Kiwi only ate nuts today!

[sherylb]

Kiwi is full of surprises again today, he's almost fearless! I guess he's decided I am safe and that's that! I took him to my office this morning as our usual routine and put him on his playstand to eat. He came off that stand so fast up to my hand looking for nuts. He's turned into a little piggy about the nuts! He's only wanted to eat nuts from my hand and I had to work at getting him to just eat them off my desk! I'm not complaining I love it but he has barely ate his pellets today...I'm guessing this isn't good?? I only give him bits of the nuts because he won't eat them unless i crush them up but that's all he wants!! Do they usually get like this??
On a side note......He decided to check out my water cup that is pretty big but when he discovered there was water in there he decided that would be his bathtub for today!!

 

[Laurasea]

So darn cute!!!!! He probably so full of nuts right now lol. He loves your attention you could probably offer other things by hand and he might still think that's fun . Thanks for pics soon cute

 

[cnyguy]

Nuts are a good nutritious treat, but should be reserved as a treat and given in moderation. Probably best to wait until Kiwi has eaten some of his other food before offering him any nuts. Parrots can become obsessed with certain foods and decide they don't want anything else. You might try plain popcorn as another good treat (no oil, butter or salt). Both my parrots enjoy popcorn a lot.

 

[Owlet]

Definitely be careful with feeding too many nuts. I use almonds as a primary TREAT for my ekkie and he was recently diagnosed with a high cholesterol from it oops

 

[EllenD]

Yeah, go really easy on the nuts, they are full of fat, and should not be something that is ever fed to them as a part of their regular, daily diet. They should strictly be only an occasional treat or reward, because if they become a part of his daily diet, just like sunflower seeds or millet sprays, they gradually start to build-up fat in their liver, which will result in Fatty Liver Disease, which is the number one cause of captive-birds having their lifespans cut short.

In addition to Fatty Liver Disease, Quakers have a very strong tendency to put a lot of weight on, and they do it quickly! I had this happen to my Quaker, Lita, in the first few months after I brought her home from her breeder (she was 12 weeks old when I brought her home). She was weaned onto a pellet and seed-mix diet by her breeder, which was good, but the pellets she ate were some junk-brand of pellets, and they were fruit-flavored and nothing but sugar. And her seed-mix was a really junky, Walmart type of seed-mix. So I started immediately mixing the food the breeder sent home with me with the natural pellets and the healthy seed-mix that I use. But I didn't really pay attention to the fact that she was basically just eating the junk-food and not the new, healthy food, and then of course I was giving her all kinds of treats like nuts (she will do anything for a pistachio, lol), millet sprays, sunflower seeds, and whatever food I was eating too...I took her to my CAV for her first wellness-exam the second week after I brought her home, and she checked-out wonderfully well...But by her 6-month follow-up with my CAV, well, let's just say that there was a lot more of her to love...She was like a big, squishy blob of blue and gray fluff, lol. I had never had this happen to any other bird/parrot, but Lita is my first Quaker, so I had no idea how easily they gain weight...

***Something else to be aware of is that if Kiwi doesn't eat her regular "breakfast", meaning her pellets/seed mix/fresh veggies, but then you give her "treat food" like nuts, sunflower seeds, people food, etc., then you're teaching Kiwi that he doesn't have to eat the food in his bowl, he can just wait for the "good stuff". So you shouldn't ever give him any type of treat-foods until after he eats his pellets/seed-mix/veggies, whatever his regular, healthy, daily diet is. He will absolutely be stubborn at first and seemingly go on a mini hunger-strike, lol, as Quakers are the most stubborn parrot in existence, but he won't starve himself. It's just a matter of you waiting him out; a lot of pet owners fail miserably at this, as they see their pet not eating and they immediately think that they have to get him to eat something, so they give-in and give them the junk food, and then the pet doesn't eat their healthy food. So just be sure that from now-on you don't give Kiwi any treat-foods at all until AFTER he eats the healthy food you put in his bowl first thing in the morning. And stand your ground! Don't give-in to him, and after he finally does eat some of his pellets THEN you can give him one nut as a treat/reward, but only after he eats his pellets. They are incredibly intelligent, so he's going to work-you hard over this, lol. But in the end, you have to do what's best for Kiwi's health, as you don't want his life cut-short due to preventable issues. And even if he goes a day or two without eating anything, which he very well might do, don't sweat-it, he's fine. He'll eat when he gets hungry enough, and after he finishes finally eating his pellets, then make sure that you praise him and give him a nut to let him know that from now on he will ONLY GET TREATS after he first eats his pellets.

 

[lplummer52]

Parrots make us eat healthy. Birdie's favorite treat is shelled sunflower seeds or walnuts. I only use sunflower seeds for training, or if I want her to do something she doesn't want to do. My vet told me sunflower seeds and nuts were like candy. My husband gives her walnuts when he's cooking and wants her out of his way. The way to get Birdie to eat something healthy is to eat it ourselves and share it with her. She always wants what we're having and sits on the edge of our plates or bowls. The other way is to just keep offering the food you want them to eat, i.e., pellets. I remove all her Nutriberries, fruits and veggies after noon, and then just offer pellets. She loves them now.

 

[noodles123]

SO glad things are going well! Remember how worried you were? GOOD JOB! You made it!
I second what others have said. I think even for a large parrot, 2 large nuts a day (e.g., pecans etc) would be about my limit, just because of the fat content and risk for liver issues. Your parrot will likely be fine from one day of debauchery lol but I wouldn't make it a habit. Mine doesn't like pellets and prefers seeds, so instead of allowing her to fill up on seeds alone, I provide a mix of pellet and seeds, but in addition to these, I push grains and fruit/veg to which I add amino acids etc (NEKTON-S---it's a powdered supplement for parrots). That way, she doesn't fill up on seeds alone (fatty=fatty liver risk) but also, due to the bird vitamins I add, I am more confident that she is getting the right nutrition. I DO watch how much I add though, because birds can overdose on vitamins.


I would abstain from feeding her off of your plate directly, as this can encourage begging and human food usually contains things like saliva (bacteria)/fat/sugar/salt/ avocado etc (that birds can't have). That having been said, if I know I am eating a salad, I save some undressed lettuce aside for the bird on her own special plate and then give that to her when I am eating mine (BEFOREEEEE she starts to fuss..that way I am not encouraging obnoxiousness).

 

[sherylb]

thanks!! I loved him doing all these things for treats so I did give him too much but will not anymore. I could see how much of a little pig he was becoming over the nuts. He is still not wanting me to touch him Much but will briefly let my rub his head and I think he is starting to like it. He doesn't want to just sit on me yet either when I am watching tv but hoping that changes. He won't eat fruit at all or veggies....nothing that is wet...he likes dry oats and toast.

 

[April]

I put sunflowers in every crevice of toys in the aviary thinking it would take April days mayb even weeks , try one hour yikes . Your birdie is so cute!