Thoughts on Lola

[Meredith0708]

Hello! Thanks to everyone for past advice - it has been very valuable and helpful in learning how to be a good companion for my cockatoo Lola. I have also learned alot researching on the internet and reading this forum.

Quick history - Lola, an 8-year-old cockatoo, came to me about 3 months ago, she was given to my daughter by a lady who had had her since she was a baby, but Lola didn't like my daughter and likes me so she has pretty much become mine. I am pretty inexperienced when it comes to birds, so I have been relying on advice from here and research.

She is currently working on a hard molt, I believe it is called, lots and lots of pins, and her behavior is changing some. She is definitely more bitey, which I hope doesn't last. At the beginning of her molt she let me help her with the pins on her head, but now she tries to bite me. She wants me to pet her on her head, but even when invited she every now and then will still try to bite. One good thing is that she will play with her toys a little bit. At first she wouldn't have anything to do with them so I think this is a good step in the right direction. She does seem to be attracted more to regular household items than to manufactured toys. She would love to get hold of my glasses, for one.

The other thing that I wonder about is her diet - which is awful. I mentioned this earlier and got some great advice - only problem is, she refuses to eat the items that are recommended. I bought pellets and birdie bread and she doesn't touch them. Also won't touch fruits and vegetables. She just wants her carbs. Her previous owner fed her mostly seed mix (of which I believe she only eats the sunflowers), peanuts (which I have taken away and am feeding to the squirrels), toast, cereal, spaghetti, popcorn, hard cheese, etc., She loves her almonds in the shell. And I don't dare eat cheetos by her, she will freak out. I am pretty much at a loss with how to handle getting her to eat properly. I always try to have something 'healthy' in her trays, but she just ignores it.

I realize there aren't really any questions in here - but I would appreciate any thoughts and advice that come to mind. Thanks!!

 

[Mare Miller]

Hi Meredith, I had the same issues with my U2 when he first came to me. Pellets were just flung along with everything else! I ended up grinding pellets in a coffee/spice grinder, mixing it with a handful of 'old fashioned oatmeal', water to cover and then microwaved for 1 minute. Let cool, if it's too sticky and thick, add some water to loosen it up. Amigo loved it! I do the same for Sassy and that's the first thing she hits in the morning! I keep another bowl of fruits and veggies and in late afternoon I'll give them a little handful of seed. This has worked for me and my birds.

 

[MaraWentz]

Okay, sounds horrible, what I'm bout to say, but just hear me out. Say yo have a child and he demands chocolate cake for breakfast and wont eat anything else. Do you feed him it? Of course not. he can sit there and not eat- we can't force them. Lunch rolls around. he is hungry but pulls the same thing. Do you give in and feed him cake. Nope. Later he asks for chips to munch on- after not eating lunch or breakfast and throwing a fit because you wont give him cake. Do you give hima nother forma junk food in reward for not eating the healthy meals you provided? Nope. Dinner comes and he is STARVING (so he says, but in reality he is still a healthy boy, just hungry) and he eats his meal with no problem SAme for birds. Mine decided it would eat only the pistachios from it's food so she was given a handful of food in the AM which she threw out everythng that wasnt a pistachio and nothing else til 6 at night and she was so hungry she ate it all. she didnt get a refill until the next morning where she ate that all,a nd so the cycle goes. after 2 days she slowed her role and now I feed in the AM and PM once each and she isnt starving but she doesnt throw her food out. The first day and half you will want to keep feeding them and when they run out of thier junky food you will feel bad, but trust me they arent going to die.

 

[Meredith0708]

MaraWentz - I had thought of that but I wasn't sure if birds were like kids. I am afraid she just won't eat and then will get sick. So it is ok to only put out the good-for-her-stuff and let her not eat until she is hungry enough?

 

[melissasparrots]

Sometimes new feathers hurt. Especially if they are geting a lot of them. My goffin's doesn't like me to help with pin feathers either. Sometimes a bath every day will help them shed the flaky wrapping of the pins easier and at least make them feel better.

For the diet, you will need a gram scale if you want to change it. I've found with mine that if they are refusing to eat good for them food despite being consistently offered for several weeks and I know they know its food, its because they are eating too much of the other stuff. With my birds, if I'm beginning a diet change on a new bird I weigh them daily for a while so I know what their normal weight range is and that its stable. Then I start slowly reducing the amount of seed or other undesireable stuff in their diet until I see them eating their good for them food. They will sometimes drop weight while doing this. I'd consider 10 grams on an otherwise healthy bird an acceptable amount to loose in order to get them eating a good diet. Sometimes they will scream and pitch a hissy fit to convince you that they are starving. If pellets are your first goal, make sure those are always available. It seems like seed junkies are usually willing to hit the pellets first and veggies far down the line. If your seeing the bird drop more than 12-15 grams, then you need to up the seed until they maintain. Sometimes just maintaining them at a slightly lower than normal weight for a period of time will get them tired of being hungry and they will start eating good for them stuff. Its not a very nice thing to do to a bird, but considering they can eat garbage for years and be less than healthy. Or you can be a witch and insist and get them eating better and healthier in a few weeks. Don't try it unless you have a gram scale. Don't just take the seed away outright. Reduce it slowly. You can also do things like 10 minutes of seed in the evening, then take it away and only healthy food after that. Some indivuals will manage to gorge themselves enough to last a day in that 10 minutes, so you have to play around with it and see what works for your bird.

 

[cdog]

Ok I have to say I hate the starving method so here is mine, it has never failed.
Offer the current diet in the morning for one hour, then take it away and replace it with pellets, leave the pellets in all day. Then at night offer the current diet again for one hour, then replace it. Soon she will start picking at the pellets and as soon as you see her eat some, lower the amount of time you offer seeds to 45min. Do this and you will see her eat more and more pellets, just keep lowering the amount of time you offer seeds by 15min each time until she is only eating pellets. Make sure you weigh her to see if she is still eating, she might lose a little weight but it shouldn't be more than a few grams.
It could take anywhere from one week to 6 months to do this just don't give up. I have done this 4 times and it has never failed, good luck and please don't do that starving method because it really isn't very nice to do.

 

[melissasparrots]

It could take anywhere from one week to 6 months to do this just don't give up. I have done this 4 times and it has never failed, good luck and please don't do that starving method because it really isn't very nice to do.

The method I listed is not a starving method. Just as you limit the time to eat, I limit the amount. Both birds will get really hungry to the point of being willing to eat something they don't like. I don't think in the end there is much difference between the two. Either way the favorite food is reduced and the bird is hungry. Either way, the bird will often lose a little weight. And I did say NOT to just completely take away the favorite food. Ration it instead. My method does tend to rub the more sentimental among us the wrong way. But the end result is the same. Hungry bird.
Melissa

 

[cdog]

No no I wasn't referring to your method, I was saying don't use marawentz method, no offence to her.

 

[melissasparrots]

No no I wasn't referring to your method, I was saying don't use marawentz method, no offence to her.

Thats what I get for not reading the whole thread. Sorry for the confusion.
Melissa

 

[cdog]

That's ok, I have goofed up like that a lot on here.lol

 

[MikeyTN]

I don't agree with the starving method!!!! Even a vet told me to do so at one point. I absolutely disagree!!!! I did try it years ago when we first got Dixie our Lesser too, she WILL starve herself and won't touch any pellets period. So I started the mixing process by introducing pellets to her slowly. Started out by 75% seeds/25% pellets, then 50/50, then 25/75. During any point she started eating pellets real good, I remove the dish and put 100% pellets then I observe.

With Java our U2, when he first came to me, I kept him on seeds for a month until he's starting to get used to his new home. Then I started out with fresh fruits and veggies in the morning with Pellets offered in a separate dish ALL day. Then at night I fed him minimal seeds. He used to refuse to eat fruits and veggies, also pellets too. Now he eats everything ever since I took his seeds away after I saw him nibbling on pellets pretty good. Patiences and persistence will pay off eventually! His previous momma tried for 7 years with no luck and it took me less then a month to accomplish.