Hormonal causing loss of appetite?

[TheGuys202]

Hello!

I have a 25yr old (approximately) African Grey whose gender i'm not sure of. Recently he's (thats how I refer to him) been showing some very strong hormonal behavior primarily really into regurgitation and as of today he's started eating much less. He's still aying and talking, very active, just not eating and i'm wondering if it has to do with hormones? If he doesn't start eating tomorrow i'll make him and appointment but its been a long wait to get him in anywhere so if I can i'd like to see if I can rule out the hormone question.

Any help would be deeply appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[Snowghost]

My CAG is a male, (sex determined by vet) I've had birds for a long time, only bird I had breed were Cockatiels some years ago. I don't recall them not eating. I do know they won't poo in the nest box. Is the bird not eating at all? I would be concerned even if behavior is normal other then regurgitating. I know that regurgitating is part of the hormones however, doing both maybe a digestive issue and not hormones. I am far from a pro and would suggest contacting an Avian vet ASAP. A bird can go down quickly as they hide being ill.

 

[Toy]

Make the vet appointment. You can always cancel. Some birds will eat less during molt, others during hormonal surges. If your bird has greatly reduced eating, then he needs to see the vet.

 

[richietiel]

My CAG is a male, (sex determined by vet) I've had birds for a long time, only bird I had breed were Cockatiels some years ago. I don't recall them not eating. I do know they won't poo in the nest box. Is the bird not eating at all? I would be concerned even if behavior is normal other then regurgitating. I know that regurgitating is part of the hormones however, doing both maybe a digestive issue and not hormones. I am far from a pro and would suggest contacting an Avian vet ASAP. A bird can go down quickly as they hide being ill.

On top of this, I would verify that he is regurgitating and not vomiting. My cockatiel is recovering from a sour crop caused by a yeast infection (which vet said is usually food borne). Before he started vomiting a LOT all of a sudden, he ate and pooped normally. His behavior was a bit different but not entirely out of the ordinary to the point that I had really thought anything of it. There were some small signs beforehand that I had noticed and hadn't understood what they were. A small vomit weeks before it really hit him (I wasn't sure it wasn't regurgitation, as it had happened once and took a couple weeks to happen again...badly)and his crop experiencing what I now realize was bloat at times. He declined severely in a matter of hours, and I was in a panic trying to just get his meds and get home to administer them. It has been a couple days since I first started the meds, and you wouldn't know he was ever sick with how much he has improved.

I said it on another thread but the lesson I learned here is that if anything is out of the ordinary it is best to address it immediately than wait until it is nearly too late. If I didn't get him to the vet that day like I was able to I am not certain he would have survived the night.

Sour crop can also be caused by bacteria and impaction (food is prevented from leaving the crop, starts to rot). Have you noticed his crop staying full for excessive periods of times or not being empty in the AM?

 

[Snowghost]

@richietiel Good idea, I didn't think of that, vomit vs regurgitating. Birds do have issues with their crop. I agree, any change in behavior or eating, it needs to be looked at and seek a vet as soon as possible. That reminds me of the time I had a female tiel. I felt stupid telling a vet but she acted depressed. She would sit on my bf shoulder and sleep, not play. Ate, poops all normal. You want to know what it was? An infected preening gland. I never knew such a thing happened. Surgery and 2 weeks of intramuscular shots twice a day in the breast, irrigating surgical wound, she lived til she was 24. Birds are amazing but if somethings seems off its best to seek a vet.

 

[richietiel]

@richietiel Good idea, I didn't think of that, vomit vs regurgitating. Birds do have issues with their crop. I agree, any change in behavior or eating, it needs to be looked at and seek a vet as soon as possible. That reminds me of the time I had a female tiel. I felt stupid telling a vet but she acted depressed. She would sit on my bf shoulder and sleep, not play. Ate, poops all normal. You want to know what it was? An infected preening gland. I never knew such a thing happened. Surgery and 2 weeks of intramuscular shots twice a day in the breast, irrigating surgical wound, she lived til she was 24. Birds are amazing but if somethings seems off its best to seek a vet.

Exactly! Like you said previously, birds are masters at hiding illness, so if anything seems even slightly amiss it should be investigated. Some people might say I am overreacting but I would rather overreact and have a healthy bird, than underreact and have a dead bird. I nearly paid the consequences of underreacting. They don't have a way to tell you they don't feel good, but you get to know their behavior and what they normally look like (iE my birds poor, bloated crop ) so if it changes in any way its a gut instinct that should be followed. You definitely made the right choice taking her to a vet, I'm sure she felt much better after all was said and done.

 

[Snowghost]

Very true they are a master at hiding illness, they have to in the wild they will get kicked out of the flock and we are our birds "flock" When my Amazon stopped flying to the top of the door I thought hmm strange, but I let it go. Then she was slow climbing up her cage, still eating, screaming and poop normal, no behavior change. However when she didn't fly to her T stand for her beloved peanut I knew something was wrong. @TheGuys202 Please give us an update on your feathered baby. I hope for the best and it is taken care of.

 

[TheGuys202]

My CAG is a male, (sex determined by vet) I've had birds for a long time, only bird I had breed were Cockatiels some years ago. I don't recall them not eating. I do know they won't poo in the nest box. Is the bird not eating at all? I would be concerned even if behavior is normal other then regurgitating. I know that regurgitating is part of the hormones however, doing both maybe a digestive issue and not hormones. I am far from a pro and would suggest contacting an Avian vet ASAP. A bird can go down quickly as they hide being ill.

Hi! I'm sorry, I didnt see that I was getting reies, thank you so much! He is eating a little, just not as much as he usually does and he is drinking water. As for the regurgitation that part i'm confident is hormonal, he grabs my hand really tight and and drags it to bis beak and starts making squeaky noises while he bob his head. I did manage to get him a bird vet appointment but its like 3 weeks out

 

[TheGuys202]

Very true they are a master at hiding illness, they have to in the wild they will get kicked out of the flock and we are our birds "flock" When my Amazon stopped flying to the top of the door I thought hmm strange, but I let it go. Then she was slow climbing up her cage, still eating, screaming and poop normal, no behavior change. However when she didn't fly to her T stand for her beloved peanut I knew something was wrong. @TheGuys202 Please give us an update on your feathered baby. I hope for the best and it is taken care of.

Hello! Thank you for the reply I did get him and appointment but they couldn't get me in for 3 weeks, but if I have to I can take him.into an emergency vet if things get worse or he doesn't really improve over the next few days but I have to wait for when the exotics vet is on staff. He is drinking water and he is eating a little bit just not as much as he normally does. Its so stressful!

 

[TheGuys202]

On top of this, I would verify that he is regurgitating and not vomiting. My cockatiel is recovering from a sour crop caused by a yeast infection (which vet said is usually food borne). Before he started vomiting a LOT all of a sudden, he ate and pooped normally. His behavior was a bit different but not entirely out of the ordinary to the point that I had really thought anything of it. There were some small signs beforehand that I had noticed and hadn't understood what they were. A small vomit weeks before it really hit him (I wasn't sure it wasn't regurgitation, as it had happened once and took a couple weeks to happen again...badly)and his crop experiencing what I now realize was bloat at times. He declined severely in a matter of hours, and I was in a panic trying to just get his meds and get home to administer them. It has been a couple days since I first started the meds, and you wouldn't know he was ever sick with how much he has improved.

I said it on another thread but the lesson I learned here is that if anything is out of the ordinary it is best to address it immediately than wait until it is nearly too late. If I didn't get him to the vet that day like I was able to I am not certain he would have survived the night.

Sour crop can also be caused by bacteria and impaction (food is prevented from leaving the crop, starts to rot). Have you noticed his crop staying full for excessive periods of times or not being empty in the AM?

Hi! What Mojo is doing im pretty sure its regurgitation, he grabs my hand really tightly starts making squeaky noises and bobs his head then tries to bring my hand up to his beak, and he does this weird low wing flutter thing. As far as his crop goes I don't think i've ever checked it, how do I find out if its full? I did get him and appointment but the earliest I could get was 3/10. Although if things get worse I can take him to an emergency vet but I have to wait until the exotics vet is on staff which will be on Saturday. He is eating just not very much, today he ate apples and blueberries and last night he ate some seeds (he's refusing kibble) and he is drinking water.

 

[Snowghost]

Hi! What Mojo is doing im pretty sure its regurgitation, he grabs my hand really tightly starts making squeaky noises and bobs his head then tries to bring my hand up to his beak, and he does this weird low wing flutter thing. As far as his crop goes I don't think i've ever checked it, how do I find out if its full? I did get him and appointment but the earliest I could get was 3/10. Although if things get worse I can take him to an emergency vet but I have to wait until the exotics vet is on staff which will be on Saturday. He is eating just not very much, today he ate apples and blueberries and last night he ate some seeds (he's refusing kibble) and he is drinking water.

You will be able to tell if his crop is full. It will be a very large lump directly under his beak. What kind of seed are you giving him? I don't know what kibble is. Can you describe it? Is it monkey biscuit or pellets? I wouldn't give him a lot of fruit, it is full of sugar and causes diarrhea which will dehydrate him. Did you inform the vet how little the bird is eating? Does he eat first thing in the morning and nibble during the day and another feeding at dusk? Paco gets warmed up frozen veggies in the morning, bowl of pumpkin seeds with Nutriberries (they are dry so they stay in is cage all day) He gets seed, which is Higgins California brand, it took me a while to find really good seed for him. I know many people are pellet fans but Paco has been on seeds for 21 years of his life. The seed I give him is mostly safflower, no sunflower or peanuts. He won't eat the dried banana in it (yuck) or dried red peppers, (he's weird) I give him his seed and veggies twice a day. He was trained to be had fed his veggies and he eats well and will throw the food when he is full or he makes a little chirp to let me know he is full. He loves warm sweet potato. Have you offered Mojo warm food? In my opinion, and I'm not an expert is he does need to be eating more. Is this vet an avian vet? I would call the emergency vet today and tell him how little Mojo is eating. Please let us know how he is doing today.

 

[richietiel]

Hi! What Mojo is doing im pretty sure its regurgitation, he grabs my hand really tightly starts making squeaky noises and bobs his head then tries to bring my hand up to his beak, and he does this weird low wing flutter thing. As far as his crop goes I don't think i've ever checked it, how do I find out if its full? I did get him and appointment but the earliest I could get was 3/10. Although if things get worse I can take him to an emergency vet but I have to wait until the exotics vet is on staff which will be on Saturday. He is eating just not very much, today he ate apples and blueberries and last night he ate some seeds (he's refusing kibble) and he is drinking water.

The easiest way is if his chest is flat, it is empty. if it has a lump it has food in it. I can usually touch where is crop is and feel if there is anything in it. I do that daily to make sure it has emptied properly

 

[TheGuys202]

You will be able to tell if his crop is full. It will be a very large lump directly under his beak. What kind of seed are you giving him? I don't know what kibble is. Can you describe it? Is it monkey biscuit or pellets? I wouldn't give him a lot of fruit, it is full of sugar and causes diarrhea which will dehydrate him. Did you inform the vet how little the bird is eating? Does he eat first thing in the morning and nibble during the day and another feeding at dusk? Paco gets warmed up frozen veggies in the morning, bowl of pumpkin seeds with Nutriberries (they are dry so they stay in is cage all day) He gets seed, which is Higgins California brand, it took me a while to find really good seed for him. I know many people are pellet fans but Paco has been on seeds for 21 years of his life. The seed I give him is mostly safflower, no sunflower or peanuts. He won't eat the dried banana in it (yuck) or dried red peppers, (he's weird) I give him his seed and veggies twice a day. He was trained to be had fed his veggies and he eats well and will throw the food when he is full or he makes a little chirp to let me know he is full. He loves warm sweet potato. Have you offered Mojo warm food? In my opinion, and I'm not an expert is he does need to be eating more. Is this vet an avian vet? I would call the emergency vet today and tell him how little Mojo is eating. Please let us know how he is doing today.

So the seed I've been giving him is called California Mix and it doesn't co tain sunflower seeds (I wanted to avoid that) and I call it kibble but I think its more commo ly referred to as pellets. The brand in this case is Zupreem, and ive tried nut flavored, fruit blend, ain, and veggie. I did try sweet potato the other night and that didn't go over super well but he does seem interested in frozen blueberries and fresh apples. I did tell the vet he wasn't eating much although today he is eating better but now there are fluffy white feathers everywhere. Im SOOO glad i've got that vet appointment!

 

[Snowghost]

So the seed I've been giving him is called California Mix and it doesn't co tain sunflower seeds (I wanted to avoid that) and I call it kibble but I think its more commo ly referred to as pellets. The brand in this case is Zupreem, and ive tried nut flavored, fruit blend, ain, and veggie. I did try sweet potato the other night and that didn't go over super well but he does seem interested in frozen blueberries and fresh apples. I did tell the vet he wasn't eating much although today he is eating better but now there are fluffy white feathers everywhere. Im SOOO glad i've got that vet appointment!

The thing about introducing new food is you have to keep trying. I took Paco's favorite, broccoli and then smeared a little sweet potato on it and that way he got used to it. Took me 6 months to get him to eat peas, he will eat them some other days he won't. I don't know much about Zupreem, I read the ingredients on the bag and it seems to have a lot of sugar in it. Fruit is high in sugar too, I don't give that to Paco often, maybe once every few days. I too use a California Blend bird seed. It's made by Higgins and I save money by having it shipped to my house. Good to hear he is eating better. Keep an eye on his crop. Let us know how he is doing.