Hi, I got a new cockatiel recently and found that he doesn't like eating from his food bowls. I had him for about two weeks, and in the first two days he wasn't eating at all, which had me really worried so I took him out to play with my budgies hoping they could teach him to eat (since they're gluttons), which worked because he started to eat from the floor, and it became a habit. Then I got worried about the cleanliness of the floor so I moved him to the desk where he has his own playground, and he eats on the desk surface now. But he still refuses to eat from bowls, or in his cage at all (he drinks from bowls fine). This is my first cockatiel, so is this a normal thing they do? I leave the cage open at all times during the day, and he prefers to stay on the desk, so the food is always available to him. So I'm not really worried, since he eats plenty enough now but I guess it's kind of useless to leave food bowls in his cage, also it's really messy to keep sprinkling seeds on the desktop.
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New cockatiel not using bowls?
- Thread starter ppipper
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All birds will not eat whilst they settle in. This can take a while. Maybe try some low, flat dishes that you can use to start encouraging the use of bowls?
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What bowls are they? Could they be too big / too deep? Or a colour your bird dislikes?
Where are they positioned?
Two weeks is a long time to still not be using them. I would try using a smaller bowl.
What bowls are they? Could they be too big / too deep? Or a colour your bird dislikes?
Where are they positioned?
Two weeks is a long time to still not be using them. I would try using a smaller bowl.
Not all birds. Some will pig out first day, not a worry in the world.
Are they stainless steel bowls? That big bird in the bowl (their own reflection) can be scary for a bird that's never seen one before. Keep doing what you're doing reducing the amount over time, things should sort themselves out.
Yeah, they're stainless steel bowls that came with the cage, I have one food bowl in the middle level and one at the top of the cage, near where he likes to sleep. They're pretty deep but I fill them to the brim, and sometimes he even sleeps perched on the edge of the top one. I use the same bowl for water, which is no problem. Could he be afraid of his reflection, even though he's already fallen in love with the bird in the mirror?
It's highly likely, with the distortion he likely doesn't yet understand that it's another Tiel, and the movement would be totally wrong. Even just the reflection off the rim would be totally alien.
Play with a dessert spoon, see how the reflection of your face distorts and moves.
