Will this be a good diet for my bird?

Jorimir

New member
Nov 19, 2021
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Patagonian Conure
Hello everyone and thank you for you for your time, and sorry if my English is strange or bad, its not my native language.

For a few days I will get Patagonian Conure(long story why, and yea I know he is loud, I heard it a lot of times but I don't mind that and I live in a house so neighbors are not problem). He is about 15 years old and for his whole life he was fed seed diet(few vegies every now and then but that's all). For last few days I read a ton of stuff about feeding parrots and I noticed that a lot of people agree that seed diet is probably the worst for birds in captivate so I am going to change that. I made a plan what I will feed him, but I am not very experienced bird keeper so I would like to check with some of you guys is my plan good.


For breakfast (around 9 AM) I would give him homemade chop and let it sit in a cage for 3-4 hours.
Here is my ingredients list for chop(I would mix 6-10 of them, every time differently, more vegetables less fruits and grains): kale, broccoli, cucumbers, baked sweet potatoes, cilantro, different kinds of peppers, apples, cauliflower, papaya, carrot, raspberries, spinach, peas, various beans, hard boiled eggs, grapes, peach, lentils, baby arugula, cabbage, lettuce, green beans, butternut squash, red cabbage, celery, chia seed, almonds, quinoa, sweet corn, popcorn corn, brown rice, flax seeds, oats, millet, barley

For second meal, in the afternoon(around 4 PM) he would get small amount of seeds(I still don't know the right amount because I can not weight him, but I will try to find what is the best overall daily amount, if you have some advice that would be great). Food he eats probably whole life contain 80% sunflower, 10% peanuts, and the rest is oats, soy, corns and hemp, so I have no intension giving that to him anymore even in small amounts, I would rather buy seeds(sunflower, peanuts, corns, buckwheat, hemp, sesame, poppy, millet, Brazilian nuts, cashew nut, Pecan nuts, Hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios) and mix them myself, every time little bit differently and I would put them in foraging toys.

And for treats I would give him some seeds I notice he likes, fruit and maybe some meat like boiled chicken or mealworms.


So that is my plan, pleas if you have time tell me your opinion and correct me if I have mistakes, also tell me if you think this will be too drastic a change in diet, I know I should consult vet first but in my country there is no many vets who worked with birds before so I would have to drive probably 2 hours to vet and I don't want to stress my bird.

Also I know people feed pellets too and I know some pellets are very good but only pellets I can find in my country are rainbow colored with this ingredients: grains, seeds (at least 10% peanut kernels), fruit (at least 5% fresh fruit), vegetable protein extracts, vegetable by-products, sugar, minerals, L-lysine, methionine, extr. Yucca schidigera, fructo-oligosaccharides, vitamins, trace elements and this analytical constituents(protein 15%, fat content 16%, crude fibre 3%, crude ash 7%, calcium 0.9%, phosphorus 0.6%, methionine 0.35%, lysine 0.8%, threonine 0.5%, tryptophan 0.15%, cystine 0.25%) so I don't think these pellets are very good and I have no problem to make fresh chop every 4-5 days

 

foxgloveparrot

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It sounds great, this will be one healthy bird! You should probably swap the seeds for pellets, though. Can you buy them online in your country?
Besides that, you are going to be a wonderful parront!
 

LaManuka

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Welcome to the Forums, Jorimir and your soon-to-be- Patagonian! One of our most beloved members has a Pati who is 37 years of age! Her username is @GaleriaGila if you would like to check out some of her pages, the Rickeybird certainly is living a long and healthy life under her care!

Many people tend to avoid peanuts though as they can harbour aspergillus fungus if not stored correctly. We have lots of our very own recipes on the forums here if you'd like to start making your own chop, so I'll link up a couple of resources for you...




There should be plenty of inspiration among these threads to keep you going for a while :)

I look forward to welcoming your Pati into our worldwide flock very soon!
 
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Jorimir

New member
Nov 19, 2021
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Patagonian Conure
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  • #4
Thank you guys for advices and for your time.:)

I am glad my diet plan is ok. My biggest concern was will chop and seeds be enough because I can not find good pellets.

I would like to change seeds for pellets but only pellets I can find in online stores are these of which I wrote the ingredients above and those pellets don't really sound healthy at all to me, and they are colored(I red that is bad thing).

Thanks for recommending GaleriaGila, I already found few of her posts and threads, these were really helpful. I saw that she recommends Harrison's Bird Foods for diet(for which I found many more recommendations) but I can not get those pellets in my country(delivery from other countries is crazy expensive). But like I said I found many other very good advices in her threads.😊

And thanks for chop recipes I will try them for sure.
 

Laurasea

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welcome!
Sometimes it takes a while to get them eating good stuff, and sometimes they will starve themselves before eating it.

So while all those foods sound great, you need to make sure he is eating them and not loose weight .

Have a digital kitchen scale and weigh daily to make sure. You might have to offer more seeds sooner in the day.

Good luck!
 

GaleriaGila

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Oh, HAPPINESS! HAPPINESS!

I love hearing about new Patagonian Parronts. Thanks, to those who mentioned my name, and La Martina, thanks for the message.

Jorimir, you're getting wonderful advice. I'm so glad you're here with us.

If you look at my signature, you'll see a lot of stuff, ranging from the foolish to the serious.

The Rickeybird has been my most darling love for 37 years. Not a very good pet, by most normal peoples' definition, but a perfect touchstone by MINE. :)

A while back, I wrote a little "Patagonian Tutorial". I'll find it and post it.

If ever you want to chat privately, please leave me a message.

Welcome!!!!!!
 

GaleriaGila

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The "tutorial...




Patagonian Tutorial

PART ONE

Patagonian Conure, a.k.a Burrowing Parrot, a.k.a Loro Barranquero (in their native South America)
Scientific Name - Cyanoliseus patagonus


In my opinion, some considerations are peculiar to Patagonians, and much is common to most parrot species.
Please let me give you some parrot basics (just skip if you're already familiar with these "building blocks"), and then I'll have some special Patagonian input for you!
BONDING
Here's some reading on bonding.
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html
General Parrot Information - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community
VETS
Most of us swear by our avian vets in the event of health concerns. I don't know where you are, but here are some links. I only have USA info...
Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.
DIET
Too many are kept on seeds or other poor-nutrition things. They need veggies, legumes, grains... pellets are a good staple. Here's what I use.
Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get birds to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.
Another couple of ideas...
My ol' man is an athlete and health nut. He actually EATS all the good stuff, so it's always around. I find that tossing various stuff into the food bowls at random is good... the variations and differences seem to stimulate curiosity and attention.
The other idea... if you can stand it (lol) EAT the stuff in front of the bird, yes. That encourages them. I have also found that if my ol' man eats stuff in front of the bird, the bird WANTS it for himself. Kinda a rivalry thing!
PERCHES/NAILS
I really recommend getting those nail-trimming perches... they can eliminate nail-trimming, which was always so stressful for me and the Rb. It took a few years, but I eventually established a pattern/rotation that keeps him trimmed. I haven't had to do his nails in 20-plus years. I keep a dowel as the main "highway" down the middle of the cage, but the special cement/trimmer/textured perches are all over.
A few brands... but there are many: Polly's Sand Walk... Pumice Perch... Trimmer Perch...
Be sure to introduce them gradually: they're abrasive to their tender feet at first. I LOVE them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These are smooth on top and abrasive underneath. Very easy to install/clean.
Brands? Sweet Feet and Beaks Pedicure Perches for parrots, Feather Fantasy, there are more at mysafebirdstore.com.
May take a while to get the right combinations/locations, but was worth it for me and the Rb
TEFLON
If you're a brand new parront, I'll just drop a note about avoiding teflon pans, which are lethal to birds, if even mildly overheated. Most of us don't have teflon (or related) products in our houses.

Part Two... next...
 

GaleriaGila

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May 14, 2016
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The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
PART TWO

And now...
Special Patagonian Stuff

NIGHTIME
They are among the few semi-nocturnal parrots, so don't be surprised if you hear your bird moving around, eating, preening, at night. They only verbalize quietly, usually.

ROOSTERS/HENS

I think (and my world-class avian vet THINKS so, too) that it's the ROOSTERS who are so loud (and I would add ROWDY in general). Of course, allowing the Rb to terrorize the household, flighted and undisciplined and fearless... probably didn't help MY SITUATION!

CAGE
The Rb is in a Lani Kai Lodge Playtop. It's a good cage, and popular, and has ready replacement parts. The Rb seems to chew up the bottom grate. I replace it every year or so. I replace cages every 6-8 years.
https://birdcages4less.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SRCH
Bar spacing of 3/4 to 1 inch seems okay in general.

LIFESPAN
When I got the Rb in 1984, the span was estimated at 25-30. He's 34 and the only changes I've observed are that he naps a bit more, and has been on Vasotec for heart issues (discerned by blood tests) for about six months now. Good care and diet are really helping birds live longer, especially if their genes are good (i.e., good breeding... or... if a bird was wild-caught. Many were imported in the 60s-70s). The Rb's parents were wild-caught; he was hand-fed.

PLAY HABITS/TOYS
The Rb loves small foot toys... mysafebirdstore.com has great variety and values, and THE BEST customer service. His skinny little pink feet's nails seem to get caught in ropes or wicker, so I avoid those. He also like "pony beads" on safe Poly-rope or Paulie-rope, all for sale at that store.

CHILE PEPPERS
Peppers are a great source of vitamins AND they're easy to offer.
Common wisdom is that most parrot species have such poor taste and smell that hot peppers really excite and stimulate them. And they're very healthy (lots of great nutrients)! So I give the Rickeybird lots! The only downside... when he eats a pepper, then preens, then wants to cuddle, it's a very incendiary experience.
I buy several kinds...
Poblanos, to stuff the end between the bars tightly (above a perch) so the Rbird can nibble at his leisure.
Jalapenos and Serranos, to toss into the cage's snack-bowl, to trick him into entering so I can shut the door. There's no such thing as a chile that isn't good for them.
If he absolutely does NOT want to go back into his cage, a big fat Anaheim will almost always do the trick.
I posted a video of the bird eating one in the thread about beak flavors, and you can hear me sneezing!

THE RICKEYBIRD'S RESUME
See the original Rickeybird Mockumentary here!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyCdvjJ9X22fVRRwfLk9gwA
Pet of the Day
Rickeybird - Patagonian Conure - May 20, 2016
THE FORUMS Scrapbook
http://www.parrotforums.com/incredi.../62811-rickeybird-scrapbook-1984-updates.html

THE GENE POOL
If you ever wonder why some Rickeybirds are so LOUDDDDDD and ROWDYYYY...
Here is the gene pool!
Colonia de loros barranqueros más grande del mundo- Balneario El condor - YouTube
Patagonians have sub-species, but the main strain has been discovered to have crossed the Andes some 100,000 years ago!
They are a beloved bird (to most people) in their native lands.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrowing_parrot

HELPFUL FORUM THREADS
http://www.parrotforums.com/new-members-welcome/75558-new-parrot-mommy.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/74145-pattagonian-conure.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/71792-guess-whose-home-3.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/20882-patagonian-conure.html


PERSONAL HISTORY
The Rb's story...
***** When I walked into a bird store in New Mexico 3+ decades ago, the Rickeybird (a 3-month-old chick) flapped and flew and scrambled into my arms and grabbed my fingers with his feet. It was a perfect storm of my impulsiveness. I had just gotten paid by my college work-study job... I took him home. Using his band, I traced his breeder. We exchanged photos and letters (this was pre-'net, y'all!)... and she could have been my sister! We were both tall, thin, with long red hair and Poindexter glasses, long faces and big toothy smiles. The Rb thought his mommy (or close enough) had walked in to rescue him. Soon thereafter, I was fearing getting evicted due to his noise. My family at the time HATED him. I recall struggling to make a decision, sitting on the floor of my townhouse, watching him race and skip and frolic around on the tile floor, and then run to me GRINNING, so proud to be showing off for me. I would just stare at him and be amazed: imagine --- a real parrot in my house, and it loved me! I felt so guilty and inadequate and afraid at one point that I had him in his travel cage and was planning to take him back to the bird store. I opened the front door and couldn't go through. Closed it. Sat down. Took my little love out and promised him we would stay together.
***** I didn't really believe it, but I wanted to. Eventually, I did. I was in college back then, and at least I could spend a lot of time with him.
*****Then there were years (about 25 of them) when 5-6 days a week, I was gone at 7:30-ish and back at 6-ish.
*****Some did and will consider me wrong and think I should have re-homed him. My husband at that time detested the bird. My current ol' man tolerates him with good humor. No, the bird wasn't responsible for the first marriage's ending! Well, mayyyyyybeeeee...
*****Anyway, here is what I think made those lean years do-able, when I was working.
I moved and got new jobs maybe 5 times or so. BUT...
Every morning, he had at least ten minutes, and every evening, he had 20 or so. Those minutes were intense, face-in-feathers cuddling and cooing and complete merging of hearts. If I had had a bad day, sometimes I'd cry a little, and he'd ruffle and fluff and make funny noises until I smiled. I have always kept him on a natural light schedule, in a separate room, so sometimes those times together were in the dark, before and after Winter daylight-savings-time work hours. During the day, he had a big window looking out on something interesting, a television on one of his favorite channels (music channels, shopping channels), a biggg cage, lots of fun foods, and a few toys that I changed out regularly).
He KNEW he could count on those two crummy sessions a day. Somehow we both made it.
*****Yes, he's a bad boy. May I add some thoughts about expectations? I hope I don't sound preach-y. I also want to make it clear that I completely support all the great advice on training here!
*****My bird is pretty awful. He's a fun mimic and a real character, but...
Even after all these years, I sometimes find myself putting myself or my bird down... stuff like...
I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS OR THAT.
WHY CAN'T HE BE SWEET AND NICE, LIKE THOSE OTHER BIRDS?
PEOPLE NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY I PUT UP WITH THIS.
Stuff like that.
Since he's fully flighted, the ONLY way I get him into the cage is to toss a chile pepper in and he flaps in after it. So food reward is a necessity for me. Time-out doesn't exist in the Rb's kingdom.
*****But the Rb is a parrot... in his particular case, one generation out of the wild. ONE GENERATION of DNA honed over 100,000 years!
I do all the right things, as much/well as I can, but in the end, I just LOVE my bird,
Some parrots are SO SWEET, some are NOT. I'm a bit JEALOUS of those successes.
I have lessened my psychological and physical wounds over the decades... not because I've changed the bird, but I have changed me. And a lot of that has involved giving up on a lot of my desires/expectations. After years of battle, I surrendered/compromised.
*****I have reduced biting to almost zero over the years I've spent with the Rickeybird. I don't do stuff that gets me bitten. Some will say I have let him get away with too much, and that's a fair criticism, but, well... I'm okay with it. I don't do stuff that makes him mad. I don't touch others when he's out; I rarely try to get him to step up onto my hand first. Hand-held perch first, then hand. In some ways, I'm disappointed/ashamed at having such a little monster for a pet, but he is what he is. I ALWAYS wear my hair down when he's on my shoulder, so all he can bite is hair, not ears. Really, I don't involve hands much... he doesn't like them. He seems to think the real ME is my head, perched on a weird moveable tree with questionable appendages.
*****Anywayyyyy, some will say I have a Tazmanian Devil on my hands. But I love him. I have no complaints, really. He's HIMSELF. And I'm MYSELF.
THERE'S LOTS OF GOOD TRAINING ADVICE HERE... DO READ AND LEARN AND DO YOUR BEST!
*****Yeah, he's bad. But it is my choice to indulge and adore him.
Finally, I accepted that I have an amazing half-wild being who shares my life! It's magic enough for me!
Parrot-owners usually wind up determining their own personal comfort level with various behaviors, and it's okay to be okay with that.

CONCLUSION

The Rb has been one of the greatest challenges and sweetest little victories of my life. I have kept him safe and loved, and I hope to see him out of this life in the same way. :)
 
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Jorimir

New member
Nov 19, 2021
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16
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Patagonian Conure
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Sorry guys for my late replies, I had a few busy days. 😅

Thank you again for this greate advices, those realy help a lot, especialy now when my bird is here.🥳🥳🥳

First day he was not interested in my chop at all(seeds he started eating almost emidiatly I put it in the bowl), but today he actualy tried some of the chop, not much but it's a start. And he realy like fruits, especialy if he see us eating it.
Bigest problem I have is that he is scared of evrything. His cage is almost empty(only 2 walking wooden rodes and bowls) so I tried adding some new toys and few natural branches, but when I add even small branch he dont want to come near that part of the cage until I take it out. But I am sure people already wrote about this so I will search for it.

And I want to specialy thank to you @GaleriaGila for this perfect tutorial and other great themes about Patagonians, I found so much useful informations in them(I realy like chilli peper advice dy the way, my bird is delighted with peppers😁). And thank you so much for offering help, I will try not to bother you, I mean this forum is great, have so much useful informations, but it is good too know I can message if I need some info I can not find.❤️
 

GaleriaGila

Well-known member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
May 14, 2016
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The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
Wonderful.

I just hope I don't overwhelm new Patagonian Parronts. They come along so rarely... maybe 5 in my many years here. And usually, they disappear from the Forums, leaving me to imagine the worst.

I'm so glad you're here!

The Rickeybird says...

"HEYYY...!!!"
 

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Laurasea

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Aug 2, 2018
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Aww, so sweet,
I worry too, when peeps ask for help with behavior, sick burds, hand raising , ect....then we never get any updates....
Plus no matter how much you know or how long you have had parrots there us always so much to learn from others here, or great tips, or ideas, or creative fun. Most stuff on species from A-Z can apply to your own species
 

GaleriaGila

Well-known member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
May 14, 2016
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Cleveland area
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The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
I love ya, Laura... you're a faithful member, for a lng time now.

And by the way... your quote...

" A Smooth Sea,
Never Made A Skillfull Sailor "
Franklin B. Roosevelt

That is epic.
And true.
 
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Jorimir

New member
Nov 19, 2021
4
16
Parrots
Patagonian Conure
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Helo to Rickybird, he is adorable 🥰 🥰

And by the way I can not believ how similar Patagonians are. I saw few more Rickeys pics and he looks almost completly like my bird(we gave him name Koki, I will post some pics of him when I take some good ones)


And dont always assume the worst for people who disapere from forum.:D I am new on this forum but I saw on other forums people who just came for one or two informations, and when they get them they leav.
 

GaleriaGila

Well-known member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
May 14, 2016
15,045
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Cleveland area
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The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
Jorimir, you are so right. More than any other parrot, they DOOO all look alike... especially the hens and the roosters.. I'm sure that's why I fall in love so instantly.
I pretty much fell in love with Koki already. Photographs will seal the deal.


Annnnnnnnnnnd... Happy DayAfterThanksgiving. I don't eat birds, but here is a STUFFED one that I love. Our own dear Marileen made this faithful replica of the Rickeybird. Perfectly lifesize, lifelike, and lively.


stuffed.jpg
 

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