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Broken beak and jaw hand feeding

Aisha

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Hi everyone! I'm new here and not sure if I am even putting this in the correct thread. But I figured y'all would have the best advise. Short version is my beloved green check conure fractured his jaw and his bottom beak one day ago. He has been to the vet and we were told to hand feed with a syringe the exact bird powder. My bird hates it! He hates the syringe too! He will freely drink water from a cup. And he will freely drink a blended strawberry banana smoothie the human kind.. (frozen strawberries and bananas blended with milk) he's always loved these and follows us around the house when we are drinking them. But he does NOT want anything to do with that bird formula food or being held down with a dropper coming at his face!!! I don't know what to do! Do I continue to stress him and myself to tears forcing drops of that formula into his beak or just let let him freely drink strawberry banana smoothie? Should I buy other human foods that he may like? Maybe blend some veggies in there? He cannot have any foods he has to chew. Liquid diet only for at least the next six weeks until we know if his jaw will stay mended and his beak attached. Thank you for any advice you may give me.. I'm so terrified and exhausted... It's been the worst two days of my life.
 

MommyBird

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You bet this would be stressful for everyone! Hugs to you all!
If he's fighting a syringe I'd worry he'd hurt his jaw and beak more.
Why don't you first try mixing a bunch of the powdered food into a smoothie? Let him drink it however he wants.
It's not so great for him to have a bunch of milk so you should find a lactose-free substitute if this is what works.
Baby food and blended veggies would work too, but he should have some of the powder mixed in for complete nutrition since you have to go 6 weeks.
 

Destiny

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You could try blending the formula with strawberry smoothie to mask the taste. Smoothie alone will not provide adequate nutrition for a six week period. The goal should definitely be to get him to accept a complete food, like hand-feeding formula. It has a proper balance of nutrients and vitamins.

Most "human food" won't be properly balanced for a parrot, so they are not a good substitute. That being said, you definitely could try offering baby food or blending up veggies. Be careful with offering canned soup - soups made for people tend to be very high in sodium and may contain unsafe ingredients.

You could also offer the smoothie he likes in the syringe to get him used to the strange object. Or see if he is able to accept liquid from a spoon or container, if he hates the syringe.

Hopefully other people have more suggestions.
 

Toy

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Awww poor baby.

I'd like to add to the above posts....mashed sweet potatoes, cooked regular oatmeal (instant is Ok as long as it's sugar free), cooked veggies/blended. You can add just enough water to make any of these liquid. Store bought jar baby food. Too any of these add in soaked pellets & blend them in, so he gets all his nutrients.
 

Zara

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I would make a pellet smoothie :)
I agree.
Pellets with a little water made into a smoothie and you could mash in a couple of strawberries if he likes those for the flavour :)
Offer it in a bowl or on a little plate, whichever he prefers.
 

Shezbug

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Yeah I’d do the pellet or formula smoothie like Shawna suggested.
You could make the vet suggested meal and add some blended berries or other foods.

Definitely switch over to lactose free milk if your bird regularly likes to eat your smoothies- it is fine for anyone to use and is much easier to digest for even those not intolerant to lactose.
 

budgieluv3

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Good luck!
 

shoog

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if something like that happens to me, I would try and show him, or feed another bird with the syringe so he knows it is safe and how to use it, a long time ago my 4 weeks old bird needed to hand-feed, so whenever I fed him, the two older birds would fly straight to the syringe so they can eat from it, and only if the little bird taste it first so they know it is safe
or you can but the formula in a cup ( if he used to drink from it ) and try giving it to him, you can also feed him with a spoon, see if the problem is with the formula and the taste or the method, and start from that
 

Hankmacaw

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Use a fruit juice instead of milk. All birds are lactose intolerant and do not have the digestive enzymes to digest whole milk. Yes, mix the hand feeding formula in with the berries and bananas.
 

Sandy Eli

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Hi Aisha,
How does your poor baby get on?
I’m in similar trouble, but my bird has learned to lap Versele Laga Nutribird. The problem is, I am recommended to put him down, as he will be unable to climb, play and eat the food he’s used to. I need some encouraging stories
 
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