macaw diet

Question
My young blue and gold macaw seems to be a bit thin to me - breast bone is easily felt. She is 8 months old and gets a mixture of cooked peas, grated carrot, apple and sweet potato each morning,  mixed with some of the parrot crumbles mixed with water. Fresh veges and fruit in the late afternoon and ad lib sunflower seed all day. I have recently dewormed her. My other birds are greys and conures and are much fatter than she is. Is there something I can feed her to help her gain weight, or is this normal?

Answer
I got very concerned when you mentioned that you "dewormed" your bird.  Did you do this on your own, or did a vet do it? It is typical (if not necessary) to deworm puppies and kittens, but birds do not get dewormer.

I would have your vet seen by an avian vet asap.  Sunflower seeds are very fattening (and not very nutritious), so your bird should be very plump if he has sunflower seeds available all day.

You can find an avian vet near you at:  

http://www.parrotpro.com/avianlst.htm

www.aav.org

I hope this helps. And make sure to have the information on the dewormer you gave your bird ready for the vet... s/he will want this information.

-Maggie