This White-eyed Conure shows many classic symptoms of malnutrition.
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There are three ways to determine if your parrot or finch is malnourished.
If your birds have any of these symptoms they are not eating the best parrot diet possible.
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ONE: Physical Symptoms
TWO: Behaviors
THREE: Examine their Diet
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1. Most Common Physical Symptoms of Avian Malnutrition
(Examples of not being fed the best parrot diet)
1. Needs beak trim. If you need to have your bird’s beak trimmed this indicates a serious malnutrition or a serious nutritional imbalance in your bird’s diet. Beak over growth can also be a symptom of fatty liver disease.
2. Feathers have black edges or any discoloration of feathers from their ‘normal’ color indicates malnutrition.
3. Feathers have ragged or saw-toothed edges, indicates malnutrition.
Article: ‘Avian Malnutrition and Feather Condition’
4. Abnormal molt.
5. Chronic pin feathers.
6. Lack of powder down.
7. Dull feather colors.
8. Diagnosed chronic health condition, or illness. PBFD, Bacterial Infection, Candida, Aspergillosis, all other infections — viral, bacterial or fungal.
If your bird has one, or more, of these symptoms. He, or she, is malnourished and is not being fed the best parrot diet possible.
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2. Behaviors
(Examples of not being fed the best parrot diet)
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Quaker parrot with feather destruction habits.
1. Feather destruction habits.
Article: ‘Over Preening vs Poor Feather Quality’
2. Bald areas, feathers will not grow back in.
3. Self mutilation.
4. Chronic Screaming.
5. Aggressive behaviors, biting.
6. Depression.
Article: ‘How Malnutrition Affects Parrot Behavior’
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If your bird has one, or more, of these symptoms. He, or she, is malnourished and is not being fed the best parrot diet possible.
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3. Examine Their Diet
1. What are you feeding for complete protein?
Hint: pellets, eggs and meat do not provide complete protein.
Feed Best Bird Food Ever! to ensure your birds are getting complete protein in their diet.
Article: ‘Complete Protein, the Essential Nutrient Missing in Avian Diets’
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2. Use these charts to compare the nutrients in Best Bird Food Ever! to all other foods you may be feeding.
Comparison Charts: ‘Best Bird Food Ever! Complete Analysis’
Take note of where your food plan may fall short.
Chart: ‘Best Bird Food Ever!, Nutrients it Provides’
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3. Relying on chop?
This vegetable-based food mixture is better than dry seeds, but unfortunately lacks hundreds of essential nutrients.
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**Free Report: ‘Why Your Parrots Need Balanced Nutrition’
4. Download this Free Report to see where you can start making healthy changes in your bird’s food plan.
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Let me help you feed your birds the best parrot diet possible to reverse these common symptoms of avian malnutrition.
Start by buying, sprouting and feeding Best Bird Food Ever! today.
The next series of articles on this topic:
The Biggest Risk to Your Birds
I like sprouts for birds health, but my parrotlet has so far refused eating them. any suggestion??
Hi Susan,
Thanks for the great question. It sounds as if you may be dealing with a parrotlet with ‘food addiction’ issues. Yes, this is a real thing. I write about it in detail in my sprouting book revision, “Polly Want a Sprout?, in Chapter 13. You may want to purchase a pre-release copy while we still have the free shipping special going.
Additionally, food addiction issues often go hand in hand (hand in beak) with severe nutritional deficiencies even an advanced case of malnutrition.
To address this issue there is no simple answer, as the solution is unique for each parrot — after all each parrot is an individual. The best answer I can provide here in this limited space is to gradually removed poor quality addictive foods such as dry seeds, poorly formulated sprout blends, pellets, all processed packaged parrot foods. While you encourage your bird to eat healthier foods. See my blog post section : “New Food Success”. Additionally, there are many articles in the blog section: “Health & Nutrition”, and many photos of balanced food choices for meals.
This FREE REPORT provides more info on my balanced food plan.
You also need a scale to keep track of your bird’s weight during this diet transition process.
And because malnutrition most likely plays a role you’ll want to get your bird eating our BBFE! Complete Protein Sprouting Blends — properly grown, right away. I guarantee any other sprouts your feeding lack balance and do not provide complete protein.
Ideally, this situation would be best addressed during a personalized consultation with me where we can go over everything in detail and I can put together a personalized healing program for your bird. We have had many parrotlets, and other small parrots, eating BBFE! In fact the 8 budgies now in quarantine for our Healthy Bird Project quickly learned to devour the plate full of bBFE! sprouts they
re given.
There are so many details to go over, I could write a book just to answer this question, honest.
Here’s info on my Personalized Consultations.
And, something new we’re just starting, are 30 or 45 minute Q&A sessions where you talk with me on the phone and we cover as much info as possible during the allotted time.
Good luck, you can send us an email for for more info on these consultations.