Bird newbie with a lot of questions...

Just a warning/apology ahead of time for the looooong post and questions..:15:

About ten years ago a Goffin Cockatoo was tossed into my lap and I absolutely adore her but I am not really a parrot person-I have always been really into animals and I have some other smaller birds but she is my only parrot and I really don't know anything about them. She is not very bird-like and somehow we have just gotten by with me being clueless. In the last ten years I have only had to take her to the vet once when she had (or something similar) to a fatty liver disease from being on a seed diet and that was when the vet told me to switch to pellets-which I did but I don't really know what is a good brand, what type I should be getting? I usually buy Zupreem but to be honest if I don't see Zupreem I just get what is the most volume for the $ Because I don't know what I should be getting.

She eats dinner with me every single night and I am a somewhat healthy eater (Never eat fast food, try to stay away from boxed/canned food) and that makes up most of her diet really and then I just free feed her pellets which really she plays with more than she eats. She really DOES not like fruits or vegetables. At all. The most I can get her to eat is watermelon and the occasional carrot.

So my main concern is that Sunday night her breath had a very strong stink-Im not even sure how to describe the smell. I thought I would give it a day in case it was something she had eaten-Monday it smelled stronger so I made her an appt. for Wednesday and Tuesday night I could just BARELY smell (literally about had her beak up my nose and I could barely catch a whiff), smelled her breath again Wed. and it was the same thing So I canceled the appt. because I didn't want to stress her out and expose her to anything in the vet's office since she in never around strange birds at all. The whole time her demeanor has not changed at all and her poop always looked great.

Is this something that I should be really concerned with or just keep a really close eye on her?

Another thing I am concerned with is her diet and what vitamins she is missing-She never goes outside, she lived the majority of her life outside and now she hates it so she is always inside and her cage is a large parrot cage that is in my closet-everyone thinks I am crazy but that is the only place that she is comfortable when in her cage.

She just doesn't act like a "normal" bird...She won't play with cage toys, she is almost always asleep in her cage. Not feather plucker-was nearly bald when I got her but she does not pluck at all anymore. She showers everyday with me and I do not clip her wings but she doesn't fly. Also she is somewhere around 20-30 I was told she was found in the early 90s...

I know everyone is probably going to say just take her to the vet they can answer these questions but I have a hard time finding a good avian vet because I haven't had very good luck with them and I don't know any bird people to refer me.

Any help is sooo appreciated.

OK First some good pellets are: Harrison's, Roudybush, TOPS, and several others that you can order from My Safe Bird Store. Here is the link:
MySafeBirdStore - DISCOUNTED Bird Products - Safe & Healthy from a Bird Free Environment. Best prices on the 'net. Same day shipping.

Just scroll down to the food link. My safe bird store is a sponsor of this forum and Kathie there is Awesome. Your order will arrive quickly and the items will be wrapped up in tissue paper, like a gift. Plus she always includes a candy bag for the human and foot toys for the bird ! You will fall in love with her website and her customer service !

In regards to the stinky breath, it could possibly be a crop infection, and I would advise a Avian Vet visit for a swab culture to identify this problem. The culture swab is very easy for the bird and shouldn't cause any stress on the bird.

Older birds that were never taught to play with toys, simply don't know what the toys are for.

I can come back and answer more in a while, but Hubby needs my computer right now. I hope some of this is helpful to you.

Any type of pellet is better then no pellets! If you could get him to eat more fruits and veggies that would help. Sometimes depending on what they ate, it can make them smell around their beak area cause there's juice and stuff might of been deposited on their beak. But your overly worried you should find a vet to go to as we can only speculate here.

Thank you both! I think I will be placing an order with MySafeBirdStore, going to wait a day or two and see if I get any feedback on supplements then I can order everything at once.

You shouldn't dose them with supplements as they should get majority of their needs through pellets and fruits & veggies. Plus stuffs you can cook for them.

MikeyTN said:

You shouldn't dose them with supplements as they should get majority of their needs through pellets and fruits & veggies. Plus stuffs you can cook for them.

Click to expand...

But she will not eat any fruits or vegetables? I wouldn't think a little watermelon and a carrot every now and then would cover what she needs? She eats what ever I have for dinner at night do you think that and her pellets will be enough?

You must be persistent when you feed, do a mixture of different things to feed. Java the U2, his last owner said the samething, couldn't get him to eat it. She couldn't get him to eat pellets either and she had him for over 7 years. I changed his diet in one week when he was with me. Threw out all she told me in the trash and do what I know. Keep trying, don't just give up!

MikeyTN said:

You must be persistent when you feed, do a mixture of different things to feed. Java the U2, his last owner said the samething, couldn't get him to eat it. She couldn't get him to eat pellets either and she had him for over 7 years. I changed his diet in one week when he was with me. Threw out all she told me in the trash and do what I know. Keep trying, don't just give up!

Click to expand...

Im not giving up, I am just telling you I have had the bird 10 years and I always offer her fruit and veggies. Very often I will sit down with a mango or something in the evening to eat and she will run over excitedly and as soon as she sees what it is has NO interest, none. She isn't like other birds she doesn't hold her food with her feet or like to investigate things. I put vegetables in with her pellets but she throws them out right away and she will not touch a mash.

How did you go about switching your bird over to fruit/veg-didn't offer anything else? made a mash?

Sad to say this, but she sounds like a typical pet bird that was never taught to use her environment for enrichment.

In the last ten years I have only had to take her to the vet once when she had (or something similar) to a fatty liver disease from being on a seed diet and that was when the vet told me to switch to pellets-which I did but I don't really know what is a good brand, what type I should be getting? I usually buy Zupreem but to be honest if I don't see Zupreem I just get what is the most volume for the $ Because I don't know what I should be getting.

Click to expand...

Short of getting more blood work done, there's no way to tell if you have her on an "ok" diet or not. Harrison's, TOP's and Roudybush are considered some of the better brands, and Zupreem as "ok" - although it does have sugar in it, and some contain dyes.

She eats dinner with me every single night and I am a somewhat healthy eater and that makes up most of her diet really and then I just free feed her pellets which really she plays with more than she eats. She really DOES not like fruits or vegetables. At all. The most I can get her to eat is watermelon and the occasional carrot.

Click to expand...

What does she eat for dinner? Have you tried hanging fresh food as toys? Have you tried chopping/dicing/slicing/skewering the fresh foods? Have you tried mixing them together into a chop or mash recipe?

Since she loves seeds so much, you might try offering her sprouted seeds. If she likes those, then start mixing finely chopped carrots, or corn or bell peppers/hot peppers, healthy legumes/grains etc into the mix. Start with only one or two fresh food ideas and slowly work your way out.


http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/23367-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

So my main concern is that Sunday night her breath had a very strong stink-Im not even sure how to describe the smell. I thought I would give it a day in case it was something she had eaten-Monday it smelled stronger so I made her an appt. for Wednesday and Tuesday night I could just BARELY smell (literally about had her beak up my nose and I could barely catch a whiff), smelled her breath again Wed. and it was the same thing So I canceled the appt. because I didn't want to stress her out and expose her to anything in the vet's office since she in never around strange birds at all. The whole time her demeanor has not changed at all and her poop always looked great.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, most of the time, the stress of a vet's visit and the potential hazards is better than not going. You aren't a vet, you can't properly diagnose what's wrong, and unless you can find a vet that does house-calls (some might but very few, unless it's a vet that travels around doing in-home clinics or one that specifically does mostly house calls and has their own clinical vehicle), it's better to take them in.

Even if she ends up being perfectly healthy with no problems, it's better knowing that nothing is wrong with her rather than not knowing and thinking she's fine when she might not be.

Another thing I am concerned with is her diet and what vitamins she is missing-She never goes outside, she lived the majority of her life outside and now she hates it so she is always inside and her cage is a large parrot cage that is in my closet-everyone thinks I am crazy but that is the only place that she is comfortable when in her cage.

Click to expand...

What about placing her in a corner of your home? And/or partially covering the cage with a towel or blanket? This may allow you to have her somewhere else in the home.

She just doesn't act like a "normal" bird...She won't play with cage toys, she is almost always asleep in her cage. Not feather plucker-was nearly bald when I got her but she does not pluck at all anymore.

Click to expand...

Sadly, that's pretty normal of a lot of parrots. It's great that she no longer plucks, but a lot of parrots don't know how to properly interact with their environments! I would highly suggest looking into clicker training and foraging. Through both you can teach her to be more interactive with her toys and will give her something to do.

She showers everyday with me and I do not clip her wings but she doesn't fly.

Click to expand...

Again, normal of birds who's flight muscles have atrophied or never got the chance to fly/spread their wings. If you want to teach her to fly, then I'd highly recommend doing so! But know that she may not have any muscle in her wings to keep her up in the air, so it will take time to get those muscles in proper working condition.... and I'm talking months!

There's a few things you can do... one is to ask for a step up from a stable perch. Repeat multiple times. Ask for a longer step up. Repeat multiple times. Ask for an even longer step up that requires using her beak to get to you. Repeat. Ask for a step up that requires a hop and repeat. Ask for a step up with a hop and a flap, repeat. Etc.

Or you can teach her to target between two separate perches (i.e. two tall stands or the back of two chairs). Keep the distance short and slowly increase the distance as the bird gets accustomed moving between those two places.

Encourage wing flapping. This can start from just encouraging her to open her wings to forcing her to open her wings and rewarding her for opening/flapping her wings. This *MUST* be a positive experience for her. If it's not, and she gets scared, it can cause more harm than good.

If at any time she balks or is unsure, go back a step.

I know everyone is probably going to say just take her to the vet they can answer these questions but I have a hard time finding a good avian vet because I haven't had very good luck with them and I don't know any bird people to refer me.

Click to expand...

Are there any bird clubs in your area? Maybe pet stores? If there are, you can ask them what vets they recommend! You can also go to a website such as Craigslist and put an ad up asking for *good* local avian vets or vets that are good with birds. Don't be afraid to ask people!

What does she eat for dinner? Have you tried hanging fresh food as toys? Have you tried chopping/dicing/slicing/skewering the fresh foods? Have you tried mixing them together into a chop or mash recipe?

If I hang them-they scare her, I have tried mashes with no luck, and she just has no interest when I either have a whole food or chopped.

The only veg thing she likes is vegetable soup which I try to eat a lot since she will only eat it if I eat it.

A couple of her favorite foods- Spaghetti, Chicken and mashed potatoes, buttered/salted corn (won't eat it without salt/butter), veg soup, tomato bisque, bean/cheese burritos, ice cream. As you can see her favorites are far from healthy.


Since she loves seeds so much, you might try offering her sprouted seeds.

Where would I find these?


What about placing her in a corner of your home? And/or partially covering the cage with a towel or blanket? This may allow you to have her somewhere else in the home.

I have tried this-giving her her "own" room and also trying to move the cage in different places covered/uncovered. The only place she is comfortable is in the dark in my closet. She gets out about 6-7 hours a day but the rest of the day she is asleep and that seems like a lot of sleep to me, although she is older.


Are there any bird clubs in your area? Maybe pet stores? If there are, you can ask them what vets they recommend! You can also go to a website such as Craigslist and put an ad up asking for *good* local avian vets or vets that are good with birds. Don't be afraid to ask people!

I will look into this!

Thanks for the info!

I had a bowl of pellets for him all day, another bowl of fresh stuffs. I don't offer anything else, no treats or anything that sort.

That definitely helps!!!!

Spaghetti - not an ideal food per say, but have you tried adding in chopped vegetables?

Mashed Potatos - White, Red or Sweet? If White/Red, have you tried Sweet? Try mashed sweet potatoes. Try steaming carrots and mashing it in, too! Try mixing in corn and peas. Try broccoli florets, both fresh and cooked! Just the tiny little pieces is all you need! Maybe try cooking up some pumpkin and feeding that mashed, too? If she likes mashed potatoes, then the idea is to add in things she likes as well as new things.

Burritos - what about making some vegetable burritos? Use the mashed potatoes as "beans" then top with other vegetables (chunks/finely chopped/sliced) and some fruits!

The trick is to be creative!

Where would I find these?
You can either buy seeds from a place like Whole Foods and try sprouting them yourself or buying sprouting blends. Please refer to the thread I linked to you, specifically this post!

http://www.parrotforums.com/general...g-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html#post192069

And this post!

http://www.parrotforums.com/general...oods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html#post198996

I have tried this-giving her her "own" room and also trying to move the cage in different places covered/uncovered. The only place she is comfortable is in the dark in my closet. She gets out about 6-7 hours a day but the rest of the day she is asleep and that seems like a lot of sleep to me, although she is older.

My oldest confirmed bird is Charlie, my mitred conure. He's 19 years old and although he does like dark places, he does not live in a dark place. I swear he'd be happier living in a carrier or under a towel rather than in his cage! LOL

Ok, if she is so intent on the closet, what about full spectrum lighting inside the closet?



I don't know what part of California you are in, but San Diego and Los Angeles should have a *lot* of avian vets there! I also consider the San Francisco area to be "southern" California, but most people consider that "northern" California... but I do know there are several avian vets in that area, too!


Try these two links

The Association of Avian Veterinarians | Association

ABVP ? American Board of Veterinary Practitioners