Cutting out pellet

[jew1187]

I know generally that Eclectus' are not supposed to eat seeds, but is it a bad thing to feed them just fruits and vegetables and other things aside from pellets? I don't want to have to feed my Eclectus something extra when I am going to have plenty of fruits and veggies for him/her anyways. If pellets is an essential part of their diet, what brand does anyone suggest specifically?

 

[Chris Winkler]

I feed Tobi the pretty bird brand eclectus formula. My breeder had recomended it.. I know some here don't like it but Tobi only gets a small amount of them a day. I also give my guys walnuts as a treat.

 

[jew1187]

Alright. I will check it out. I have come to respect your opinion Chris. I appreciate the help.

 

[Chris Winkler]

You are so sweet my friend JEW

When I also move to Arizona maybe we can be more then Forum buddies!

 

[Colorguarder08]

I am currently feeding pretty bird as well but because I have noticed it has colored there droppings I am switching to ZuPreem I brand I trust with any pet I have.

 

[wildheart]

I've been reading up about wing flipping in Electus since one of my friends thought that his Electus had that problem. In the process I found some interesting articles.

I read that over supplementing their food can cause it because they live of a low nutritional diet in the wild. They mainly eat fruit and veggies and when they are given a lot of pellets and/or extra vitamin supplements are added then it can cause the syndrome. They also develop allergies when given the same type of food all the time, for example the pellets, allergies also cause wing flipping.

If there is Vit D3, spirulina and/ or vitamin A in the pellets then it can cause wing flipping .

I read that they need a high Vitamin A and Calcium diet. Pumpkin and seeds, carrots, broccoli leaves, dark green vegetables and dark orange or red fruit & veg are high in Vitamin A. If there is vitamin A in the pellets then it can mean that he is being over supplemented. They have the capability to eliminate excess vit. A in its natural form but they can not eliminate vitamin A in the form of an unnatural supplement (like pellets).

Calcium deficiency can also cause wing flipping. Food high in calcium are collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion and watercress.

Although the first article is about toetapping it addresses pellets.

toetapping

diets

 

[jew1187]

Right, I read back over that post and realize that I might have made that one sound a little funny... Would it be a bad thing if I were to completely cut out pellets from my eclectus' diet? If I don't have to feed him/her pellets, I don't want to. I would rather he/she eat a lot of fruits and veggies than eat any pellets at all.

 

[wildheart]

I cant say, Aussie Ben - one of our members took his electus to his vet and they discussed the diet. I cant remember exactly what was said but here is the thread, it might help you to decide.

http://www.parrotforums.com/behavioral/6474-i-really-need-some-help-here.html

 

[jew1187]

I talked to the breeder I bought my Eclectus through tonight. The diet she has for her birds is strictly fruits and vegetables, no pellets. So that works. Thank you all for your help. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[wildheart]

Pellets has there advantages and disadvantages. I would say that if you are going to cut them out completely then it would be best if you give him leafy greens with his veggies and fruit every day.

I've been researching and planting high calcium food for the past 4 years because of my precious iguana. Without sun and a high calcium diet they develop Metabolic Bone Disease just like African Greys. For this reason my parrot scores big time on greens that are not sold here in South Africa. She loves the mustard stems most and eat the whole plant down to the roots, it burns like hell.

Collard are mostly sold there by you and is recommended. The only thing with it is that it is also high in goitrogens that has compounds that bind iodine in food and then prevents the body from using it. A lack of iodine cause [FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif]hypothyroidism, [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif]it is a disease that involves the lack of production of the thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland in the neck. It is believed that it can cause skin problems, [/FONT]poor feather growth, obesity and high blood cholesterol levels[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif].

Other food high in goitrogens are broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, brussels sprouts, kale, grapes, garden peas and mango.

Greens high in calcium that you can feed daily is mustard, turnip, alfalfa, water cress, dandelion, and endive.
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[EdiferiousRex]

I was instructed by my vet that no more than 30% of teh diet should be pellets, and if you feel confident you can provide (and they will eat) the right nutrients without pellets then cutting them out is fine. If pellets are to be fed she highly cautioned against food colorings.

 

[jew1187]

Thank you all very much for you help. From everything that I have read, all you have all told me, and from the breeder's diet for the birds, I believe I am going to probably have a small amount of pellets available for Skyler at a time. And I mean very small. I am very excited now though because I have been looking for an Avian vet here in the Roanoke Valley and I found one today. The Dr. has over 14 years experience and I went and talked to the local pet stores and they all highly recommended this particular one. Why I didn't ask the pet stores if they knew where an Avian vet was at first anyways I don't know. But I found one. Does anyone know if 54 dollars is cheap or expensive for an initial check up. I realize that Avian vets are more expensive and that 54 dollars is going to be like a quarter in my pocket for unwanted visits I might come across over the next 40 some odd years or so. But I don't know how much an initial check up should cost. Sorry to babble along...

 

[Printer bird]

Here in Canada (at least in Calgary) its $80 to visit an avian vet so I would say $54 is a good price! When my conure got super sick just before Christmas I paid $600 in vet, overnight stay and medication (as well as several tests). Then I had to bring him in a few weeks later because he was pulling feathers! I joked that I didn't buy a parrot, I had purchased an ATM for the vet (our vet is great, though, so I'm not complaining that they saved his life and are helping him live a good life).

 

[jew1187]

Alright... lol, so that is a little more expensive than here. Going from that it is fairly cheap. Either way, I don't care. I haven't even seen pictures of this bird, but I am entirely in love. So I will pay what I have to in order to get everything taken care of. But I know my breeder will not just try to pull a fast one over on me. Especially now knowing that I am actually in touch to a number of the people she has solder her birds to.