One of my rescue lovebirds is sleeping most of the day

[Cecile]

Is this normal? I haven't had him a week yet; He was more interested in exploring the larger new cage, and he was eating chopped peppers and sweet potatoes and carrots in addition to seeds (which were all he was fed: and by seed, he was eating a wild bird seed mix from Audubon from lowes). Anyway, is this normal? He keeps napping, and then his hen screeches and wakes him up (Tippi is much more timid than Al).

I sense a vet trip in my future but wondering if there's anything I should do immediately.

 

[noodles123]

It's really hard to say but I would take the bird to the vet ASAP. Your bird could just be very stressed, but it isn't worth the risk to wait and find out. At minimum, I would do a gram-stain and blood work..


You should also consider that you may have just introduced a new disease to your flock and keep an eye on them. I would move him to a different cage and get him to the vet. Make sure you mention that he was sharing a cage with your other birds. Keep a close eye on eating and drinking....if the bird starts hanging out on the bottom of the cage (without purpose) that is an absolute emergency.


If he is on an all-seed diet, that is not good. Some seeds are okay, but not only seed. I wouldn't feed a wild-bird mix from Lowe's to my parrot...they have different quality standards etc and are generally VERY fatty....In the future, could you get a higher-quality parrot feed blend off of Amazon.com, or from somewhere like Petsmart? Avoid any mix containing sunflower seeds...Not that 1-2 will kill them every so often, but they are super fatty and kind of addictive to birds (without much nutritional value)...Too much fat can lead to liver problems (among other things).

 

[Cecile]

Oh, that's what they WERE eating. I have bought the nutripellets, and am giving them millet and fresh fruit and vegetables. I gave some yellow pepper, which he liked, he didn't like the green squash/zucchini (all chopped up)

I have ordered fortified Lovebird mix from Herman Brothers in Michigan, which was recommended by another bird enthusiast. They are on the side of a divided cage from my gouldian finches.

 

[noodles123]

Oh, okay, good.
I would still get testing done at the vet ASAP and mention proximity to other birds. Good luck!

 

[Cecile]

I will do. Thanks.

 

[Laurasea]

You can't change the food to fast, is he eating enough, otherwise you have to give a bit of the dreaded seeds a little while longer. I'm working on switch a bird and it is taking time, she drops weight if I'm too strict...

 

[GaleriaGila]

Good advice!

About the vet... yes, asap, please, and...

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.

 

[Cecile]

Took Al in for a checkup. He's malnourished, but otherwise seems ok, and the vet said what I am doing to promote eating is good. Thanks for the advice. I will take his mate in next week, just for a basic checkup.

 

[Cecile]

Ive got them on the pellets; Does that replace the seeds? I still have millet spray in there... Should I take that out? I am giving fruits and veggies and well, to mixed reviews.

 

[Laurasea]

I offer seed mix with pellets. But if is loosing weight you have switched the food to fast and might need more seed. But if he has started eating the pellets good then you've done great! I give the seed mix at the end of the day only, pellets and veggies in morning, pellets all day, seed mix at 5 pm that me thoits if ways to do things.

 

[noodles123]

I do what Laurasea does--- it's ideal for them to fill up on pellets + veg etc and not seeds, but if not eating the pellets, without any alternative, they sometimes lose too much weight. That's why I have to do a mix for my picky (older) re-homed bird.

 

[EllenD]

Pellets should never "replace" seeds completely, but rather replace them as the staple of their diets...Pellets do not exist in nature, and their GI Tracts are designed/created to digest/process/use seeds, so they are important to their physical health, as well as their psychological health. The key is not feeding them a high-fat seed-mix that contains any sunflower seeds or nuts. There are many very healthy, low-fat, varied seed-mixes out there that contain no sunflower seeds or nuts, that contain a very varied mix of different seeds, grains, and legumes, along with veggies. The should get the pellets as their main staple, with a small portion of a healthy seed-mix daily, along with lots of fresh veggies...Fresh fruit needs to be given sparingly, as it is full of sugar, which is turned into fat and accumulates in the liver, just like the fat from the nuts and the sunflower seeds do...