Eclectus Mash

[Dragonwyke]

Arlene is a 2nd hand eclectus to me that i aquired about a week ago, she's approx. 17yrs old. i've given her a week to settle into my house and the rather raucous nature of it in comparison to her old "home". before me she was a breeder then "rescued" by someone who lost interest in her after a few months and kept her for a year on a porch. she received decent basic care but that's about it.

since she's been here week now i've begun working on her diet. she's had her blood panels done, she's overloaded on iron, and short on calcium. so i've got her on a low iron pellet, that is kept in her cage at all times, i also give her a mash w/fruits, vegies, rice, and "stuff" the eclectus like w/calcium powder on it, she's also getting a light brew green tea 3x a week to chelate the over abundance of iron in her system.

my question is, since it appears she's never had a mash before, how long before she'll actually give it a try and decide she'll eat it? and should i try and find another form of calcium for her in the meantime?


DW

 

[Remy]

If you eat some in front of her, maybe she'll start eating it. Sometimes that works with my caique, although he likes to put everything in his mouth. Or maybe you could dry some in the oven or a dehydrator and put it in her dry food bowl.

High iron can be very dangerous! I wonder how that happened!

 

[Dragonwyke]

from what i've read about iron overload it appears that eclectus actually store iron in their bodies, it shows as wing twitching and toe-tapping Arlene does both. so anything high in iron like spinach and iron-enriched pellets will add to the problem. Arlene was on the wrong pellet and eating enriched seed, but no added calcium.

the woman i got Arlene from said she gave Arlene enriched pellet and that she loved her spinach leaves every day. but apparently she didn't offset this w/sweet potato or carrot which helps w/absorption and chelation and prevents overload because of the Vitamin A.

 

[alleycat39402]

It sounds to me like Arlene has got a wonderful home now! She deserved this attention a long time ago! Applause to you Dragonwyke for saving this sweet baby!!

 

[Dragonwyke]

she certainly does deserve the attention. poor little thing looks a wreck. but as cranky as she is, i love her to death already, so does everyone else in the house. it doesn't really take that much effort either, a little reading, and a little time to put together a weeks worth of mash, and ta-da, healthy food! no reason to have a little girl walking around naked like this because of food issues.

i hope our home turns out to be what she's needed. ya never know tho. sometimes what seems perfect isn't. parrots aren't much different than people, they have their own minds about these things. lol

DW

 

[Spiritbird]

How about hard boiled eggs and cottage cheese, yogurt?

 

[Dragonwyke]

i have never given birds dairy products. is that something they have the enzymes to digest properly?