Eating Issues Due to Missing Beak

[TheColossus]

I recently adopted a Meyers' Parrot who is missing almost the entire right half of his beak, and because of it he seems to have a lot of difficulty eating, and he spillls a lot of food out of his mouth. He's also very thin and has a body condition score of a 2.

Basically I need to know what can I do to put some weight on him even with his beak injury. He's a senior and is currently battling an Upper Respiratory Infection, so I've been worrying mostly about treating that for now, but I know I have to start tackling his weight problem ASAP. I pet him and I can feel his bones. I don't like that at all... it's not right. I don't know how his owner "didn't notice."

He was kept on a seed diet for the past 10 years by his previous owners, and won't eat pellets yet (I've only had him for two weeks). So, that's another problem.

I'm a bird newbie and am totally at a loss as far as to what I can do to fatten him up, and he badly needs it.

 

[Greycloud]

@Billie Faye I will see if she can give some advice. She has a sennie with no top beak.

 

[Birdbabe]

First off . THANK YOU for helping him! Has he been checked by a vet? Maybe softer foods will help or some hand feeding from a spoon? I wish you the best with this little guy!

 

[Billie Faye]

Hi! First of all I would start by steaming veggies and making a puree of them...and feeding them warm to him..and see how he takes to them...You can also add quinoa, walnuts, Flax seeds all ground up and mixed in...you can try feeding with a spoon and letting him eat off the spoon or syringe feed him....basically I would start and feed about every three hours...once he learns to eat like this you can try doing smashed up steamed veggies....Parsley has no problems eating and half her beak is gone....

 

[MommyBird]

Do you have an vet or avian vet helping with the infection? They could sell you some LaFeber's Emeraid Omnivore. It is a powder that you add water to and feed with spoon or syringe just into the mouth. It would provide balanced nutrition for the short term.

 

[gibsongrrrl]

Do you have a photo you can post so we can see what he is working with? Mine love cooked bird mash. It is nice and soft and nutritious. Poor baby. Thank you for saving him. Meyers are such awesome birds.

 

[SunUp]

I know you said he won't eat pellets, but have you tried soaking them? Zupreem Natural pellets, when soaked in hot water for 10 min or so, become soft and spongy but hold their shape. The are very easy to eat, and you can even hold them and try feeding by hand to get him started on them. Many birds enjoy a warm, soft food, and if he takes to them it would be a great way to get important nutrition into him. I use the parrot size pellets for this for my birds (the really love their soaked pellets)...the one with the Eclectus on the bag.

 

[Monica]

My mitred conure is missing half of his lower beak and I've got him in a pellet based diet. He does have trouble eating seeds, and the only seeds he *really* likes are safflower seeds

I've found that using pellets meant for a smaller species makes it easier for him to eat the pellets, and thus less waste. For birds like ours, that would be cockatiel sized pellets!


You can definitely try moistening the pellets with water (or natural fruit juices) to soften them up, use something like Emeraid, Harrison's Juvenile Hand-Feeding Formula, Neonate Formula or Recovery Formula or something like Avigain Weight Gain.

Emeraid® Omnivore | Lafeber's Emeraid
CLINICAL CARE-Harrison's Bird Foods
AviGain Weight Additive


If he's a seed eater right now, try feeding him sprouted seeds instead of dry seeds. Sprouted seeds are healthier for them and are also softer, so may be easier to eat. If you do it right, he can be on a fresh food based diet. 30% grains and 15% legumes (healthy beans) would be the protein, with the occasional cooked eggs. Another 45% would be vegetables and the last 10% would be fruits. If you use healthy grains and legumes, then you can feed these cooked or sprouted. If you feed cheap legumes, then they *must* be cooked and not sprouted.




Regardless of what you do, I would highly recommend speaking with an avian vet about a diet plan to get him eating healthier as well getting some weight back on him.

 

[TheColossus]

Yes, Crickett has been taken to an avian vet, and an awesome one at that (the guy also helps run a huge bird rescue and he has a home full of birds as well, all of his staff own multiple birds, it's a family run vet clinic [his son is interning there and is becoming a vet, his wife works there, etc.]... it just rocks).

He's on medication for his upper respiratory, currently. We didn't talk much about diet except ideas of things I could add in/change (he game me samples of a lot of different pelleted brands like Lafeber's) because he's so underweight the vet basically told me he's worried more about getting some fat on him and getting his bad URI taken care of than getting him on a better diet right now. But he is going back soon for a checkup and to have his nails trimmed and such, so we'll talk more about it then.

I don't know how to post photos yet... could someone tell me how to do that?

As for the suggestions about his diet, thanks everyone, I'm going to try those out

 

[Newbie GCC]

To upload a picture, click the "upload a file" link under the smilies.
I had to get my GCC used to eating pellets by literally turning them to powder and sprinkling it on his fruits and veggies or putting the whole pellets into a spoon or two of organic applesauce and letting them get very soft.