She's underweight :(

[KatherineI]

Oatmeal! A sure bet...with almond milk, a tad of butter, little bitty bit of brown sugar. I grind up pellets, in a spice grinder, and add that to the oatmeal. My birds love it!

I'll have to try that tomorrow morning Mare! Thank you!! I bought some old fashioned oats and was thinking I'd make them oatmeal one morning. Loki loooooves Oatmeal (he is totally benefiting from all this, I'm terrible at portioning things out just right, so he's getting anything I'm giving her, lol. Yes, I'm watching his weight, he's right where he needs to be).

I tried a scrambled egg this morning. I threw in some grape tomatoes and spinach as well. She threw most of the egg to the bottom of her cage. She ate most of one spinach leaf, threw a few out. She attempted one tomato and also threw it. Then she left everything else alone. My dog is in love with Sugar as well, as Onyx got the leftovers. I waited an hour and a half, no dice. So I then removed it and replaced it with a seed/pellet/nut mixture.

She's thrown all the cashews to the floor, picking out the pellets and safflower seeds, so far leaving everything else I swear this "child" of mine!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Aww, it sounds like you're in a similar boat to where I was. When I got my Galah she was very underweight, her poor keel was sticking out so far and her chest was a V shape. I didn't realize that wasn't normal right away because as long as I've known her it was always that way D: It didn't help that my mom didn't feel that it was important and told me to just let her gain weight(I didn't have a job at the time because of college).

Here's what I did for Rosie

When I first weighed Rosie she was barely 250 grams, I started feeding her lots of different foods(she loved the muffins I made her) but her weight would fluctuate a lot between 250-265. With the fresh foods I decided I might be overwhelming her with the variety, so every two weeks I would add a new food to the mix(carrots, apple, cucumber, spinach). I also tried feeding her hard boiled eggs, fish, cream of wheat, oatmeal, pasta and noodles, and walnuts(she dislikes almonds) and much much more.

I wanted Rosie to eat pellets, but sadly she picked around them and continued to mostly eat the safflower. To combat this I decided to buy the fiesta conure sead mix and after picking out all the sunflowers gave her that each day. I chose fiesta since it has a variety of pellet like objects that where colorful. Once I noticed she was starting to nibble on those I decided to add two new pellets to her daily mix. One was Lafeabers while the other was zupreem natural. She was starting to eat more of the pellet, then for Christmas my friend gave her one of those fiesta cardboard seed toys you hang. She completely ignored it for a month until I started lessening her amount of seeds then she slowly started nibbling on it.

I'm really sure how this happened, but I had to leave for a weekend and when I came back her seed toy was almost completely gone and she was now eating her pellets perfectly and nibbling her fresh foods more often. I think she finally realized the pellets aren't that bad.

Now that Rosie was on pellets she suddenly started consistently gaining weight little by little. Now she stays at 280 grams and is much more energetic. Once I got her on pellets I started removing the zupreem pellets since they aren't true pellets,(they were mixed together to give her the most variety and hopefully make it more interesting.) After that I was told by my vet to feed her Harrison's but she refused to eat it and after 3 bags I gave up and looked for a good alternative. I ended up choosing Totally organic and which she eats everyday and since then her character has changed and she's a very happy bird now.

I've had Rosie since august and I finally have her where I want her to be. Just getting her on pellets which was the break through for her weight took 6 months to do. I barely recognize her from the bird I brought home

 

[KatherineI]

Well, she's been eating the Zupreem Natural pellets and only given seeds as a treat since right before we brought her home. She eats her pellets, it's just that she's quite picky about how "fresh" they are.

I'm going to have to try something, because she's not eating anything baked I make, she's barely touching fresh foods... I may try just giving her the same two fresh foods every day for a week. I realize that she isn't going to like everything, but maybe by doing that, she'll start eating something? Kind of like what you did with Rosie.

Persistence persistence persistence!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Well, she's been eating the Zupreem Natural pellets and only given seeds as a treat since right before we brought her home. She eats her pellets, it's just that she's quite picky about how "fresh" they are.

I'm going to have to try something, because she's not eating anything baked I make, she's barely touching fresh foods... I may try just giving her the same two fresh foods every day for a week. I realize that she isn't going to like everything, but maybe by doing that, she'll start eating something? Kind of like what you did with Rosie.

Persistence persistence persistence!

haha persistence will pay off eventually. I found that the zupreem pellets are too hard for some birds, I'd check out lafeabers and see if she has any interest with that after a few weeks. It falls apart easily and it's much easier to eat for our little toos. They also cook it at a lower temperature that helps to keep more nutrients(making it a true pellet).

Also try giving her foods in different ways as well. I put food on Rosie's playtop, in her toys, in her foraging box, and also in her bowel. I want to find something I can hang fresh foods.

 

[dishgal1]

I have some griptite clips work great in the cage.....He is just not usually in his cage. LOL


PSI Griptite Food and Treat Clips - CALCIUM and CUTTLEBONE by Bird Paradise

 

[KatherineI]

Oh, I do give her things in a variety of ways. No play top and we are holding off on a playstand until after the move.

Grr... I'll figure something out.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Oh, I do give her things in a variety of ways. No play top and we are holding off on a playstand until after the move.

Grr... I'll figure something out.

Do you have a gram scale? I used to weight Rosie everyday in the morning after she pooped and before she ate so I knew if she suddenly lost weight. Now that she's doing better I only weigh her once or twice a week, but I also keep a log book now of her weights and any information I think may be useful.

I use my mom's old food gram scale, they also sell digital scales.

 

[KatherineI]

Yes, I have a gram scale. That's how this whole thing started - I was finally able to get her on it. I'm now weighing her in the mornings before I feed her.

 

[KatherineI]

Okay, for two days now, she's stuck her nose up at anything I've put in her bowl, except when I put pellets in there and her foraging toy was empty. She's preferring, it seems, to eat strictly from the foraging toy. Whether this is because it's the only place I put seeds (along with some pellets and nuts), or if it's her preferred method of eating, I'm not sure.

I did speak with the Vet Tech via phone (our Vet is booked solid for the next couple of weeks, she was away) and they suggested I start handfeeding her. Twice a day until her weight evens out, and then reduce to once a day. I haven't handfed a bird in forever! Last time I did it, I had a tiny crockpot that held just enough handfeed formula for one feeding and got it to the correct temp. I don't have it anymore. Pooey!

Any tips if I go this route?

 

[melissasparrots]

Cassie would eat entirely out of foraging toys if I let her. A few nights ago I put some into a forgaing toy and some in her bowl. She ate the stuff from the foraging toy first. Personally i'm not a huge fan of hand-feeding birds formula, but I can't argue with what your vet says. She might not even take it if she's an older bird. My concern would be if the basic behavior of picky eating isn't addressed, you'll elevate her weight with formula(assuming you can get her to take it) and then she'll drop weight when you try to get rid of the formula which will necessitate that she stay on formula if you want to maintain the weight. I guess it really comes down to is she way too skinny to be healthy or is she just on the slender side. Thats more of a question for the vet who has laid hands on her though. Personally first I'd try no holds bared, anything she wants. Healthy or not so long as it isn't dangerous. Fill up her bowl with that seed and pellets. Also, sometimes just by making food more interesting by foraging they will value the food more and eat more.

 

[KatherineI]

Thanks.

I'm going to look into reusable foraging toys, as I'm running out of material for the ones I make. I went to where I got Sugar and the owner gave me a few different types of pellets to try, in case its just that she doesnt like the Zupreem Natural, and I also grabbed some formula, which I was told I could use to beef up muffins and such. I did question about the weaning process and the possible weight loss as a result; I was told that once she got to a suitable weight, to start increasing her pellet/seed/fresh food amounts to compensate, reducing feelings slowly as to avoid a significant weight drop.

Until I can get her in again, I'm not sure if it's just that she's on the skinny side, or if she's become malnourished. She's unlikely I'll, her stools haven't changed, her activity level is the same it's always been, her nares look clear, etc. she's just lost quite a bit of weight

 

[GiosMom]

The brand my breeder uses is lefeber. Or something like that.

 

[KatherineI]

The brand my breeder uses is lefeber. Or something like that.

Yeah, I was going to ask if anyone has used the Lafeber's pellet berry. It's a pellet, made into a Nutriberry. Sugar LOVES Nutriberries, so I'm thinking that this could be a good choice, but I don't know anyone who has used it.

 

[Parrotmamma]

I have used the lafeber pellet berries on both of mine and they like them pretty well .
They smell really good too : )

 

[KatherineI]

I have used the lafeber pellet berries on both of mine and they like them pretty well .
They smell really good too : )

They're expensive at Petco (where I saw them), but I can find the same size container for about half the price and while I have Prime (I'm still in the trial period ) I can get it shipped for free! I may try them while I can. Plus I can find the larger container on Amazon, but couldn't find the bigger one at the store.

 

[Parrotmamma]

My Safe bird store carries them too....but it's hard to beat Amazon's prime free shipping : )

 

[Purl]

I've given the Lafaber pellet berries to Purl, she likes them. And I agree..they smell pretty damn yummy!

 

[KatherineI]

Yeah, I checked MSBS but since I have free prime shipping, I want to use it while I can since I'm canceling at the end of the trial period. I don't order from Amazon often enough to justify the $70 annual fee.

 

[luvmytooo]

I'm sorry to hear about Sugar !!! I don't have any ideas for putting weight on birds , just myself :/ but maybe talk to someone who knows their foods like at MSBS.
I think I saw some products listed that are for weight gain....but I could be wrong :/
I hope you can get to the bottom of this real soon. Keep us posted .

 

[KatherineI]

Wow....

So I bit the bullet until I can get Sugar in to the Vet again and got some handfeed. Yesterday I gave her a small amount for her breakfast, after weighing. She dug in! Not to mention, the difference between her on formula and off of formula is shocking. She's much more content, she doesn't scream as much, she's not as demanding for attention, she's more alert and she's even more playful (I didn't think it was possible!). I don't know if it comes from finally having a full crop, the familiarity of formula or what.

I'm not feeding her with a syringe, I'm feeding her the formula in a bowl (I was told syringe, spoon or bowl was suitable) and using 100% fruit juice to mix it. I'm going to try making muffins with the formula in it tomorrow and see how that goes. Seeds, formula, pellets and nuts. Fingers crossed!

It wasn't the way I wanted to do things, but since I can't get her in to the Vet, and the Vet suggested it and I've exhausted all other avenues, I went for it. I do wish it hadn't come down to this, but I had to do something. Let's hope this keeps her from losing any more weight, gives us some time to find out what she will eat and then we'll go from there. Vet said as long as she either starts to hold or gain in the next week, we'll be alright. If not, then it's back in for more tests