cockatiel eats it's poop!!!

[pete620]

I recently bought some zupreem pellets to replace her seeds but she doesn't seem to like them very much. oh and i feed her fruits and vegetables everyday. should i feed grit too?

The thought that all birds need grit is completly false. At most you could give them a few peices of grit a month, but they do not truly need any so I would advies against it. Granivoures like pigeons may need some grit but thats about it.

As far as the pellets go, Zupreem is a good choice. You can either switch you bird cold turkey from seeds to pellets, or I prefer to slowly increase the amount of pellets fed and decrese the amount of seed. I feed my quaker about 90% pellets and 10% seeds (they can be mentally stimullating) as well a fresh fruits and vegies.

Also make sure to provide it with plenty of toys. Some ask why they should give a bird a toy when they destroy it in a matter of days? The point of the toy is to be destroyed! The toys, as well as interation with you prevent the bird from adopting self destructive nerves habbits like feather picking.

This site is a great source for bird information: http://www.birdsnways.com/
I hope things go well and feel free to ask if you have more questions, if I don't know I have plenty of bird loving friends I can ask.

 

[loach43]

I agree with all that! My bird has munched her way through a fortunes worth of toys for over 15 years. Absolutely no feather picking. Once a bird starts doing that, it's hard to get them to stop, atleast from my observations.

 

[paintboi101]

lol thats a weird bird, have u been feeding it? lol

 

[Fishyfan]

Ok she seems to like the pellets but i have another problem now. she looks kinda sick... she sits in her nest with her feathers ruffled all day.

 

[pete620]

Ok she seems to like the pellets but i have another problem now. she looks kinda sick... she sits in her nest with her feathers ruffled all day.

Is she brooding an egg? If she has an egg replace it with white beads or somthing else of similar size, if the egg isn't fertile (or in some cases even if it is) it could rot and/or break.

She may be preparing to lay an egg (there does not need to be a male for a female to lay eggs) if so you should suplament her diet with powdered reptile calcium.

It could also be due to temprature. Is she in a room near an air conditioner, birds a very suseptible to drafts.

 

[loach43]

I'd take her to a bird specialist asap

 

[Fishyfan]

I'd take her to a bird specialist asap

ok, ill see if i can get her to the vet soon.

heres a pic of what she is doing:

 

[Fishyfan]

She laid an egg last night...

When should i take it away?

 

[Fishyfan]

She laid an egg last night...

When should i take it away?

well she laid 4 eggs so far and looks like shes going to have another. Should i just wait until shes walks off of them to take them away?

 

[DeLgAdO]

My bird hated the switch. She wouldn't touch pellets at first. Eventually hunger took care of that. I mix the pellets in with sparse amounts of stuff she likes but not enough to fill her up.
I've never fed grit but I guess it can't hurt

jsut an FYI here:

never.......EVER starve a bird.

they are not like fish that will give in over time

if you switch them onto a different food they are not familiar with eating they WILL starve to death, sure......some may take the change with grace, but alot of them wont, so its risky business

I've never fed grit but I guess it can't hurt

dont bother with grit

its been proven that cockatiels dont need it to aid in the digestion of there food.

in fact, some cockatiels eat too much grit and there digestive system become clogged with it.

best pass this item up on the grocery list