cockatiel being sick *urgent*

Part_Mouse

Can anyone help? my female cockateil started shaking her head and spat out lots of whole seeds, she did it for awhile so i think she was sick. shes not showing any other symptoms. She did eat a fair bit of treat and maybe she ate to much? She's a resuce so is always eating a fair bit.Has anyone had this before?

antw23uk

How is she throwing up? Whats she doing at the time, where is she, whats she looking at etc? We need much more information.

She could just be regurgitating food to a toy, to you .. trying to feed as she would a chick.


Have you seen her drinking recently? Does she have access to soft fruits/ veg and salad as well as her seed diet?

Part_Mouse

antw23uk wrote: »

How is she throwing up? Whats she doing at the time, where is she, whats she looking at etc? We need much more information.

She could just be regurgitating food to a toy, to you .. trying to feed as she would a chick.


Have you seen her drinking recently? Does she have access to soft fruits/ veg and salad as well as her seed diet?

She won't eat any frsh fruit/veg, being a resuce I don't think she had them before. My oh called me in as she was acting weird, she was sitting on the budgies cage shaking her head and then started throwing up whole seeds.My oh moved her to ontop of her cage to move her out of the way of the budgie. Iv'e not seen her drink reciently but im sure he has, been a very busy day so not noticed.

antw23uk

Sounds like she was regurging food like she would to feed her chicks ... it can also be part of the mating ritual so nothing to worry about. What colour is she? Any pics you can upload?

What sex is the budgie?

There is a nifty trick to get them to eat fresh food ..... its called tough love

Part_Mouse

antw23uk wrote: »

Sounds like she was regurging food like she would to feed her chicks ... it can also be part of the mating ritual so nothing to worry about. What colour is she? Any pics you can upload?

What sex is the budgie?

There is a nifty trick to get them to eat fresh food ..... its called tough love

Have you had any cockatiels?

My budgie is a boy and she ate lots of his treat, he doesn't eat them so she went in his house and ate his. shes a dark grey with muted checks. She laid lots of eggs so i know shes a girl. she had an implant to stop her laying eggs as she laid approx 20 eggs very close together and wouldn't stop.shes doing the mating dance again though.

When I got her she came with grated carrot so i thought hmm she must like it but no she won't eat it.

antw23uk

Yeah i've lots of experience with birds, especially parrots and parakeets like cockatiels. I only asked about her discription just in case you where told it was male, didnt have the experience and actually it was female .... but clearly the egg laying is a good sign she is a she :rotfl:
The thing about caged/ pet birds is they generally dont know how to act properly which is why they become friendly and bond with people, they see us as 'mates' just as she and your budgie are seeing each other. I would keep an eye on his behaviour as well .. budgeies are randy little things and attention is attention no matter how its dressed up, lol .... pretty much like your female cockatiel!
Both your birds should be offered a good selection of fruit and veg everyday. I understand how frustrating it is to then throw it away the next morning but sadly offering the foods you want them to eat and remove the food thats not as good for them (tough love!) then they will eventually try the foods offered.

Part_Mouse

antw23uk wrote: »

Yeah i've lots of experience with birds, especially parrots and parakeets like cockatiels. I only asked about her discription just in case you where told it was male, didnt have the experience and actually it was female .... but clearly the egg laying is a good sign she is a she :rotfl:
The thing about caged/ pet birds is they generally dont know how to act properly which is why they become friendly and bond with people, they see us as 'mates' just as she and your budgie are seeing each other. I would keep an eye on his behaviour as well .. budgeies are randy little things and attention is attention no matter how its dressed up, lol .... pretty much like your female cockatiel!
Both your birds should be offered a good selection of fruit and veg everyday. I understand how frustrating it is to then throw it away the next morning but sadly offering the foods you want them to eat and remove the food thats not as good for them (tough love!) then they will eventually try the foods offered.

:rotfl: shes deffo a girl and a very randy one at that. My budgie is a randy budgie, so sweet but very much the man of the house. He always trys to jump on her back She loved my last budgie, he couldnt fly but when he pasted she missed him so much,

the only other food she likes is egg and shredded wheat. She did eat a piece of mango.

Birds are such great pets arn't they.

antw23uk

Yes they really are :beer:
Keep trying with the foods you want them to eat. Back off with the seed mix .. make them a bit hungry so they have to eat the other food, well fed pets (regardless of how bad the food is) will not starve to death within a few days so dont be afraid to 'force' them to eat the good stuff We know they will like it ..... sometimes they need more encouragment

Part_Mouse

antw23uk wrote: »

Yes they really are :beer:
Keep trying with the foods you want them to eat. Back off with the seed mix .. make them a bit hungry so they have to eat the other food, well fed pets (regardless of how bad the food is) will not starve to death within a few days so dont be afraid to 'force' them to eat the good stuff We know they will like it ..... sometimes they need more encouragment

Will keep trying with them both Iv'e not had a bird though that will eat fruit/veg.Such fussy eaters

antw23uk

The last bird i owned was a Senegal Parrot, she was beautiful. She had a wonderful Welsh 'hello' but apart from that her history was pretty much unknown. She would only eat a parrot seed mix, mainly sunflower seeds so when i got her i enriched her parrot mix with lots of seeds and dried fruits. I also reduced her seed mix and offered fruit, veg and salad everyday and also twice a week she would have orange or apple juice instead of water. I guess it took about a year before she really ate healthy. Her seed mix by that time was down to a teaspoon every day and her favourite veg was peas ... she loved them, lol

Part_Mouse

antw23uk wrote: »

The last bird i owned was a Senegal Parrot, she was beautiful. She had a wonderful Welsh 'hello' but apart from that her history was pretty much unknown. She would only eat a parrot seed mix, mainly sunflower seeds so when i got her i enriched her parrot mix with lots of seeds and dried fruits. I also reduced her seed mix and offered fruit, veg and salad everyday and also twice a week she would have orange or apple juice instead of water. I guess it took about a year before she really ate healthy. Her seed mix by that time was down to a teaspoon every day and her favourite veg was peas ... she loved them, lol

Aww how sweet I would love a proper parrot but the noise coming from these to gets a bit much at times.

Need to try and get them to get frui and veg. Just noticed your in west london to.