Chop enthusiasts to chop naysayers?

[PenClem]

I offer my birds chop on a daily basis, but as of a couple days ago, they've let it go nearly untouched. The routine hasn't changed, and the food is pretty much the same -- raw, organic produce.

The only thing that has changed is the weather. It has gone from about 80 degrees Fahrenheit to about 50-55 degrees F during the day, and even cooler at night. This weather change is not unusual for my part of the world in Fall/Winter months, but their behavior regarding the food is certainly different. I did have to turn on the heater to keep the indoor temp at about 68 degrees F.

Why the change? The only food they seem interested in is their pellets, and even then, they only show a mild interest.

 

[Owlet]

They could be bored of it. Try adding spices like Ceylon cinnamon or rosemary. Add a bit of flavor. Do you use the same recipe for the chop every time?

 

[chris-md]

Yep, mix it up! Change the shape of the food, add some coconut oil or red palm oil. You can play with it to make it more appealing again.

 

[PenClem]

They could be bored of it. Try adding spices like Ceylon cinnamon or rosemary. Add a bit of flavor. Do you use the same recipe for the chop every time?

No, I use whatever I happen to get in my delivery that week. It changes all the time based on what's available.

My biggest concern is they don't seem to be eating much at all in the last couple days, so I thought it might be the change in weather.

I'll move forward with offering pellets, chop, and some nuts, and I'll add some spices, too. Thanks for the info!

 

[Laurasea]

Now you have me worried more is going in then not eating chop. Do you weigh them, that's the best way to see if they have a decrease in appetite. 68 is a but cool too ( my opinion) especially if there are night drops going lower. Yes parrots can survive at lower temps than their native range, but I sometimes question if they thrive. Ofcourse excluding some species like quakers that I have personality seen feral colonies in the snow of New York. You might see if upping the temperature ups the appetite.

 

[TiredOldMan]

Okay I don't have a clue what part of the state you are in!

But in my area we are having heavy overcast for most of the time. This will effect eating habits even in us humans.

Mine have days when they eat everything in sight to the point of me feeding more. And then there are days when it looks like they are living on air.

IMHO a scale is your best friend. It doesn't have to be expensive(mine was 15 US). It doesn't even have to be accurate, it just needs to be repeatable. My fids will rise or fall in weight by 10 grams or more a day. Don't worry too much about daily fluctuations. Worry about the average.

Also if the first fid I weight on a given day lost or gained I can almost always count on the next next one to be off in the same direction.

Just like us the weather and other things we are exposed to will effect our eating habits.

Take this for what you paid for it. Nothing.

it's just MHO.

 

[PenClem]

Okay I don't have a clue what part of the state you are in!

But in my area we are having heavy overcast for most of the time. This will effect eating habits even in us humans.

Same here. And the temperatures were fluctuating quite a bit. Now, it's just cool/cold and mostly overcast.

I have a scale but I'm not sure how to weigh them since they are both flighted. I suppose I could wrap them in a birdy burrito like my CAV does and weigh them that way. It will be a challenge, but it's an important thing to do, I know.

 

[Laurasea]

I place a dish that won't tip put some seeds in it zero it and see if they will sit on the sides or in it to eat the seeds

 

[EllenD]

Are they behaving differently in any other way besides their lack of appetite? Are they lethargic/not playing or moving around as much as they normally do, are they sleeping more than usual, are they hanging out on the bottom of the cage at all instead of perching normally, are they constantly "fluffed-up"? Any vomiting? How do their droppings look, are they at all watery, loose, runny, or do they have any bubbles in them?

Whenever a bird stops eating a certain kind of food, like the "Chop" in this case, but they are still eating their pellets/seed-mix normally, then it's typically that they have become bored with that particular Chop or veggie, fruit, etc. So in that case usually just changing the Chop recipe or the type of veggie or fruit will get them interested again and that's it...However, if they stop eating everything, their pellets/seed-mix along with their veggies, fruit, etc., that's when you have to be concerned that something else might be going on. You want to watch their overall behavior very closely for as long as they are refusing to eat to make sure that you're not seeing any changes in their other normal behaviors, or to make sure that their droppings are normal, because a lack of appetite combined with other abnormal behaviors/signs & symptoms is an indication that something medical/health-wise might be going on. Weighing them ever single day on a digital kitchen scale is a great idea, because they should not be losing weight, they should be maintaining their weights. Be sure to weigh both of them at the same time each day, first thing in the morning before they eat their breakfast is a good time because you'll get an accurate weight without any added grams from food they ingest. It's a good idea to get a little notebook and make a weight chart for each bird, and have each daily entry include the date, the time, and then the weight; the reason you want to do this is just in-case they are actually ill and you have to take them to your CAV, you can take the notebook with you for the Vet to see how their weight has been tracking since you first noticed that something might be wrong...

It could be the weather if the room they are in is effected by it, but if it's weather-related it should be short-term. I'd weigh them every day, watch them both closely to see if any other behaviors are off, try changing-up their Chop recipes to see if that entices them to eat, and if they still aren't eating their pellets in the quantities that they normally do each day in the next few days, or if you see anything else that's off, then they should get to your CAV for a wellness-exam and at least a Fecal culture on both of them to check for either a GI infection of some type, or even a parasite.

The only good thing about them BOTH acting the same way is that if they are sick, that means it's probably something simple and easily treatable like a bacterial or fungal infection, or a parasite in their GI tract, etc. because it's something that was/is contagious to both of them...