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Avicakes

Posted by Max on 5/16/2025, 7:28 pm

I'm now having trouble getting Max to eat anything but avicakes. I don't know what to do.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Seesthru, TC advisor on 5/17/2025, 12:14 am, in reply to "Avicakes"

Avicakes are nutritionally complete. They are 50/50 pellets and seeds. It's not a bad thing if that is all he wants to eat.

He doesn't want millet sprays even? Most birds like them. I hav ea quaker that doesn't, though.

Keep offering the foods you want him to have, but try not to worry. He seems to like the avicakes, and the info I have on them is that they can be used as a complete food, they have the nutrition he needs.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by DIANE on 5/17/2025, 6:35 am, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

Not even millet. Every time I think I'm getting somewhere with him it reverses again. He's really not a people's bird.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Seesthru, TC advisor on 5/17/2025, 12:31 pm, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

Mr Tweets isn't a people bird either. I mean, he sings, and if I lay down, he will groom my eyebrows. But no hands. At all. He sang to my foot. But absolutely no hands allowed.

You're doing what you can, and even if he doesn't get tame, I know he's comforted by having you to care for him and love him. Keep putting a little millet, and things he used to eat in there, just in case.

How old is Max? I can't remember ages.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Diane on 5/17/2025, 8:49 pm, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

Max will be 15 Memorial Day. He's a baby. He was always always on the aggressive side since I got him. Not only to me but to other birds also.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Seesthru, TC advisor on 5/17/2025, 9:22 pm, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

I don't think it's age-related. He's probably still grieving. He's going to act differently in so many ways as he copes with the changes in his life. This is probably one of those things.

Keep offering him the foods he used to eat. Just in case he some day changes his mind and wants them again. Keep an eye on him, make sure he's not sick.

Other than that, just love him no matter what. It's all we can do in these situations.

Mirrors aren't generally a great idea for tiels, especially younger ones ... but for an older tiel who isn't tame, and is lonely it's not necessarily a bad idea, either. I'm thinking of trying this for Tweets.

If you do this, you have to make sure he's still eating, that he likes the mirror, but isnt' too obsessed. Tweets sings to Solomon who is in another cage and has a mate, and it bothers Solomon, who is 30 plus years old, blind, and doesn't know what the heck is going on with this bird screeching and singing at him on the other side of the cage. So I may try a mirror. Tweets isn't tame. He lived without bird companionship for many years, until I got him. His pal at a former home passed, and he ws lonely, so eventually he ended up here and after quarantine, he and Riley instantly bonded.

I'm like you, Tweets isn't tame. He's older, over 20. He hangs out near me, sings to my feet and shoes, but will not allow me to try to pet him. I can tell he gets lonely. I haven't noticed a diet change, but he and Riley did stop eating the healthy bread about 6 months ago. I was never sure why. I think they just got tired of it.

Have a radio or the TV playing for him, especially if you have to go out for work, or something. And you might want to try the mirror, but if he gets upset or starts any obsessive behaviors, you can remove it. I thought at least for Tweets, I'd put it in to see if it helps. Still thinking about it.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Diane on 5/19/2025, 4:30 am, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

I feel so bad. I try to stay with him as much as possible. He does go back in his cage mid day and I run out of the house. Itry to hand feed him at least once a day and sometimes he eats and sometimes he doesn't, I'm trying to get him used to the tv. He doesn't seem to like noise. He does brighten up when he hears birds from the outside. I gave him rice the other day and he finally started eating it. Oh well. I just wish he wasn't so scared and could understand.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Seesthru, TC advisor on 5/19/2025, 7:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

I think in time, he will get used to how things are now. It's agonizing watching them, wishing you could help them understand and feel better. But I know, he will learn the new routine, noises, etc...

My birds freak out at bird noises outside, or on the tv or in videos. Not in a good way. If Max likes bird sounds, maybe find some youtue videos for him to watch while you're out and about. Test it out first while you're with him, make sure he likes them.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Diane on 5/20/2025, 4:54 pm, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

That's a good idea. This year I started hearing a hissing sound and I'm trying to figure out if I have tektites or it's something else. I put on the tape on my I phone and just started taping. He was tweeting in the background. I played it back to see if the sound was real and his tweets were in the background and he started talking back to it.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Seesthru, TC advisor on 5/21/2025, 1:15 am, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

Aww, that's adorable! Was the hissing sound real? Put yoru ear to the walls to see if it's inside the walls. Then check where you rwater heater is, make sure it's not a pipe leaking. It could be duct work, or coolant leaking. If you have gas appliances, make sure it's not a gas leak.

I don't want to scare you or anything, but I"m like you, if I hear a sound, I'm going to record and investigate. If you can't find it, see if maintenance can come out to do a safety, coolant and plumbing check.

I wonder if you did a collection of his tweeting if you could upload it to youtube or somethng, do a bunch of them and play them as a playlist for him? Might be easier to just find playlists of tiels singing or any wild birds or budgies. I wish my birds liked bird sound recordings.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Diane on 5/21/2025, 6:39 pm, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

I'm in constant panic in this apartment. For over 20 years I never had any maintenance problems. Here they don't want to fix anything. I think that sometimes the sound is real. The man down the hall said his apartment was hissing like crazy but he found the leak under his sink. Maintenance won't check for anything. I can't afford to move. My job is ending in September so I can't put in for low income housing until then and then the wait begins. I didn't think about putting my ears to the wall. I'll do that to.

I will do a collection of his tweeting. That's a good idea.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Cathy on 5/21/2025, 3:10 pm, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

What is a Tektite?

Cathy

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Diane on 5/21/2025, 6:49 pm, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

That was a typo. I think it's called tetinitis. It's when you (usually older people) hear a hissing sound that's not real. It's not a real noise, It happens sometimes when the older person is losing his hearing it's like a replacement sound. It can come and go at random.

The maintenance and property management is horrible. They won't fix anything. I don't hear it now. I think something was wrong with the heat and now that the heat's off for the season the noise is gone.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Diane on 5/22/2025, 2:19 am, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

When I say I don't hear it now I mean it's not so loud now. How should I say this without sounding crazy. I think the sound is real but then I can't get it out of my head. Either way it's doctor material. Another aging problem.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Cathy on 5/22/2025, 12:17 pm, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

LOL, I thought that you had tektite and it was hissing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tektite

Cathy

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Diane on 5/22/2025, 7:09 pm, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

That's funny. My spelling is terrible.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Cindy AZ on 5/17/2025, 10:06 pm, in reply to "Avicakes"

When Cookie became an only-bird, he quit eating the wide variety of veggies he used to. About the only one he still liked was baby broccoli. Not any other kind of broccoli even. But recently he started to eat them again. Now he will chew on all sorts of greens. Radish tops too. He loves cooked potato. Still can’t get him to eat any variety of peas but maybe that will come back, too. He had even stopped eating his pumpkin bird bread as well, but now he’s back at it. Maybe Max will return to it all, too. Just keep offering it.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Diane on 5/19/2025, 4:31 am, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

I hope so. I just wished they could understand.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Gina on 5/22/2025, 6:25 am, in reply to "Avicakes"

I never could get Bailey to eat them. Over his lifetime, I tried several times since I knew they are nutritious and NOTHING, NO GO from him.

Re: Avicakes

Posted by Diane on 5/22/2025, 7:12 pm, in reply to "Re: Avicakes"

They have tropical fruit flavor ones now. He's still suppose to have other things. Avicakes are not meant to be the whole diet.

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