Just got back from the vet. Probably one of the most stressful visits I've ever experienced. They had to draw blood from both legs because they weren't able to get a good enough pull from the first. He was so stressed out and unhappy. He wobbled across the table when they finally released him and was panting hard. I'm never one to feel guilty when I bring animals to the vet because I know it's in their best interest, but I felt SUPER horrible today. I haven't dealt with an avian vet in along time, so maybe my expectations are unreasonable, but I wasn't really impressed with this vet. I mentioned my concern over some blackening on the tips of his feathers, wasn't sure if it was from over-preening and/or the beginnings of stress bars, and he goes on to tell me about another Eclectus he sees who apparently has a ton of black feathers, especially along his back. They performed a slew of tests and everything came back fine, "so I'm not really concerned when I see black on feathers on Eclectus." Eh.... He also wanted to trim back his beak, which I thought would only add to his stress so I held off on that. I don't even know if it needs to be trimmed (I didn't think it needed it, then again I'm not an expert). I'll include a picture in this post for reference.
The vet asked me about his diet and I was honest with him. He seems super picky and the only thing he eats with exuberance is the small amount of healthy seeds I ration out for him. He also likes sprouts and will pick through the mash I made for him, but he doesn't eat anything raw. I've tried cutting veggies up into strips and chunks, mashing them, briefly warming them in the microwave. He just doesn't seem too impressed. He'll occasionally pick through some fresh berries. I purchased some dried flowers yesterday and he seemed somewhat enthused about them. The vet said his weight was good, I just don't know how that's possible when I compare the quantity of food he's eating now compared to his old home. He apparently ate 1/2 - 1 cup of food A MEAL, and he was fed 2-3 times a day. He doesn't eat anything close to that now.
On the bright side, he was very friendly with everyone at the vet's office. Even after they manhandled him, he allowed the vet to inspect the feathers along his back and perched on my finger like a good boy as they removed the bandage from his foot. He commented on how wonderful his temperament was, which was nice to hear.
I explained he was getting things like fruits, veggies, brown rice, etc.... he gave me an example of a cockatoo that liked to eat cheese grits and how it wasn't healthy for him. How is this at all comparable to cheese grits? He wants me to supplement milk thistle liquid by mouth twice a day with a syringe. I asked him about adding organic milk thistle seeds to his diet instead because he loves them, and he said he wasn't sure if a "treat" would have enough of a concentrated dose to make a difference (even though I'm reading from lots of different sources that seed work well). BLAH! Slightly frustrated to say the least.
