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Urgent My cockatiel isn’t putting on weight

jackson289

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Our 2 1/2 year cockatiel, Cory, was recently taken to the vet due to excess urine in her droppings. She stayed 3 nights at the vet and today we went to pick her up. She was given a variety of injections and ran a few tests and the vet said that they couldn’t find anything. She was hand fed twice a day with a mixture and was given a variety of pallets and seeds. We got a call from the vet saying that she had lost one gram, even tho she had been eating all her food. She has always been underweight and has stayed at around 8 grams for the last year. Her diet consisted of only seeds untill she was switched over to just pallets with the occasional seed or millet. The pallets she was eating ended up giving her a yeast infection and was switched over to a special pallet that she has been on for the last year. She was sent home with two antibiotics. One that she has to take every night for the next 2 nights and another one that she has to take twice a day for the next 10 days. We think that she might’ve lost weight due to stress beca use we have left her there and havent seen her in 4 days, but we are not experts so we have no clue. Can somebody please help us or give us some suggestions on what to do. Thank you all
 

Shezbug

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I believe cockatiels should be on a seed and pellet diet not just one or the other and of course they need veggies too.

Are you sure your bird only weighs 8 gms? This sounds more like the weight of a few day old chick not a 2 year old tiel to me.

I will tag some tiel people for you and hopefully they can give you some help :)
@sunnysmom @Tiel Feathers @cassiesdad @Khizz
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Tiel Feathers

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What where the pellets you were feeding, and what is she eating now? Does she eat the new pellets? One gram is not a lot of weight to loose, but I’m not sure what you meant by 8 grams. Did your vet find an infection? What are the antibiotics for? You said she has a yeast infection, so was one of the meds an anti fungal? Cockatiels do need seed, along with pellets, in their diet, as well as fresh veggies. My vet recommends cockatiels eat an equal amount of pellets and seeds. I hope your little bird is okay!
 

jackson289

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What where the pellets you were feeding, and what is she eating now? Does she eat the new pellets? One gram is not a lot of weight to loose, but I’m not sure what you meant by 8 grams. Did your vet find an infection? What are the antibiotics for? You said she has a yeast infection, so was one of the meds an anti fungal? Cockatiels do need seed, along with pellets, in their diet, as well as fresh veggies. My vet recommends cockatiels eat an equal amount of pellets and seeds. I hope your little bird is okay!
Hi, thank you for replying! I must’ve made a typo I meant 80g but she currently weighs 70g. Her pallets are Harrison’s Adult Lifetime Fine. She had her yeast infection about a year ago now but she’s recovered. To be honest I don’t really know what the antibiotics are for but he said to give them a try. We were told to put her on a seed-only diet and as of only 10 mins ago we have just put a seed mix in her bowl a long with the pallets. She eats them now I just got a little worried but she was just a bit shocked and has settled in fine. Do you have any tips to try and implement veggies into her diet because she absolutely won’t eat them at all. Thank you
 

jackson289

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I believe cockatiels should be on a seed and pellet diet not just one or the other and of course they need veggies too.

Are you sure your bird only weighs 8 gms? This sounds more like the weight of a few day old chick not a 2 year old tiel to me.

I will tag some tiel people for you and hopefully they can give you some help :)
@sunnysmom @Tiel Feathers @cassiesdad @Khizz
.
Thank you so much! I’ve just realised that I’ve made a typo I meant 80g sorry!
 

sunnysmom

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Our 2 1/2 year cockatiel, Cory, was recently taken to the vet due to excess urine in her droppings. She stayed 3 nights at the vet and today we went to pick her up. She was given a variety of injections and ran a few tests and the vet said that they couldn’t find anything. She was hand fed twice a day with a mixture and was given a variety of pallets and seeds. We got a call from the vet saying that she had lost one gram, even tho she had been eating all her food. She has always been underweight and has stayed at around 8 grams for the last year. Her diet consisted of only seeds untill she was switched over to just pallets with the occasional seed or millet. The pallets she was eating ended up giving her a yeast infection and was switched over to a special pallet that she has been on for the last year. She was sent home with two antibiotics. One that she has to take every night for the next 2 nights and another one that she has to take twice a day for the next 10 days. We think that she might’ve lost weight due to stress beca use we have left her there and havent seen her in 4 days, but we are not experts so we have no clue. Can somebody please help us or give us some suggestions on what to do. Thank you all
Sometimes a diet too heavy on pellets in cockatiels can cause kidney issues. Not sure if that could be a contributor to the excess urine? Have you checked her keel bone? That's a good way to tell if a bird is underweight or not. Weight varies a lot in tiels depending on size. So 80 grams could be just fine for your tiel. My foster tiel Rosie just got back from a check up. He's only 72 grams but my vet says it's a good weight for him. He's just little. I shoot for about 50% seeds for my tiels, about 15% pellets (actually nutriberries) and the rest vegetables/grains. My 2 cockatiels right now love freeze dried vegetables. Some of our vendors here sell freeze dried vegetables. I buy the "chop" freeze dried mixes and they love them. My tiels also like Higgins Worldly Cuisine mixes and you can chop up vegetables and add them to the mix. I think with fresh vegetables you just have to keep trying. Chopping up broccoli into tiny pieces is often a good first vegetable as they resemble seeds and can be sprinkled over their other food. You can also try hanging big pieces of leafy greens- like romaine, boston lettuce, etc. in their cage to chew on.
 

jackson289

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Th
Sometimes a diet too heavy on pellets in cockatiels can cause kidney issues. Not sure if that could be a contributor to the excess urine? Have you checked her keel bone? That's a good way to tell if a bird is underweight or not. Weight varies a lot in tiels depending on size. So 80 grams could be just fine for your tiel. My foster tiel Rosie just got back from a check up. He's only 72 grams but my vet says it's a good weight for him. He's just little. I shoot for about 50% seeds for my tiels, about 15% pellets (actually nutriberries) and the rest vegetables/grains. My 2 cockatiels right now love freeze dried vegetables. Some of our vendors here sell freeze dried vegetables. I buy the "chop" freeze dried mixes and they love them. My tiels also like Higgins Worldly Cuisine mixes and you can chop up vegetables and add them to the mix. I think with fresh vegetables you just have to keep trying. Chopping up broccoli into tiny pieces is often a good first vegetable as they resemble seeds and can be sprinkled over their other food. You can also try hanging big pieces of leafy greens- like romaine, boston lettuce, etc. in their cage to chew on.
Thanks for replying. She was tested for kidney failure along with diabetes and both came back negativ. As of today she has gained a bit of weight and is up to around 80g. I’m getting a bit worried that she has been drinking water a bit more than usual (shes having about 10-12 sips in total, maybe a bit more) but could that just be because she hasn’t been eating a lot knowing that she won’t eat when she’s scared/in shock (like she was at the vet). Thanks!
 

jackson289

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Thanks for replying. She was tested for kidney failure along with diabetes and both came back negativ. As of today she has gained a bit of weight and is up to around 80g. I’m getting a bit worried that she has been drinking water a bit more than usual (shes having about 10-12 sips in total, maybe a bit more) but could that just be because she hasn’t been eating a lot knowing that she won’t eat when she’s scared/in shock (like she was at the vet). Thanks!
Sorry I meant 10-12 Sips throughout the day, not in one stand
 

Tiel Feathers

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I actually have no idea how much my birds drink each day, but 10-12 sips doesn’t seem like too much. Maybe she is drinking more because she is eating more now. Do her droppings have excess urine in them?
 

jackson289

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I actually have no idea how much my birds drink each day, but 10-12 sips doesn’t seem like too much. Maybe she is drinking more because she is eating more now. Do her droppings have excess urine in them?
Yes they do but her droppings are slowly improving over time
 
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