Help! Max won’t eat anything!

[reeisconfused]

Hello everyone!
A little backstory; We rescued Max from a family who bought him on whim and could not handle him at all - he was kept in his cage 24/7 and the cage was the size OF him. They probably hit him as well because he hates hands + guys a lot. They fed him tomotoes ONLY. You can only imagine the pain he went through...

Fast forward to now, we’ve had him for almost two months. He’s doing better, has a great cage, is out all day, watches us from afar (no touching / coming close yet). I’ve tried to get him on a healthy diet and failed so many times.
He’s very very picky about food and stops eating if i give him something he doesn’t want. He likes to eat pomegranate and jam fruit a lot. He will occasionally each pears and apples if he is in the mood but that’s it. I’ve tried so many fruits and veggies but he won’t eat at all. I tried giving him a fruit mix / vegetable mix and he refused to eat it. He lost a bit of weight in the middle cause he was being fussy and wouldn’t eat but since has gained it back. He LOVES eating rice though. This is about it.
I want to get him on a healthier diet and give him a variety of foods instead of the same thing over and over again. I’m worried he may not be getting all the nutrients he needs.
Does anyone have any tips / tricks on how I can tackle this?
Any recipes of foods that your parrots find irresistable that i can try?
Please help me.

Thank you.

 

[ChristaNL]

Hi, oh my... you sound like you have your hands full here.

My vets are the typical dutch variety: no nonsense and practical aka blunt in some situations.
(I already got banned for not prancing around an issue as well / it must be "a dutch thing", so pardon my english.)
When I was discussing how to switch a bird from seed to pallets with the CAVs- something a lot of birds do *not* want to do - I asked the same question:
"how do you make him eat something he does not like?"

the answer was: "Simple: you do not give them anything else"

I realise the previous owners did the same to Max, so I understand you might not want to make him go through something like that again - but it is probably be the best solution.
Just put only healthy food in front of him- he will have no choice!


and as a bonus you can use the things he *really* wants/ likes to tame/train him.


It is a win-win: he is forced to eat a healthy basic diet, and can earn his snacks by being sociable.


(you can give him a tiny amount of his favorites in the evening if he looks like he is on hungerstrike, but only if you are sure! / daily weighing him(&cage) would be great at this point, but I am not sure that is do-able )

 

[Kiwibird]

So will he eat any staple kind of bird food like seed mix or pellets or anything else but rice and a little fruit? Also, has he been to an avian vet for a full workup? If not, schedule an exam ASAP.

 

[reeisconfused]

Hi, oh my... you sound like you have your hands full here.

My vets are the typical dutch variety: no nonsense and practical aka blunt in some situations.
(I already got banned for not prancing around an issue as well / it must be "a dutch thing", so pardon my english.)
When I was discussing how to switch a bird from seed to pallets with the CAVs- something a lot of birds do *not* want to do - I asked the same question:
"how do you make him eat something he does not like?"

the answer was: "Simple: you do not give them anything else"

I realise the previous owners did the same to Max, so I understand you might not want to make him go through something like that again - but it is probably be the best solution.
Just put only healthy food in front of him- he will have no choice!


and as a bonus you can use the things he *really* wants/ likes to tame/train him.


It is a win-win: he is forced to eat a healthy basic diet, and can earn his snacks by being sociable.


(you can give him a tiny amount of his favorites in the evening if he looks like he is on hungerstrike, but only if you are sure! / daily weighing him(&cage) would be great at this point, but I am not sure that is do-able )

Hello! thank you so much for your response!
I’ve tried this as well and he goes on a hungerstrike. I did this few weeks ago and he refused to eat. He lost weight during that period. This always worries me because I don’t want him to fall sick / be more prone to sickness.
He doesn’t have a favourite treat!!! He is such a weird bird - I’ve tried everything but he does not want it.

 

[reeisconfused]

So will he eat any staple kind of bird food like seed mix or pellets or anything else but rice and a little fruit? Also, has he been to an avian vet for a full workup? If not, schedule an exam ASAP.

Nope, he won’t. I’ve tried all kinds of mix and pellets - he just doesn’t want it. Yes, he has, twice now. The first time was when we rescued him and the vet said he was malnourished. The second time was because of his eating problem - he refused to eat for 3 - 4 days (he would nibble for a minute but never a whole meal). Had me worried sick. The vet said that he was perfectly fine but was doing this because of stress (Max was still new then). I don’t know what to do...

 

[LaManuka]

I don’t know if this will help you but I had a similar situation with a mature cockatiel I “rescued” off the street years ago. She point blank refused to recognise anything other than seeds as an actual food group. We had a battle of wills for weeks while I tried every trick in the book to convert her to pellets and I was terrified that she wasn’t eating enough. Eventually I took some pellets and crushed them to a powder in a mortar and pestle, then sprinkled the powder over her seeds just to get her accustomed to the taste. Hey presto she was converted almost overnight! Now this may have been simply by that stage she was so hungry she just gave up, but it’s worth a try!

 

[Kiwibird]

Right now then, you need to feed him whatever he'll eat (excluding tomatoes, no more tomatoes!). If he'll eat rice, will he eat a more nutritious variety like brown or wild rice? If he accepts apples and pears sometimes, then make sure he always has those offered even if he doesn't eat so he has at least one fresh fruit available every meal. Something is better than nothing. Will he eat other cooked grains besides rice? Quinoa, amaranth, oats etc...? Have you tried him on grapes, bananas, berries or mashed sweet potatoes? These tend to be fairly universally well received.

Is he pooping numerous times a day and are the poops normal? One of the better indicators that a parrot is eating enough volume is that they're pooping normally. Can't poop if they don't eat! Are you weighing him daily then? Is his weight fluctuation, going down or staying roughly the same (+/- a couple grams)? I also feel I need to ask, when you say he just 'nibbles' and doesn't 'finish a whole meal', is the expectation that he would finish most or all of what was offered in his dish? Parrots are small and eat very little compared to us, which can make it appear they're barely eating when cage manufacturers include giant dishes that caring owners tend to overfill because an appropriate portion looks almost cruel when put in a big dish. I can't imagine an IRN eating much more than maybe a tbsp of something like rice in a setting. They're tiny little birds (I used to bird sit one). Some parrots also seem to eat out of sight of people, for whatever their reason may be. He may possibly just be a shy eater.

Just trying to get all the possibilities out there My rescue was also very difficult to feed when new to us (he liked to eat, but only junk food). The more possibilities you eliminate, the closer you get to figuring out solutions to help!

 

[ChristaNL]

Mush then ...

like people do with chop when the birds throw out everything they do not fancy:
you just puree/mash everything together- so no choosing.

Rice is just filler (very fast starch that gets broken down to sugary bits and stored as such) and the rest are (fruit)sugars -> so of course he gains weight, but not the right kind.
Carbs and sugar a healthy bird does not make.

Actally he DOES have a favorite treat: he is eating them as "regular food"
(it's like when peolpe are thirsty and they grab a soda instead of just plain water- what is what the body needs, it needs liquid not sugar)

Sometimes my birds accept a pellet as a treat - the attention an special presentation of their regular food makes it a treat.
Anything edible can be a treat.


Maybe you need to be a strict parrent- weight the bird when he is on hungerstrike and decide to accept a bit of weight-loss.
Not sure how many percent is considered "safe" for a bird.

But if you just halve his "normal" (most wanted) rations and present plenty of the "healthy stuff" (yuck!) eventually his survival instinct will kick in and tell him to go for "the inferior stuf" (healthy) as well.
(I would go with the recommended "pellets/healthy foodstuff all day (and night)", and a little bit of seed/most wanted 2x 15 minutes a day.)


Its only natural he wants the high-energy-things -> that is basic survival skills, but when there aren't any -> he has to make do with the less energy-rich but more nutritional options. (the other survival skill )

 

[Jottlebot]

From what you've said I wonder if it might be a bit too much too soon. It sounds like he's had a really really horrible time. If I were you I'd feed him what he will eat, but always put some of what you want him to eat in with it so at least he's getting used to seeing something and having it presented with food. Maybe choose one or two things to introduce and just do this for days and days or weeks and weeks until he starts showing interest.

Usually though I'm a big fan of the "just don't feed anything else" approach. I think for him though be more gentle.

 

[reeisconfused]

I don’t know if this will help you but I had a similar situation with a mature cockatiel I “rescued” off the street years ago. She point blank refused to recognise anything other than seeds as an actual food group. We had a battle of wills for weeks while I tried every trick in the book to convert her to pellets and I was terrified that she wasn’t eating enough. Eventually I took some pellets and crushed them to a powder in a mortar and pestle, then sprinkled the powder over her seeds just to get her accustomed to the taste. Hey presto she was converted almost overnight! Now this may have been simply by that stage she was so hungry she just gave up, but it’s worth a try!

Thank you for your response!
Will try this definately

 

[reeisconfused]

Right now then, you need to feed him whatever he'll eat (excluding tomatoes, no more tomatoes!). If he'll eat rice, will he eat a more nutritious variety like brown or wild rice? If he accepts apples and pears sometimes, then make sure he always has those offered even if he doesn't eat so he has at least one fresh fruit available every meal. Something is better than nothing. Will he eat other cooked grains besides rice? Quinoa, amaranth, oats etc...? Have you tried him on grapes, bananas, berries or mashed sweet potatoes? These tend to be fairly universally well received.

Is he pooping numerous times a day and are the poops normal? One of the better indicators that a parrot is eating enough volume is that they're pooping normally. Can't poop if they don't eat! Are you weighing him daily then? Is his weight fluctuation, going down or staying roughly the same (+/- a couple grams)? I also feel I need to ask, when you say he just 'nibbles' and doesn't 'finish a whole meal', is the expectation that he would finish most or all of what was offered in his dish? Parrots are small and eat very little compared to us, which can make it appear they're barely eating when cage manufacturers include giant dishes that caring owners tend to overfill because an appropriate portion looks almost cruel when put in a big dish. I can't imagine an IRN eating much more than maybe a tbsp of something like rice in a setting. They're tiny little birds (I used to bird sit one). Some parrots also seem to eat out of sight of people, for whatever their reason may be. He may possibly just be a shy eater.

Just trying to get all the possibilities out there My rescue was also very difficult to feed when new to us (he liked to eat, but only junk food). The more possibilities you eliminate, the closer you get to figuring out solutions to help!

Thank you for your response!
I haven’t tried oats yet and I definately will.
I always keep fresh fruits mix I prepare for him everyday and he just ignores it and it goes stale!
I’ve given him bananas and potatoes as well - he did not like them one bit. I’ll have to try berries though.

Yes, he’s pooping normally!
Weighing him is kind of next to impossible since he flies away everytime I come near him. He’s still not letting us get too close to him.
Oh yes, they are nibbles in his terms. He does like a taste the food thing and then leaves. That’s it. No more looking back.

 

[reeisconfused]

Mush then ...

like people do with chop when the birds throw out everything they do not fancy:
you just puree/mash everything together- so no choosing.

Rice is just filler (very fast starch that gets broken down to sugary bits and stored as such) and the rest are (fruit)sugars -> so of course he gains weight, but not the right kind.
Carbs and sugar a healthy bird does not make.

Actally he DOES have a favorite treat: he is eating them as "regular food"
(it's like when peolpe are thirsty and they grab a soda instead of just plain water- what is what the body needs, it needs liquid not sugar)

Sometimes my birds accept a pellet as a treat - the attention an special presentation of their regular food makes it a treat.
Anything edible can be a treat.


Maybe you need to be a strict parrent- weight the bird when he is on hungerstrike and decide to accept a bit of weight-loss.
Not sure how many percent is considered "safe" for a bird.

But if you just halve his "normal" (most wanted) rations and present plenty of the "healthy stuff" (yuck!) eventually his survival instinct will kick in and tell him to go for "the inferior stuf" (healthy) as well.
(I would go with the recommended "pellets/healthy foodstuff all day (and night)", and a little bit of seed/most wanted 2x 15 minutes a day.)


Its only natural he wants the high-energy-things -> that is basic survival skills, but when there aren't any -> he has to make do with the less energy-rich but more nutritional options. (the other survival skill )

Thank you for your response!
you’re completely right - he’s gaining weight a bit but not getting the nutrients still!
I tried this with him and we ended up at the vet’s!!! he REFUSED to eat (mind you, this went on for 4 days) until I finally gave in.
If I present both kinds of food, he ignores the healtheir one and If I remove what he eats from the picture, he completely stops eating!

 

[reeisconfused]

From what you've said I wonder if it might be a bit too much too soon. It sounds like he's had a really really horrible time. If I were you I'd feed him what he will eat, but always put some of what you want him to eat in with it so at least he's getting used to seeing something and having it presented with food. Maybe choose one or two things to introduce and just do this for days and days or weeks and weeks until he starts showing interest.

Usually though I'm a big fan of the "just don't feed anything else" approach. I think for him though be more gentle.

Thank for your response!
I’ve tried this and still do everyday!
He’s always given fresh veggies / fruits along with what he eats but he just ignores the healtheir food and eats what he wants! The food always goes stale everyday.

 

[EllenD]

Your concern is warranted, because you have two major health issues if all he is eating is fruit and maybe a veggie here and there, and rice...#1 is that he is going to be malnourished and suffering from many nutritional deficiencies (unless your CAV has done a complete blood work-up on him, which I highly suggest for multiple reasons, then there is no way of identifying what he's deficient in, but probably everything), and then #2 is that he is basically eating nothing but sugar in all that fruit, as all fruit is absolutely loaded with fruit, and should only be given in small amounts occasionally to birds who eat a well-balanced, healthy diet. So if that's the main part of his diet that he eats in large quantities every day, all of that sugar is being turned into fat and being stored in his liver...He'll surely develop Fatty Liver Disease, and also possibly Diabetes, among other issues. And as far as the rice goes, even if it's brown rice or some type of multi-grain rice, it's a huge amount of starch...and his diet contains absolutely no protein...So this is a huge issue. He can't go on eating like this for very long...

The suggestion about crushing-up a healthy, Natural-flavored pellet (no fruit pellets) is a very good idea; I can't believe he won't eat a seed-mix, that's odd. Usually they'll eat nothing but the seed mix, lol...

Something else you may want/need to try is buying a container of hand-feeding formula, such as Kaytee or Roudybush, mixing it up (a little thicker for an adult bird than the instructions would say for a baby bird), heating it up to around 105-110 degrees F, no hotter than 110 degrees F, and putting a small amount in a bowl and putting the bowl near him, and see if he'll eat it. Often adult birds love warm, liquid food like this, as it's similar to what they were fed by their parents as babies. And hand-feeding formula is full of everything he needs, so he doesn't have to eat a lot of it to get the nutrition and keep his weight on. Be sure not to let the bowl of formula sit out for longer than an hour, as it will cool-off and start to form bacteria; if he's going to eat it, he'll eat it pretty quickly while it's warm. It's something to try that is very good for him and can help you in the meantime while you're trying to find a pellet or seed-mix that he'll eat...

***You can also put the powdered hand-feeding formula on his rice, just like you can the crushed-up pellets and see if he'll eat it that way, if he really likes rice that much (please never feed him white rice, by the way, with all that fruit he'll end-up diabetic for sure)...

The other thing to try is to pre-soak some Natural pellets in fruit-juice so that they are soft and they absorb the fruit flavor, and then give them to him, a lot of the time that works, especially if he likes fruit.

 

[reeisconfused]

Your concern is warranted, because you have two major health issues if all he is eating is fruit and maybe a veggie here and there, and rice...#1 is that he is going to be malnourished and suffering from many nutritional deficiencies (unless your CAV has done a complete blood work-up on him, which I highly suggest for multiple reasons, then there is no way of identifying what he's deficient in, but probably everything), and then #2 is that he is basically eating nothing but sugar in all that fruit, as all fruit is absolutely loaded with fruit, and should only be given in small amounts occasionally to birds who eat a well-balanced, healthy diet. So if that's the main part of his diet that he eats in large quantities every day, all of that sugar is being turned into fat and being stored in his liver...He'll surely develop Fatty Liver Disease, and also possibly Diabetes, among other issues. And as far as the rice goes, even if it's brown rice or some type of multi-grain rice, it's a huge amount of starch...and his diet contains absolutely no protein...So this is a huge issue. He can't go on eating like this for very long...

The suggestion about crushing-up a healthy, Natural-flavored pellet (no fruit pellets) is a very good idea; I can't believe he won't eat a seed-mix, that's odd. Usually they'll eat nothing but the seed mix, lol...

Something else you may want/need to try is buying a container of hand-feeding formula, such as Kaytee or Roudybush, mixing it up (a little thicker for an adult bird than the instructions would say for a baby bird), heating it up to around 105-110 degrees F, no hotter than 110 degrees F, and putting a small amount in a bowl and putting the bowl near him, and see if he'll eat it. Often adult birds love warm, liquid food like this, as it's similar to what they were fed by their parents as babies. And hand-feeding formula is full of everything he needs, so he doesn't have to eat a lot of it to get the nutrition and keep his weight on. Be sure not to let the bowl of formula sit out for longer than an hour, as it will cool-off and start to form bacteria; if he's going to eat it, he'll eat it pretty quickly while it's warm. It's something to try that is very good for him and can help you in the meantime while you're trying to find a pellet or seed-mix that he'll eat...

***You can also put the powdered hand-feeding formula on his rice, just like you can the crushed-up pellets and see if he'll eat it that way, if he really likes rice that much (please never feed him white rice, by the way, with all that fruit he'll end-up diabetic for sure)...

The other thing to try is to pre-soak some Natural pellets in fruit-juice so that they are soft and they absorb the fruit flavor, and then give them to him, a lot of the time that works, especially if he likes fruit.

oh my, this makes me so nervous!!!
I’ve stopped giving him rice, trying to introduce different things but I’m still giving him fruits cause otherwise he’ll be on his hunger struck till eternity otherwise...

 

[GaleriaGila]

Hi, and welcome!

Great advice! May I add to it?

Most of us swear by our avian vets in the event of health concerns. I don't know where you are, but here are some links. I only have USA info...
Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.

Here's my usual schpiel on the pellets I use.
Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.

Good for you, for reaching out!

 

[beetory]

Have you tried sitting together to eat? I don't know if anyone's mentioned that. I find my birds always want to do what I'm doing or eat from my plate. It could work? Also might help with bonding.

 

[reeisconfused]

Hi, and welcome!

Great advice! May I add to it?

Most of us swear by our avian vets in the event of health concerns. I don't know where you are, but here are some links. I only have USA info...
Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.

Here's my usual schpiel on the pellets I use.
Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.

Good for you, for reaching out!

thank you so much for responding!
unfortunately, I don’t live in the United States.
Harrison is not available here and shipping costs rock the sky.
I’ve seen Zupreme premium food here and everyone recommends it! I might try that.

 

[reeisconfused]

Have you tried sitting together to eat? I don't know if anyone's mentioned that. I find my birds always want to do what I'm doing or eat from my plate. It could work? Also might help with bonding.

Yes, I have!
Everytime I sit down to eat, Max comes by his food to eat. I think he doesn’t wanna feel left out lol. But no, he doesn’t come to me per say when I eat. He’ll observe me but that’s about it. If i eat something crunchy (like crackers) the sound perks him up!

 

[reeisconfused]

I’m thinking of replacing white rice with brown rice first to ease him into the transition. Does anyone know if brown rice should be given cooked of uncooked?
Also thinking of trying oats for him. Again, cooked or uncooked?