tex.

thanks for the quick reply from both of you. Its not regurgitating.. His poops are normal.. and he just ate a banana. He seems fine which is the strange part. My doc didnt seem concerned. There is seeds in his vomit which has a pinkish hue to it. The doctor thinks that his stomach is sensitive to the red dye in some of the seeds. Any suggestions on other foods to give him? Im going back to the pet supply tomorrow to see what I can find.

what are you feeding him now? Red dye in seeds? Pelleted foods have dyes, I've never known seeds to.

There are several dye free foods available. Harrison's is the first one that comes to mind.

He eats Browns Vitamin fortified Encore Premium. Its a blend of seeds of all sorts but .. The doctor said they add dye for color. I am going to find him a dye free bag of food tomorrow.. Seems hard to find at the local pet stores here so I will go a few towns over to a store that has alot more to offer for birds.. I will let you know how hes doing. I change his water and the paper on the bottom of his cage daily. I even have 2 hut beds for him.. I switch off while cleaning them. I appreciate your replies.. I have had him for over 2yrs and he has never been sick or anything so I am hoping that the dye free food will help.. thank you again.

BTW... Is Harrison a name brand of seed? Where would I find it?

I am almost 99.9999999% sure that it has nothing to do with the dyes ... I truly believe that this is a 'regurgitation' behavior. When ever my sun conure 'gurges it always come up pink-ish and it smells strongly like vinegar.

Also, let's see if we can't get your GCC off the seed mix permanently ... seeds are not the best base for a diet ...

Harrison's is a pellet mix (probably one of the best, IMO) and has many different mixes, shapes and formulas ... I like the "high potency - coarse" during molting season, it's a extra strong formula for molting birdies who need a little extra during a hard molt.

Auggie's Dad said:

SLACKER?

Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community - Activity Statistics

Where are you on that list? Oh, not on there... thats right, you've fallen right off

Sorry for sidetracking BizzyBe - I get so few chances to poke fun at this slacker Tex.

Click to expand...

Ah, screw your list; but, I will humor you and tell you that I am number 23 on that list. What's more important to me is that I still have just about FOUR TIMES the number of posts you do ... :09: AND, I've been here longer. :18:

In all honesty though, you have things so well under control, I don't feel that I have to check in all the time. And with my life creeping ever closer to the chaos that is a first child it's nice to know that someone else here knows what they are doing...

Thank you texdot33 and Auggies dad .. I appreciate all of your input. I was looking up that harrisons food last night on line. Im wondering if I can buy it local instead of online and paying the shipping charges.. The food is expensive but Im sure it will be worth it in the long run. I am going to check to see if I can find some around here after work. I agree with you about the dye because he has always ate colorful foods and we never had this problem before. Thank you so very much. Jill

Was the vet you went to a Certified Avian Vet? If so they would no where to get Harrisons, that is if they didn't sell it there.

Several quality pet stores do sell Harrisons, but I'd say a majority of common stores do not. I see it quite regularly being sold at veterinary clinics where there is either an avian certified vet, or a non-certified vet who commonly works with birds.

As an aside:
Auggie has actually never seen an officially avian certified vet, but both of his vets were highly experienced with birds. You wouldn't believe the bureaucracy they have to wade through to become certified, often this isn't practical and hardly possible for the 'small town' vets who in my opinion are often much more attentive and knowledgeable.

I do think looking for avian certification in a vet is an important thing - if they are certified then you know they know what their doing - the AVMA has signed off on their abilities. But if someone is not avian certified you can still check their background and learn about them yourself.

Back to the vomiting. Birds RARELY vomit - their physiology makes it much more unlikely than it is form mammals. When they do it even more rarely would have seed or anything at all recognizable in it. One source goes so far to say that if there is anything solid or recognizable as food in it then it CANT be vomit but is rather crop regurgitation. You may want to double check with your vet, or get a second opinion to be sure.

In either case though getting on a quality diet will good nonetheless.

You and Pete were extremely lucky! The Green Wing Macaw in my avatar died (you will never be forgotten Majestic) due to a bacterial infection ... from the onset of a noticed symptom to her death was about 4 days. Her owner is probably one of the most intelligent parrot owners I have ever been lucky enough to meet and learn from so she knew the moment her baby got sick. Majestic was given the best vet care that you could ask for and she fought with everything she had, she was only four when she passed last fall. I still miss that little girl to this day, and her momma still cries at her loss ...

Consider yourself very lucky that you had a favorable outcome ... for a bird to have symptoms like that for a week and not require extensive vet care, well, let's just say you were really, really lucky.