Only eating millet? Not drinking a lot of water?

[alicat]

Me and my boyfriend got Piper Monday night.. its now Thursday. She's a just weaned, hand fed baby cockatiel.
( I've posted a lot of pictures of her, if you havent seen them you should probably check them out )

It's starting to make me a little nervous because all she'll really eat is millet.
I *stupidly* didn't buy the seed they weaned her onto, because its just typical cockatiel seed and I thought I had some at home.. turns out I didn't. My boyfriends going to go pick some up today. We bought TOP seed mix that we want to switch her onto. She also hasn't been drinking a lot of water..
I don't know what to do!

I don't know if its because she doesn't spend a lot of time in her cage?
This is our day recently:
Wake up around 9, uncover her cage. Let her hang out in there a little while we wake up, her food and water are sitting in dishes on the floor of her cage. (Food dish has seeds and pellet mixed, then millet sprinkled on top). Sprig of millet on the ground. After a little she starts running back and forth in front of the door and hanging on it asking to be let out, so we let her out and put her Petco Playgym on the bed, with her seed bowl and water bowl on it. Millet goes on top in the little treat bowl.
She'll climb up to the top and pick at the millet occasionally but won't eat the seeds from the bowl. She won't really drink either... The only time I've seen her really drink is when I put the dish up to her and she started drinking it.
Then she climbs all over me and my boyfriend, but won't really go back for food unless we put her back..
And she'll eat the seeds if we feed them to her one by one sometimes.. othertimes she just doesn't seem interested.
If we leave the room or go out, she goes back in her cage. He's had off the past 2 days so she's mostly been out, otherwise there would be 3 hours where she'd be in there when both of our work schedules overlap.

Will she eat and drink if she's hungry?
Do cockatiels just not eat as much as lovebirds? My lovies went through SO much food I feel like.
Could it be that the dish is too tall? I feel like it IS a little tall but my lovebirds were able to get down in it without a problem and they're a lot tinier than her!
Could it be because she's out with us most of the day and not just sitting in her cage? We have a big room so there's a lot for her to look at and explore. (She seems to watch everything, even the walls sometimes)

I don't want to take the millet away because its all she really eats.

Also, she seems happy just sitting on mine or my boyfriends back/shoulders for like 2 hours and just napping. We just got her on monday, are we rushing this?
From day one she seemed okay with it. She'll get a little nervous if our hands come at her too fast, but she'll generally step up without a problem.
She also picks at our hair if she's on our shoulder and makes the little clicking noises, which means she likes us? But I'm not sure if I'm reading her wrong because its so fast!

She fluffs up a few times a day too, but its usually when she looks sleepy or relaxed, or after she cleans herself. Our apartment isn't cold, I can wear jeans a a Tshirt comfortably.. is it okay if she does it a few times when she's not preening?
Its actually super cute when she does it so I hope it doesn't mean she's sick? I've read if they do it a lot it could mean they're sick, but I don't have another cockatiel to compare it to. Is a few times a day okay?

Sorry for the rant.
We're just worried new parronts!

 

[Jeddy]

 

[retajomi3]

I just recently weaned my baby Cynder, she was on budgie seeds (literally a mix of different kinds of millet) until she was comfortable picking at the parrot mix in the lounge room cage (where I regularly leave different sorts of nibblies). Baby cockatiels generally can't handle bigger seeds for a little while, but keep her options open. It took me a while as a concerned mum to get Cynder eating enough to stay plump, I ended up encouraging her to eat some seeds before syringe feeding and then dumping her on the seed plate after she had her fill (to help her associate seeds with eating). If she knows where the seeds are and that they're food, she should approach them when she feels the need. As far as water intake goes, keep an eye on the consistency of her poos and how often she's going. Cynder at 4 months still spends most of her time fluffy, when she's not exploring and looking for trouble, it's generally just a baby bird thing. It's understandable to be scared of someone new, it took Cynder a few days to get used to our presence, being my partner's first time hand raising a baby, he started to get cold feet thinking she wanted her biological parents (I bought her from a trustworthy breeder) when she was actually just so tiny and new to the world she didn't know what was happening. She never really knew her parents, all she knew was the hand that fed her. That's usually how hand raised babies are. I hope I've helped!

The day after I brought her home (look at her tiny duck tail!)

A couple weeks ago <3

 

[sunnysmom]

Can you weigh her to make sure she isn't losing weight? A recently weaned baby will sometimes regress and need to be hand fed. If she's out of her cage most of the time, then can you put food outside of it so she can eat when she's out with you? Have you tried eating with her? Tiels are flock animals so they often eat when their humans eat. Also, tiels are one of the birds that will starve themselves if they don't recognize their food as food. So it is possible if you changed her seed mix that she's not eating it because she doesn't know it. It's recommended that when you change a tiel's seed to start gradually mixing the new with the old and then eventually eliminating the old. You can also try giving her some soft food to see if she'll eat that.

Are you only giving her seeds? Tiels should have a variety of foods to eat- seeds, pellets, vegetables, etc. Opinions differ on the amount but I feed my tiel about 50% seeds, 10% pellets, and the rest vegetables, rice, etc.

It's important that she eats so right now let her eat whatever she will eat but you may need to talk to whoever you got her from about handfeedings if she's not eating. Does she make any begging noises like she's hungry?

 

[alicat]

I just recently weaned my baby Cynder, she was on budgie seeds (literally a mix of different kinds of millet) until she was comfortable picking at the parrot mix in the lounge room cage (where I regularly leave different sorts of nibblies). Baby cockatiels generally can't handle bigger seeds for a little while, but keep her options open. It took me a while as a concerned mum to get Cynder eating enough to stay plump, I ended up encouraging her to eat some seeds before syringe feeding and then dumping her on the seed plate after she had her fill (to help her associate seeds with eating). If she knows where the seeds are and that they're food, she should approach them when she feels the need. As far as water intake goes, keep an eye on the consistency of her poos and how often she's going. Cynder at 4 months still spends most of her time fluffy, when she's not exploring and looking for trouble, it's generally just a baby bird thing. It's understandable to be scared of someone new, it took Cynder a few days to get used to our presence, being my partner's first time hand raising a baby, he started to get cold feet thinking she wanted her biological parents (I bought her from a trustworthy breeder) when she was actually just so tiny and new to the world she didn't know what was happening. She never really knew her parents, all she knew was the hand that fed her. That's usually how hand raised babies are. I hope I've helped!
View attachment 218617
The day after I brought her home (look at her tiny duck tail!)
View attachment 218618
A couple weeks ago <3

She's so cute!
Glad that the fluffy bird thing is just a baby thing. She seems so happy when she does it too, she looks adorable. Ah I cant handle how cute she is!

So I should just keep offering her the millet while leaving the other ones available?
Her poops seem okay, just greenish from the seed but I'm gonna keep a closer look.
I feel like she doesn't poop that often though? Like if she's on us for an hour she might only poop once. Or maybe twice, but not like every 15 minutes.

 

[optimisticStar]

They do take sometime to adjust in their new environment. Atleast at my place they took about a week until I could see them eating and drinking normal. I noticed them eating/drinking when I wasn't around. However like you I was worried too and I tried giving them some green leafy veggies so they could get some water from it. You can try that to see if they like green veggies. Also for water, I got something like this - 2X Bird Pet Drinker Feeder Waterer Clip for Aviary Budgie Cockatiel Lovebirds | eBay so that way you get to know if they drank water when the water level goes down in it.

 

[alicat]

Can you weigh her to make sure she isn't losing weight? I recently weaned baby will sometimes regress and need to be hand fed. If she's out of her cage most of the time, then can you put food outside of it so she can eat when she's out with you? Have you tried eating with her? Tiels are flock animals so they often eat when their humans eat. Also, tiels are one of the birds that will starve themselves if they don't recognize their food as food. So it is possible if you changed her seed mix that she's not eating it because she doesn't know it. It's recommended that when you change a tiel's seed to start gradually mixing the new with the old and then eventually eliminating the old. You can also try giving her some soft food to see if she'll eat that.

Are you only giving her seeds? Tiels should have a variety of foods to eat- seeds, pellets, vegetables, etc. Opinions differ on the amount but I feed my tiel about 50% seeds, 10% pellets, and the rest vegetables, rice, etc.

It's important that she eats so right now let her eat whatever she will eat but you may need to talk to whoever you got her from about handfeedings if she's not eating. Does she make any begging noises like she's hungry?

I haven't been weighing her, but I'm asking my boyfriend to borrow his moms kitchen scale today so we can start.
It's 25% Harrisons Pellets, 75% Tops Seeds in her dish I'd say. And I have two nutirberries sitting in it. Last night I tried to hand feed her some lettuce and chicken with our dinner, then put some chicken in her millet dish and she ignored it
Also, if I'm holding a nutriberry she'll put her beak on it but I don't know if its too hard for her to break up? They're pretty big compared to her and she's so gentle.

I bring the food and water dishes out with us when she's out and kind of carry them around wherever she goes if she gets off the bed or anything, since her wings are clipped and she couldn't get back to her cage if she tried. (Which I really don't like and is sad. Not that she ever wants to be in there, but I wish she could get back if she wanted)

I think she knows the seeds are food cus I've hand fed her a few of them and she ate them.. I've also kind of made a show of pretending to eat them and she didn't seem too amused haha. I'm definitely getting the old seed mix today though to see if she'll eat that.

What kind of soft food should I try?

 

[sunnysmom]

You can try breaking the nutriberries up for her. I have to do that for my tiel as he really doesn't like anything that's hard.

You can try giving her some cooked brown rice or some oatmeal (real oatmeal- not the instant kind). Maybe some mashed cooked sweet potato or yam.

 

[alicat]

You can try breaking the nutriberries up for her. I have to do that for my tiel as he really doesn't like anything that's hard.

You can try giving her some cooked brown rice or some oatmeal (real oatmeal- not the instant kind). Maybe some mashed cooked sweet potato or yam.

OH!

I did steal some sweet potatoes from my moms for her, I completely forgot. I don't even like sweet potatoes and I saw she had them and scooped em up hehe. I'll try that when I get home, and try crushing up the nutriberries too! I really do feel like they might just be too big for her, they look a little ridiculous compared her beak!

Is like white pasta okay for them? Or is it not worth it? I know whole grain is better for people...
And I have whole grain bread that has seeds on the outside.
Should I try that? Thats kind of soft? Is there nutritional value in bread and pasta?

 

[Lady Jane]

Goldenfeast makes very nice bird blends. You will have to order on line as they are not sold in pet stores. I am a prime member on Amazon so I usually buy there as there is no delivery charge for most Goldenfeast foods.

Basics Plus Cockatiel Food - Goldenfeast Direct

 

[alicat]

They do take sometime to adjust in their new environment. Atleast at my place they took about a week until I could see them eating and drinking normal. I noticed them eating/drinking when I wasn't around. However like you I was worried too and I tried giving them some green leafy veggies so they could get some water from it. You can try that to see if they like green veggies. Also for water, I got something like this - 2X Bird Pet Drinker Feeder Waterer Clip for Aviary Budgie Cockatiel Lovebirds | eBay so that way you get to know if they drank water when the water level goes down in it.

I might get one of those if I don't see her drinking enough.
I'm hoping its just the adjustment period but it's making me super super nervous!

I've never seen how much an average cockatiel eats.
Only my ravenous lovies and they'd eat almost all day if they could

 

[alicat]

Goldenfeast makes very nice bird blends. You will have to order on line as they are not sold in pet stores.

Basics Plus Cockatiel Food - Goldenfeast Direct

I prefer to order online as I am the laziest person and won't drive if I don't have to

That looks good, it has dried fruit and all in it. Is it okay with the sunflower seeds though?
I've heard about Goldenfeast but haven't looked into it.

 

[Lady Jane]

I feed several of their blends and they will have some sunflower seeds which is OK with me because there are not too many.
The Australian blend is also nice for Cockatiels.

 

[sunnysmom]

Pasta is okay in moderation. Whole grain is better but some regular pasta won't hurt. Just don't add salt to the water when you cook it. As for bread, it depends what's in it. Again, a little won't hurt but a lot of bread has preservatives, etc that isn't the best and too much iron isnt' good for a tiel if it's fortified bread. There's a bread called Ezikiels bread that can be found in the refrigerated section of some grocery stores that a number of birds owners I know give their birds. I give it once in awhile. You can also make your own birdie bread. If you do a search on here that are a lot of good recipes for it or they sell birdie bread mixes- although my tiel likes the homemade better- of course, the silly bird.

 

[alicat]

Pasta is okay in moderation. Whole grain is better but some regular pasta won't hurt. Just don't add salt to the water when you cook it. As for bread, it depends what's in it. Again, a little won't hurt but a lot of bread has preservatives, etc that isn't the best and too much iron isnt' good for a tiel if it's fortified bread. There's a bread called Ezikiels bread that can be found in the refrigerated section of some grocery stores that a number of birds owners I know give their birds. I give it once in awhile. You can also make your own birdie bread. If you do a search on here that are a lot of good recipes for it or they sell birdie bread mixes- although my tiel likes the homemade better- of course, the silly bird.

I am SO EXCITED to make birdie bread.
I've seen recipes and I cant wait!!

I'm in an awkward time frame where I got her, and had large unpredictable expenses come up so I'm virtually penniless until next Friday, and I just want to go and buy her a bunch of vegetables and seed and throw it all together. Being broke is awful.

I'm not sure if it was you or someone else that I saw on another thread say they wrote a company for samples.. if that WAS you who did you write?
And I dont know why I think it was you??
I want to try a bunch of different pellets to see if she'll like one but I don't want to have to buy each brand.. I got a HUGE bag of Harrisons Superfine and I didn't really realize what pellets are, but they don't even look like food and she's so not interested in them yet. I don't even know HOW to get her interested.
They're such gross looking brown balls I wouldn't want to eat them either

 

[Calpurnia]

One thing to note is it is not super uncommon for baby birds to crave "comfort" foods like millet when they've made a huge transition to a new home. I've heard of many breeders recommending that you let them eat as much as they want for the first couple weeks until they've settled in (also why it's always important to continuing feeding the old food for a while). Too many changes (including diet) all at once can be super stressful on a baby, so in general it's best to move forward one step at a time. Millet is great because it is easy to eat, easy to digest, and also one of the first foods a bird is weaned on so they can "regress" back to it if necessary.

My Simon was similar to your Piper when I first brought him home. He was weaned onto a pellet/seed mix but literally at nothing but millet for at least a week. In that week he also was very docile, letting us pick him up/pet him, sleeping most of the day, not really moving or climbing around much. So we left him alone and just made sure to not pressure him when providing company.

After that first week he began opening up a lot more. Swinging from toys, chirping when we came in the room, hopping around, eating and drinking normally. He also became a bit more weary of us (the "honeymoon" phase was coming to an end), so I started clicker training to get him more used to being picked up regularly. I also slowly started scaling back the millet each day until he was just eating a few piece each day as a treat. In the meantime he went back to his normal seed. Only after a couple more weeks had passed and I could tell he was finally settled in (he could run to come and hang out with us, let us scratch him, was a boss at clicker training) did I start transitioning him onto pellets for real, as well as start insisting that he eat fresh foods.

So I say give Piper some time. Don't worry about throwing a kazillion different foods at her that she won't eat. Some may just be too difficult (like whole nutriberries, or even the oats/buckwheat/etc in the TOPs mix) to eat now, and other she will not be interested in until she's comfortable in her new home. Hopefully you will have a couple more decades to spend with this girl so that last thing you should be worried about is her not eating a fantastic diet right off the bat.

 

[lesliekiki]

Hi Don/Calpurnia. (sorry to interrupt this thread!) But i want to make sure Don knows there is a Aracari needing a home on the REHOMING section here on AA. Just wanted you to know incase you were interested or might know someone.

 

[alicat]

One thing to note is it is not super uncommon for baby birds to crave "comfort" foods like millet when they've made a huge transition to a new home. I've heard of many breeders recommending that you let them eat as much as they want for the first couple weeks until they've settled in (also why it's always important to continuing feeding the old food for a while). Too many changes (including diet) all at once can be super stressful on a baby, so in general it's best to move forward one step at a time. Millet is great because it is easy to eat, easy to digest, and also one of the first foods a bird is weaned on so they can "regress" back to it if necessary.

My Simon was similar to your Piper when I first brought him home. He was weaned onto a pellet/seed mix but literally at nothing but millet for at least a week. In that week he also was very docile, letting us pick him up/pet him, sleeping most of the day, not really moving or climbing around much. So we left him alone and just made sure to not pressure him when providing company.

After that first week he began opening up a lot more. Swinging from toys, chirping when we came in the room, hopping around, eating and drinking normally. He also became a bit more weary of us (the "honeymoon" phase was coming to an end), so I started clicker training to get him more used to being picked up regularly. I also slowly started scaling back the millet each day until he was just eating a few piece each day as a treat. In the meantime he went back to his normal seed. Only after a couple more weeks had passed and I could tell he was finally settled in (he could run to come and hang out with us, let us scratch him, was a boss at clicker training) did I start transitioning him onto pellets for real, as well as start insisting that he eat fresh foods.

So I say give Piper some time. Don't worry about throwing a kazillion different foods at her that she won't eat. Some may just be too difficult (like whole nutriberries, or even the oats/buckwheat/etc in the TOPs mix) to eat now, and other she will not be interested in until she's comfortable in her new home. Hopefully you will have a couple more decades to spend with this girl so that last thing you should be worried about is her not eating a fantastic diet right off the bat.

Thank you so much! This helped put me at ease a little bit. I tend to get a little (a lottle) nervous and jittery when I don't know what to do. Especially about stuff like this!! My poor baby girl!

I'm super glad you mentioned clicker training too, but I have one and want to start it but I don't know when I should considering shes so calm and lazy right now! She doesn't seem like she'd be ready for it yet so there will probably just be cuddles for a little while but I'm excited to start with her!

I actually had to take a swing out of her cage for a little because I think it was too much for her at once. She got on the swing and just sat there looking scared and wouldn't move at all and wouldn't get off until we put our hands near her and she stepped up right away to get off. I think the fact that it was moving scared her!

 

[sunnysmom]

I am SO EXCITED to make birdie bread.
I've seen recipes and I cant wait!!

I'm in an awkward time frame where I got her, and had large unpredictable expenses come up so I'm virtually penniless until next Friday, and I just want to go and buy her a bunch of vegetables and seed and throw it all together. Being broke is awful.

I'm not sure if it was you or someone else that I saw on another thread say they wrote a company for samples.. if that WAS you who did you write?
And I dont know why I think it was you??
I want to try a bunch of different pellets to see if she'll like one but I don't want to have to buy each brand.. I got a HUGE bag of Harrisons Superfine and I didn't really realize what pellets are, but they don't even look like food and she's so not interested in them yet. I don't even know HOW to get her interested.
They're such gross looking brown balls I wouldn't want to eat them either

I did write Roudybush and asked for samples. This was a couple years ago. I did it through their website. They even let me pick the sizes I wanted which was really nice.

 

[camelotshadow]

I hope she is eating OK. Would be a good idea to weigh her to watch that she doesn't lose weight.
Sometimes babies regress & want baby food.
Do you have oatmeal in the house or get some from mom. You can cook it & mix in veggies such as peas & corn
& offer it to her warm. She might appreciate some soft food. Try some cooked mashed sweet potato.

Make sure she has access to food & water as she can't get to her cage by herself.

You can also call the pet store & voice your concerns, they should be able to give you some advise or if need be take her back for some feeding. Hopefully that is not necessary.

Good Luck with your sweetie