Luna isn't eating ...

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LunasMama
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:38 am

Luna isn't eating ...

Post by LunasMama »

So my IRN girl Luna isn't eating. We've had her for 3-4 months now and she was eating anything and everything fine, apples and chillies were a favourite, but she'd happily eat whatever was in her bowl/forage toys/kebab. She's very tame, hasn't been handled pretty much at all for the past 2 years but doesn't bite, will just push your finger away if she doesn't want something.
In the last few weeks she's become OBSESSED with her ball toys. She came to me in a big cage with one rubber ball on the bottom of the cage and one bell, whereas my birds have always had tonnes of toys to pic, and choose from that rotate in and out, so of course I had to rectify the situation and since she loved her rubber ball so much and I had a heap of different types of balls in the toy bin (my GCC went through a love of balls when he was younger) I slowly added them to her cage. And them some more. And then some more. And then the feed store had cat jingle balls for a dollar for 2 at the counter. And now she doesn't get off the floor of her cage for anything. She sleeps down there, plays down there and doesn't come up for pretty much anything.
From what I can see she's eaten a few bites of food for the past week. She always has mix of pellets (Vetafarm Nutriblend) and a little amount of seed (parrot mix minus the sunflower seeds which we use for training) in a bowl, and every morning the birds get a mix of brown rice, peas, corn, celery, capsicum, baby spinach and whatever else is left over and healthy. I also put in a kebab with some veggies that won't go yuck (generally carrot with some chunks of cardboard for chewing).
Every morning I put in her bowl of veg and rice, and take it out a few hours later and she's touched nothing. I've tried offering at different times of the day, offering less, nothing. Her bowl of pellets and seed hasn't been touched in over a week, she'll have a bite of carrot generally but that's it. The other day I was eating a sandwich and she stole a few bites of cheese (not great for them right?) and a small bite of roast beef, and yesterday she had a few bites of watermelon. She usually goes nuts for chilli hut I put some on her kebab this morning right down at floor level (hanging off the wall) but she couldn't care less.
I can feel that she's lost a little conditioning around her chest and she's been doing a few just water poos, not diarrhoea, just a wee really. She's going to be going to the bird vet (Melbourne Bird Clinic) if she doesn't start eating in the next day, but she's just so active so I'm not convinced she's sick. She plays and plays and plays all day. I tired taking ALL her balls out of her cage (she has other toys obviously) in an effort to get her up off the floor and closer to her food bowl, she just started tunnelling under and shredding the newspaper on the bottom of her cage. :roll:
Do I just wait it out?? Will she eat when she gets more hungry?? I've started adding a spoon of LSA with all her food so whatever she does eat she's getting some more protein and fats, is this ok to do? I've just thought maybe we need to sit down and eat together a bit more? We've just had 2 weeks of camps at the kids camp my husband and I live at and therefore haven't been eating at home, could that effect her? She's just not interested in at all in her food.
Sorry for the essay ...
sanjays mummi
Posts: 2050
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:07 pm
Location: Bedfordshire UK

Re: Luna isn't eating ...

Post by sanjays mummi »

I'm no expert, but the tunnelling and shredding suggests nesting, could she be hormonal?, if she is (obviously) drinking, and otherwise healthy, this is the only reason I can think of.
LunasMama
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:38 am

Re: Luna isn't eating ...

Post by LunasMama »

I think she is fairly hormonal, she 'clucks' anytime I touch her. I don't pat her back/bum but she'll cluck whenever I scratch her neck. She also clucks and 'presents' to me when I open her door ... Does being hormonal effect her eating? When our GCCs were leading up to laying they both ate heaps but Rory would feed Tika often too, is she waiting for someone to feed her? How do I stop this behaviour?
She doesn't have a cuddle tent, we don't have a grate on the bottom of the cages cause I prefer to just daily change the paper than have to clean grates.
sanjays mummi
Posts: 2050
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:07 pm
Location: Bedfordshire UK

Re: Luna isn't eating ...

Post by sanjays mummi »

I think hens tend to present the behaviour when they are showing affection. As for the lack of appetite, I really don't know, unless she is eating after you have covered her up?, there must be something among this forum which will be able to answer your questions. It's a mystery to me though, how she is managing to stay so fit if she wasn't at least eating something. I cover Sanjays grate with paper, I find the do do very difficult to remove from the metal grid.
LunasMama
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:38 am

Re: Luna isn't eating ...

Post by LunasMama »

I don't think she's eating after dark, her food bowl doesn't get touched! I put in a bit of a platform and put all her balls on that and she's showing a little more interest in being a bit higher. Should I just put her food bowls at ground level so she doesn't have to leave her precious balls behind? I did put some kiwi fruit I was eating on a plate on the floor of her cage today and she had quite a few gobbles of it :)
I think maybe we just need to make a habit of meal times together, get her eating with her flock
sanjays mummi
Posts: 2050
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:07 pm
Location: Bedfordshire UK

Re: Luna isn't eating ...

Post by sanjays mummi »

Good idea, and worth a try, and continue with the supplement. Kiwi fruit is one of Sanjays favourites, plus they are full of vitamin C.
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: Luna isn't eating ...

Post by InTheAir »

Hi,

Have you weighed her? We use kitchen scales to weigh ours.

It does sound like she is showing signs of being in breeding mode to me, though she should still be eating enough so I'm not sure about that aspect. It is that time of year over here. My hen actually put on a bit of weight, but wasn't as food motivated as usual.
There are a few schools of thought on dealing with hormonal parrots as far as I can tell... I am still on the fence about it. My vet recommends strategies to reduce hormones like a low energy diet, 12 hours complete darkness, removal of any materials that encourages nesting and avoiding having a "mate". Here's a bit of an overview http://www.pamelaclarkonline.com/site/6 ... icles.html
We have not actually had any sucess with that so far.... but we might not be following through well enough. We also have a male and female. I think it is worth consulting your vet.

Also, I have noticed something about ringnecks, foreplay consists a quick preen on the hens head by the male. i think this is kind of relevant to anyone who's bird has a bit of a mate bond towards them over breeding season....

Good luck with her.
LunasMama
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:38 am

Re: Luna isn't eating ...

Post by LunasMama »

I haven't weighed her yet, but I'll grab the scales out and see where she's at.
LunasMama
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2015 3:38 am

Re: Luna isn't eating ...

Post by LunasMama »

I weighed Luna and she is 133g, from what I've read the average is around 110-120?? But she doesn't look porky at all, her keel bone is pointy tho not sharp.
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