eggs and worms??

[cathy]

baby went to vet .i just got her 6days ago bird vets are hard to come by around hear well she said baby is thin she sug.scrambiling eggs with meal worms?? three times a week is this right??have never been to this vet before. her little fuzzy feathers are juvinal pin feathers what is this? i dont know how old she is .this could be, she was given to me .now to find meal worms i live way out in country the closet gro.store is 22miles the colset wallmart 47mil pet store 65 mile o well vet was almost 80.so much for livin in the woods

[birdvet]

Post some photos of the feathers if you can, and some more info: age (ask the person you got her from), what's she eating now etc etc...is this a senegal parrot you're talking about??

However, err, no, scrambled eggs and mealworms shouldn't be necessary. Are you still hand-rearing this bird? She'll need good quality decent handrearing formula and frequency is based on how old she is. Try kaytee exact...and if you need to bulk up a birds weight adding peanut butter to the formula is the better way to do this as it provides good quality proteins as opposed to fat and cholesterol as found in eggs and mealworms!!! A growing bird needs protein, not fat...

Anywho, waiting for more info and some photos if possible

[cathy]

i have no way to contact lady i got her from .recived her from craigs list as a return to breeder .picked her up at a parking lot drove hours to get her. breeder rec.natures best. which is furit,veg,nuts,seeds,and pellets.its says 100%compleat.its is expensive .i will try to send pict.?? it says my pict. is invalid???? so on her head she has little white fluffy feathers sticking out also along her wings they are looking better but still there she has a few along the back? she is a senegal. her leg band says 142/10 the vet said this might be her hatch date 142day of 2010?? but i realy dont know??

[cathy]

can not send pict. can send via e mail

[birdvet]

can not send pict. can send via e mail

Don't worry about the picture, it sounds like the bird is young and unweaned based on your description. Check your inbox, I personal messaged you a bunch of info which will hopefully help

[Rue]

I would have thought mealworms and eggs were more protein than fat too...but I'd think it would easier as treat or occasional part of the diet vs. a mainstay.

*edit* Okay...just reread...3X a week isn't unreasonable.

BTW...should you ever have to, mealworms are very easy to rear...we have a colony going. No need to buy them from a petstore once your colony is up and running.

We fed them to our lizard (at the time), and then to our finches as treats.

[HyperD]

Can parrots even digest meal worms?

Would they be able to make use of the goodness in a meal worm?

[Kim S]

Yes, I know a couple of breeders who use worms as an aditional source of nutrition during brood.
Not just for nutrucion, it is said to get the birds into the 'springfeeling' as well.

[birdvet]

I am in Boston and I have internet access...woohoo!!

Back on topic - mealworms are full of fat (hardly any protein) as are eggs (unless you separate and only feed the albumin). Mealworms are fine in moderation as a treat but the point I was trying to make with Cathy is that her bird needs to be offered a much more nutritious diet, especially as it sounds like the little guy is not completely weaned.

Cathy, I hope Baby is doing better

[Rue]

Okay...and I'm not arguing (even though it may sound like it) about what is best to feed an unweaned baby...but I am debating the protein/fat content.

I have a colony of Tenebrio molitor and this recent paper...while geared to human food production, shows the protein content of Tenebrio larvae and other protein sources. Tenebrio are a very good protien source.

http://www.scipub.org/fulltext/AJAB/AJAB44319-331.pdf

...and just a Wikipedia link to eggs as food...I don't have time to search for anything more relevant tonight...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_(food)

...and yes, the egg white is the main protein source, the yolk more fatty...but together still a good protein source...not to mention the other nutrients...

Fat 10.6 g

Protein 12.6 g

BTW...enjoy Boston while you're there...it's a lovely city!