Regurgitating sticky white matter

[Ursibear]

As i went to feed him, my bobbed his head and then threw up something white and very sticky. He had to shake his head to get rid of it.
He has regurgitated some food for me before, but nothing like this....
I am really really worried I called work to see if i could come late, so i could bring him to the vet right away, but it can't be done :
Will he be okay until i come home 8 hours from now? Is there anything i should do to help him out before i go?

[Eurycerus]

I posted this response somewhere else but, here's the information I found to distinguish regurgitating and vomiting and some additional information about regurgitating:

Male and female parrots do it. I'm not certain why such a young parrot would be doing it. However both of these pages:
http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-words/r ... ation.aspx
http://www.parrotchronicles.com/behavio ... havior.htm
the following I found online gives a nice detailed description of regurgitation and vomiting so maybe just check.

"A parrot regurgitates usually for one of two reasons: he is ill or he likes you. One way to tell the difference is by observing the action of the bird's head. If he whips it from side to side, he probably is vomiting because he is sick. If the bird makes a bobbing or pumping movement, most likely he is offering food to a mate or person with whom he has bonded.

However, just to complicate things, a sick bird also can make the bobbing movement, and a lovesick bird may whip his head to dislodge food. Unless you're certain your parrot's regurgitation is aimed at you, it's best to let an avian veterinarian decide whether he is sick, especially if you've found food in the cage that was vomited during the night. With any luck, an upset tummy from some ill-advised tidbit of food will be to blame.

Regurgitation as courtship is what seems to be going on in each case here. As unpleasant as it seems to us, regurgitating food is perfectly natural for a parrot following its hard-wired urges. Here's what happens.

Most parrots kept as companion animals are hatched in captivity and raised by hand. This close association with humans allows the birds to imprint on humans. Imprinting is a form of early learning that results in the bird identifying with a particular species.

When humans imprint a parrot, the bird grows up almost thinking it is human. This confusion often results in a parrot pursuing a human as its mate when it reaches breeding age. And a lot of breeding revolves around regurgitation.

Parrot couples exchange food via regurgitation as part of the courtship ritual before breeding. It is even rehearsed by pre-breeding age birds once they have formed bonds. "

[marie83]

Thankfully none of mine have ever reguritated for me but if you have any doubt it is best to take the bird and a sample of the regurgitated fluid to the vet as soon as you can.
Birds generally only bring back partially digested food so unless your bird has been eating something white prior to this incident I think I would be straight to the vet. Its probably nothing if it is a one off but its best not to take that chance.

[Eurycerus]

Thankfully none of mine have ever reguritated for me

Really? That's interesting. Maybe the African birds are more prone to it... I wonder.

[marie83]

Thankfully none of mine have ever reguritated for me

Really? That's interesting. Maybe the African birds are more prone to it... I wonder.

Must admit I used to worry that they didn't because everyone elses birds seem to do it and I thought that was the normal. I now take it as a sign that I am doing things right, they are bonded to me but not too much.

I've no idea if certain species are more prone to the behaviour or not as I've only had 5 different parrot species, the other species don't tend to bond to people anyway but they were ex aviary birds.

[Eurycerus]

Nika did it before she even liked me :/ and before I had a chance to even cause it, so I guess it just happens if it happens. I must smell delicious.

[Ursibear]

Male and female parrots do it. I'm not certain why such a young parrot would be doing it. "

He isn't that young He's a rescue, the previous owner got him when he was roughly 11, and he's been with her for about ten months, so he is between 12 and 13 years-ish now i guess.
When i came home from work, i checked the water and food bowl and he had both drunk and eaten, but i decided to take him to the vet just in case. I also brought the perch where he cleaned his beak after coughing up the goo.
She ordered some tests and suck but she said he's most likely just completely convinced I'm his mate, as he lunged at her when she got too close to me
She says that the white color on the goo could be because of the diet. I've been giving him the same african parrot blend he was getting before he came to me, and millet pieces and peanuts for his training treats. Maybe too much fat? I'm going to try with fruit for a bit, and going to switch him to pellets little by little, just in case.
Just waiting for the results of the tests now, but still scared (My boyfriend claims I'm "parrotcondriac")

[Ursibear]

I think it's time to check out that breeder Polarn suggested! I think it's much healthier for all of us involved if he has a mate from his actual species

[Eurycerus]

Male and female parrots do it. I'm not certain why such a young parrot would be doing it. "

He isn't that young

Woops I copied and pasted it and thought I caught the non-pertinent information. Sorry! That didn't actually apply to you.

My boyfriend also thinks I'm a huge spazz about Nika. He tells me to quit worrying so much but it's hard! I think your parrot is fine. Also I disagree with getting your parrot a mate just because your parrot is regurgitating. I actually think it's a bad idea. You should focus on taming your parrot and making your parrot friendly. Because unfortunately you're right that your parrot thinks of you as your mate, you're going to have to be careful and very good about socializing and hand taming your parrot. :/

You might want to look at your parrot's diet. Be sure to include veggies and a tiny bit of fresh fruit, not just pellets. I believe it's a good idea for 40-50% veggies, 40-50% pellets, 10% fruit, and then a small percentage for treats. Of course people have varying ideas, but that's what Nika gets. Grey Moon makes all her own food, but it is difficult to get the right ratios, albeit healthier.

[Ursibear]

I've tried to feed him vegetables before... All he likes is cucumber He won't touch anything else.
The fruit however, he likes grapes, apples, pears, peaches and bananas. I worry that giving him fruit only together with his parrot food might be too much sugar :s I don't know, I suppose I'll have to try and adjust.