To Mirror or Not to Mirror? The Pellet Reckoning?

[PaperSarah]

Hi there,

I have one budgie named Florian that I am trying to care for as best as I can. He had a boyfriend, Sprout, who was a special needs budgie we got in 2020. Unfortunately Sprout passed away in 2022, so Florian has been a widow since.

He has always had a rather nervous disposition. We struggle to feed him fresh food other than spinach because he seems deathly afraid of it (will panic). He has a large cage he only uses the top half of. He seems stuck in a moulting cycle. I think this is because he is slightly malnourished. We feed him seed with Harrison's dust sprinkled atop it hoping he will get SOME of the nutrients from that. He refuses to eat anything else.

He has a pink, swinging mirror with a bell attached to it. We got this for him when Sprout died, as we can't currently get another budgie. He loves it, obviously. We wanted it to be something to help him with his social needs when we're not home, but he also doesn't seem consistently interested in us. He seems to be doing "content" body language when I come near him and speak softly to him, and even occasionally lands on my head when he does his fly-arounds (this is the other thing--I'd love to have him out of the cage more but he doesn't like to come out! I have left the door open for him for hours and he just sticks with his mirror).

OKAY I think that's most of the context. I'd love to see him better nourished, less nervous, and more social with us (maybe I'm tooting my own horn but I think we'll be more fun than the mirror!) I'm considering the following changes with these goals in mind.

1. Slightly smaller cage (still above the recommended size) in case his house feels like a big empty mansion and is contributing to his anxiety.
2. When he's not in a moult, on the advice of my avian vet, doing a hard switch over to the MUCH more nutrient-dense Harrison's pellets, supplementing with spinach and working in other veg I hope he will eventually find non-scary).
3. Removing the mirror. Maybe weaning him off of it. Probably not at the same time as the food and cage switch, since all of these things together seem like they'll create the opposite of my goal.

Am I on the right track? What am I missing? Aside from the moulting issue, I think he's generally healthy/content and just a little neurotic (like me!) but I'd love to see him flourish. I work from home and I think if I played my cards right we could have a really cool thing going! I love him!

 

[Synth]

Hi there,

I have one budgie named Florian that I am trying to care for as best as I can. He had a boyfriend, Sprout, who was a special needs budgie we got in 2020. Unfortunately Sprout passed away in 2022, so Florian has been a widow since.

He has always had a rather nervous disposition. We struggle to feed him fresh food other than spinach because he seems deathly afraid of it (will panic). He has a large cage he only uses the top half of. He seems stuck in a moulting cycle. I think this is because he is slightly malnourished. We feed him seed with Harrison's dust sprinkled atop it hoping he will get SOME of the nutrients from that. He refuses to eat anything else.

He has a pink, swinging mirror with a bell attached to it. We got this for him when Sprout died, as we can't currently get another budgie. He loves it, obviously. We wanted it to be something to help him with his social needs when we're not home, but he also doesn't seem consistently interested in us. He seems to be doing "content" body language when I come near him and speak softly to him, and even occasionally lands on my head when he does his fly-arounds (this is the other thing--I'd love to have him out of the cage more but he doesn't like to come out! I have left the door open for him for hours and he just sticks with his mirror).

OKAY I think that's most of the context. I'd love to see him better nourished, less nervous, and more social with us (maybe I'm tooting my own horn but I think we'll be more fun than the mirror!) I'm considering the following changes with these goals in mind.

1. Slightly smaller cage (still above the recommended size) in case his house feels like a big empty mansion and is contributing to his anxiety.
2. When he's not in a moult, on the advice of my avian vet, doing a hard switch over to the MUCH more nutrient-dense Harrison's pellets, supplementing with spinach and working in other veg I hope he will eventually find non-scary).
3. Removing the mirror. Maybe weaning him off of it. Probably not at the same time as the food and cage switch, since all of these things together seem like they'll create the opposite of my goal.

Am I on the right track? What am I missing? Aside from the moulting issue, I think he's generally healthy/content and just a little neurotic (like me!) but I'd love to see him flourish. I work from home and I think if I played my cards right we could have a really cool thing going! I love him!

I won’t comment on the other 2 ideas. But I would seriously caution against a “hard switch” onto pellets. Budgies have been known to starve themselves if they don’t recognize something as food. Diet conversion can take a really long time. We don’t want to see you lose your beloved friend due to something like that.

 

[PaperSarah]

I won’t comment on the other 2 ideas. But I would seriously caution against a “hard switch” onto pellets. Budgies have been known to starve themselves if they don’t recognize something as food. Diet conversion can take a really long time. We don’t want to see you lose your beloved friend due to something like that.

Understood. I would choose feeding him only seed for the rest of his life over contributing to him starving himself. I wouldn't let it get to that point, don't worry.

 

[Mizzely]

Why does it have to be Harrison's? I find this pellet to be harder than others to transition to, honestly! I've had better luck with Roudybush with my Bourke's, and Zupreem with all my other birds. My Linnie does eats Harrison's but he came that way

A smaller cage doesn't equate less stress to me honestly! I would instead cover the back and a side or two with a cloth or even cardboard to allow the feeling of security without sacrificing space.

As for the mirror, I probably would wean him off of it...or even just moving it outside the cage so he has to come out to be with it? Maybe you should wear it as a necklace?

 

[PaperSarah]

Good point! I suppose it doesn't have to be. Thanks for the brand names, perhaps I'll set him up a little buffet and see which he takes to.

Currently the cage is about the size I've seen recommended for like 2/3+ budgies or a bigger bird. I do cover the sides and top. I'll deprioritize the cage downsizing and focus on food/bell though, I think you're right.

One vote for weaning him off the mirror, copy that! Yes, hanging it somewhere outside but nearby the cage seems like a cool idea. And a necklace, even cooler! Thank you!

 

[Mizzely]

Yeah there's so many options for pellets! Off the top of my head:

Zupreem
Lafeber
Harrison's
Roudybush
Caitec
Hagen
Higgins
TOPs

I like Harrison's but it's an expensive pellet to be tossing all the time!

You could try Nutriberries. They are seed and pellet balls.

 

[Emma&pico]

Avicakes are brilliant too

could you post a picture of your setup we might be able to help think of ideas to make it more less open etc

 

[LiveLolBrd]

I would wean him off the mirror. Try not to feed to much spinach as I have heard it can be bad in large-ish quaintness and so it isn't the best food to try to feed. My bird started eating fresh food when I gave the carrots! In teeny tiny cubes. I f you can just add more toys (shreddable and foraging) and perches there is no need to move to a smaller cage. Just make it so its not empty! Have you tried chop? It is small and hard to be scared of lol. They also can't pick out anything the don't like as much as say, spinach.
Don'd do a HARD switch to pellets instead remove seeds in morning and add pellets. In afternoon put seeds back in. If you try to feed pellets or veg when seeds are in cage you are probably never gonna switch him to anything healthier. The are hungry in morning the most.
My birds eat zupreem and love it. I got a pet store bird who never ate veg or pellets and the day he came home he never ate or seemed to need seeds again! I used carrots and zupreem pellets. Then added a bit of this and a bit of that into his food bowl until he was eating everything! Also try grains like brown rice or quinoa. Also my birds love oats. I cook the first two and feed oats raw. They love it!