Posted August 8, 200915 yr I'm so frustrated! I just spent half an hour making this post, with pictures, and in one accidental keystroke deleted the whole thing! So the short version is, I've had Kelly 24 hours now. Most of this time she was in statue mode, and about 3 hours ago she switched to escape artist/acrobat mode. Does this mean that since she is moving around now, she will also start to eat? I need to cover her up for the night soon, but I wish there was some evidence that she has eaten. Will she be okay for another night?
August 8, 200915 yr Since you have only had her for 24 hours, she is still settling in. If you go to her seed dish and lightly blow, you will see the empty husks fly around.
August 8, 200915 yr I'm so frustrated! I just spent half an hour making this post, with pictures, and in one accidental keystroke deleted the whole thing! So the short version is, I've had Kelly 24 hours now. Most of this time she was in statue mode, and about 3 hours ago she switched to escape artist/acrobat mode. Does this mean that since she is moving around now, she will also start to eat? I need to cover her up for the night soon, but I wish there was some evidence that she has eaten. Will she be okay for another night? You will know if she is eating by the shape and colour of her droppings. If she isn't they will be watery and sploshy, maybe a light green or yellow colour.
August 8, 200915 yr Author Yes, that is how her droppings look so far. And all in 1 spot where she sat all this time. Birdluv, I hope you're right, because the seeds in the dish all look whole, but maybe they're not. Well, I havent' covered her up yet, and from my computer in the next room, I just heard the wonderful, familiar sound of crunching millet and seeds falling outside the cage. Goes to look closer... Yay! Yay! She's tearing into her millet! She's got about 1 1/2 inches of that, and when it's gone, maybe she will turn to the seed. I did see her crouching on the seed cup a while ago. I have it up high, at the back, so she can still hide while she eats. That's when I looked and thought the seeds looked whole. Trouble is, I don't want to upset her by hovering, so I couldn't get a close enough look back there. Well, if she's scarfing millet, she'll be okay for the night, so tomorrow's a new day, and I expect she will be more settled. Sorry for worrying, just because she hit the magic 24 hour mark, and I had it in my mind that that was bad. Thanks for your encouragement, guys! Edited August 8, 200915 yr by Finnie
August 8, 200915 yr Author Well, I'm still keeping an eye of Kelly. This morning there was only a small amount of millet husks underneath the sprig, and most of it's seeds are still intact. I blew and blew on the seed cup, and was finally able to dislodge 1 husk. There are a couple of poops in different spots, so that's good, but they are neither good poops nor bad poops. Somewhere in between. And she must have slept with a poop between her foot and body, because there is a black smear stuck to one foot, and a matching smear stuck to her chest. I'll be watching to see if she preens those off. Oh, and there's a little bit of yellow staining around her vent, but nothing stuck there. There are 2 doors i can close between her and the birds in the other room, to keep them from hearing each other and calling back and forth, but I'm leaving them open, because she seems to perk up when she hears them. I called the pet store to see what kind of food they feed, and it is a seed pellet mix similar to mine, but a different brand. I might go buy some of this other brand, but she had only been in the store 1 day before I bought her, so she might not have even eaten any of their food. The manager of the store didn't know what the birds eat before they get to the store, but he offered to email to someone higher up in the corporate chain to try to find out. He called back to say that the vendors keep their birds on an all seed diet, but he didn't know what seeds were in the mix. I'm guessing that my seed/ pellet mix probably has some of the same seeds, so Kelly will probably be fine with it, once she settles down and actually eats. The manager seemed very knowledgeable. He said he owns birds, too. He did suggest I might want to try a supplement called Ornibac (sp?) that you put on the food and it makes it more palatable and gives them a bit of a boost. Of course, she would have to eat the food, for it to help, but it might be a good idea once she settles in and eats, to help her replenish herself. Also, there is a bird fair tomorrow in Indianapolis, that I discovered while I was online searching for bird breeders. I am planning to go and see what it is like. Supposedly they will have every kind of pet bird imaginable represented, and supplies and who knows what else. I'm hoping to meet local bird enthusiasts and get lots of advice, and hopefully find good deals on nest boxes, breeding cabinets, etc. They hold 3 of these a year, and I just happened to find out right in time! Maybe someone there will be selling ornabac, or something similar, or can tell me if it's worth the bother. I am aware of an avian vet about half an hour away from me, but maybe at the fair I can find referrals to someone else, that might be closer, just in case. Sorry for the long post, hope you read it anyway! Here is one of the pictures I deleted last night: ">
August 8, 200915 yr It does take a couple days for them to settle it isn't abnormal not to see them eat or even drink until they feel comfortable. I would keep an eye on her and as long as she is not fluffed up all the time, sleeping she is probably just a bit stressed. Keep her cage covered on 3 sides really helps them feel more comfortable too for about a week and then slowy remove everyday. A quiet budgie is not a sick one because Pretty was a statue and quiet for a very long time and he was a male it is when they are fluffed, very sleepy, abnormal poos is when you have to worry. We have a wonderful FAQ section you may want to go through too that will help you feel more relaxed too.
August 8, 200915 yr Author Thank you, Elly. I guess I'm just over-watching her because I recently lost Nigel, and I think if I'd been more observant, I might have noticed something that could have headed it off with him. Kellys seems to be doing much better as today progresses, and right now my family is telling me that she is eating at this moment! I will be checking out the faqs, because when I've looked over them before, it wasn't with a specific question in mind. Some things can be read over and over, and you learn a little bit more each time Edited August 8, 200915 yr by Finnie
August 9, 200915 yr Eating the millet is a great sign. Also having his seed up and high and at the back is also good... many people make the mistake of having the seed dish on the ground and then wonder why their bird is not eating. They're in a new environment, and wary of everything, the last thing they want to do is put their head down to eat. I see you dish is at the back... perhaps put it on the side so when he eats, he can look up and see you, but still be semmi hidden by the sheet. It's also good to have a perch near the seed dish, so they can reach it, just remember not to have it too close as they'll poo in it! lol..
August 9, 200915 yr Author Eating the millet is a great sign. Also having his seed up and high and at the back is also good... many people make the mistake of having the seed dish on the ground and then wonder why their bird is not eating. They're in a new environment, and wary of everything, the last thing they want to do is put their head down to eat. I see you dish is at the back... perhaps put it on the side so when he eats, he can look up and see you, but still be semmi hidden by the sheet. It's also good to have a perch near the seed dish, so they can reach it, just remember not to have it too close as they'll poo in it! lol.. Ha Ha! Maesie, you are right! The constant dilemma of how to rearrange the perches so nothing below gets pooped on! That's a good idea to try to make it so she can eat without her back to us. i've just added a 3rd food dish, as I didn't want to freak her out by reaching all the way to the back for that other one, and I wanted to make sure she had fresh seed. And I 'm very happy to report that she is eating more, and moving around and exploring a lot. And my son showed me how she will nibble at his hair if he puts his head near the bars! I tried it, and sure enough, she actually came to cling on the front of the cage and nibble my hair, and my eyebrows! If she's that friendly already, I'm excited about her taming possibilities! Am going now to try to get pictures of the nibbling... Well, camera battery is dead, will have to wait until tomorrow Edited August 9, 200915 yr by Finnie
August 10, 200915 yr That is great to hear. l look forward in seeing the pictures. Edited August 10, 200915 yr by birdluv
August 10, 200915 yr Excellent!!! I can't wait for pictures too. The whole trust thing is the biggest milestone... and getting her comfortable to eat and drink around you is the beginning (you often never see them drink) Yah for progress.
August 11, 200915 yr Author Well, we couldn't get her to do the nibbling hair thing for the camera, but we got some shots of her eating millet from my hand: "> "> I don't care how she eats, as long as she eats! She likes to go inside the food cup to eat "> I think she'll do.
August 18, 200915 yr She's coming around just great Eating millet from your hand is a good sign of initial trust.
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