- Joined
- 1/22/12
- Messages
- 233
Hey everyone,
I brought home a cockatiel from a rescue a couple days ago. Sorry if these questions are obvious - I have had a cockatiel previously, but it's been a long time since I've had a 'new' bird. I already have an appointment set for an avian vet in 10 days. Looking for ideas of what I can do (if anything) before then.
The owner at the rescue mentioned she was treated with Baytril due to polyuria for a few weeks. Then, the rescue owner suspected pellets were the cause so the bird was put on seed/millet.
When getting her home, her poop was watery, which could definitely be stress, but she didn't seem too interested in her seed besides millet. So, I put in some fresh pellets and she has shown more interest in those. I'm not sure how much she is eating or drinking on her own. I don't see many crumbs/hulls when I check in on her. She already wants nothing more than to hang out - if I sit down in the room she will nibble on her food for a few seconds but then immediately start dancing around to say she wants to be let out. If I open the door, she jumps down and comes over to me. Seems like she would rather sit next to me than eat or drink. If I put her back in her cage (door open) she will drink 3-4 big gulps of water and eat a tiny bit before jumping down to come over. That's another adjustment for me - my previous cockatiel was flighted so she could easily go back and forth to her cage if she was hungry or thirsty. This new tiel was clipped by the rescue.
She eats almost anything heartily if I am holding it or the bowl, so I think her appetite is good.
My theories:
1) The baytril treatment upset her digestive system
2) Even if she is tame, she is stressed out from the new environment, which is much quieter than the rescue
3) She isn't eating enough solid food
4) A combo of the above
Any theories would be appreciated.
I brought home a cockatiel from a rescue a couple days ago. Sorry if these questions are obvious - I have had a cockatiel previously, but it's been a long time since I've had a 'new' bird. I already have an appointment set for an avian vet in 10 days. Looking for ideas of what I can do (if anything) before then.
The owner at the rescue mentioned she was treated with Baytril due to polyuria for a few weeks. Then, the rescue owner suspected pellets were the cause so the bird was put on seed/millet.
When getting her home, her poop was watery, which could definitely be stress, but she didn't seem too interested in her seed besides millet. So, I put in some fresh pellets and she has shown more interest in those. I'm not sure how much she is eating or drinking on her own. I don't see many crumbs/hulls when I check in on her. She already wants nothing more than to hang out - if I sit down in the room she will nibble on her food for a few seconds but then immediately start dancing around to say she wants to be let out. If I open the door, she jumps down and comes over to me. Seems like she would rather sit next to me than eat or drink. If I put her back in her cage (door open) she will drink 3-4 big gulps of water and eat a tiny bit before jumping down to come over. That's another adjustment for me - my previous cockatiel was flighted so she could easily go back and forth to her cage if she was hungry or thirsty. This new tiel was clipped by the rescue.
She eats almost anything heartily if I am holding it or the bowl, so I think her appetite is good.
My theories:
1) The baytril treatment upset her digestive system
2) Even if she is tame, she is stressed out from the new environment, which is much quieter than the rescue
3) She isn't eating enough solid food
4) A combo of the above
Any theories would be appreciated.