Why does my sun conure have bad breath? Is it food or an infection?

Question

I’ve been trying different healthier food brands for my sun Conure. He’s currently on Sunburst Conure Blend and I think it’s making his “breath” smell terrible. He’s acting and pooping normal. But could it be an infection? His beak and nostrils show no signs of discharge or discoloration. Pet's info: Bird | Unknown - Bird | Male | unneutered | 2 years and 5 months old

Emi Knafo, DVM, DACZM · Accepted Answer

Hello! I am so happy to hear you are looking to improve your birds nutrition! Nutrition is the foundation of good health in birds and is so important! I recommend ZuPreem, Roudybush, Lafeber, or Harrison pellets. You can buy all of these except Harrison’s at your local PetCo or other pet store. It’s important to feed about 75% of the diet as a complete, high quality pelleted food. The brand you chose is less important and will often be dictated by what Charlie prefers (for example, my bird hates Harrison’s, but loves ZuPreem, so that’s what I buy). The remaining 25% of the diet should be mostly fresh vegetables (10-20%) with a small portion of seeds and other treats like fruit and nuts. I usually recommend that owners save the really tasty but not nutritionally sound treats like sunflower seeds, nuts, dried fruit for training. If Charlie only gets treats when he’s interacting with you, this will help improve and solidify your bond. If your bird is really attached to eating seeds, this transition can be quite difficult. The process of transitioning from seeds to pellets can be involved, and I’d be happy to provide a consultation on this topic if you would like. As for the bad breath, that can mean many things. It could be nothing at all and just a side effect of the food you’re feeding, as you suggested. It’s also possible it could be an infection. However, since you say Charlie is otherwise acting normally, I’d be inclined to believe it’s just from the food. I hope this was helpful! Please let me know if I can help in any other way. Good luck to you and Charlie!

Why does my sun conure have bad breath? Is it food or an infection?

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