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Hello...

Sawyer is still doing fine and upbeat. He was tested for all fungi and all blood viruses. However, he is still losing feathers and changing color. Under one wing, he's almost bald. New feathers are trying to grow, but I'm not sure he's letting them. I work all day so it's hard; however, he gets TV and sunlight all day. I've taken him to 2 docs in Chicago, and they both say no seeds. I give Sawyer the best pellets and nutriberries to suplement. However, he's still resistant to veggies. He'll eat ANYTHING I'm eating but rather eat my pizza crust and cheese than any veggie I eat. Ugh. I'm so frustrated. This doc in MD? I live in Chicago....does that work? Where can I get neem oil? I feel so bad for him! The feathers that are growing in are clubbed and black in the stem, but he was tested for PBFD and tested negative. What do I do?

Remind me whether you've treated him for giardia. Giving Ronizol for 30 day is easy -- goes into his water -- and does no harm if he doesn't have giardia. His balding pattern is characteristic of giardia. It's so hard to test for accurately that many vets prefer to treat w/o testing. I've treated several of my birds through the years with good results and and am having good results with one who's just completing her 30 days. She's almost fully feathered again under one wing after being completely bald there a month ago.

Have you tried spearing broccoli and carrots onto a skewer and leaving them for Sawyer as a food toy?

How do I get that treatment? Throught the vet?

you might check with Vetafarm in Australia to see if they sell it w/o prescription, but it says "Prescription Animal Remedy" on the label, so I'm doubting they do. I've always gotten it from my vet. Good luck!

Hi......I live in Chicago. Have you tried another vet? My bird in was losing his feathers around his neck and having trouble breathing and just didn't look well. My avian vet did blood work, examined him and just told me he was fat. I was basically chasing my poor bird around to make him fly around and exercise and he just wasn't improving. I took my bird to another vet and he found infection in his lungs. He prescribed a special compounded antibiotic that cleared it up. My birdie is really healthy and happy to this day. Years ago, I also trusted a very well respected avian vet and fed pellets to my beloved cockatiel for years until she developed gout and died, now many are starting to realize that pellets are maybe not the right diet for cockatiels.

Honestly, even the best avian vet can sometimes overlook stuff, trends in veterinary medicine change frequently as the field evolves, just like it does with human medicine, sometimes you need a vet that will make the extra effort to search for something. And I think it's important to realize that just like people are all different so are our birds, so don't be afraid to check out alternative options and see what works for your little guy. There are no absolutes and you can always learn something new.
I've had birds for almost 20 years and think pellets are really the wrong diet for small birds. In fact, they are the wrong diet for most parrots, it's just that feeding an exotic bird correctly is a lot of work and effort and most vets find it easier to just recommend something ready made. Remember that sometimes vets are endorsed in some way by pet food companies and they are trained in clinical medicine, while very often nutritional information is provided by the pet food manufacturer. Feeding pellets might even be the cause of some health problems. Some problems with organs like kidney disease, might not show up on a blood test until significant damage has been done.

Personally, I would start to offer more fresh foods like veggies (raw carrots, broccolli, squash, red pepper-things that are high in vitamin A especially or cooked sweet potato,) and start giving him some sprouts-not the kind you buy in the store......go to Whole foods and buy some hard winter wheat berries, rye or barley, soak for 8-12 hours then drain and rinse and then keep in a drained jar that you rinse and disinfect twice a day or more (you can use a spoonfull of apple cider vinegar or grapefruit seed extract-just a few drops-the idea is to keep mold from growing.) Keep the jar on it's side or tilted to let excessive water drain out and rotate it or shake it around to keep the air circulating- use a cheesecloth and then in a day or two you have an extremely healthy fresh food that beats pellets BY A MILLION!!! You can find a lot of information on healthy foods, etc. on Land of Vos (you'll have to google it,) or do your own research. There's a great book that has a lot of just basic info; A guide to a Naturally Healthy Bird by Alicia McWatters. I don't think leaving a raw carrot in a dish for 8 hours will collect enough bacteria to make him sick........I've seen birds make bacteria soup in their water dish with pellets that I'm sure goes bad much sooner and overall processed food will have much less benefit to their health than fresh raw food. Even if it is something like an infection or Giardia, improving on his diet cannot hurt and will only help his immune system to fight it.

Greengrrl,

Can you tell me who your vet was previously? Also, are you recommending that a seed diet goes with veggies? They can't survive on veggies only right? Pellets and veggies? Any other feedback? I just want to help the little guy. He seems fine really....running around like a lunatic and such (like usual)....I just need all the info I can get...

Well, my intention is not to badmouth any vets, the point I'm making is even the best vets can and do make mistakes or overlook things. It's important if you're not happy with the answers you are getting, to take the initiative and get a second opinion. It happens in human medicine as well. I think too often people either take the word of one doctor as god's word OR if the vet makes a mistake thinks the vet is a bad vet, where in reality, we all have our off days and/or regarding many issues there is some debate on the right diet or treatment, between doctors themselves, so maybe it's not that one's wrong or right, but one thing works in one case and one thing works for someone else. It's not like one single doctor has a magic wand. The vet that missed the lung infection, did in fact save another one of the my birds, but the other doctor I recommended saved the one from the lung infection because he'll go out of his way to figure out a puzzle (which sounded like what you were looking for), so they were both good vets, it's all relative. I didn't mean to sound so harsh.

Pellets are one of these issues.......I personally do not like pellets and have bad luck with them. In my opinion, my birds seem to get sick easier when on pellets. No, I don't suggest you feed only veggies, but at the same time I wouldn't say only "veggies and seed" or "veggies and pellets." I assume maybe your vet recommended pellets because he's a seed junkie?
I think the real challenge is getting his OVERALL diet more varied. That's why I suggested sprouting, because even seed junkies will sometimes try sprouts because they are sprouted SEEDS! But are infinitely more nutritious. It's really not that much work at all if you look into it. Plus there are many things you can make, like cooking a rice and bean mix with veggies to that your bird might be more tempted to eat, than offering just raw veggies right off the bat. If you go to whole foods, you can also try different grains to cook, (wheat berries are good for both sprouting OR cooking and even my seed junkies loved them because they could hull them.) Quinoa, barley, buckwheat.....just bring some home, cook them, add a little garlic, ginger, cinnamon and some veggies and see what your bird likes. He likes pizza? Add basil, oregano and garlic. Sometimes if they share your broccoli at dinner with a little cheese on it, they realize they like it and later on down the road, you can just give them raw broccoli when you leave for work and come home to an empty dish. It just takes some patience and persistence. You can use baby food too. Does he like pasta? Try a little carrot baby food for pasta sauce and mix in some seed or millet so that he has to dig for the seed. You said he likes Pizza? Make a little birdie pizza with some carrot baby food, veggies and some cheese. Veggie baby food, BTW is a great way to get a picky bird to try stuff. Try different veggies, most of my birds prefer carrots, one likes red pepper-both are higher in vitamin A, so she gets her red pepper when they get carrots. Figure out his preferences. It sounds like a lot of effort at first, but when you get in the habit, it starts to take practically no time because you'll figure out what he likes and how to prepare it in an economical (time & $$,) way. Luckily with birds, what's healthy for us is healthy for them, so you can usually find a birdie version of whatever you're having for dinner. Sorry if this is too long or stuff you've heard before, you just reminded me of myself years ago when I was first had a sick bird and know how it feels when your birdie is sick and you just want to do what's best. Hope some of the stuff might be helpful. Check out the Land of Vos website!

It's not like seed or pellets should be so horrible for birds, they are a convenience so that you can leave something in the cage when you're gone for long periods (working,) but think of it this way, it's like the peanut butter sandwich you might give a kid for lunch at school or cookies after school.......it's one thing if they nibble on it while your gone and then look forward to eating healthy fresh breakfast or dinner with you, but it's another if it's the staple of the diet and they fill up on it turning down truly healthy food. But you have to make the initiative to do research yourself, you shouldn't take just anyone's word on a chat board......I'm just trying to point you in a few directions.

Probably the best diet for small birds is what I call a varied diet. Mine is seed based but I add 20% pellets and a lot of fresh food. Sprouted seed is extremely nutritious and most birds will devour it!

If the incoming pin feathers are bothering Sawyer, you can try applying a bit of gel from the leaf of a Aloe Vera plant. I've also had a lot of good success with Neem Cream. Need is a tree with natural healing and disinfecting properties. I did a Google search on it and was amazed at what I found. You can get neem cream at most health food stores, especially those that sell organic produce and food.