3 months so which food?

[T00tsyd]

I got Syd a week ago and he/she was with a single Dad with a 2 yr old who realised he simply didn't have time for it. At work all day and the kid who was determined to kill it.
His mother stayed for a while and clipped his wings and cared for him but she went home. Reality then set in and he is still only 14 weeks old, and my first Conure, and I admit to being confused.
I did a load of research and thought I had a good idea of what I was doing but 2 types of food the guy gave me are called 1) cockatiel and parakeet, and 2)other which he said was a treat, is described as parrot tropical mix.

For the last week I have been feeding this and adding fruit and veg night and morning but when I read online the talk is of pellets. So is he old enough?

He is also developing black spots and black edges to his wings which I read could be stress. I want him to grow his wings. He seems well, he is lively chatty, nippy, and has already bonded to me like a leech. he is currently adapting what I write by working the mouse. So I guess I just need to know where I am going with him. Thanks all.

 

[Inger]

Good for you for reaching out for help. This is the best place for it. Someone who actually knows something (not me) is bound to come along soon!


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[IndySE]

Pellets should be a staple of their diet. I personally think the earlier it is, the better, just because they get more fussy in accepting new foods when they get older. I recommend Roudybush or Harrison's brand pellets (don't be cheap on the brand). And keep feeding him veggies Occasional seed is okay too, it just should not be most of his diet because they can develop fatty liver disease.

The black edges/flecks on his feathers, called "stress bars" I believe, are normal to some degree in young parrots. My baby GCC had them too, and as she got older, her new feathers have come in shiny and green. They can develop when in a stressful environment, but the process of a baby parrot growing is also a very stressful (but natural event) so it's not uncommon. Just focus on giving him a great diet and his new feathers will come in nice and shiny

Good luck !

 

[plumsmum2005]

Hi and thanks for reaching out. Adding to reply above, I have noticed that you are from the UK and I think Roudybush are hard to come by here.
Parrot Food | Parrot Treats | Bird Food
Link may help you - I personally feed my RB2 TOPS Organics FYI. As stated before yes, yes, yes to veggies, legumes and some fruits. Seed/nuts can be the treats. Chop is popular as it enables to feed many veggies etc in one feed.
You do not state which Conure you have. Why not have a go and put a pic up?
This poor little bird has been through it hasn't it? Lucky to have you now! Perhaps in time you can consider taking him for an Avian Vet check up?
Worth your time in going through the tips for building trust/bond on here and also establishing boundaries for good behavior.

 

[T00tsyd]

Hi and thanks for reaching out. Adding to reply above, I have noticed that you are from the UK and I think Roudybush are hard to come by here.
Parrot Food | Parrot Treats | Bird Food
Link may help you - I personally feed my RB2 TOPS Organics FYI. As stated before yes, yes, yes to veggies, legumes and some fruits. Seed/nuts can be the treats. Chop is popular as it enables to feed many veggies etc in one feed.
You do not state which Conure you have. Why not have a go and put a pic up?
This poor little bird has been through it hasn't it? Lucky to have you now! Perhaps in time you can consider taking him for an Avian Vet check up?
Worth your time in going through the tips for building trust/bond on here and also establishing boundaries for good behavior.

Hi thanks for the info. I have already tracked down 3 Avian vets in my area as I would like to get him(?) checked over. He's a Green Cheek although the guy that had him described him as a King Blue. I can find no trace of that. He is a kind of deep turquoise with dark grey head and chest. He knows how beautiful he is! He has the dark grey green cheeks. His wing feathers are growing after being clipped a month ago and they are kingfisher blue.

I have just been out and got him a much bigger cage but will take a little time before I introduce it to him completely. I feel he has had enough changes for a few days. This one will have a bit more play scope for him. He is a very busy little soul and into everything.

My biggest challenge is my dog. He is very large and fortunately obedience trained and usually very calm and reliable, but at the moment he is either terrified or fascinated or possibly a bit of both. He leaps to his feet every time there is a squark/screech and it is quite comical. I have to take care to separate them for flying time, just in case he thinks it's airmail chicken dinner.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Hi and thanks for reaching out. Adding to reply above, I have noticed that you are from the UK and I think Roudybush are hard to come by here.
Parrot Food | Parrot Treats | Bird Food
Link may help you - I personally feed my RB2 TOPS Organics FYI. As stated before yes, yes, yes to veggies, legumes and some fruits. Seed/nuts can be the treats. Chop is popular as it enables to feed many veggies etc in one feed.
You do not state which Conure you have. Why not have a go and put a pic up?
This poor little bird has been through it hasn't it? Lucky to have you now! Perhaps in time you can consider taking him for an Avian Vet check up?
Worth your time in going through the tips for building trust/bond on here and also establishing boundaries for good behavior.

Hi thanks for the info. I have already tracked down 3 Avian vets in my area as I would like to get him(?) checked over. He's a Green Cheek although the guy that had him described him as a King Blue. I can find no trace of that. He is a kind of deep turquoise with dark grey head and chest. He knows how beautiful he is! He has the dark grey green cheeks. His wing feathers are growing after being clipped a month ago and they are kingfisher blue.

I have just been out and got him a much bigger cage but will take a little time before I introduce it to him completely. I feel he has had enough changes for a few days. This one will have a bit more play scope for him. He is a very busy little soul and into everything.

My biggest challenge is my dog. He is very large and fortunately obedience trained and usually very calm and reliable, but at the moment he is either terrified or fascinated or possibly a bit of both. He leaps to his feet every time there is a squark/screech and it is quite comical. I have to take care to separate them for flying time, just in case he thinks it's airmail chicken dinner.

Hi, re the new cage it may be worth setting it up and leaving in plain sight for a period of time. You could try adding one item from old cage a day, adding food etc and see it is enough to go explore. Usually once they have taken that step you are home safe.

Yes please do be very careful with the dog and Syd as we do hear horror stories unfortunately.

You could put up the AV's you have found and ask for input if you want recommendations.

 

[keakea]

Hi, I believe that the most important thing in addition to making sure you are providing a quality pellet (More than one in my opinion), is to make sure you are offering VARIETY! For example, make sure to offer plenty of fruit, vegetables, beans and grains; cook a mix of rice, beans and multiple vegetables and freeze it. Take out enough for 3 days and keep in the fridge and give your bird some of this every morning. To that you can add cut up fresh fruits. Volkman has a mix called "Birdeez Buffet" which is also a great food that you pour hot water over and let it sit for 15 -30 minutes then give it to your bird. I use that and add my own stuff to it as well. Important: ONLY LEAVE THIS MIX IN THE CAGE FOR 2 HOURS THEN REMOVE! You do not want your bird to eat spoiled food!

Also a good quality seed mix should be provided as a snack. I do not leave seeds in my parrots' cages all day. I have a time later in the day that I announce "seed snack" and they all get excited and receive a tablespoon of the seed mix (I use Volman). I always buy the Cockatiel mix without sunflower seeds because all my parrots (Jenday Conure, 2 Goffins Cockatoo's, and a Cockatiel) all seem to like that mix. I give my parrots hulled sunflower seeds as training treats which is why I give them a mix without them.

As for Pellets I give a combination depending on the bird of: Tropican, Tops Organic and Golden 'obles by Goldenfeast. All of these pellets omit the ingredient, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex. I also use Zupreem fruitblend and Roudybush California Blend, although they do contain the Menadione. However my Cockatoo's are extremely picky and those are the pellets they will eat so they get them. I absolultey hate that Bird food companies use Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Comple, it is unnecessary and toxic in large quantities so in my opinion "why is it in pet food at all????" Also, all Volkman products omit Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex so they get an A+ in my book!

Remember that birds are extremely wasteful but that is just the way they are and you need to throw out anything they don't eat at the end of the day and start over with fresh in the morning. Do not just pour new pellets over the previous days! Trust me, bacteria is a killer and I have known 2 people who lost birds to bacterial infections! Just commit to the fact that you will be throwing out what looks to be perfectly good food. That is just life with a parrot. Also, even if they don't like something continue to offer it because birds will eventually eat something if they see it often enough!

Also, because your bird is so young, try feeding him human baby cereal (like Gerbers) and mixing in a little carrot baby food or sweet potato baby food. Offer it on a spoon. My Jenday is 6 months old so I have been feeding him this in the morning first thing. Actually all of My parrots love this and still gobble it up! they never seem to outgrow this treat!

 

[T00tsyd]

Well so far so good. We have been playing musical cages over the last few days and now he is very happy in his new bigger one. The scope for toys is better and he has been making full use and hardly stops all day. This cage has horizontal rather than vertical bars and it has made a big difference to him.
I have taken to covering his cage to ensure enough sleep at night as he is the centre of the household action, until now he has never been covered, and today I made my first 'chop' based on all the stuff I think he seems to like (apple is best) with the plan of adding little amounts of new as we go.
He is still quite nippy, and definitely has temperamental moments. Today I opened his cage and let him come out in his own time. He did after a couple of minutes and landed on my shoulder as I was busy doing things. I think he then had a change of heart and nipped the back of my neck quite hard. At that point I decided he just wasn't in the mood so back he went and he attacked his toys without a backward glance.

He regularly offers his head to the bars for a scratch and shuts his eyes as if it's blissful so I am happy that he is confident enough. I never realised just how much of a character these little birds are.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Well so far so good. We have been playing musical cages over the last few days and now he is very happy in his new bigger one. The scope for toys is better and he has been making full use and hardly stops all day. This cage has horizontal rather than vertical bars and it has made a big difference to him.
I have taken to covering his cage to ensure enough sleep at night as he is the centre of the household action, until now he has never been covered, and today I made my first 'chop' based on all the stuff I think he seems to like (apple is best) with the plan of adding little amounts of new as we go.
He is still quite nippy, and definitely has temperamental moments. Today I opened his cage and let him come out in his own time. He did after a couple of minutes and landed on my shoulder as I was busy doing things. I think he then had a change of heart and nipped the back of my neck quite hard. At that point I decided he just wasn't in the mood so back he went and he attacked his toys without a backward glance.

He regularly offers his head to the bars for a scratch and shuts his eyes as if it's blissful so I am happy that he is confident enough. I never realised just how much of a character these little birds are.

Good to see you are 'getting it' ha ha. Once hooked there is no turning back! He sounds like he wants to be on you but anything that unsettles him whilst there will result in a nip. A bit like bite the one you're with! His way of letting you know also. Spend time if you are happy for him to be there on him becoming more confident but importantly GOOD. They learn quick. Enjoy!

Plum's cage has horizontal bars except the door and he loves to ladder up and down them.

BTW my Plum will make a "uhh" sound to draw my attention to things whilst on my shoulder and takes cues from me for reassurance. Taken a while to get there but when you have their trust it is pure magic.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Thanks for rescuing this bird!

Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. 30-ish years ago, Harrison's was still a small company. My vet was actually able to talk to Dr. Harrison about my bird's species and status, and they decided on the High Potency. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff. My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day.

 

[SouthWales]

Hi, my pineapple conure is a new addition to my family too. He is twelve weeks old and I've had him from a couple who's dog didn't get on with him. I think he's mainly been on a seed diet but has taken shredded kale and sweet potato today.

I've also read up about Harrison's. pellets but notice there are a few different choices so not sure which ones to go for.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Product/Species Feeding Chart | Harrison's Bird Foods

Here you go!

It doesnt have to be Harrisons there are other Organic Complete Diets out there. My RB2 uses them as missiles so I take it he doesnt much care for them LOL. BTW he does like TOPs Organics.