That article is very interesting... I got about 3/4 of the way through it. Variety really is key.

I don't feed pellets at all and I feed very little seed.... I do sprout several times a year, and they get sunflower as occasional treats. I prefer them to get their fat from nuts; which the macaws get daily. Everything else is fresh or frozen Veggies, fruits, legumes, grains....

I gave up on pellets LONG ago. Not only did they never seem to eat the natural ones, the colored ones that they did eat SMELLED sweet, tasted like red food coloring, and turned their poop funny colors. Let me ask... have you ever eaten RED FROSTING off of a cake? There's no way that coloring can be good for anyone...

I agree with you. That coloring stayed on my hands too cleaning up a mess at work and they had cake with frosting yuk.

Then combine that with them being BIRDS and not evolved to eat this crap that we eat (not that it's good for us,either but at least we are free choice)....and their small kidneys and livers having to process it all, just makes it harder imo.

When I got my budgies from the SPCA I ran and got zupreem colored because they were a mess and it was the only thing in the neighborhood. The lipoma hen went for them immediately so I was glad. The smell was disgusting though LOL and eventually we changed to Harrisons Hi Po mash, seed and fresh including sprouts. And Co Q10. Seems the right combination for her and her mate.

Yeah, never said that all parrots should eat meat, or higher levels of lean complete proteins, just that vasa's require higher amounts, and that with out it upon blood test it is seen that they are protien deficient, Nor I am saying that just because a birds likes meat means that they are carnivores, I'm not an idiot. As for smaller birds getting eaten from other birds, I guess I should clarify what happened, and that is that my vasa flew up in the air and went into a dive after my conure who was also flying, and caught my conure in mid air. My vasa than proceeded to fly around with my conure caught in my vasa's feet. That is NOT typical bigger parrot picks on smaller parrot because of lack of space or cage aggression due to territory, that is outright hunting. In fact vasa' are not territorial nor do they display mate aggression since they are by nature polyamorious. Also lack of protien does affect vasa behavior, as it is the one thing that will make them aggressive.. I will and have tallord my vas's diet by looking at his natural habitat, my vets suggestions, and Dr. Ekstrom's (ornithologists who studies vasa's in the wild) advice, as my vasa is far healthier than most vasa's as a result. Eve gets some form of protien 4 days a week, and a little more during breeding season, so maybe that's not 30-50%, I may have miscalculated that average. And Eve gets egg, organic chicken, turkey, fish, not hormone/antibiotic/ cholesterol filled red meat.

As for the stunting in lesser vasa's the information was gathered between breeders from around the world as they are bred for conservation and study, it was found that unless animal protien was available for the chicks during the rearing process the chicks were undersized. And undersized was compared to wild chicks, these were both indoor and outdoor aviary settings.

You know? You put a bee in my bonnet with your vasa and I've been trying to do more research about them but have not been able to find that much in the net (I haven't had a chance to go to the library). In any case, although all but one site don't list meat as one of the requirements in their diet and have instead the usual lists of seeds, fruits and veggies, I can see how it migh be possible that you are right. They are definitely very, very different than any other parrots species and more primitive in looks, behavior, and physiology so it is very possible they also require a different diet. They even look like a cross between a crow and a parrot, don't they? By the way, I couldn't tell from the pictures and although I would assume they would have to in order to have been classified as psittaform, are they zygodactyl?

I could not find A SINGLE field study on their feeding ecology (by the way, Dr. Ekstrom does not appear anywhere as an ornithologist but as a field biologist and I also could not find anything written by him on them but I did find other stuff he published on other species from the same corner of the world) and that is what I always go by... Does Dr. Ekstrom, by any chance, think that there is a possibility that they were misclassified?

I also found several references to a breeding program going on right here in USA by ABC (Advocates of Bird Conservation) and the Sacramento Zoo but, unfortunately, Mr. John del Rio was involved in it. I also found out that Laurella Desborough is or was involved in breeding them, too. She knows a lot about eclectus and has been breeding them for years... I have great respect for her expertise and have always hoped she would stop breeding and use her knowledge and talents for rescuing instead.
You have a pretty unusual bird there, Kimba.

They are very difficult to find info on, going on the net isn't always helpful, I had to research Madagascar's flora and fauna, I had to read travel books, pdf files, email poeple around the world and such. I am familiar with Laurella articles on them and such, we have followed much of the same path when trying to find out info much at the same time. They Are zygodactyl, but have many other odd traits, they still considered psittaformes. Currant theory has them as the "first" parrot from which all other parrots have evolved,(those that left the area that is when Madagascar was still part of Africa.) Vasa's are crown birds. Or birds that have remained unchanged throughout evolution, like the ostrich and cassowary. On a genetic level they closest relatives are actually cockatoo's not African birds. Dr. Ekstrom believe that vasa's need much more study, and has a theroy, although I am not sure of the particulars, that they are a genetic link between raptors and parrots. Below are some links, unfortunately Dr. ekstroms article need to be purchased, but one of the links is an abstract, one is the library that the copy is in, and one link you probably have seen is from the CPS . I included this one as it talks about the flight patterns of vasa. I agree they are bizzar parrots, finding an avian vet how is knoledgable about them is almost impossiabe, most people who have vasa's find me and ask for info for there vets. so much that I have written up a list of the differances for avian vets to follow.

The breeding biology and behaviour of the greater vasa parrot Coracopsis vasa [WorldCat.org]
Blackwell Synergy - Ibis, Volume 149 Issue 2 Page 313-320, April 2007 (Article Abstract)
CPS 1992 - "Greater and Lesser Vasa Parrots" by Dave Blynn

Here is the list of differances:
This should help get you started, it all I can think of at the moment as far as physical differences go that you vet should be aware of.

Phical differences of vasa parrots:

Head…feathers (aside from head feather loss of the females and some males during breeding season) the feathers will disintegrate upon molting as apposed to fall out creating bald patches and a ring of absent feathers around the neck, this can look like PBFD, but is normal. If a vasa has PBFD it is typical that they develop white feathers. Most parrots with abnormal white feathers indicates a liver problem, I do not know if this holds true for vasas.

Skull… I read that the vasa skull differs from other parrots and more closely resembles a lories skull, but I have not been able to find out the difference between a lories skull and other parrots.

Cere…..will change color from white to grey, to black depending on the time of the year. Their cere should also be soft to the touch much like skin and not hard, if it is hard chances are they are not getting proper nutrition.

Eye rings….can change color on a daily basis, but typically color change follows the breeding cycle, from white to bluish grey, to yellow.

Beak…Will change color as well but not all at once. The beak will develop dark spots which might look like an infection but it is normal, again beak can change from white to black in accordance with breeding. White for non breeding season, black for breeding season.

Mouth, Vasas do not have dry mouths like other parrots! Their salivary gland are located much higher in their throats than other parrots making their mouth moist and sometimes smell. They are capable of having bad breath and drooling. Although they usually only drool when they see a favorite food item. Bad breath in other parrots could be indicative of an infection.

Crop…Their crop is much larger than other parrots!

Sternum (breast bone) Naturally protrudes out much father than other parrots making it easy to think they are severely under weight. A vasas average weight is 480 gram, this will fluctuate during molting as they tend to lose a noticeable amount of weight at this time. It is important that they receive extra fat and beta carotene at this time. As well as omega 3.

Feathers…. Can change color without molting from light grey to dark grey to brown, although more brown is seen in the females.

Wings…..their wings on average are long for the body mass, making it important to flight train with commands as they can easily fly while clipped. Because of the tail and wing structure when clipped they tend to land awkwardly sometimes causing injury. I suggest keeping them full lighted and training with flight commands, if you have the experience and environment to do so. It will prevent injury. They are also capably of amazing things in flight, they can hover in place, dive like a raptor, and are extremely good fliers.

Tail…They can move there tails in a complete upward right angle, like a turkey and use this to balance as well was while diving in flight…in a dive at the last moment they will flare their tail and put it up right making them stop in mid dive and shoot out horizontally .

Feet…. During breeding season they will develop, (males, I do not know about the females) little horns on the ends of their toes by their nails, resembling hypercaratinosis or it can also look like horned mites. This is perfectly normal for them.

Females only….Ovary during breeding season will expand to take over 1/3 of the abdomen.
Head and feet will turn yellow.
They will form a pouch under their beak that fills with a sticky liquid that is feed to chicks.

Males only…. Have a hemi penis, this will show it self during breeding season resembling a prolapsed cloaca. This can further open and expand and can be very large.

Males can also lose head feathers but may or may not turn yellow.

Diet… Vasa’s naturally hunt small prey as well as forage so animal protein is vital to their heath, when the don’t receive enough protein their feather will be dry to the touch and stiff, they should be soft like a cockatoo.

They sexually mature around 5-7 years old.

Thank you for noting the differences and posting the links Kimba. I could read all day about these birds, it's all so very interesting.