Conure overweight causing her to drink excessively?

[Avery Birb]

Now I’ve brought my conure to the vet twice since the issue began (and plan on bringing her in again since the issue is still persisting) but just wanted to get some advice from some people on here.
My conure is over weight (had seed diet her whole life unfortunately, working on getting her off but she is very very stubborn and picky so it is a challenge but Im not giving up on it) and she drinks a lot of water in which her droppings are very watery and mostly water. I’m wondering if her being overweight is what is causing her to drink excessively? When I brought her into the vet, the vet ran tests on her kidneys/livers which came back fine. We did a doxy shot on her (which she had a bad reaction to, threw up everything she ate for about 2 days but she is back to normal now) which didn’t seem to help much. Other than the water poop she is totally normal, which I understand birds hide their illnesses as a defensive mechanism, but shes the same old Avery.
I want to bring her back in for the vet to do a test on the stool to see if they can find the issue there. If not, maybe check out her crop since she seems to extend her neck as much as she can upwards from time to time to adjust/clear her crop.
Also, I’ve read a lot of the forum on how to switch from seeds to pellets, but nothing seems to work. If anyone has had a stubborn conure like mine and was successful in switching them to pellets please let me know what you did and I will try it out.

 

[Mizzely]

What pellets have you tried and for how long?

Excessive drinking to me sounds like there is an issue; I wouldn't think simply being overweight would be the cause of that.

 

[Wardy]

I cant say i had to battle stubborness and my conure transitioned quite happily to pellets over a couple of weeks i did try 3 different types of pellets in one go though.
Some she enjoyed more than others what pellets have you tried ?
@webchirp @Mizzely i have tagged a couple of people who will be able to offer better advice.
Good luck

 

[Avery Birb]

What pellets have you tried and for how long?

Excessive drinking to me sounds like there is an issue; I wouldn't think simply being overweight would be the cause of that.

I’ve tried colorful ones to intrigue her (Zupreem) and Harrison’s but no luck on either. I was thinking of putting the pellets through a coffee grinder like I’ve seen other people on this forum do and sprinkle it on top of other food so she can actually taste it and maybe like it but I have a feeling it won’t work either.

 

[Avery Birb]

I cant say i had to battle stubborness and my conure transitioned quite happily to pellets over a couple of weeks i did try 3 different types of pellets in one go though.
Some she enjoyed more than others what pellets have you tried ?
@webchirp @Mizzely i have tagged a couple of people who will be able to offer better advice.
Good luck

Yeah, I’ve tried a few (see my reply above) and no luck. She is not the type of conure who is interested in what I’m eating either so that makes it even more difficult.

 

[Mizzely]

I ask how long because it can be a slog. My Quaker took 6 months. To get my Jardine's eating any fresh foods was 2 years.

Zupreem fruity is usually a good one to convert but obviously not all are fooled. Have you tried the finch size? They can look like seeds to some birds and then they may eat them that way.

Bird bread, especially ones like Harrison's can help too. They get the taste (and nutrition!) Of pellets and that may make them more likely to try the real deal.

Eating some in front of your bird (yes, really) can entice them as they are naturally wary of foods they've not seen other flock members eat.

For my quaker I ended up only offering pellets all day every day, and only letting him have a bowl of seeds (separate, don't mix) 15 minutes twice a day. I gradually lowered the amount of time until it was just 5 minutes, once a day. That seemed to work for him but you need to monitor their weight so they don't lose too quickly.

 

[Mizzely]

Converting Parrots to a Healthier Diet - Tips

A healthy parrot starts with a healthy diet. Although the perfect diet is controversial, many parrot enthusiasts and experts agree on one thing; a seed only diet is a diet that is lacking in essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Studies have shown that adding fresh foods and pellets to a...

forums.avianavenue.com

 

[Wardy]

Yeah, I’ve tried a few (see my reply above) and no luck. She is not the type of conure who is interested in what I’m eating either so that makes it even more difficult.

Is she eating chop ?
For what its worth i tried Roudybush daily maintenance crumble, pretty bird daily select small bird and lafaber tropical ( she wont touch the lafaber ) i tried her with Harrisons high potency pepper yesterday and she took them straight away.

 

[Avery Birb]

I ask how long because it can be a slog. My Quaker took 6 months. To get my Jardine's eating any fresh foods was 2 years.

Zupreem fruity is usually a good one to convert but obviously not all are fooled. Have you tried the finch size? They can look like seeds to some birds and then they may eat them that way.

Bird bread, especially ones like Harrison's can help too. They get the taste (and nutrition!) Of pellets and that may make them more likely to try the real deal.

Eating some in front of your bird (yes, really) can entice them as they are naturally wary of foods they've not seen other flock members eat.

For my quaker I ended up only offering pellets all day every day, and only letting him have a bowl of seeds (separate, don't mix) 15 minutes twice a day. I gradually lowered the amount of time until it was just 5 minutes, once a day. That seemed to work for him but you need to monitor their weight so they don't lose too quickly.

Great options, thank you for them! I will look into the finch sized pellets and the bird bread as well. Also, excellent idea with the limited time for the seeds per day. I’m hoping my conure will take to at least one of these ideas. Not sure how but I think she has got my pickiness/stubbornness lol. Ive been trying to convert for a few months, unsuccessfully. She has no interest in any fruits/veggies I offer her as well but I will continue to try with her on that. I eat a bit of what I’m offering and make “yummy” noises but she just looks at me like I’m crazy.

 

[Avery Birb]

Is she eating chop ?
For what its worth i tried Roudybush daily maintenance crumble, pretty bird daily select small bird and lafaber tropical ( she wont touch the lafaber ) i tried her with Harrisons high potency pepper yesterday and she took them straight away.

She is not eating chop. I’ve watched some youtube videos on how to make chop and I just know she will have no interest but I will definitely give it a shot and hope for the best. I’ll look into all the options you’ve given me as well. Thank you!

 

[webchirp]

Excessive drinking...did the bloodwork check for diabetes? Trying to think off the top of my head past people with similar issues. I'd be concerned about this but obviously you are...

When you say overweight, what is her weight and is her breast clearly defined as heavy? I have had good luck with the lafeber fruit pellets for mine. I would just keep sticking them in everything. You could also dip a few in her water and see if she will eat them wet. Just keep pushing...

I have two that have weight issues from a metabolic problem. They take thryoid meds. Jewel hits some heavy weights...she has been as high as 110. She drops the weight easily but then I have to drop back because she looses so easily where Zephyr takes three times the amount of meds and I still struggle to slim him down. Their diets are exactly the same as the others and I don't see excessive eating.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Excessive drinking...did the bloodwork check for diabetes? Trying to think off the top of my head past people with similar issues. I'd be concerned about this but obviously you are...

My first question, as well. Maybe @Greylady1966 can give you some insight - she has an Amazon with diabetes.

 

[Greylady1966]

Howard out BFA came to us on a diet of only sunflower seeds, nothing else. He started acting very tired and had polyuria that smelled. Got labs done and was treated for an infection and saw his blood sugar was very high. Finished the antibiotic treatment and had bloodwork done again. His blood glucose was well over 900. I kept track of his sugar with dipsticks. Put him on insulin injections and he bottomed out. Went to glipizide at first orally. It helped at first but them went to glyburide and have had better luck. His sugars will always be high and it's hard to treat in birds. I would talk to your vet about your concerns and hopefully find out what's going on. It's hard to diagnose because they can have secondary infections with it.

 

[Hankmacaw]

This is from Dr. Wissman's write up about diabetes in birds.

"The symptoms of avian diabetes are similar to those found in other species. High blood sugar levels cause sugar to spill over into the urine. Urinalysis will show elevated sugar levels in the urine. Birds with diabetes often drink excessive amounts of water, and will also urinate excessively. Increased urine in the droppings must be differentiated from diarrhea, which is an increased volume of fluid in the feces. Some birds with diabetes may start out overweight, but many will become thin from not properly utilizing glucose. Animals with diabetes are more susceptible to infections."

Diabetes in Birds

In mammals, diabetes is caused by problems with not enough insulin, but, with avian species, the problem is that too much glucagon is produced.

www.exoticpetvet.net

 

[Avery Birb]

I dont believe the vet checked for diabetes but all she said was her kidneys were fine. Avery drinks a lot of water and then has to go to the bathroom a few mins later and it’s mostly all water, not many urates. Urates are actually slowly becoming more and more in some of her droppings.
She is a pineapple conure and she was 86 grams so I know she’s a bit overweight. I’m working on getting her off of her seed diet. I now see that her eating sunflower seeds for the past 6 years is not good, I fell in love with her when she came into my job and I was 19, never owned a bird so it is my fault for not knowing the best diet for her. I limit her seeds per day now. Got bird bread and other pellets from Harrison’s over the weekend but she of course wants nothing to do with anything other than seeds she likes. But she did start eating one orange pellet so maybe were making progress (hopefully).
I’m going to call vet and get her in for some tests, like I said I’d like her droppings to be tested. The vet said when she did a smear there was a lot of bacteria, but then she didn’t test it or anything I’m not sure why. And now I will bring up diabetes and see if that could be a cause. Thank you everyone for your replies.

 

[Greylady1966]

I would push for all testing. I'd rather do too many test than not enough. Definitely bring up your concerns with your vet but don't hesitate to ask questions. We tested Howard more than once for diabetes and I'm in no way saying that's what your parrot has in our case our vet and I wanted to make sure. I wish you good luck.

 

[Avery Birb]

Appointment set with my avian vet for Saturday. Fingers crossed!

 

[Greylady1966]

Please let us know what you find out. Best of luck.
Carol

 

[Avery Birb]

My avian vet seems to think it’s a hormonal behavior and gave her a shot of Lupron to try out and see if that stops her excessive drinking and watery droppings. Have to go back in two weeks to get another, and then again 2 weeks after. Now that I’m thinking about it, Avery did begin doing this when my boyfriend initially moved in with me so I’m wondering if it is hormonal.
My avian vet said to test for diabetes and other diseases will be a lot of bloodwork and it would be better to take this route first.