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Clingy and ignoring food???

Talk about bird illnesses and other bird health related issues. Seeds, pellets, fruits, vegetables and more. Discuss what to feed your birds and in what quantity. Share your recipe ideas.

Clingy and ignoring food???

Postby Beccaw » Tue Nov 27, 2018 4:04 pm

Hi all, I would really appreciate some help with this.
I've had Fawkes, my indian ringneck, for about 2 weeks now. He seems to have bonded with me really well, but hes started ignoring his food and water in favour of spending as much time on me as possible, which is really worrying me.
He's not showing any signs of sickness, I took him to an avian vet last Friday for a health check and she said hes completely healthy, so I doubt he's not eating cause he's I'll.
If I even start to to out of sight, as you have to for some things, he gets stressed and starts climbing all around his cage and calling out to me. And when I come back, a couple hours later, it doesn't look like hes touched any of his fresh fruits and vegetables and maybe only picked out the sunflower seeds from his pellets and seeds. I give him veges and juicy fruits when he's with me cause he will eat them out of my hand but I'm really worried he's just not eating or drinking enough.
Sorry this has gotten really long but any advice would be really appreciated.
Thanks.
Beccaw
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 2
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Indian ringneck
Flight: No

Re: Clingy and ignoring food???

Postby liz » Wed Nov 28, 2018 5:35 am

Welcome to the forum.

We have many questions to ask but my idea for the eating is to eat with him. You will also start eating healthier.

I live with my 88 year old aunt so I can do things that others would think are strange. I set up plates at the table and share from my plate the food that are safe before I add salt or butter.

Myrtle will spend hours on my shoulder while I go about my house work. She wants to know everything I do even though she is not clingy.
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liz
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 7234
Location: Hernando FL
Number of Birds Owned: 12
Types of Birds Owned: DYH Amazon Rambo
BF Amazon Myrtle
Cockatiels: Shadow Tammy Flutter Phoenix Jackie
Andy Impy Louise Twila Leroy
Flight: Yes

Re: Clingy and ignoring food???

Postby Pajarita » Wed Nov 28, 2018 11:43 am

The question is how old is this bird? Because, if it is a baby, it might be that he is not eating because you are not feeding it the right food at the right times [the same way we would not feed a toddler a steak, one should not feed a baby bird adult bird food]. Also, sunflowers are a no-no for this species, they are mainly fruit eaters so they cannot be free-fed any protein food, it needs to be measured and a mix that is low protein and low fat [budgie mix works -mine get finch seed now but that's because their previous owner fed them too much protein and messed up their kidneys and liver in the process].
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Clingy and ignoring food???

Postby Beccaw » Wed Nov 28, 2018 7:16 pm

He is 3 months old. His diet is mostly fruit and vegetables, with pellets and seed (cockatiel and budgie mix with the sunflower seeds picked out) in his dish as a constantly available food. I give him kumara mash with vegetables in it every second day, he gets chop for breakfast lunch and dinner. I've only been giving him some sunflower seeds with his seed mix as I know he is eating them.
I've been trying to feed him while we are eating but hes afraid of the dishes I set out for him and will only eat from a specific small dish while hes on my shoulder.
He gets a soak and sprout mix when I manage to get it to sprout properly.
He was eating well for the first week that I've had him, but recently as he has bonded with me hes not eating as much as he was because he just wants to sit on me all the time, which is wonderful and I love having him on me but I'm just worried he isnt going to be eating enough.
Beccaw
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 2
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Indian ringneck
Flight: No

Re: Clingy and ignoring food???

Postby Pajarita » Thu Nov 29, 2018 10:34 am

Well, sweet potatoes are good for them but they don't need to be mashed [my birds get them in the gloop every day but they are in small chunks]. Chop is good but it would be better if it was more like a gloop than a chop [gloop has whole grains while chop is only veggies] because, if you feed gloop, it won't need to have pellets and/or seeds there all the time [it's not good to get them used to something that is not going to be good for them].

It might be that you are not feeding it at the right times because birds eat at dawn and dusk mostly - sometimes they do pick a bit here and there during the day but their meals are at dawn and dusk -and I am pretty sure you don't eat at precisely those times so that might be the reason why. Baby parrots always want to be with somebody -all altricial infants do- and, at three months of age, he is still pretty much a baby so his clinging to you is normal. This will change as it gets older because they are an aviary species and not a companion one...

Now, going by the name you used for sweet potatoes, it seems that you are in India and I don't know if you are aware of it or not but keeping IRNs captive is illegal in this country because poaching is endangering the species - you know that, right? The concern is that you won't get a veterinarian to treat it if he gets sick [the doctor can lose its license if he doesn't report the bird to the authorities].
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


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