# PLEASE HELP Brian



## Lucie (Apr 20, 2016)

Hello Everyone, im Lucie and im new here and i was wondering if anyone could give me some advice or help. 

My Budgie Brian will be turning 3 this year and he is a very happy budgie. I bought him from a pet shop and he was not hand tamed. Now he is friendly but still prefers playing in his cage. He does not eat any fruits and veggies despite trying for almost a year and he will only eat 1 specific brand of food. Its a complete gourmet diet with berries for budgies from Vitakraft. 

Now the problem. Recently the company decided to 'improve' their food formula and he wont touch his food! It has been 3 days since his stubborn protest. He wants the food but refuses to try it! He keeps going to his seed bowls but the minutes he smells it, he flies away offended! But he still drinks water normally. No mood or behavior changes, still talkative and playful.

On the 3rd day i was very worried as he became lethargic and slept most of the time and his poo was watery and white, so i decided to cave in and try and give him a small spray millet and he ate it immediately! And after that he starded playing and singing again. FYI he is not sick and the seeds are prefectly fine,fresh and brand new. 

Now my question is, if you can please help me is;

1) Any tips on how can i get him to eat his food? I have tried putting his food in other different holders and colorful cups, offering around 4 cups around his cage, i even tried to put the spray millet around his food bowl, still nothing. ( i have went out and bought 5 other brands in desparation and he refuses them all! )

2) Shall i stop giving him the spray millet and let him starve again in hopes he will try the food? Cause i feel as long as there is spray millet in his cage, he wont try his other food. But on the other hand i feel at least he is eating the millet instead of starving. I dont know what to do. 

3) Will a budgie starve himself to death? Or will he eventually give in and try his food?

I am so stressed out and worried as i love this little guy to bits! But i have never met someone so sensitive and stubborn in my life! Please help, any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated! Because watching his protest to his food is killing me! Thank you so much.


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UPDATE:

Hi Guys, i wish this was a positive update, but after 1 week, Brian is still not touching / eating any seeds and pallets (which he been use to eating for 3 years now). He still ONLY WANTS SPRAY MILLET. 

I have tried removing the millet, he literally starves himself (3days) till I give in.
I have crumpled the millet onto his seeds at a ratio of 60/40 in favour to millet, he still wont bother.
I have tried ALL the tip you wonderful caring members have provide, still nothing. 
I have been reading and researching on tips online, nothing seems to work.

I really dont know wants going on with him. He is so stuborn. Im really so fed up and stressed. Im like giving up trying. Seems like he is just going to survive and live a shortened lifespan due to just wanting millet! 

I just want to thank all of you who tried to help me. I really appreciate it from my heart. Thank you so much.

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LATEST UPDATE 

Dear members, im so happy to say after 10 long stressful day! Brian finally started eating!
It has really been tough for me but im glad his little protest is over with.

What i did was i rubbed all the millet of the millet spray and mixed it in his food, while placing a 1inch sized millet on his food bowl. And i kept tryimg to eat all our meals, plus my other pets meals in front of him. Then after the 3rd day of doing this, he finally started eating at his other food. Thank god. Now im slowly removing the millet all together.

Really thank you to all the members who contributed and cared for us. God bless your sweethearts. We are truly thankful <3 hope none of you ever face such problems.


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## lindav (Jan 28, 2016)

Reading your post was sad --- I don't think he wouldn't starve to death. Budgies are stubborn regarding their food. Keep trying with fresh veggies and giving millet is a good idea. 
Have you tried LaFaber's Nutriberries??? My budgie loves them as a treat. It has pellets and seeds mixed. Sometimes other animals in the house can cause undo stress. Don't have any sage advice, but my best to you.


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## Lucie (Apr 20, 2016)

Thanks Lindav for your reply..

Yes i have tried that brand too among many others, but Brian does not want them. Imagine how frustrating that is to me! Lol

And regarding other pets in the house, we have 1 cat and 3 dogs, believe it or not my budgie loves them lol, he loves playing with them! 

I really do hope he starts eating his seeds soon though 😔


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## Niamhf (Dec 17, 2013)

Hi and welcome to TB 

I'm sorry you are having such difficulty with your budgie. It is very important that he has access to millet at all times during this transition as budgies can and will starve themselves before eating something they are unsure of. 

Try also mixing the millet seed through the crumble. You can also try (as a temporary measure) placing a mirror on the base of his cage and sprinkling the crumble onto it. He should go down to investigate what the other budgie is doing and hopefully start eating the crumble along with his new friend (this trick worked for me and it was a tip given to me by a bird behavioural specialist). 

Just monitor his mirror fascination though as you don't want to introduce another problem in the process of eliminating the first. However you are in quite a serious predicament.


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Welcome to the forums, Lucie! 

I'm sorry that you are currently having problems with your budgie's diet.
Another idea that may encourage your Brian to eat his seed mix is by placing a honey or fruit based seed treat stick for budgies. The presentation my spark his curiosity and make him more receptive to try the seeds on the food bowl.

For all the tips and info on how to improve your budgie's diet, be sure to check the info on the sticky threads here: Diet and Nutrition - Talk Budgies Forums

You can start with this one: http://talkbudgies.com/articles-diet-nutrition/315033-healthy-diet-your-budgie.html

And about the interaction between Brian and your cat and 3 dogs, for your budgie's safety, it's not at all advisable to let them have a close interaction.
We have had many accounts of accidents between cats and dogs who have attacked a beloved pet bird and in most cases, it has ended in tragedy.

It doesn't matter if a dog or cat has the sweetest of temperaments or their old age and reflexes make them less prone to attack, bottom line is they are irrational animals who can and will act by instinct. An attack can happen in the span of a few seconds and even when closely supervised the result can still be disastrous. For this reason, it's not at all advisable to allow Brian to play with the dogs and cat.

If you want Brian to have a good buddy to play with, then you can get him a same species friend, a budgie boy would be a great option.
For Brian's overall safety and welfare, it would be best that you follow the recommendations on the link below:
http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/329945-cats-dogs-predators-birds-prey.html

I hope your Brian's food issue will soon be solved and you will continue to work in improving his diet by introducing him to fresh foods.


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## Lucie (Apr 20, 2016)

Hi Niamhf �� Thank you so much for the tip! Sounds like a real smart one. Im going to give it a go when i can find a suitable mirror. I hope it can help as Brian spooks easily by anything forgein in his cage. I once bought him a coconut house and he would not go to that part of his cage for 3 weeks! I had to get it out in the end. Lool

I have now draped his millet spray around his food bowl. Still no luck yet but trying.

Thank you so much for your reply.

Hi Aluz, thank you so much for your reply and your tip. I really appreciate all the help i can get here. As for Brian and the his other friends, thank you for the advice. I only let him out when me and him are alone in a safe room. He normally calls the dogs from his cage and plays with them from his cage lol. He loves the dogs, but frankly the thought of some quick accident happening to him is horrifying! I will never let that happen. 

Now im just praying he aint going to starve himself to death!


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Thank you for providing additional information about the interactions between Brian and your dogs and cat.  It's good to know that you are aware of the dangers when housing very different species of pets.

The goal of Talk Budgies is to educate members and guests to the best practices to ensure the budgies' (and other pet birds, depending on the cases) welfare and safety.
You have no idea of the amount of accidents related to cat/dog attacks that ended in tragedy and this came from members who swore by their furry pets that they were the gentlest of souls and were incapable of doing something so terrible.

To be better acquainted with the forums, you may also check the statement on this link: http://talkbudgies.com/introductions/339730-posting-forums.html

You won't starve your budgie, because he will have access to the spray millet.
You can even place one or two little clusters of millet spray directly on the seed dish to see if he is tempted to try the seed mix after eating the small portion of millet seeds.


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## shanebudgie (Feb 5, 2016)

Greetings Lucie,I hope you budgie will be eating better soon,you gotten some wonderful advice from some of our friends here.blessings and welcome aboard.keep us posted.we're here for you.sending comforting prayers for you.:albino:


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## Jo Ann (Sep 3, 2011)

*Please*

It might help to present new things from a distance near enough for him to easily see but outside of the cage. you might sit nearby and play with the toy or pretend to eat. get him curious. watch him to see if he comes nearer because he is curious. In a flock of birds the leader will be the first to check new things out while the others watch from a safe distance. Your little one has lost his budgie flock leader. You are practicing to become his new flock leader. Have you covered the back, sides and part of top with a light towel or light blanket. Not only will it stop some of the seed and feather scatter but make him safer from behind which is how most predators approach a prey animal. It is so much easier to let the flock explore and approve as safe. as the bird likes the dogs. let the dogs give their approval as well by sniffing. 
The bird sees the dogs as part of the extended flock.

I had a small flock of Bourks. I was told they do not respond to toys. Guess what this is not true. They have been treated as wild and not offered opportunities to safely explore as a flock. So I started as I described above with one item at a time. We only have birds, so I played with one of the house budgies that is very gentle and has lived peacefully in the same cage with the bourks. We also use this Budgie **** to train young budgies to be budgies and learn flock rules and regs. So now budgie and I play near by and gradually move closer and leave the toy near by when we are. not around. The toy becomes a chronic part of the environment as it gradually moves closer to the cage and the 2 members of the current flock approve and accept this item as safe. when you reach the cage hang it on the front of the cage and still play with it. After a while add a piece of millet spray that is half in and half out of the cage so in my case budgie nibbles out side
and now you bird in the cage is encouraged to join the party. Breeders should provide their chicks with toys so that when they get to their forever home they can enjoy their new toys. We expose our chicks to as many new experiences as possible to help them interface with a new home with self confidence.. We love chicks with a little spunk and we work with the shy chicks to develop self confidence.

I would bet that many budgies that act out or bite were not allowed to grow up with a mixed age flock. Parents have a lot to teach their chicks, but this is cut off for fear parents will kill the chicks to start a new nest. I think that This behavior is another reactive behavior where the parents are taken away by breeders. We never breed a bird that attacks their chicks. This is one way to start producing parents that do not attack chicks. This is a goal for the future. In addition Breeders want to sell the chicks as soon as they can eat alone. The socialization is lost. When we want to purchase young birds breeders will comply to make money and so the chicks never learn to be grown up budgies.

So we have the goal of helping Brian to develop self confidence and no longer fear his normal home environment. Later you should introduce Brian to a travel cage and short rides in the car. Again same process until Repetition feels safe for Brian. Blessings, Jo Ann:Love birds:

The egg food above is an excellent suggestion. add millet sprayto attract his attention. put individual millet seed in the egg food and small pieces of spray in the bowl.
if this works cut corn peas and carrots in tiny pieces in a blender until they are tiny and offer a few with the millet. Try breaking up nutriberries in little pieces as it has millet in it and all of the seeds are dehulled. the molasses flavor may catch his interest. Our budgies love baked cornbread, bake him a couple of corn bread cupcakes
with millet in it and put some of any and all foods you offer him on the mirror along with the millet /millet spray. It might be easier if you had an older budgie to show him how to be a budgie. We have several very gentle cocks that we use to educate chicks to grow up to be budgies, AnniMarie/ Wiki may have some clicker training tips as well. It would not hurt if you fake eating starting with the millet spray. After a budgie trusts what you eat it is more likely to try and will show other budgies to eat. Brian is like an orphan who never had an relationship with other people. He is such a cutie. Maybe you could let him see you feed corn bread to the dogs and you have some as well. Please do not starve him. He is his only flock member. He does not see another budgie eating other food to demonstrate it is safe to eat. If he will sit in your hand and eat millet put some egg food and millet in your hand and let him nibble. I pray he begins to feel comfortable eating new things. Blessings Jo Ann:Love birds::blue pied::hug::hug:ray::fingerx:


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi Lucie and :welcome: to Talk Budgies!

It's great to have you with us and you've received some excellent advice. I hope that Brian will soon take to his food again! :fingerx: 

Be sure to review the important articles and stickies around the forums for reference. If you have any questions after reading through anything, be sure to ask! 

Keep us updated on how darling Brian is doing! 

Hope to see you around! :wave:


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi, Lucie --

I wondered if you could give us an update on how little Brian is doing.

I hope he's begun trying his food now. If not, perhaps switching to a different brand of seed might encourage him?
Dr. Harvey's and Volkmans are good brands and perhaps he might like one of those?*


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## Lucie (Apr 20, 2016)

*Thank you*

Hi Guys i just want really want to thank very one for caring and everyones kind encouraging words.

Thank you Jo Ann for your informative post. I really appreciate your reply. Brian is really one of a kind. His upbringing cannot be compared to how budgies are raised in the West. And what you have said is totally true. His upbringing was all wrong. Sadly where i stay in Malaysia, they dont treat budgies like how they do it the west. The breaders / suppliers here just want to make a quick buck selling these guys by all means.

They really just see them as birds where they dont even bother to interact/ play/ nuture them at all. Most people dont even give them toys to play with! Hope You get the idea without me rambling on.

We dont even have a good range of food and budgie supplies here. Everything is very limited and basic. I have to special order everything for Brian which costs alot especially his food which i order from Germany! Thats why im so upset of what has been going on with Brian.

Its just sad that all i do is try to provide him with the best food, toys, house possible but with his attitude and also because he has no other bird to 'teach' him new stuff or how to act, he just does not seem to understand. Even now his cage is packed full of wonderful fresh fruits and veggies, expensive gourmet budgie food, all all he is doing is sleeping in the corner or looking at me wondering why am i being so mean and starving him!!! When i show him the spray millet he charges at me,ravenously! Bloody breaks my heart!

Im so fed up. Sorry for this rambling post. Its just very frustrating. Especially after trying so hard.

Ps i even got all our dogs literally eating his bird seeds in front of him while we both watch on amazed lol, yet again when i offered it to him, he pecked at the seeds once and ran off!

But really thank you all for caring and sharing <3 really appreciate it.


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## shanebudgie (Feb 5, 2016)

Greetings Lucie.sending you comforting prayers for you,I'm sorry you're having problems getting your budgie to eat his seeds.blessings and we're here if you need us.I'll be praying as well for you.I truly hope he'll start eating right.


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## Pegg (Jun 7, 2011)

Welcome Lucie, :welcome:
I'm sorry your having so much trouble with Brain and eating. 
Hopefully he'll learn to eat the new seeds soon.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I'm so sorry to hear little Brian is still refusing his food. 
I know this is causing you a great deal of stress and anxiety.
Please know my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Maybe you could try sprouting a bit of the seed to see if he might like to try those?*


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## Jo Ann (Sep 3, 2011)

*Please*

Hi, Lucie It does not seem to help to starve him. I would stop this and reduce the pressure on you and brian. Good move getting the dogs to eat seed. It is time to back off and let Brian eat his millet spray. some where in a corner of the cage put a dish filled with mostly millet and perhaps broken up nutriberries. let it go for days or a couple of weeks. Appear to ignore the dish. feed him his millet spray and presoak it in electrolyte/ Soluvite D or Prime vitamins. This will help him get the nutrients he needs in spite of himself. pretend to let him win. Let him have his spray millet and freeze the other seed. It will keep well this way try the mirror with seed and millet, but stop "starving" him as it seems like he is in war status. Back away from direct pressure for a while until he feels you are not taking his food away. Try a small gravity flow seed jar that you can leave in the cage untouched while he gets his tummy full of millet spray the nutrients will help fill his nutrient needs also try sprouts like mung bean, Get this from a health food store and sprout at home. we put them in salads and sandwhiches. You might have a salad to eat and allow him to investigate your food, but keep the millet spray always available offer him in AM when he is hungry from fasting during overnite sleep. Give YOURSELF a break. Play with your special boy and let him know you love him "his way". Please keep us informed. Blessings, and prayers for you to be shown how to get him to eat properly. Jo Ann:Love birds::Love birds:


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## Lucie (Apr 20, 2016)

Thank you Jo Ann so much for that. I really needed to hear that from someone. You have made me feel so much better. Thank you for you kind support and wonderful suggestions. Xoxoxoxoxo


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## Jo Ann (Sep 3, 2011)

*Please*

God bless you, Lucie. I can imagine your pain and frustration. I have had this experience. This is the point to just stop and change focus. We often forget
that we are asking for acceptance into budgies world, on their terms. This is supposed to be fun for both of you. I feel like if you relax what is needed will
present it self. Just be open to new possibilities beyond structured solutions.
Most of all enjoy life with Brian. God Bless you and Brian, Jo Ann:Love birds:


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