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parrot gone quiet

Talk about bird illnesses and other bird health related issues. Seeds, pellets, fruits, vegetables and more. Discuss what to feed your birds and in what quantity. Share your recipe ideas.

Re: parrot gone quiet

Postby Pajarita » Tue Feb 01, 2022 11:33 am

OK, let's see. Bathing in a bowl by himself is 1000 times better than spraying them because, even when they don't seem to do a good job of it, it is the NATURAL way for birds to bathe. My senegals do not like spraying either and don't even take that many baths by themselves but they are always clean so I don't worry at all about it.

Wet poop is entirely normal when they eat a fresh food diet. It's the drier poop that is not normal even though most people believe it is. When an animal consumes a diet of 85 to 95% moisture and have a high metabolism (digesting food superfast to the point that parrots poop what they eat less than 2 hours before), wet poop is always the result. People believe that a drier poop is normal because we used to feed them mostly seeds (10 to 12% moisture) or pellets (max 14%, usually around 10%) not realizing that even the seeds we fed were dried so as to extend shelf life but, in the wild, food is not on shelves and everything is wet.

His coming close to you after he ate is a VERY good sign because their natural interacting time is precisely mid-morning (after eating and before their noon rest) and mid-afternoon (after their noon rest and their dinner).

If you cover their cages with a black-out material, it's OK. But don't think that because the parrot is sleeping, he is not being exposed to light because although this is true of mammals who only have photoreceptors cells (the cells that react to light and send the information to the brain) in their eyes, birds have them also inside their brains and these register light even when they are asleep because, as they are dependent on light for their endocrine system, nature gave them very thin cranial bones and light goes right through them to reach the deep-brain photoreceptor cells (is that cool or what?!).

Don't worry too much if one day he doesn't eat his usual portion but don't give him a choice of fruits or veggies. I have found that choices don't really work out for parrots because they end up eating mostly the same thing every day (whatever happens to be their favorite). And, if you observe parrot flocks feeding in the wild (I was born and raised in a South American country where there are wild parrots), you see them eating the same thing until they finish it - they all descend on a tree with fruit and they eat and eat the same fruit until there is no more. They don't do 'fruit salad' :lol: Give him one single kind of fruit, one single veggie and one single green (try raw broccoli, they all like it), a different one every day. For example, one day you give him a quarter apple, a large slice of a red pepper and a large piece of broccoli, the next you give him 1/4 orange, about 1/5 of a zucchini and a large leaf of Romaine lettuce - see what I mean? This will ensure that he eats a large range of produce which, in turn, ensures that he will get all different kinds of vitamins and phytonutrients (things like antioxidants, enzymens, etc). And mix the colors, like if one day you give him a blue fruit (like blackberries -blue and purple are the most nutritious 'colors' in produce), you give him a yellow veggie (yellow zucchini), the next day you do a white fruit (apple) with an orange veggie (butternut squash). There are studies that tell us that combining colors results in a much higher degree of nutrition.

As to his eating better when you give it to him by hand in front of his beak, some birds are like that and require a slower approach to attain a good diet. Isis (female African Red Bellied) was like that but, eventually, she started eating them on her own.

The thing with parrots is that everything takes foooreeeveeer, especially when it comes to switching them to a good diet... I had an African Grey that took five years to try her first blueberry even though she was getting them once a week, saw all the other parrots eating them (parrots are 'monkey see, monkey do' and that's why the best way to get them to eat something new is to eat the same thing you put in his cage in front of them) and all birds love them. So don't get impatient, just keep on insisting and it will happen.

You are doing GREAT and will end up with a fabulous companion, healthy and happy! He was lucky to end up with an owner who worries and is willing to put in the study, work and time into giving him a good life. You would be surprised at the number of people who claim to love their parrots and feed them wrong because it's easier, never even taking the time to research and find out if what they are doing is right or not.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: parrot gone quiet

Postby Daki_Senegal » Tue Feb 01, 2022 3:20 pm

Hello once again Pajarita! I am happy to say that Daki went back to his normal being all active and hungry for everything that we offer. I am quite sure that that is due to the fact that my bf is back and he enjoys spending time with him . As a matter of fact, Daki isn't paying me any attention now that he has his beloved buddy around :lol: :lol: He is trying new tricks, going out of his cage more often and is quite jealous of me whenever I'm approaching my man.. He wants him all by himself I guess :P

I do believe that he enjoys male company more than mine but it is ok as long as he is healthy and happy. Your advice have helped me a lot! I cannot say how grateful I am ! I wish you a pleasant month!

Love,
Evi & Daki :senegal:
Daki_Senegal
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 4
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal Parrot , Cockatiel
Flight: Yes

Re: parrot gone quiet

Postby Pajarita » Wed Feb 02, 2022 10:42 am

Thank you and same to you! And don't worry about his current preference, they sometimes 'hook up' with one person when they first come but, as time goes by, they switch their allegiance to the other. But, even if this doesn't happen, he will become your friend even if you are not his 'chosen one'.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

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