Apollo home - not eating

[Owlet]

I brought Apollo home late last night and it's been a struggle since. I've gotten him to pick at his food a little but not enough to sustain himself. He was previously off the bottle for a little over a week and was gaining and maintaining weight on his own during that time. He is on the same food he was weaned onto. A user suggested maybe it would be good to give him "comfort feedings" with formula. I'm about to head out and pick up some "kaytee" formula as that's all I can find instores around me. I'll also pick up some syringes, is there anything else I need? I'm pretty sure we have a candy thermometer, would that work for checking temperature or would I need something else?

 

[Laurasea]

How is Apollo doing now? Eating?

 

[Owlet]

got him to eat a little bit, I felt comfortable enough letting him be for the night and turning off the lights and stuff. I'll have to see how he does tomorrow but I have the formula sitting in my freezer right now if I need it.

 

[Laurasea]

I'll be waiting for an update today!!! Hopefully he us settled and chowing down!

 

[Owlet]

He was rather grumpy when I woke him up this morning but seemed to be doing okay. I didn't see any fresh poop though, which is worrisome. Had to go to work but gonna have my family checking in on him

 

[EllenD]

It's not unusual for them to beg at night before bed for a "comfort feeding", but a "comfort feeding" is not at all the same thing as them not eating their solid food during the day...I've had many, many babies beg for a "comfort feeding" at nighttime during the first week or so after they weaned themselves, but they've never not been eating their pellets/seeds/veggies during the daytime beforehand...

You could certainly try the hand-feeding formula to see if you get a "feeding response" from him during the day and to see if he'll eat it, but if that's what happens then he may not actually be fully-weaned yet, which sometimes happens. They do sometimes regress after going to their new home so quickly, but make sure you're still weighing him at the same time each day and writing it down, because if he starts losing weight and keeps refusing ALL solid food, then I'd take him back to the store and let them continue to feed him formula and see what happens, because something isn't quite right...Like I said, he shouldn't be refusing all solid food due to wanting a "comfort feeding", that's not what that means...It could just be that he's not settled in yet, you said he was quite upset/frantic when you brought him home, my guess is that it's related to his anxiety of coming to a new home that is keeping him from eating, but if you get a feeding response right away from the hand-feeding formula during the daytime while he's refusing all solid food, then something isn't right, it would seem he isn't actually weaned...

Make sure you use a candy or cooking thermometer with a metal probe, and that you keep it in the formula the entire time you're feeding him, and that it's always between 104 degrees F and 110 degrees F, no cooler, no hotter...

 

[Owlet]

he was weaned, on solids entirely for a week. I got him to eat a little more solids. He's not refusing them outright anymore.

We ended up getting a digital "meat" thermometer with a metal probe, does that work?

 

[EllenD]

he was weaned, on solids entirely for a week. I got him to eat a little more solids. He's not refusing them outright anymore.

We ended up getting a digital "meat" thermometer with a metal probe, does that work?

Yep, as long as it has a metal probe you can put into the formula while you're feeding him...

I'm glad he's eating some solid food now, you said he was quite nervous/anxious when you brought him home, so hopefully that's the issue...If he gives you a normal "feeding-response" while eating the formula from the syringe, then that's a good sign...His head/neck should bob while he's swallowing the formula from the syringe...

It's probably just anxiety...

 

[ChristaNL]

I was thinking aong the same lines.. probably in the 'losing weight because of learning to really feed himself"phase in combination with a new strange place to live etc..


Every parrot I brought here had been regressing and acting weird the first week(s) till motns.


D. came her - adult bird, with her own cage, own foodbowl etc.etc. and got the feed she was used to -- so nothing changed except well...me and the house... and she went full hungerstrike!!
(CAG for ye)
She would only eat outside her cage, bowl on the windowsill with me sitting close by but *not* looking at her (she would only eat if I was typing away).
That phase lasted for about a week, then she decided bowl in the cage was okay again, my presence no longer necessary and that any (other) food was heavensend (since she was on supercheap, bugridden and almost moldy chickendfeed at the time that made me happy as well!).


So...if Apollo is not starving... he will come round

 

[Laurasea]

How is he? Did you have to hand feed? Keep us updated!

 

[Owlet]

I haven't hand fed because he's eating a lot on his own now. He will still only eat from the plate though and won't touch bowls unless it's for waters. His poops are looking a lot better too.

Now I have a different problem, he just stays at the bottom of his cage. At the shop he was kept in a cage that had lots of low perches and higher perches and toys and etc but he just doesn't care to perch. I know he can because I've had him on play stands and what not and he's perfectly fine, he just won't do it on his own. Should I maybe get a smaller cage for him to start with and then transfer him into the bigger cage?

 

[EllenD]

I was wondering how Apollo was doing as well..I hope he's finally broken down and started eating his pellets/seed-mix normally like he was in the store...Hopefully you didn't have to hand-feed him formula, as sometimes that can cause some regression on it's own this soon to them weaning...

***Got a question for you out of curiosity, if Apollo still isn't eating normally...Are the food dishes/bowls that you have for him the same as the ones that he was eating his seed-mix/pellets from at the store while weaning and then for the week after? I'm asking because it occurred to me last night that I have had that issue before with a few breeder-birds that I've purchased over the years and just gotten home and put in the Aviary...I have stainless steel bowls in the Aviary and they had some kind of plastic bird-food cups at their breeder's homes, and I tried absolutely everything too, including the hand-feeding formula again, though they had been weaned for over a month when I bought them. Finally I thought about what else was different that could be bothering them, and I had their breeder text me a photo of the dishes they ate their pellets and seeds out of while weaning, and they were those clear plastic cups with a clear plastic cover that attach to the cage bars...So I went out and couldn't find any anywhere, so I ordered them online and sure enough, they went absolutely crazy for their pellets as soon as I put them in the same type of food bowl/dish...

Worth a shot if you're still having the problem, and since you work at the store that bred him/hand-fed him there should't be a problem getting the exact same type of dish...Hopefully you don't have the problem anymore and it doesn't matter...

 

[EllenD]

Ha ha, we posted at the same time...So he's eating, that's good. The "plate" thing cold be the bowl then, but I have a feeling that Apollo is just a very "sensitive" little guy that is just going to take some time to warm-up to new things...

Did he climb/perch/go to the top of his cage at the store? Or did he stay at the bottom of that cage too?

I actually wouldn't put him in a smaller cage or any different cage since this is going to be his permanent cage, and I think he is just going to be the kind of guy that takes a little longer to get used to new things/accept things...He may very well do the same thing in a smaller cage, and then finally get used to the smaller cage and then freak out again in the larger cage...So i'd just keep him in his permanent cage and just let him get used to it...It may very well take a good month or longer for him to warm-up to new things, some birds are just like that, especially newly-weaned babies. The not-eating thing was a worry for obvious reasons, but the rest of his "anxiety" issues I'm guessing are just going to be a time thing...He's only been home for a couple of days now, so that's no time at all...

He's absolutely a gorgeous Cockatiel, I've seen hundreds of them that I bred and my mom bred, and Apollo is just one of the most beautiful 'Tiels I've ever seen...seriously....I think he'll be fine, it's just going to take time...

Have you tried actually putting him on the perches up at the top of the cage so he can see what it's like up there? Some birds are "show me and THEN I'll do it" birds, so Apollo may very well be a "Show Me" bird with everything: food, dishes, perches, toys, etc...I'd give it a try and see what he does...

 

[Owlet]

Yeah, I ended up giving him the plate because I figured out he likes to step on the dish or walk in the food while he eats.. and he couldn't do that with the bowl he had before and I didn't really have any heavy bowls with a low rim so plate will have to do for now.

When I first got him home I put him on a perch at the top (mistake) I'm not really gonna push him to do anything but eat and hang out with me for now as to not stress him further. I'll sometimes put him on the perches that are low to the ground but that's about it. He likes to perch on one of his toys though

Yes Apollo is super pretty. Second I saw him I was all "yeah that bird is mine now." talked to my family and put a deposit on him the next day, and then he ended up being super sweet and outgoing and it was a match made in heaven.

 

[EllenD]

Just to add something to what I said above, are the types of perches, toys, etc. that you have in his cage the same as what was in his weaning-cage at the store? If not, then that could also have something to do with it, but honestly it's not a bad thing for him to have to learn to "try new things"...My brother, my mom's African Gray, has always been somewhat like that, in that ever since my mom brought him home from his breeder 32 years ago now, any new toy, perch, dish, swing, stand, etc. that we gave him had to be just "set out" for him to inspect while walking around them and looking at them, then walking all over them, and then they would usually sit for a good week or so until he'd finally start throwing and whipping them all around, and then they'd go inside of his cage or on his stands. If we just put a new toy or something in his cage or just attached it to his stand, forget about it. To this day if we just put something new in his cage that he's never seen before, he will be a brat about even going back in his cage for bedtime, or he'll sit on the floor NEXT TO his stand, but refuses to actually sit on his stand with the new toy attached to it...And then a week later he loves the new toy like it's his favorite...So maybe that is how Apollo is going to be...And the best way of combating it is to just give him the new stuff and let him get used to it and learn not to fear it, put him in his new cage and let him build the courage and curiosity to explore and adventure on his own, etc...

Also, you actually "showing" him how to play with the toys, how to eat foods out of his new dishes, etc. also usually helps a lot, especially since he's already quite bonded to you because you've known him since he was basically hatched, or at least since he started hand-feeding/weaning, so he already trusts you, he just doesn't trust his new environment yet, so you're the "bridge" to that happening...So you actually putting him on the perches at the top of his cage while talking to him softly, telling him that it's okay and fun to be up there, etc. will help him to acclimate and start doing it on his own...Marathon, not a sprint...

 

[Owlet]

I can try that, I'm trying not to take him out of the cage too much, I still need to give him a your if the household and I haven't let my family interact with him outside of checking in him while I was at work. I'm just so afraid of stressing him out.

Originally he did start eating a little because I tried mock eating his food and I guess that peaked his interest.

 

[Laurasea]

I agree with Ellen and I think you already came to the same conclusion, keep him in the same cave, switching him up will be to stressful. When I brought my baby home, he ate fine, but not as much as he should have, so I kept him in the cage thinking he would eat more. But no the more I handled him the better he would eat. You should have him out of the cage as much as you want, he needs his flock! I think by next week hi will be exploring the perches more. He is absolutely gorgeous, I agree , pretty pretty boy!

 

[Owlet]

Yeah I wanted to introduce him to my brother earlier but he's still asleep so I'll have to wait until later since I need to go out soon to take a test and find some storage containers and a proper plate for Apollo so I can return my parents' tubberware and gravy boat saucer xD

Made some scrambled eggs for him and Lincoln, doesn't seem very interested but thought I might as well try

 

[Owlet]

got him a new bowl plate thing. hopefully the lip will make it so there's not as much mess and wasted food. I got him a couple plates actually, a ceramic one with a similar lip because I wasn't sure if these plastic ones would be heavy enough for him to not tip over... we will see. Also got one that's the same but has little dividers in it that i thought might be useful. put his seed and pellets in the biggest one and then chop in one of the smaller ones and then the 3rd section for goodies! but right now he doesn't care much about anything but his seed and pellets. I think he may have ate a bit of the eggs I gave him but he might have also just pushed it around

 

[Owlet]

Apollo was on one of his dowel perches that are about midway up in the cage, proud of my boy! Making progress.