Feeding of protein

[Chooky]

Hello again everyone....more questions from a relatively new "mother".

Once a week or so Tricky has some protein in the form of meat (chicken, beef, lamb). He totally loves chicken....especially the wings (he eats them down to the bone!!) and once a month or so we'll have crumbed lamb cutlets (crumbed myself with all the fat trimmed)....he loves the cutlets and tends to eat the meat rather than the crumbs. He also likes fish (we go fishing twice a month or so down the south coast). Does this sound ok for him?? He gets plenty of fresh vegies and fruit daily but really looks forward to his protein (he also loves cheese). He'll eat a small piece of steak....very small. He doesn't get these things more than once a week (seperately....he'll have chicken one week, beef the next....etc)

On a seperate note I bought some worming medicine and a mite/lice spray today....I'm worried about the chemicals and wonder if there isn't a naturopathic way of dealing with mites/lice and worms???

Thanks for any advice and help.

Cheers
Edited to add:
Oh - I've just read some other threads in this topic group...sorry, I should have checked before I asked

[Melika]

Not sure exactly what you read, but here is a simple response:

Meat sounds fine, why not? Wild parrots have eaten it, on occasion. ^_~


As far as lice/mites and worms, do you have reason to suspect your IRN has them?

Mites are usually obvious, the damage shows. Worms aren't too common in our indoor birdies. ^^

If it's not from the avian vet, I'd wager it's like dog wormers. Either doesn't work at all, or is very harmful to the animal.

I don't think I would use any chemicals on my bird that didn't come from an avian vet.

[Chooky]

Not sure exactly what you read, but here is a simple response:

Meat sounds fine, why not? Wild parrots have eaten it, on occasion. ^_~


As far as lice/mites and worms, do you have reason to suspect your IRN has them?

Mites are usually obvious, the damage shows. Worms aren't too common in our indoor birdies. ^^

If it's not from the avian vet, I'd wager it's like dog wormers. Either doesn't work at all, or is very harmful to the animal.

I don't think I would use any chemicals on my bird that didn't come from an avian vet.

Thank you for your reply Melika

I suppose I have no reason to suspect that Tricky has worms, I've just read that parrots should be wormed every 3 months or so(is that just something that is put out there for people like me that have no experience....you know, they read, they worry, they buy the product thinking they are doing the right think??? As far as mites, he has been picking at himself and pulling feathers out here and there...he has been moulting....I don't know whether that is normal or whether it was due to him being "re-owned" or what...I'm inexperienced and was just asking for advice.

Are you saying that I should only take advice from my birdy vet and not worry about the stuff I read about on-line???

Thanks for your help

[Lauren]

Cooked meat is fine in small portions. My 2 go bonkers over chicken, I think they love it more than chippies. But they only get it about once a fortnight. I've had trouble getting them to eat boiled or scrambled egg and shell though. Which is also very good for them. They stick their beaks up at that.

As for lice/wormers.. I have used them in the past, until my avian vet told me they don't do any good. I think I'd rather trust an avian vet than anything I've read online. Not to say you can't find useful advice and opinions online.. lol.. what are we here for? Its just I dont think anyone here is an avian certified vet, so trust your instinct. Your 'mother hen' instinct.
I've heard many good things about Aloe Vera oil as a natural option. I've heard it can be a natural wormer? Not sure if this is correct. But I know it has many benefits not only for us humans but birds too.

[Chooky]

Thanks Lauren, so do you only offer protein once a fortnight?? My Dad was a canary breeder many moons ago when I was a kid, he used to boil eggs then mash the yolks with crushed milk arrowroot biscuits for the mums to feed the babies.....I do this with Tricky and he loves it.

With regard to the wormers and mite sprays it does sound like they are marketing to inexperienced people like me. I love my fine feathered friend and just want to do whats right for him/her.

Thank you both for your help, much appreciated!