Am I Becoming A Paranoid Mess?

chicoshuman

Regular Member
Hey guys I'm back again because I trust your judgement more than other parrot/bird groups out there on social media...

After Rhaegars incident with the match shift training perch, which has been eradicated from existence. he has been fine. However today he seems to be off his food...
He didn't eat his breakfast and hasn't wanted his dinner either. normally a mixture of pellets and fresh veg with a little pasta.

Its really concerning me however in hopes of tempting him to eat i did allow him a piece of plan pizza crust (I know this is terrible but i just needed to see if he would eat something) he gobbled it up very happily... I then just made him some boiled sweet potato and normal potatoes which he did eat some of, not much. He will also eat his training treats of pine nuts.

Am I dealing with a baby bird becoming fussy about his food or should I worry? His behaviour seems very normal for him, destructive, energetic, playful and loving. He has become a little hyper and loud this evening... I feel its because he's hungry but he's telling me he doesn't want his normal food? just threw it all out of his bowl, he's also maybe slightly on the more chewy bit everything he can side to normal...

Normally I'd just take him to the vet in an instant but just this Wednesday we lost our oldest beloved golden retriever of 12 years after a very short and sudden battle with cancer ( we couldn't see her suffer any longer ) and in the last week I've spent £560 on treatment for her and my younger retriever came down with an acute but common skin infection which obviously also needed treating by the vet. I still have an outstanding bill of £300 or so and not a penny left right now which is why I'm hesitant with taking him to my avian vet as i know his consultation alone will be around £70 before he's even in the door... Obviously I will take him if I really need to as i can't bare to risk the health of another one of my babies we are devastated as a family at the loss of Holleigh its a pain I've not felt in my entire life.

I will just add he does want to eat, he keeps checking out his food bowl but finds nothing he wants... He's currently trying to open his food bowl door from the outside ( i just opened it for him and he had a look and wasn't impressed still.
 
IMHO If he will eat his "sweeties" then I would not worry, he is probably just playing you. See how he goes on over the weekend, if he stops eating anything, then worry.
 
Yes IMO he's playing up. Have you thought about trying some wholewheat pasta or brown rice (soaked, fresh cooked, well rinsed) BUT in a smooth veggie sauce? In case it is carbs driven?

Remember our parrots are very empathetic and this could also be in the mix. It may be more about the fact that the food/pizza was yours and he wanted to share?

I am so sorry that you lost your beloved golden retriever.
 
I'd actually started to eat certain foods away from him because I noticed he was doing a lot of begging which I didn't want. I was also always hesistsnt at letting him have tastes of "naughty" things as I never wanted to have the problems of getting my rescue grey off junk food...

He does currently have a couple of bits of whole wheat pasta in his normal meal.

I will certainly try the veggie sauce idea with the pasta... he did eat a little more potatoe tonight that I could feel in his crop so maybe it is carb related as you say...

I probably am being over sensitive to my animals wellbeing right now given the time we've just been through

You probably all think I'm a terrible owner with all the posts I make!
 
Never, keep them coming, always best to ask IMO. :)

Maybe the emotional atmosphere is just making him a little more clingy, needing some confirmation that all is good? "If the flock eat with me it must be OK!"
 
I think you are the opposite to a terrible owner- you are observant when it comes to your parrot's behaviour so you notice any changes. He sounds like Alfie- he will barely pick at his good 'healthy food' but the minute he sees me eating a biscuits or some nuts he is practically doing back-flips, giving kisses until he gets a piece (that he eats super-quick). I have learnt to persevere and not give him the treats until after he has eaten his food.

I have found Alfie always eats his food if he sees me eating. Our meal times are now the same. I can guarantee that if Alfie sees me eating he automatically goes to his food bowl and starts eating! :buenrollo:
 
You’re doing brilliantly, observing your birds and noting behaviour that is different....... the difficult part is working out is the behaviour sign of a problem, or just sign of Birdy boundary pushing, you should never ignore change of behaviour as if a bird is poorly they can deteriorate rapidly. We’re all here to support you.
This does sound like he is trying it on. Just make sure he eats something....and keep an eye on his droppings for any sign of illness. We’re heading towards another full moon, always time for parrots to play up in this house. Will he have other veggies and fruit, and other nuts...almond, pecan, etc?
 
Hey guys I have an update,

After trying a number of food options and I took your advise of making a veggie paste pasta dish thing, he was kind of interested but not really...

Due to that I took him to my avian vet today (£50 just to walk in the door! But well worth it for the health of my boy and they are good) he didn't feel as though Rhaegar was a sick bird, he said he could be picking up on the intense emotions surrounding the loss of my eldest dog.

He said if I'm really worry and he hasn't picked up in a few days that he can take blood from him but other than that he looks like a happy healthy macaw. Still playing and flying about etc.

It's given me a little more comfort knowing that however the lack of eating does still concern me... although I do remember reading that macaws can drop a lot of weight when fledging to help them get lift to aid them flying due to being such a large birds...

We will see... he did say to try give him some comfort food such as fruit and we have tried that this evening... again he was interested and picked at it but didn't really dive in like he normally does...
 
Evening, good that your vet doesnt think there is anything serious and confirms that he is possibly picking up the emotions at the time.

Have you tried actually trying feeding him with a spoon or offering pieces of fruit yourself etc rather than him feeding himself from his dish? Just wondering if he has emotionally taken a couple of steps back in his development?
 
Evening, good that your vet doesnt think there is anything serious and confirms that he is possibly picking up the emotions at the time.

Have you tried actually trying feeding him with a spoon or offering pieces of fruit yourself etc rather than him feeding himself from his dish? Just wondering if he has emotionally taken a couple of steps back in his development?

I did try this however I could tell if he was more interested in the spoon or the food!! (He really has a thing for metal... which again is why I did want to take him to the vet to discuss metal toxicity however the vet didn't think he looks like he was suffering from that ailment... I'll give the spoon another go tomorrow
 
Parrots and especially Macaws can sense changes of emotion and the sad loss of your dog would have been noticed. Parrots can get so used to other animals and can also miss them. Macaws can be very choosy when feeding but also want to be apart of the family and eat our food. I use there wants to get them to eat veg I will put it on my plate and they cannot resist taking what they think is my food although it cost me a plate the other day as Nobby dropped it on the floor.
 

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Thanks I will continue to try!

Such beautiful birds! I hope one day to have a red macaw (not sure if it would be a green wing, Scarlett or a hybrid) in the future when I'm more experienced with handling these two! That's if the worry isn't the end of me haha!
 
What sort of macaw do you have? a picture would be nice :)

I know with Lucy (B&G) getting her to eat anything like correctly was/still is a nightmare, bowl in the correct position, no metal bowl for fruit and veg. Scarlett suggested veg omelettes, which Lucy loves and you can sneak healthy things in which you could share if made without the salt etc.. We all still have an omelette maybe once a fortnight, packed with the healthiest veg they do not normally want.
 
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