Not eating well at all!

[Paula *]

Hi Maggie!

I have some concerns about Felix, approx 3 years old, and his eating. We have had him for two years.

He insists , he only wants seeds! We have tried since we got him, starting by giving him 50/50 fruits,vegetables, beans, greens, fresh in layers or mashed, "anything and everything- changed now and then"- mix and seeds. In a cup of vegetable mix we give two tablespoons of seeds, he's getting this mix twice a day. Probably he's getting too much seeds, but we have tried to gradually decrease the amount of seeds, so that he after many months only get one tablespoon of seeds in his mix/twice a day.
And the result is that he starts losing weight. We have tried this thing before, he started losing weight so we increased his seeds again( up to 50/50), so he wouldn't get weak.
Now we try again to cut down his seeds little/little-gradually, and he starts
losing weight again.

Of all the yummie stuff we give, chop, mix, mash, he only eats some green apple, grapes and his seeds.....He throws anything else away.

We eat first and then tell him to try, we say its yummie-so lovely and then give him to try-but no, he is not interested if it's not seeds. If we would let him, he could eat all the seeds you give him.
He usually is around 545gr but now he is around 518 gr again.

Do we dare to continue, because he might get weaker and ill?
I know that we must be doing something wrong, since this has been going on for two years now- a bad circle we don't know how to change.
Could you please help us.

Kind regards,
Paula

[Guest]

Hi Paula,

You're not doing anything wrong. Could you make up a puree and spoon feed him some of the good food so he gets some other nutrition? Then you can mix up some pellets and other nutritious ingredients in it.

Conversion is NOT easy. Once they believe this is what they eat, it is hard to teach them to eat something else. But "cold turkey" doesn't work either because they will just not eat...starve and lose weight. so, your worrying about the weight loss is correct.

Therefore, the key is to find something to feed him that will make up for the weight loss but will be different from seeds and with different, better nutrition.

Let me know if you think the spoon feeding can help.
Maggie-

[Paula *]

Hi Maggie!

Thank you for your reply!

When you suggested spoon feeding Felix I had my hesitations, because I have tried this many times before- without much success. I don't know if I have the wrong technique or/because Felix is a very timid bird, but he doesn't like it, he won't eat from the spoon. And I don't want to force him.

Anyway, I have now tried spoon feeding him these past days to see if it would work. I' m afraid that he won't get enough food this way, because he is just too afraid.

All these things get more complicated because of his character. We have had him for two years now, and he is still extremely cautious and still not totally comfortable with us.
We respect that, and try to go about it with baby steps, on his terms. I have read your book and try to follow your suggestions.

Sometimes he steps up on my hand, let's me scratch his neck/back, sits on my hand while we walk around the room etc. other times he shivers/shakes when I, or any other member of the family, come near and makes "the coffee pot sound" showing he's afraid, so I/we back off and stay on distance.

He just loves when all the family, me, my husband and four children, sit down to watch tv in the living room, where he also has his cage. Then he seems so happy, as long as we keep a distance.

He is so sweet, he has never bit any of us-he takes food from all of us, he is all day outside of his cage, sitting on top or on his stand next to. He takes his daily morning flights down on the floor, strutting around abit and then climbing up to his stand again.
He goes in and out of his cage, all day long, looking for food when he is hungry.

The only thing is now, how to find out how to make him change his eating habits.. and eat something else but seeds.

Regards, Paula

[Guest]

Paula,

Treat the spoon like a toy. Leave it near his cage. Pick it up when everyone is having fun and play with it. Giggle and get really excited. Keep doing it until he gets curious. Then offer him the spoon....but then take it back and act possessive of it. Once he seems more interested in the spoon, get some kind of puree you like, such as mashed potatoes, and eat around the cage. Get really excited and tell him how good it is...then offer. Keep with this process for a few weeks or months, however long it works. But first, he must become comfortable with the spoon.

Hoping this helps. You are doing a GREY'T job!
Maggie-

[zaynah]

[Lucysmom]

[sidney]

I have an 8 week old ive had for a month. The vet suggested i change to Harrisons which is organic, she has a heart murmur Alsoif you follow this board was born crippled, so is very spoiled. She hates it! but as long as it doesnt get to cold or thick i have a better chance she will take more. Its like the three bears "its got to be just right" try different temps, and consistantsys. The harrison diet smells like seeds call them and they will send you a free sample.
I also have a very pickey and grippy Quaker named Boogie, he would only eat seed for 4 years but loves this stuff. Good luck

[Guest]

Harrison's are good pellets. It is good to have a moderate balance of veggies/fruits, grains, seeds/nuts and pellets. The problem for birds is that if they are not taught something is food, they will not eat it. That is why you cannot just take away something like seeds. The change must always happen gradually.

Maggie-