by Pajarita » Tue Jul 19, 2016 9:17 am
Yes, I am also getting the impression (which could be wrong) that you are feeding too many carbs and protein so it would great if you can give us a detail account of what is given when. Senegals can take more protein than other species (all African parrots can in comparison with South American ones) but you still need to be careful. This time of the year, mine are still getting more protein than they will get during the resting season but you need to be careful with new birds because you really don't know how they were kept before (bad diet? bad light schedule? etc)
Personally, I only feed millet sprays to birds that are too skinny or who, because of sickness, are not eating as well as they should. They do get some in their seed/nut mix dinner but never by itself. Millet is not bad, per se, but it's one of the seeds that is not really that nutritious.
I don't believe that pellets are good for birds but, if you have your heart set on feeding them, please do not feed the 'fruity pebbles' ones. They are the worst of all the pellets you can find out there (same as the cereal kids eat). I can give you many reasons why I think this but I am going to give you just one to start you thinking: they add sugar (plain old table sugar) to them when parrots cannot taste sweet and it has been proven over and over that it's real bad for birds - so the only possible explanation for it is that they want the bird to become addicted to it so it will eat more of the product (they found in studies that sugar is more addictive than cocaine!). My birds get one veggie, one fruit and one leafy green but I don't shred lettuce, I actually give them the stalk part of it because, in my personal experience and with the exception of cockatoos, that is the part parrots prefer (I cut quite a bit of the green top off and use it for the passerines UNLESS it's broccoli which they love to munch on). The veggie, fruit and green is different every day of the week but, sometimes, I repeat romaine lettuce. This is given between 6 and 6:30 am this time of the year (the lights are not on at this point but there is plenty of natural light). Then, around 7:30 am, they get the gloop and, around 8 am, I put them back in their cage to eat their breakfast (they come out again to stay out until 12:30 or 1 pm).
PS It sounds as if you are getting a bit overwhelmed with the whole thing and I am really sorry about that. Having small children is already a lot of work and a parrot makes things even harder. I did not have parrots when I was raising kids but I have grandkids now and Lord knows it's hard when they are here! But believe me when I tell you that you are not alone. It's actually VERY common with first-time parrot keepers to have a hard time of it and we all go through that feeling of impotence... of not knowing what to do or how to fix things... of sheer helplessness! And it kind of catches all of us by surprise because we never think that having a little bird for a pet could be so darn complicated, right? Sheesh, I still feel that way every now and then and I've had parrots for 24 years! But things do get better so don't worry so much and allow time to take care of things. Having a pet parrot is no picnic, they are VERY difficult animals to keep happy and healthy - it takes a lot of learning, planning, time and work with them but, if you persevere, the miracle happens and, when it does, it's really REALLY worth it!