Blue and gold eating behaviour

[arando]

Hi everyone

Riley is a 8 month old blue and gold macaw and i just need some advise on his food (not sure if there is a problem)

every morning he gets 3 bowls of food:

bowl 1 will be any combination of the following: all fresh and cooked vegetables and fruit like apples, pear, brocoli, potatoe, carrot, pumpkin and pumpkin seed, cucumber, boiled egg ( the fruit always fresh and the veggies sometimes cooked and sometimes fresh)

bowl 2 will be mixed seed and grain like: mealies, split peas, crushed wheat, lentils, kidney beans and oats - these are softened in boiling water and drained then i just mix a small amount of sunflower seed in just for the extra fat that macaws need. (daily also a small amount of kaytee exact premium macaw pellets)

bowl 3 is fresh filtred water daily

Ok the thing is Riley only eat the sunflower seed and then waits for me to give him formula - he is still eating formula once a day, i have tried not to give the sunflower seed then he only eats the kidney beans , and very seldom eat the fresh or cooked veggies and fruit. he does not apear to be sick, but was a bad eater since he was small, should i be worried or is there something i can do?

 

[Safira]

Stop feeding him sunflower seeds.

For the extra fat give him some nuts instead as a treat daily.

 

[arando]

Thank you i will discontinue the sunflower seeds

 

[azdesertrhino]

Stop feeding him sunflower seeds.

For the extra fat give him some nuts instead as a treat daily.

Excellent info!

Sometimes the FID will only eat the "treat type" stuff. For MAC it was the sunflower seeds also.

MAC gets fresh fruit, veggies and a minor bit of "carbs" in the morning.

During the day he gets sweet potatoes, fruit and a few nuts as a treat.

Seems to do quite well!

 

[MacawGuy]

Yea agree nuts are good treats. What kind of food do u use.

 

[arando]

Im a bit worried about the amount of food he consumes in a day - but he is active healthy and full of energy and the best thing that happend to me, very playfull and talkative and cuddles alot

 

[marxxx]

Try a few different types of high quality pellet food (just a small bag of each or ask a local store for a handful of a few different kinds) to see if he likes any of them.
macaws do love nuts! You can also try good cooked meat - grapes and banana are usually favorites of macaws as well. once they start eating more solid food, then start mixing the rest of the nutritious foods with them.

Give pistachios a look to.

 

[keepsmiling]

Do you have a scale, and keep him weighed? If not, you should, and know how much he weighs, how much a B&G ordinarily weighs, and if he fluctuates. This is also the best way to know if a bird is not well, since birds hide their illness. I would suggest more veggies, less fruit{sugar} more pellets, and learn how to bake nutritious bread for him with the things in it that he will not eat. I have a recipe if you would like it.
I would also suggest a different pellet over ANYTHING made by Kaytee.