Conure Help, Feathers going black

Jessie and baby

New member
Mar 7, 2022
3
7
Parrots
Cinnamon Green Cheek Conure
Hi there im new to joining the parrot forums family, my Cinnamon Green Greek conure's name is Baby she is super sweet and affectionate lady, she is 6ish years old, hand rasied by me. I had her on a seed basied diet all her life with fruit/veg (yes i know that was bad) and now from the feather scar have made the switch to chop and seed until seeds are out of the picture and treats only.
Babys feathers have been darkening and turning black for a few weeks now, on looking into this, it could have been vitamin A deficiency, fatty liver or diabetes. So i rushed her to the my avian vet and she said other then her feathers changing colour she appears to be in good health and the vet stated she might be going through a moult which she may need assistance with, i asked for her bloods to be taken which came back no issues with all her organs exept pancrea. which the vet wasnt to worried about and precribed baby vetafarm brand Multivet with moulting aid and vetafarm synbiotic (9 strains probiotic, prebiotic and digestive enzymes) its been alittle over a week since our appointment with the vet but still no changes to her feathers and her usual self as of yet but i am seeking any advice i can get, plus im a carring parent. Baby's next appointment is in 2 weeks.
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:)
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BirdyBee

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Welcome.

What does her diet exactly look like? You're not specific enough in the post..

I once helped a member on this forum with the exact same issue. At first they thought they had a good diet for their bird, but it turned out it was not the best. After the diet switch her feather quality improved A LOT.

Do you feed her pellets or seed? If so which brand? Does she eat mostly pellets/seed? A healthy diet for a bird should consist of mostly veg(with the exception ofsome species like lorikeets who need mostly fruit).
 
OP
Jessie and baby

Jessie and baby

New member
Mar 7, 2022
3
7
Parrots
Cinnamon Green Cheek Conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #3
Hi there, thankyou for responding, Baby was on a seed diet all her life which i have changed since the feather change n vet visit just recently she is currently on a chop diet which consits of carrot, peas, corn, red bell peppers, sweet potato and brocoli and she will often eat off my plate so zucchini, califlower she is eating aswell and ive been increasing her berries intake as they are high in antioxidants and i have only been giving her alittle bit of seeds when im trying to mask the vetafarm synbiotic in her seed, she is a very picky eater and now her favorites are peas and corn....o_O.
now her diet is 60%veg, 30%fruit and 10%(seed with her vitamins). i forgot to mention this in my first post but after reading someone elses post about a similar thing. she is handles alot and maybe my skin/hair oils are getting on her feathers also her last diet had sunflower seeds and ofcourse this was the first thing she would eat. this is completly restricted to a treat now. but could be the cause of her feathers. I also have vetafarm pellets which the vet recommended (both the colourful pellets and the brown pellets) but shes not interested it them at all. this is the long term diet i want to her onto with added veg and fruit but seems so far away atm :cry:.
I am still worried about the feathers and i hope my avian vet knows what shes doing. also the vet said maybe i should stop handling her so often but thats impossible. Also how much sleep does a very affectionate conure need to sleep?
Baby is also a very picky drinkier so if i add vitamins to the water (which i have been, vetafarm mulitivet is a liquid form and ive tried to add juice to the water to mask it aswell but shes so picky :eek:.
 
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BirdyBee

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2022
3,748
Media
34
Albums
6
8,080
South Africa
Parrots
Current birds:
John
Snowy
Pippen

Past birds:
Grumpy
Sunny
Griffen
Jeff
Gertjie
Hi there, thankyou for responding, Baby was on a seed diet all her life which i have changed since the feather change n vet visit just recently she is currently on a chop diet which consits of carrot, peas, corn, red bell peppers, sweet potato and brocoli and she will often eat off my plate so zucchini, califlower she is eating aswell and ive been increasing her berries intake as they are high in antioxidants and i have only been giving her alittle bit of seeds when im trying to mask the vetafarm synbiotic in her seed, she is a very picky eater and now her favorites are peas and corn....o_O.
now her diet is 60%veg, 30%fruit and 10%(seed with her vitamins). i forgot to mention this in my first post but after reading someone elses post about a similar thing. she is handles alot and maybe my skin/hair oils are getting on her feathers also her last diet had sunflower seeds and ofcourse this was the first thing she would eat. this is completly restricted to a treat now. but could be the cause of her feathers. I also have vetafarm pellets which the vet recommended (both the colourful pellets and the brown pellets) but shes not interested it them at all. this is the long term diet i want to her onto with added veg and fruit but seems so far away atm :cry:.
I am still worried about the feathers and i hope my avian vet knows what shes doing. also the vet said maybe i should stop handling her so often but thats impossible. Also how much sleep does a very affectionate conure need to sleep?
Baby is also a very picky drinkier so if i add vitamins to the water (which i have been, vetafarm mulitivet is a liquid form and ive tried to add juice to the water to mask it aswell but shes so picky :eek:.
30% fruit is a lot, I suggest lowering it to 10% max. 10% seed is fine.

If you are going to try give her pellets, I suggest some brands like TOP's, Harrisons, and Roudybush(Roudybush isn't the best option, TOP's is the best option).

When buying pellets, avoid colourings(colourings can be harmful), sugar, fillers(corn, soy, peanuts, wheat, only if you can avoid them).

Vetafarm is an OK brand.

I don't recommend vitamins in her water since she already eats a lot of veggies, unless she has been tested for deficiencies and the results state she needs extra vitamins.. too much vitamins isn't a good thing/

All birds need at least 10-12 hours of sleep.

Pellets aren't actually 100% necessary, if you can make a good dry mix and they eat it, pellets are unnecessary IMO.

I'll make a post later for you on how to get them to eat pellets :)
 
OP
Jessie and baby

Jessie and baby

New member
Mar 7, 2022
3
7
Parrots
Cinnamon Green Cheek Conure
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #5
Thankyou for your quick replies! :D
what would u recommend in a good dry mix?
and id really appreciate getting her to eat pellets but if its ok not to be full time pellets id love to know alternatives as shes so picky! plus i get the idea that if her mother (me) doesnt eat it she wont and if im eating something she wants to try it.
 

BirdyBee

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2022
3,748
Media
34
Albums
6
8,080
South Africa
Parrots
Current birds:
John
Snowy
Pippen

Past birds:
Grumpy
Sunny
Griffen
Jeff
Gertjie
Thankyou for your quick replies! :D
what would u recommend in a good dry mix?
and id really appreciate getting her to eat pellets but if its ok not to be full time pellets id love to know alternatives as shes so picky! plus i get the idea that if her mother (me) doesnt eat it she wont and if im eating something she wants to try it.
Dry mixes include a variety of dried herbs, spices, grains, flowers, some nuts, some seed etc:)
It's not necessary but can be more enriching than a plain bowl of pellets😀

you can pretend to eat the pellets, maybe she'll want to try it because your food=their food😆

I'll try send you some links of DIY dry mixes.
 
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Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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hello and welcome to forum. I'm so glad you consulted with a veterinarian that's fantastic.

Once the feathers change appearance, they won't go back to normal till they are mol9ted out and new ones grow in.

I don't think this is from handling your parrot too much.. plus you have had her six years and handled her the same before this feather change . I handling mine all day long and none of mine have ever had feathers change like that .

Quick diet changes can be hard and stressful on birds. Yours looks a tad thin, tho hard to tell in pictures. Getting a digital kitchen scale and set to grams , weight check weekly in morning after first poop. Will give you baseline, and let you know if dropping. Average for green cheek is around 70 grams. Individual average is different based on size differences.

You took out a lot of calories, protein, fats, and carbs, by removing seeds, and didn't exchange that back with pellets, or whole grains, or soaked cooked legume.

Just like all seed diet, a diet of a few veggies and fruits is also not complete.

We are always talking diet, we are all trying to her it right , and so much conflicting information.

Be careful with vitamin supplements...I would not add to water. I've seen burds overdose on vitamin and cause liver damage.

What I do from my research, and I make no claims thst I've got it right. They get a mix of about 6 different veggies twice a day, I rotate. And its also important to say they eat them * ( cuz we can offer doesn't mean they do) i have 3 different pellets available in their own dishes, and they do eat those as well. I do feed a seed mix its probably 35% of their diet. I keep seed mix in cage, as they are out all day they are eating the pellets and veggies that I have available out of the cage , sbd seeds are eaten in afternoon evenings. They also get soaked and cooked legume, lentils, and boiled egg occasionally and 10% fruits more often as berries. I have a parrot soaked and simmer mix i feed occasionally.

If you switch to pellets as main diet, then 10% seeds still and fresh veggies and 10% fruits.

 
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