Ask Lafeber

My new parakeet does not want to eat

I just bought a new parakeet from a store yesterday, the store was not that good, cage was not clean, no toys, and some birds seemed to he in poor condition, bit some are pretty healthy. I bought this one out of pity, i named it Lilo. It has been bought for three days and i still havent see any signs of it eating, no open millets or no decrease in food, i also dont observe it eating, my sister said she have saw it drink once while watching from afar. It chirps sometimes, what i think is a call. The droppings are green and cream colored, sometimes i can see it shivers a little bit. What should i do? I dont want my first parakeet to die.

Hi,

It takes time for a new bird to get settled in. It can look like he didn’t eat, but with seeds, he will leave the hull, and empty hulls in the dish can look like he still has food. It’s important to give him fresh seed daily. Eventually, you need to get him on a better diet, as a loose seed mix will not provide the nutrition he needs. But he should settle in a e eating well before you think about converting him to a better diet.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda