# Not eating, no noise.. no nothing.



## Damo (Jul 14, 2010)

I got a cockatiel 2 days ago, when I picked her out, she was quite noisy, and active in the cage.. now at my place, in a new cage nothing.. She doesn't appear to be eating, doesn't move around the cage, and makes basically no noise.. I stuck a bit of apple in between the bars at the end of the perch that she's been sitting on, but she wont even go near it.. 

I realise that it takes time for them to settle into a new home.. but I would have thought she would have at least been moving around the cage, or even eating.. not just sitting there. Any advice?

btw.. I've attached a photo of Tiki in her cage..


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## Cassie (Jan 7, 2009)

Hi Damo. I would take him to a vet straight away. You've described exactly what happened to me recently. At the pet shop Jackson was very active and whistling a lot and when I got him home he did exactly as you've described. I didn't see him eat and he was very lethargic. I took him to the vet and he tested positive for psittacosis. If you go to the 'Cockatiel Articles' page under 'Talk Cockatiel Forums' there's a really good article about it. If that's what he's got it can be easily treated with a series of injections. Jack is really good now and acts like a normal, healthy tiel. From what I understand they can be carriers of this illness but it doesn't cause them any trouble until they've been put under stress... for example, going to a new home. It sounds like that's what it could be. Good luck and let us know how you get on.


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## Duckie (Feb 13, 2008)

Hopefully it is nothing serious. 

When I first brought M&M home, they were very quiet, didn't move much and didn't eat for about 3-4 days. Memphis really freaked me out, because it took him longer to get comfortable. Also, when I brought Emma home, she was the exact same way, but it only took her 2 days to start eating.


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## spike09 (Dec 31, 2009)

Our cockatiel, Spike, did the same thing. I was so scared but it turned out OK. She didn't move for 3 days, and I didn't see her eating or drinking water, or sleeping for that matter. I did move the food and water closer to the highest perch she was hanging out on. I hoped she would at least sneak a drink when no one was around.

We tried to just leave her alone and my daughter would sit quietly by her cage and talk to her which I think helped.

I hope it's nothing and he adjusts soon.


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## Damo (Jul 14, 2010)

Yeah thanks for the advice.. I had done a little reading before checking back here to read the replies, and other people on the net had commented that it was fairly common for them to be quiet, and not eat for the first 3-4 days.. so here's hoping. 

I went for a drive this morning, found some long grass and brought it back for her.. she had a bit of a chew on it then I got an idea.. I split the stem on the grass, and wedged a seed into it, and put it back in the cage.. surely enough she ate the seed (we went through this a few times) but she still hasn't touched any other food.


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## missm (Jun 14, 2010)

Firstly, the behaviour you described is normal for a new teil when they go into a different environment.
Fabio was just like that, didn’t eat for 4 days, barely moved and didn't make noise for another 2 weeks! He was a very healthy young boy thou, checked out at the vet just fine. 
Almaryse acted the same way when I bought her home, except she was constantly eating, so I wasn't worried, but I took her for her new bird check up and she tested positive for psittacosis. She had lost a lot of weight by the time the test results came back and we got her into the vet (2 days!) and the vet said had I left it another week to get checked she may not have made it. 

Bottom line, ALL new birds should go the avian vet as soon as possible for a general check and all the vital blood work, because the behaviour you are describing can be for a healthy AND an unhealthy bird.
Good luck.


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## Cassie (Jan 7, 2009)

Sorry... I should have said that new birds can take a while to settle in. I just know if I didn't take Jack to the vet when I did he wouldn't have made it. He had lost so much weight and I'm trying to fatten him up still. It would be a good idea to get her tested straight away just to be safe. Especially if she's not eating. They can lose weight and starve themselves so quickly. If she is negative that will put your mind at ease, but if not you can have her treated and get her healthy again.


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## clawnz (May 28, 2009)

I would not panic just yet!
Check to see if she is going to toilet. And what it is like.
If she is poohing, she must be eating something.
Some vets will do a gram stain from just taking in a pooh sample.
But if you can afford it. I feel it is always best to get them checked out and details logged for future reference.
Yes it is common from what I know for Tiels to not move around much while they take in their new home and owner.
Remember it must be a total mind blowing experience they have to go through.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Birds in a new home are frequently too scared to eat for three days, but there are things you can to do encourage her. Hang up some millet spray for her to nibble on. As you've already discovered, food that's hanging up is easier for a scared bird to eat than food that's in a bowl. The reason is that the bird can watch out for danger at the same time it's nibbling on hanging food. They have to let their guard down for a moment to stick their head into a food cup, and the cup itself is unfamiliar. That's just too much for some birds, but eventually she'll relax enough to eat from the bowl. Put lots of sunflower seeds in the bowl to make it tempting!


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## Damo (Jul 14, 2010)

well I came home at lunchtime today to discover Tiki sitting on the bottom perch having a good feed.. once she stopped I thought I'd freshen up the food that was in there for her (I've got a cage that I dont have to open to take the food dishes out) but as soon as I touched it she hissed lol... I guess the food is fine for the moment then!


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## Siobhan (Mar 21, 2010)

Freddie's a PIG about food, and he was eating from the moment I brought him home and put him in his cage, but it took him a few days to figure out the food cup. Luckily, I'd done my research and knew they're ground feeders in the wild, and I scattered some of his food onto the paper on the floor of his cage. He ate that first, and when he realized the food on the floor and the food in the cup was the same food, he dived right in. You might try scattering some food on the cage floor for yours. Put newspaper on top of the grate instead of under it -- I always do, because the grate gets poopy if I don't -- and put some regular food and a millet spray on it, and I'll bet she'll eat it.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Is she being offerred the same food that she was used to priot to her going to your home? Sometimes with a change of food or diet can put a bird off from eating too. If her food is seed you can blow on the blow and see if seed hulls fly out from the bowl. It's not a good practice to just top off the bowl. If the seed/food gets wet or poped in it could have bacteria or fungi growing and topping off the seed can contaminate new food. it is best to change out and give fresh food daily. On an average a tiel will eat 1 to 1.5 ounces of seed and/or pellets a day.


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