First Tiel- Very Worried

[NopeSaysMa]

I just got a cockatiel named Pixel. She's been in my house and her new cage for over a full day and hasn't shown interest in exploring or even eating anything. It was a long drive here and bc of the carrier her breeder had her in, getting her into the cage was tricky. She hasn't really been moving much and I don't know whether to leave her be or spend more time near her or what. No signs of plucking but she has been preening if that means anything.

I'm very anxious about all of this so please be kind when giving me advice. If she continues to not eat what should I do? Should I give her extra space or let her get used to me being in the room?

 

[Zara]

Hello there Max,

Are you offering the same food the breeder was giving?
Is it possible you ar not seeing when she eats?

Remember it is still early days, so not exploring is ok, it is a very frightening time for her.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Congratulations on your new one. How old is this baby? Fully weaned by abundance? Sometimes when they are still pretty young, even if had been fully weaned at breeders , they can revert in a new home . That means they temporarily revert to needing support baby bird formula. But really it's likely your new one is just stressed with all the newness and changes

I'd would offer millet spray , it's very tempting ! As well as mentioned above, offer the same food in the same way it was fed at breeders. Diet changes if needed should be slow and after they have settled in.

Have the back of the cage against a wall. Spend time nearby talking and soothing. But not just staring at them which birds can find stressful.

First day not eating is common. Hopefully your new buddy feels safer and more settled soonest!

 

[NopeSaysMa]

Congratulations on your new one. How old is this baby? Fully weaned by abundance? Sometimes when they are still pretty young, even if had been fully weaned at breeders , they can revert in a new home . That means they temporarily revert to needing support baby bird formula. But really it's likely your new one is just stressed with all the newness and changes

I'd would offer millet spray , it's very tempting ! As well as mentioned above, offer the same food in the same way it was fed at breeders. Diet changes if needed should be slow and after they have settled in.

Have the back of the cage against a wall. Spend time nearby talking and soothing. But not just staring at them which birds can find stressful.

First day not eating is common. Hopefully your new buddy feels safer and more settled soonest!

She's about ten weeks and was fully weaned in September. She was on a full seed diet and I have plans to convert her to pellets after about two weeks. There’s millet spray in her cage but it doesn't seem to be disturbed
She is still pooping and all her droppings look okay according to sources on Google. She panics when change her food and water but she started gnawing and climbing on one of her toys while she did it so maybe that's a good sign?

 

[NopeSaysMa]

Hello there Max,

Are you offering the same food the breeder was giving?
Is it possible you ar not seeing when she eats?

Remember it is still early days, so not exploring is ok, it is a very frightening time for her.

It's possible I'm missing it? I try to give her a couple hours of space every day but she always seems to be in the same spot. And yes I am! :]

 

[Zara]

With millet spray, you would see the little hulls flaked all over after it's been eaten. Same for seed in a bowl, the emtpy shells show when food had been eaten.

Seeing poops is a good sign!

She weaned very early then (before 9 weeks), so it is possible she has regressed, as said by Pixiebeak. If you have the pellets you were planning on feeding in the near future, you could grind a spoonful down into a powder then mix in a little boiled water with a fork and feed it on a small teaspoon.

 

[NopeSaysMa]

Congratulations on your new one. How old is this baby? Fully weaned by abundance? Sometimes when they are still pretty young, even if had been fully weaned at breeders , they can revert in a new home . That means they temporarily revert to needing support baby bird formula. But really it's likely your new one is just stressed with all the newness and changes

I'd would offer millet spray , it's very tempting ! As well as mentioned above, offer the same food in the same way it was fed at breeders. Diet changes if needed should be slow and after they have settled in.

Have the back of the cage against a wall. Spend time nearby talking and soothing. But not just staring at them which birds can find stressful.

First day not eating is common. Hopefully your new buddy feels safer and more settled soonest!

Still no luck. She seemed especially tempted by some apple and has started vocalizing. Should I try formula? And what should I do if she refuses that?

 

[Pixiebeak]

You can try what Zara suggested. You can try offering warm mashed sweet potatoes. It you can try baby bird formula made thicj from your finger in a dish or a spoon.

I would call the breeder and see what they suggest.

 

[NopeSaysMa]

You can try what Zara suggested. You can try offering warm mashed sweet potatoes. It you can try baby bird formula made thicj from your finger in a dish or a spoon.

I would call the breeder and see what they suggest.

The breeder has been entirely unhelpful. Basically they sent me an article about birds refusing food. Which said that a cockatiel won't starve itself. But several Google posts say that they very well can.

I'll try formula tomorrow but I have a sneaking suspicion she won't take that either

 

[NopeSaysMa]

I'm losing hope everyone. I'm terrified for my bird

 

[Pixiebeak]

It's ok , I really think all will be ok. I've had new freaked out birds not eat for 2 days before. I think she will eat Tomorrow.

Try not to let her feel your stress. Watch her occasionally from far off . Always say hello I'm coming over from several feet away and approach h calm relaxed from front . She will learn that she doesn't need to be in gdurd because you announce yourself .

Tomorrow or you morning take a picture of your set up for us from a distance that doesn't stress her but shows us in case we can suggest changes .

Have food dish h right next to where she sits . Some young birds lack the confidence and knowledge of how to move around the cage. But they do learn fast!

 

[Pixiebeak]

If you need to, and I'm hopeful you won't ! I'm attaching a decent you tube. I use kaytee myself. As a weaned and revert , making it a little thicker than shown in video . Temp isn't critical at this point, you don't want to burn crop, and she will want it nice and warm tho . I test in my wrist as long as doesn't burn and feels warm I consider it good ( for un feathered unweaned babies temp is critical! ) being thicker is also safer and less chance of choking. About the thickness of Greek yogurt.

It depends how fearful she is , you might be able to hold syringe or spoon up to her beak while letting her be freely perched. More than likely you will have to scoop her out , have her stand on a towel on your counter with left hand gently on back thrmb and ginger on each shoulder wing point , so hand gentle but firm on back fingers in shoulder not wrapped around body . Head free. Use a small syringe, a 1 cc or a 3 cc. You will only offer at beak tip or just slightly off beak tip, not going to stick the tip in her beak . Give slow , a beak full at a time and wait till swallow and asks for more. I would try just giving 2ml to 3 ml total but slow. Then put her back by food . Often thst enough to stimulation for them to start eating on their own . Sbd the hope is you wint need to do it again. Sometimes morning and evening are needed for a few days .

tge biggest risk of this is choke or aspiration. You aren't going to do a large enough volume to over stretch crop. And you don't need it to be so hot like little ones need so there shouldn't be a risk of burning the crop. My hope is you ent need to do this .

ok here is the video

 

[NopeSaysMa]

If you need to, and I'm hopeful you won't ! I'm attaching a decent you tube. I use kaytee myself. As a weaned and revert , making it a little thicker than shown in video . Temp isn't critical at this point, you don't want to burn crop, and she will want it nice and warm tho . I test in my wrist as long as doesn't burn and feels warm I consider it good ( for un feathered unweaned babies temp is critical! ) being thicker is also safer and less chance of choking. About the thickness of Greek yogurt.

It depends how fearful she is , you might be able to hold syringe or spoon up to her beak while letting her be freely perched. More than likely you will have to scoop her out , have her stand on a towel on your counter with left hand gently on back thrmb and ginger on each shoulder wing point , so hand gentle but firm on back fingers in shoulder not wrapped around body . Head free. Use a small syringe, a 1 cc or a 3 cc. You will only offer at beak tip or just slightly off beak tip, not going to stick the tip in her beak . Give slow , a beak full at a time and wait till swallow and asks for more. I would try just giving 2ml to 3 ml total but slow. Then put her back by food . Often thst enough to stimulation for them to start eating on their own . Sbd the hope is you wint need to do it again. Sometimes morning and evening are needed for a few days .

tge biggest risk of this is choke or aspiration. You aren't going to do a large enough volume to over stretch crop. And you don't need it to be so hot like little ones need so there shouldn't be a risk of burning the crop. My hope is you ent need to do this .

ok here is the video

Thank you so much <3
I've been so worried and with the breeder refusing to really help it's been all the worse.
I just hope she isn't sick.
(Also turns out the breeder thinks she's a he and told me they had no idea when I bought her. :[ I've learned my lesson and will seek out more reputable breeders if I decide to take in more little ones eventually.)

 

[greys4u]

Hold on, this is all new, a routine has not been established by either of you. It is exciting when you get a new bird and as far as the breeder, forget him, it is stressing you out.
Remember, birds can pick up on our feelings. You will be okay, its just patience, patience, patience and there is a great group of folks here

 

[Pixiebeak]

Waiting for your update, with fingers crossed!

 

[Pixiebeak]

Getting worried...
Hope you give us a postive update soon

 

[NopeSaysMa]

Getting worried...
Hope you give us a postive update soon

Apologies! Today was very busy between working with Pixel and my partner losing their job and just. Yeesh.

She has begun to eat seeds! She only took them from my hand at first, but after covering the cage, She moved to her bowl. I purchased some formula just in case but she really is doing better!

Now I have a whole new problem- She yells at me whenever I leave the room lol. I even got her to briefly step up this morning.

Thank you all so much for your advice and kind words. They really have made me feel better.

(As for her setup I can't figure out images for the life of me but it's a temporary pet store cage since the big one is still in the mail.)

 

[Pixiebeak]

I'm so happy she is starting to settle in! Yay!!!

I'm sorry about the added stress of partner job. My wishes are that it leads to an even better job and situation!