Cockatiel Feeding

Question
Hey there again,

well, This doctor was honest with me and told me that she had not worked on a bird in quite some time, but if i gave her some time to crack open some books, and consult with some coleagues, she would give me an answer as to how to proceed.  I really appreciated that...:-).  So, after she had done that she came back and told me what to do.  

I have bubbles in my room where it is quiet and she does not have to deal with the excitment of the other birds.  Also, I need to keep her extra warm and it is tooooo warm for the rest of us!  Since i put her in a heated room she does get up on the lower perch and is not nearly as puffed up as she was looking earlier.  

I made her about a teaspoon of oatmeal mixed with hot water and a drop of Karo syrup.  She ate some of that and took in some millet spray and drank some water which she had only done once since yesterday...so her appetite seems to be picking up.  But she is still weak.  Her second dose of amoxicillian is due to be given in a couple of hours.  She will be on that twice a day for 5 days along with that strict diet.  I pray she recovers.  We have all taken to her so much and she to us...:-)

Thanks for your encouragment..

Pat      
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Followup To

Question -
Hello Dianna,

I just got back from the vet with Bubbles about an hour ago.  She took a culture of her stool and told me that she had a bacteria infection.  We think it had something to do with the food she had eaten, so she is on amoxicillian and a strict diet for one week at which time I will need to see if she is better or either we will have to try something else.  I think my giving her food from my mouth may have contributed to this as well, but I didn't know it at the time that it was harmful to her.  

Anyway, she is quarintined away from the othrs has she has been and is restricted to oatmeal mixed with warm water to help with the diariaha, karo syrup and water to get her glucose back up and millett.  She has to take the antibiotics twice a day and boy does she fight that!  she is eating the millet though and I have to go and get the Karo syrup.  Sounds like something you would do for child.

Anyway, she says it looks like a sudden change in her diet upset her system as well.  And here i thought i was doing really well.....:-(.  Oh well.

I live in Lawton, Oklahoma.  The next major city from me is Oklahoma City.  it is about 90 miles away.

thanks for your help.

Pat       
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Followup To

Question -
Hello again Dianna,

Well, since I last posted to you, Bubbles seems to have gotten sick.  She stay on the bottom of her cage, hardly eats anything, and has a hard time staying perched on my finger.... Her bowls are loser than usual and I have only seen her take water once in the last 24 hours and then it was because i put her water dish at the bottom of the cage..

I have only had her for a little under two weeks now and am very dissappointed that she is sick this soon.  Her first doctor's visit she he thought it was just stress and the change of inviroment.  After a couple of days, she seemed to be fine and walking around getting to know everyone.  Very friendly.  Now, she is just sleeping, not eating, and can hardly stand without slightly rocking back and forth sometimes.  I know that some of that could be weakness because she is not eating, but I don't know the root cause of her sudden loss of appetite?.....sigh...

So, at 1:30 today (CST) she is on her way back to the VET.  the Doctor that saw her last week, I'm told just retired day before yesterday (after telling me that we would have a long relationship together).  So, I asked if this doctor was trained in seeing more than cats and dogs and was told yes, but we will see i guess....

any  suggestions?  I don't believe that they are any vets in our city that see birds except two and then I'm not sure they are specially trianed or if they just see the animals for more "clients"..

thanks,

Pat   
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Followup To

Question -
Dianna,

Thanks for the "heads up" on the oatmeal.  I was so excited that she would finally eat something other than sunflower seeds, that I didn't even think about it needing to be cooked and swelling in her stomach!  sheesh! She did eat some peas last night that she took completely out of the shell which was fine.  She likes corn (cooked)no butter or salt and she likes endive and cilantro.  But she is very finiky about most other things....I guess it will get figured out after a while....:-).  I've only had her for a little over a week or maybe just into two weeks now.  She seems to be adjusting to others being around since I do entertain in my home quite a bit and also, I see to it that she like all of my other birds go "lights out" when the sun is almost set and then i uncover their cages when the sun rises.  I read that they need about 12 hours of sleep.

My other concern is that as soon as she eats in the morning, she goes right back to sleep again!  Sounds like me at lunch time!  Is that normal...?  Seems like she is sleeping too much...

thanks,

Pat  
  
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Followup To

Question -
Thanks Dianna,

Yes, this did help a lot.  I was concerned about her thinking that my mouth was a plate!  sheesh..Somehow I had the picture of a 6 year old pulling out his mother's breast when he got thirsty!  Kinda had the same feeling, you know!?...

Anyway, it seems that all of the food in the stores have seeds in it.  She seems like to like Sunflower and Safflower seeds the best. This morning she ate some raw oats and corn flakes (dry) out of a bowl, but then quickly lost interest.  She did seem to like cilantro and then lost interest in that.  And the other day when i tried to mix her food with the Fiesta Mix, she picked through and took out the seeds and rejected the rest.  I noticed that she stopped going to the bathroom as much as she had been and seems lithargic.  At which point i got concerned that she was going to starve herself to death because she didn't recognize the other as "food".   So, how do i overcome this hurdle with her?

thanks,

Pat     
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Followup To

Question -
Hello there Dianna,

I have a cockatiel that is said to be about 4 months old. It is a hen.  the vet told me and through my own research, I realize that I am to offer her a variety of foods.  I bought some Fiesta Mix by Kay-Tee and also some of the food that they were feeding her at the pet store and she is doing fine.  Or was!  I have offered her some fruits (which she does not seem to take at all) and some fresh vegetables.  So far, I have discovered that she likes green beans (the shoestring kind), corn, broccoli, and green peas.  But she only eats them if i chew it for her first and then she insist on taking it right out of my mouth when I'm trying to eat!  Is that because she is still so young?  Then she makes this cooing sound...I don't know if she thinks I'm "Mama Bird" or what, but I just wanted to know how to get her to take it out of her own dish?  She literally seems like she doesn't recognize it as food? Unless it is chewed and hanging off of my tongue.  Now, don't get me wrong....that works (unless I have company!)  then it might not go over so well.  

Suggestions would be helpful.  

thanks,

Pat

Answer -
Hello Patricia.  I do have to say that your post is one of the cutest posts that I have had, and I am so glad that your new friend has taken to you so much, however, please do not let your birf eat out of your mouth anymore.
Not only could it be embaressing if you have company, but it could make your bird sick.  
Humans' saliva is toxic to birds.  I didn't even know this until about a year ago when my cockatiel, Sniffles, would do the same thing.  Then I took him to the vet for a check-up and I had told the vet what was going on with the the bird. (Sniffles was about 8 months old when I got him.)  
To get your baby to eat different foods, try hanging different friuts and vegetables on the side of her cage.  You can actually weave them through the bars if the cage.  Let them sit there for a couple of hours.  Eventually she will get curious enough and go up and taste them.  Remember that she is still a baby abd meal time should be FUN for her.  
Give her a variety, but don't give her an all sed diet.  Seeds are really hard on her intestins, and that could lead to kindey failure, among other things when she gets older.  Pellets are the way to go, but that may have to be a gradule change.  Seeds are fine for treats, and every time she does something good, that would be a treat for her.  She'll learn faster that way.
Now I have to go and reward my Keeley (one of my cockatiels) for standing there and waving "Hello" to me.  Tonight her treat is grapes, which she has learned to like.

I hope this helped.

Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna




Answer -
Pat,
The Safflower seeds are okay to give her, but not in quantity.  The sunflower seeds are not good for her at all.  They are hard to digest, and they can cause some serious kidney problems.  Not to mention that they're loaded with fat.
You can get pellets from your local pet shop.  The pellets are made by Zupreme.  
Here is a site the you might be interested in also.
The information in here is very helpful, thing that I didn't even know until I got it in an email.

http://www.birdtricks.com/organic2.htm

Also, you can give her some cooked egg.  She might like that.  
I am glad that your little friend is trying some new foods.  Just keep offering her different things to try.  Eventually you will find something that she likes.
By the way, if you are going to gove her oatmeal, make sure that it is cooked.  Oatmeal swells up and can cause her some serious problems if she eats them uncooked.
She might even be a bird that likes spicy foods.  My Amazon parrot and one of the parakeets that I had both love jalepeno peppers.  The Amazon will take it whole and eat it, all the while he is saying "Oh my God, I just love it so much".  The parakeet that I had would sit there and eat it raw too, and if I took it away, she would get really mad at me until I gave it back to her.
I have a cockatiel that won't try different foods, so I give her the pellets, and on occasion, I'll give her some seeds, just not sunflower seeds.

I hope the site helps you out.  I found it to be informative.

Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna

Answer -
Patricia,
I am glad to hear that she is eating more varieties of food.  Keep up the good work!
She is still a young bird, so she will sleep a little more than you'd expect her to.  Yes, she does need at least 12 hours of sleep, some birds do sleep a little more than others, just as peole do.  Think of her as a 4 month old baby.  Babies do sleep alot.  It's nothing to worry about.  She is just soring up energy because when she is older, she will need it to keep you jumping...lol.

I really believe that you both will be fine.  Just remember the foods that are toxic to her, and don't try to feed them to her.  I am sending a list of them to you in this post.

Avacados, onions, chocolate, caffine in any form, some household plants such as Pionsettas, Trumpet Plants, and most Ivy Plants.

I wish you and your friend the best of luck and please do not hesitate to contact me again if you need to(or think you might need to).

God Bless,
Dianna



Answer -
Hello again Pat.
I am so sorry that Bubbles isn't feeling well.  What is your location?  I will check online to see if I can find an Avian Vet near you.  It sounds like she needs to be seen ASAP.
You might have to go to another city, but in the long run it is worth it.
I live on the Wisconsin border in Illinois, and I have had to go some distance (Niles, Illinois) to get my birds into an Avian Vet.

Dianna

Answer -
Pat,
It sounds like your new vet is going to work out.  I would stick with her and see what happens, it sounds like she knows what she's talking about.  I am glad that Bubbles is on the abtibiodics, and I am very sure that she will be alright.
Not a lot of peole realize that leting a bird eat out of their mouth is bad for the bird, it is a common mistake that people make.
Yes, it is like taking care of a child sometimes.  All of my birds are like children too.  I am just glad that Bubbles has such a good friend that really cares for her.

Please keep me informed on how she's doing.

God Bless.
Dianna


Answer
Hello again.
At least the vet was honest with you, and that is always a good thing :-).  It sounds like Bubbles is going to make a full recovery.  I am saying prayers for her to make a full recovery too.
You can email me directly any time if you'd like, I am always glad to hear how a sick little friend is doing.
My email address is karmor22@hotmail.com.
Just let me know if there's anything else that I can do for you.

God Bless.
Dianna