Hunger Strike?

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Hunger Strike?

Postby allie » Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:16 pm

Hi Maggie,

I was wondering if my bird, Luna TAG, is going on a hungerstrike for seed treats or if she has a problem.

She was previously on an all seed diet and is crazy about seeds, but I had her eating Harrison's and she loved the stuff!

Well, we have had a good bit of stress in our lives when she was suddenly confined to flat surfaces and denied the security of her cage to let her foot heal. She wouldn't eat well then, and the vet said give her anything htat will make her eat so I gave her Avi-cakes, millet, canary seed, Zupreem fruit blend. And I had to hand feed her in the evenings for some reason to make her eat---a real routine with me making yummy noises and not looking at her, but talking very quietly.

While she was on the tables she became tired of Zupreem which I used to save as treats, but I gave her so much, I think, she's not interested in it anymore. She had never had nutriberries and Avi-cakes before this and I think now that she has discovered something tastier than Harrison's she has decided to hold out on me! She did this before when I introduced her to HArrisons and she loved it so much that she quit eating her morning meal of veggies and grains and beans, and would wait all day to eat the Harrisons I gave her in the evening.

She seems otherwise healthy. She's very talkative and very eager to pop out of her cage in the morning. Her droppings are well formed but just don't have that Harrrison's color anymore. She's drinking well. She was surprisingly rambunctious with a toy I made for her yesterday.

I'm wondering if it's a change in routine that has upset her. She seems to want to eat outside of her cage and will eat a bit if I hand feed her but she keeps dropping the pellets after a few bites. I even opened a new bag to be sure.

She usually jumps on her Harrison's when I offer them. She ate every safflower I gave her today so I think she's holding out. I quit putting Avi-cakes out for foraging fun sadly, and have cut back a lot on the safflower that I use as "good bird" treats or " brave bird" treats.

I'm worried about her starving hersefl. She only eats apples, grapes (still eating those ok), Harrison's, Zupreem, and rice so I don't have many options here. Oh, she has also eaten some of my warm fish from my dinner out of my hand. I usually do share whatever is healthy off my plate with her.

What do you think?

Allie and Luna
The bird that lives with me is smarter than me!
allie
 
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:48 pm
Location: Southern USA

Postby Maggie- » Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:00 pm

Hi Allie,

Greys can get particular and change their favorite foods often. It is also true that, if they do not know something is food, they will starve versus eat something that is not food to them. That is why it is a bad idea to try to change a parrot "cold turkey" to a new food. They need to be introduced to it and slowly.

I realize this is not Luna's situation, but you do need to make sure she does not try to starve herself from the Harrison's. She probably got tired of the Harrison's and is now interested in the other foods. If you can, you need to pretend that you ADORE the Harrison's yourself. Eat a few and get really excited and offer her some...but pull it back...be a little possessive so she may want it more. Keep playing games like that until you see her becoming interested again. She'll come around.

It was the right thing to let her get really into the seeds in that stress time. I always say too, to give them what they'll eat when they are stressed. Then try to get things back to normal.

Again, making it a game and piquing her interest back into the food WORKS!

Miss Luna is acting VERY normally! Congrats!

Keep me posted.

GREY'T Blessings,
Maggie-
Maggie-
 

Postby allie » Sat Apr 28, 2007 1:50 am

Thanks Maggie, that's what I've been trying. I feel better having your support. She seems to eat only when I make a special time out of it, as I had to when she was on her table with the injured foot. I hand the food to her myself. But today she rejected brown rice. That has me worried because she loves brown rice. She used to LOVE Harrisons too. She no longer eats Zupreem (she quit eating that while on the table and flat surfaces because I had spread it everywhere to appease her, I think, and she got bored with it). She refused pasta too. I'm really only left with apple, grapes, egg, meat, tofu, and SEEDS. I wonder if I should try the Avi-cakes tomorrow again, just to see if she goes at them with real zeal, then I'll know she's "playing me!" If she's gotten to where she won't eat those, then I'll know something is wrong with her medically.

Now she's plucking for the first time ever. Something is really wrong here either behaviorally or medically. She barely ate today, about 7 pellets. One bite of rice. She dug into the boiled egg white I gave her with gusto though. And she's still happy to eat safflower seeds from my hand. I just can't tell if this is a seed junkie (she was on a seed-mix diet her whole life before) falling into her old ways again or a sick bird.

Her weight is still within range (perhaps due to those safflowers she gets for being good or brave). She is really, really LOUD and talkative. I did see her regurgitate to her bell toy yesterday. It could be any number of things, but I wonder if spring hormones aren't kicking in and adding to the plucking problem. As long as I can keep her either re-directed toward a good, engaging toy (all homemade by me because she's very particular about play, and it's hard to make enough that she really goes for), or very quiet while I rest, she does not pluck or aggressively preen or tear her feathers.

She came to me with damaged feathers on the bend of the wing and has always aggressively or obsessively preened (hours at a time) if not carefully redirected toward play or food, but she had improved so much prior to my having to suddenly uproot her life and schedule and police her on the table, bed, and couch because of the injured foot. I thought surely she would pluck then, most any rehomed Grey would have. I was so relieved when it was over and NOW she starts in with the plucking and not eating.

I suppose I should call her vet on Monday, just to get an idea of whether or not this is a medical issue. I just don't see any of those other signs of an ill bird (fluffed, change in droppings, fatigued, change in drinking habits, diminished talking, etc).

This is a tough one. I've always felt like I could understand her stress and react appropriately. Now I don't know quite how to help her. I made the typical mistake today and over-focused on the plucking and probably made her ten times more nervous. Up til now, i had been staying relaxed about it. Thanks for being here Maggie. Anything you can say would help I'm sure. I can't believe she's plucking after all the stress she's been through since coming here, now she does it, and I don't know why.

Allie and Luna
The bird that lives with me is smarter than me!
allie
 
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:48 pm
Location: Southern USA

Postby allie » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:00 pm

Maggie, :idea: ! I've been brainstorming to try to get to the root of Luna's eating problems and feather-picking and skin picking.

I wonder if it's because her cage was rearranged around the time she was injured. I did it as a last resort before putting her out on the bed, couch and playtable, because the vet said absolutly no gripping the cage wire.

Well she started nipping her leg skin while I forced her to live on flat surfaces during the day, understandabley. However, she started plucking last week, after being returned to her cage, which I never put back in it's old order.

She is a previously abused/neglected bird, and I imagine cage-security is a huge issue for her. I have never rearranged her perches in her cage for that reason until the vet ordered it.

Would it only make things worse to start changing something again WHILE she's plucking, or would it be worth the stress of her seeing me fiddling with her cage and changing the perches now that she's used to the rearrranged cage, just to see if that's the root of the feather plucking?

I had left it with this new low-perch design to keep her off the cage wire after she returned, worried that she would re-injure her foot. It is not awkward at all, but it's totally different, only her sleeping perch was left untouched.

She is also started falling again once on perches because her nails have not grown all the way back in from the dremmel. That, of course, started after we returned her to perches (ie. her cage, and tree), and i could see how that insecurity could cause plucking. Her cage floor is padded now, thank goodness, because she fell just last night after being covered.

I've read some things that say not to start changing things and adding to their stress when they are plucking, but maybe this would be worth a try?

What does your experience and knowledge say?

Thanks,
Allie and Luna
The bird that lives with me is smarter than me!
allie
 
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:48 pm
Location: Southern USA

Postby Maggie- » Sat Apr 28, 2007 8:41 pm

Allie,

Try to change a few things back to where they were. But if the low perches are more beneficial now, I'd leave them.

Did you put something new inside or around the cage? Think really hard about that. There may be something near that is scaring her.

Please keep me posted. My Internet connection keeps going off and on, so I'll get back here as soon as I can.

GREY'Y Blessings,
Mag-
Maggie-
 

Postby allie » Mon Apr 30, 2007 12:33 am

Maggie, I tried it and Luna dug into an Avi-cake last night after holding out all day except when i hand fed her! She ate it and asked for more! Little bugger!

BUT Guess what! She ate her Harrison's completely normally today.

I think there's too much noise here where I live. It was peaceful this weekend

I'll write more later when i can
Allie
The bird that lives with me is smarter than me!
allie
 
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:48 pm
Location: Southern USA

Postby Maggie- » Mon Apr 30, 2007 3:22 am

Allie,

Keep the GREY'T reports a comin'!!!

Missss Mag-
Maggie-
 


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