meyers parrot puking

Question
my meyers parrot is about 15weeks old. lately she has been puking up seeds. she can crack them open and get the seed inside but she must swallow them whole or something because later she'll work them back up again and they'll be whole or almost whole sunflower seeds and millet. what's wrong with her? does she just forget to chew them?


Answer
It sounds like regurgitation rather than vomiting - and there could be several causes.
 One thing I can say for sure is that sunflower seeds and millet should be very, very limited.
 Our birds aren't allowed any sunflower at all (it's easier to never start the habit rather than try to break it) and millet is another high fat food that needs to be limited to about one or two a week.  
Otherwise there's a significantly increased chance of fatty liver disease (which can cost hundreds of dollars, even thousands to get treated), plus adequate nutrients aren't taken in when they stuff themselves with 'junk food'.
 Birds don't exactly "chew", they just break things open (seeds) or break them down to sizes easily swallowed. The crop is where it sits and digests before moving into the stomach and so on.
 High fat foods like this may 'ferment' and cause crop infections or impactions (pretty serious problems that need medical treatment quickly). The bird regurgitating may be a symptom of an already established infection and so, it should be checked out this week (delays only give it a chance to get worse and more costly to treat).
 Your Meyers should be on a mostly pelleted diet with only about 15-20% seed (and no sunflower), but make the switch slowly so the bird doesn't go off food and become even more ill.
 Take a look here for more about bird nutritional needs and how to approach this so the bird will cooperate.

  www.4AnimalCare.org  (click on the bird tab)

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