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Post by reily on Jun 27, 2016 17:53:17 GMT -5
Hi guys, I'm kind of worried. I have a five year old Quaker named Jiji. She's been fed an all seed diet her whole life, and it shows as her plumage does have some discolorations. I've been trying to get her on pellets, and failing fantastically. Recently, I asked the vet what I should try, and he gave me a regimen to follow. Now Jiji is a very stubborn but clever bird. The regimen had been working at first, until she realized, "I CAN EAT MY POOP INSTEAD TAKE THAT, MOM" and so the whole thing got ruined. I have to clean her cage out thoroughly and get rid of all traces of poop before restarting the regimen. So in the meantime, I gave her back the seeds she likes to eat so she can gain the weight she'd lost during the transition back. Unfortunately, I severely misjudged how hungry she was, because normally she's such a good eater and never gorges herself. I gave her a bit of seeds this morning, and when I checked on her a couple of hours later, her crop is... Well, it's very full and very firm. It's not bulging. And it hasn't seemed to decrease in size, which is worrying me. She lets me handle her, and I press the crop and she's not bothered till I get a bit more investigative. There is some give, but it's very firm, and I don't really feel seeds or anything. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, she's actually happier and a lot less crabby than she's been during the attempted transition. But I'm still worried, it's been several hours and it hasn't seemed to have gone down any, and I'm worried I might have accidentally set her on the way to sour crop. I can't seem to take a picture of her without her fluffing, she's very happy right now, but if it helps any I'll put it up anyways:  If anyone has any advice or suggestions, please let me know! I'm really worried. |
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Post by biteybird on Jun 27, 2016 18:16:44 GMT -5
Hi Reily, I have no experience with crop issues... but some of the other members do and I'm sure they'll reply when they see this post.
Meanwhile, can you get Jiji to a vet?
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Post by reily on Jun 27, 2016 18:21:17 GMT -5
Unfortunately, getting her to a vet right now is impossible. The office has closed, and the emergency services don't handle avian or exotics, as I found out when Jiji somehow got a hole in her wing a few years ago. The earliest I could get her to a vet is Wednesday since I don't have the means to drive myself, either. ):
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Post by easttex on Jun 27, 2016 18:36:09 GMT -5
I've had some minor crop problems with chickens, but not parrots. How long has it been full? She may have just gorged herself and then didn't take in sufficient water. You can try adding a little apple cider vinegar to her water, to help head off any infection problems, and you can also massage her crop. If it just happened today, I wouldn't panic about it. It should empty overnight. If it doesn't, she should see a vet. If you can't get to one, maybe you can get some help by phone. Good luck and let us know how things go with her!
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Post by reily on Jun 27, 2016 18:57:49 GMT -5
Thanks! I believe it happened today, because she went after the food like crazy this morning and now displays a general disinterest in any food. I've actually been massaging her crop on and off for a bit - she seems to like it, so I'll continue that. I'm gonna offer her a lot more water too.
Hopefully it won't have to come down to the vet... Not sure I can afford treatment costs if it gets really serious. But I'll definitely keep posted. Again, thanks!
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Post by biteybird on Jun 27, 2016 19:04:07 GMT -5
Hope the massaging works for her, along with the water. A couple of members here swear by the apple cider vinegar, too...I've been meaning to get some for our quaker, Bonnie. Hope Jiji comes good soon. It sounds like she has a great 'parront' in you.  |
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Post by reily on Jun 27, 2016 20:38:01 GMT -5
Thanks. I've been looking through my cabinets to see if we have apple cider vinegar, and I found apple cider vinegar "pepper perfect?" I've looked at the ingredients and it doesn't say peppers are in there at all, just supplies a pepper jelly recipe, but is it still okay to use?  |
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Post by beccilouise on Jun 28, 2016 2:26:37 GMT -5
If the ingredients are the same as regular Apple cider vinegar it should be ok, but other members may say otherwise and personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry. In terms of diet, have you tried lafebers nutriberries? They're made of hulled seeds and vegetable matter with bits of dried fruit in, and are good fun cos the parrots can tear them to pieces! Every parrot I've come across in the last year has absolutely loved them and they're also very healthy, worth a try? I'm sorry you're having so many problems and hope your birdie is a bit better this morning. All the best.
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Post by reily on Jun 28, 2016 6:11:42 GMT -5
Good news, I checked Jiji just now and her crop is doing so much better! It's not empty, but it's lost all firmness it had and lessened in volume. I gave her a little bit more food and then took it away upon seeing a near full crop, and she drank her water. I think she's going to be just fine. She's a little upset with me, at the moment; I got so worried about her last night I checked her every few hours and kept waking her up to check her crop - so now she doesn't like me touching too much, but she's doing so much better! I'm still gonna keep a watchful eye on her, just in case, but o think she's good!
Also, this is gonna sound really crazy but... Jiji doesn't like nutriberries! I heard how all these birds loved them a couple of years ago and have tried to introduce them to her, but she wants none of them! I dont know what it is about them, but she sees them and immediately tosses them out the bowl where they fall to floor to remain untouched.
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Post by biteybird on Jun 28, 2016 6:15:17 GMT -5
I'm really glad that Jiji seems to be doing better. Please continue to keep us posted, if you have time. By the way, that's a great photo - she's gorgeous! |
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Post by julianna on Jun 28, 2016 15:04:49 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about the crop problem. I am wondering if she eats anything other foods?? romaine lettuce.. peas... little pasta? I know when I had to get Oscar off of his seeds and onto more pellets... I pretended to eat them out of my hand.. and made all the yummy noises. Anything I am eating.. he wants. Now he loves the pellets and will bring them to me to hold... lol.
Hope things are going better for you. Love the picture.
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Post by beccilouise on Jun 29, 2016 1:21:24 GMT -5
Oh no! Your birdie really is an odd one! Glad the crop situation is improving. It may be a case, then, of trying it julianna's way. Lots and lots of persuasion. It may take you weeks, maybe months to get him to eat healthily, but it will be worth it for him and you in the long run. It doesn't mean you have to cut seeds from the diet, maybe just lessen the amount, mix them with other food until he gets used to seeing the other food and then trying the mad bird person charade that we all do to try and get our little rascals to do what we want! There are lots of great articles about weaning parrots of a seed diet in parrots magazine, you can order back issues at www.parrotsmag.co.uk (I think, I'll double check that for you) |
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Post by reily on Jun 29, 2016 1:27:05 GMT -5
More good news: her crop completely emptied by the time I got home today, so I gave her a little bit of her seeds, some corn, and banana. I don't want to leave her alone with food for a little bit until I'm sure she's feeling like she's not desperate. She eats plenty of other foods, she likes corn, mashed potatoes, rice, quinoa, sometimes peas, loves pasta, looooooves banana. Given how much she really doesn't want those pellets tho, I've been thinking I just might have to give her more veggies than usual to compensate. She's incredibly stubborn, I've even tried the pretend to eat pellets method, she just doesn't go for it. It also might be that I'm not entirely consistent on pretending to eat them, I probably have to do it everyday - which I'll admit I haven't done. When she seems to be good on eating again, I might try the regimen the vet gave again, making extra sure that there's no poop she can scrape off of the corners of her cage or anything. I'll scrub it down every day if I have to! And I'll make those pellets seem like the most delicious things in the world too! Again, thank you everyone. |
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Post by easttex on Jun 29, 2016 5:39:00 GMT -5
What a relief for you! Have you you tried soaking the pellets in water or unsweetened fruit juice? The size of the pellet combined with the hardness may be putting her off. It can take perseverance to get them to switch, but it would be best for her long term health. The longer she stays on seeds, the harder it will be to convert. Pelleted diets have really improved parrot health overall, and some ailments are not as common as they used to be since they became widely used. The challenge with other diets is ensuring they get the proper vitamins and minerals in the right proportion. One important one is the ratio of calcium to phosphorus. Not that it can't be done, but having pellets as the diet base makes it a lot easier. Food for thought. |
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