by Pajarita » Sun Aug 19, 2018 9:57 am
I never really worry over a bird that is a bit underweight if all the blood work came back good. I worry more about birds that are too fat because that usually means the beginning of liver issues. As to a good diet, I've done research on parrots natural diets for over 20 years [since my first rescue was diagnosed with high uric acid] and have long ago reached the conclusion that pellets are not and never will be the best dietary option for them. I can elaborate in detail and give you links, if you wish, but, basically, it's because they are way too dry [max 10% when their natural diet is never under 85% moisture], ingredients are animal feed grade [my birds eat human grade], soy [none of my animals eat anything with soy, too risky!], it's 'dead' food [no phytonutrients whatsoever], man-made vitamins [which we know are not used by the body as effectively as food-derived ones] and, to put the icing on the cake, you never know how much protein you are actually feeding!. My birds eat gloop accompanied with raw produce for breakfast and all day picking and a mix of nuts and seeds I prepare myself for dinner. They also get vitamins twice a week but mainly for the D3 because they get everything else from their food.
Sennies, in my personal experience, are pretty good eaters -at least, all the ones I've had were. Mine love their gloop and fruits/veggies -not a whole lot of luck with leafy greens but they do love raw broccoli and anything that has a crunchy stalk [like the very heart of romaines, Swiss chard, bok choy, etc]. There are things I never feed - like spinach, collard greens, beet greens, parsley... you know, stuff with too much oxalic acid And there are things that I don't feed often, like kale that is super high in sorbitol,