Hello from Charlie and Kim

[kmb2180]

Hello, I hope you are doing well. This is a new journey for me as I have just adopted a double yellow headed amazon parrot. We do not have details of his past however the last 3 weeks have been life changing. Charlie has brought so much love, joy, and excitement into our home. We truly feel as though he has blessed our lives rather than us saving his. My family has always had parrots so I am familiar with the upkeep and well-being that is required. My question currently is he seems to like the 3-D Parrot Food however after hours of research I found that he needs pellet food. I immediately seeked the best food I could find which was Harrison's Bird Food (high potency corse) which is what was recommended. I have followed all recommendations however Charlie just does not seem interested in it and won't eat it. I refuse to let him go without food so I end up putting his 3-D Parrot Food back in his cage (newly purchased and over recommended size). I have also ordered him Dr Harvey's Parrot Food however he doesn't care much for that either. Of course he has his water changed twice a day and fresh vegetables and fruit in the morning and offered in the evenings but he just doesn't seem to be that interested in it. Any help would be greatly appreciated as to any tips or advice on feeding or is it okay to keep him on the 3-D Parrot Food. In the past 3 weeks we have bonded tremendously, for instance he now whistles, is saying hello, give me kisses, working on whatcha doing and I love you, and tonight for the first time he came to our dining room table and decided he wanted to have dinner with us. Everyday gets better and better and thankfully I have not seen any bad habits. Thank you in advance

Sincerely

Kim and Charlie

 

[Inger]

The Harrison's website has information on transitioning to a pelleted diet. That might be useful.


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[Flboy]

Welcome to the three of you!

 

[Scott]

Welcome Kim and Charlie! Thanks for joining and sharing his story.

I am not familiar with 3-D food, but transitioning the diet can be difficult. You may have success moistening the pellets with fruit juice, but that of course reduces their life in the bowl. Birds are flock eaters and view you as part of said flock. While you many not wish to eat pellets in his presence, preparing a bowl of vegetables/fruits for Charlie and one for you may prove helpful. Unleash your inner 5 year old; take a piece, bob your head a bit, and start eating. Make "Mmmmm" sounds, etc!

You may find this link helpful: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

 

[smbrds]

Welcome to you and Charlie. May you have a continued journey with Charlie and success with transitioning to pellets.

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. As an aside, having your parrot eat dinner with your family really helps to increase the bond your family will have with Charlie. They are as mentioned flock animals and flock animals eat meals together. Oh he will have his veggies and fruit while you have your steak or whatever, it's the eating together at the same time that is important. Salty has his feeding Bowl as a part of his hanging round rope perch. he gets his wet foods there. It hangs right by our breakfast bar, just far enough away so that he can not reach the table. It had a positive change in his behaviour .

 

[OwnedByGeorge]

If you haven't already, please read the list of foods that are hazardous to parrots so you know what foods you can and can not share with him.

It's great that you guys are getting along so well. If your parrot will not take pellets, and he was hand raised, it is possible that he will still accept food from a feeding syringe like babies do, and you can use this to make sure he is getting proper nutrition, as you also work on moving him to pellets. You would use baby parrot "mash" (there are various different brands), mix it with water, and warm it as suggested on the package (BE SUPER CAREFUL ABOUT TEMPERATURE)

A lot of parrots don't like to change food and they can be picky about what pellets they will eat. One food that is nutritious that is very good is Pheonix Foraging Rolls unpellet or unpellet mix which is a bunch of stuff that has vitamins added.

I personally ended up feeding my parrot Zupreem Fruit Blend Flavor, which is a terrible food, because it contains a lot of sugar and coloring, but George refuses all other pellets and blends. It was either the zupreem fruit blend or seed so Zupreem it was and he's been eating it since he was 4 months old.

 

[Sandy19]

I personally ended up feeding my parrot Zupreem Fruit Blend Flavor, which is a terrible food, because it contains a lot of sugar and coloring, but George refuses all other pellets and blends. It was either the zupreem fruit blend or seed so Zupreem it was and he's been eating it since he was 4 months old.

Zupreem fruit blend is the only thing Peanut will eat too. She likes fresh fruits and vegetables also, but she won't touch a pellet.

 

[kmb2180]

I've thought about trying the fruit blend! I tried the mash tonight and he is eating away at it so I think that's the ticket. Now how do I start getting him to play with his toys? Also do you have recommendations for a good perch for the amazons? His nails are very long and Ive ordered the pumice stone perches but waiting for them to come in. I have the rope and tons of other perches but I just don't know how many is to many?

 

[OwnedByGeorge]

I've thought about trying the fruit blend! I tried the mash tonight and he is eating away at it so I think that's the ticket. Now how do I start getting him to play with his toys? Also do you have recommendations for a good perch for the amazons? His nails are very long and Ive ordered the pumice stone perches but waiting for them to come in. I have the rope and tons of other perches but I just don't know how many is to many?

Cancel the order. Those perches do not shorten nails and they are bad for parrot feet. You want natural wood branches with bark if possible (they sell these, sterilized, with bolts on the end to attach to the cage at specialty pet shops or online).

You should clip the nails yourself with an appropriate tool made for clipping bird nails. I doubt your parrot will let you do this since he doesn't know you well. Vets offer this service. Might want to wait until he is fully settled then consider taking him for a checkup and grooming.