I'm worried

[cfulhage]

On the morning of the day I left Manhattan for Beloit (where I grew up), Ollie weighed 431 grams. She had been steadily gaining weight over that past week. On our first day in Beloit, she weighed 413 that morning. She lost 18 grams over night.

She is not sick. She loses weight every time we travel to beloit, but usually we are only here for the weekend. We will be here until Jan. 7 or so, with a side trip around Christmas time to my grandparents house, where she has never been before. I'm sure she will be even more anxious when we are there.

She loves to travel, she actually ate pellets most of the way from Manhattan to Beloit, but since I got her out of the car that day, she has barely eaten anything. She eats about half of her primate biscuit that I give her morning and night (she usually eats the whole thing), she eats flax seed, and pomegranate. That is it.

What can I do? My parents think I'm being too much of a worried momma. Her droppings are normal, although a bit more frequent, probably because of the flax. I guess I need some reassurance. Do your birds lose weight when you travel with them? Obviously it is stressful for her, but I'm worried that her losing weight until January 7th will have me returning to Manhattan with a skeleton bird.

Thanks for listening.

[The Outlaw]

Camille:

Sounds perfectly normal to me. I would suggest, however, that you bring some water from your home with you, in tightly sealed bottles. Sometimes they don't do well with water changes. Or, better still, only give her bottled water that you purchase.

[cfulhage]

Originally Posted by The Outlaw

Camille:

Sounds perfectly normal to me. I would suggest, however, that you bring some water from your home with you, in tightly sealed bottles. Sometimes they don't do well with water changes. Or, better still, only give her bottled water that you purchase.

That actually is probably some of the problem. The first biscuit she had in Beloit she acted like she really wanted, but after her first bite she acted like she was disgusted with it. I thought she was just too anxious to eat, but since I soak the biscuit in water, that was probably why she wouldn't eat it. Silly bird...the water quality here is actually better than in Manhattan! I'll have to buy some bottled water.

If it sounds normal to you, then I'm going to quit worrying so much! Thanks Nancy! Hopefully she will just hover around 415 and wont lose any more weight. I'll just keep an eye on her.

[Freedomoflight]

Since you notice she is passing droppings more frequently on the flax, maybe cut back on that? See if that has anything to do with it?

[cfulhage]

Originally Posted by Freedomoflight

Since you notice she is passing droppings more frequently on the flax, maybe cut back on that? See if that has anything to do with it?

Yeah I planned on doing that...but I'm just concerned that since that is one of the few things she is eating if I quit giving it to her, she'll lose even more weight. I'll cut back on it, and monitor her weight over the next few days and see how it goes. Thanks for the advice.

[The Outlaw]

Also, in regard to flax, it can get rancid really fast.

[Winged_Victory]

If it were me I would add a couple of drops of AVC to her water. You have not idea what is in the new water supply where you are. Bottled water may be best for the first couple of weeks.

Gary

[cfulhage]

We keep our flax seed in the freezer. It's stuff my dad blends up and drinks...nasty!

The water here is safe. We are at the house where I grew up. It's actually much better here than what she is used to in the city! I did get some bottled water, but that must not have been the problem because Ollie refused to even eat one bite of her biscuit tonight. Apparently she is too good for bottled water!

[LissaKokoKiwiKaseySam]

I have yet to see a bird that will turn their beaks up at scrambled eggs. Add a little spinach and you'll get a rear view until it's empty!

[cfulhage]

I hate for Ollie to be the one to prove you wrong...but she doesn't really care for scrambled eggs. She will eat hard boiled, but only about twice a month. She turns up her beak if I offer egg more than that. The only thing I know she will eat without qualms is her pomegranate. And that probably isn't going to get her weight up!