Trying not to panic!

[Kimmied]

Ok Mina is doing this once again and I'm trying not to panic or go crazy. She has stopped eating her pellets and has lost some weight. Not a lot she is still eating her Goldenfeast snack I make her in the morning I has lots of fruit and veggies and beans and nuts. She picks out the nuts now and let's the rest lay. She also has her afternoon fresh fruit she will no longer eat all the different kinds now just wants the grapes. So now we are down to eating grapes and nuts. Basically junk food. So here is my question. Does she know she is jerking my chain? I get more upset every morning I go in and see no evidence that her pellets haven't been touched overnight. Should I take away her Goldenfeast? I think the pellets will just sit there. Today I hand fed her again and put some organic baby food in it. Is she so smart she knows I will resort to this???

 

[Jayyj]

I'm sure the experts will be along soon, but do you have a means of confirming whether she's losing weight? If it were be me and I was sure her weight was dropping I'd probably get a vet check to rule out a medical reason. Does she seem herself otherwise?

Good luck with it, hope you're doing ok.

 

[Kimmied]

Yes I weighed her she went from 476 to 472. Otherwise she is herself. Playful her feathers look good she is drinking. I think I just worry about her so much.

 

[Kimmied]

I know if I take her to the vet they will put her on Baytril again. I worry what that could be doing to her kidneys and liver.

 

[Kalidasa]

Have you tried feeding them by hand one by one?

 

[ShellyBorg]

Feed pellets first. Cut way back of the fruit. Just like a child they will only eat want they want when offered choices. So feed pellets first thing in the morning. Many birds like them better moistened, I would use a little fruit juice at first.

 

[MonicaMc]

Usually, the biggest concern is if a bird looses 10% of their body weight. I've actually noticed that my birds weight fluctuate throughout the year. They seem to eat more in summer since we have longer days then, and less in winter since the days are shorter.

 

[Kimmied]

Yes I use to feed them to her one by one. Now she won't do that. I will try to soak them in some juice. This is her first year so thank you for letting me know they eat a little less in fall/ winter. That eases my mind a little. Yesterday and today she has been a real piece of work! Not sure if because she is hungry or what, but she was very nasty yesterday and today she actually bit me in the face. Again not sure if she is hungry or tired but this is not her normal activity. Here I thought I was safe because we made it through spring.

 

[Mare Miller]

My U2 won't touch pellets except to throw them from his bowl. I grind them and heat them with his oatmeal in the morning and he doesn't even know what's going on . I'm sorry to hear Mina is being a brat, be careful of that beak.

 

[MonicaMc]

If it helps, here is a graph of a senegal who has been weighed daily since the owner got him. The areas where his weight dipped dramatically occurred around times of stress.... i.e. Fourth of July. Fireworks can freak out any animal! The chart is from December 2006 to July of 2010. (would be interesting to see the graph now, 3 years later!)

The senegal who was weighed is the sennie from this website.


Pepper -- A Senegal Parrot