# I'm worried about Coco Pebbles



## feathered_love (Jul 22, 2008)

Today I noticed that Coco Pebbles breast bone is showing and you can see it protruding. I know with baby parrots this means they are losing weight. Coco Pebbles still eats like a piggie and I feed her every 4 hours and I fill her crop up with each feed. Her crop empties so it's functioning properly. Her poops are still normal, she is very active and alert, so I don't know what to make of this. Or if I should even make anything of it.


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## feathered_love (Jul 22, 2008)

Here's a pic, if the crop looks a little overfull it's cause I was holding kinda weird and "squished" Coco Pebbles crop a bit.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Can you weigh her?
If you can pinch the breastbone between your two fingers that is one way to tell if he is too thin.

If she is eating alot and doing poops alot, it might just seem that way because he is growing so quickly.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Yea, weigh her if you can and then keep track of her weight day to day for a few days. Just looking at the picture, she seems normal to me. You can always see their keel............just as long as it's not razor sharp, I think she looks fine.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Come to think of it, my birds all go through a phase where I start wondering if they are just growing so fast the 'baby fat' is falling off and they look a little skinny.
Make sure Coco gets some sun on her feathers, for vitamins. Try getting her to peck at some seeds and vegetables chopped up, if you haven't, it's time to get those seeds started into her diet to support all that growing. And so she will know what seeds are when it is really time to wean, and you won't be stuck hand feeding for months until you lay down the law. This sort of fluctuation happens to human children during growth spurts, too. I remember putting on some fat, then using it all up to grow 2 inches in height, when I was a pre-teen.

Basically just introduce some new foods even though it is early for that, so she will be able to start self feeding more easily.

And I think she is the cutest little thing!


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## Dezirrae (Oct 6, 2007)

I remember thinking that with our Hope too... and asked a very similiar question here too  Tracking his weight every day is a good idea (in my case I found out Hope was actually gaining) and sure relieved my worries. Coco Pebbles just keeps getting cuter with every picture I see! Love the name too 

Give him/her a smooch for me - you're doing great with him/her!


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## lwerden (May 31, 2008)

I had the same feeling about Jack at that age. It is definately time to start introducing some seeds. Start with the very small seeds first - budgie or finch seed will work OK. This is the beginning of the weaning process as well.

Coco Pebbles gets better looking with each picture. What a beautiful bird!!!


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## feathered_love (Jul 22, 2008)

Phew what a relief. I was really worried. I'm glad to know it's normal for pigeons. I'll definitely add seeds see if I can get Coco Pebbles interested. Would be ok to add some seed to the formula?


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## lwerden (May 31, 2008)

Yes, you can add some of the small seeds to the formula - a little bit at a time. Try putting some seeds in a small dish. Wigel your fingers in the dish in front of Coco and see if you can get his interest in them. This process takes time, so don't get nervous if it doesn't work at first.

You're doing a great job with this baby!!!! He/She is a real sweetheart.


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## feathered_love (Jul 22, 2008)

Thank you all for suggesting to offer seeds to Coco Pebbles. I offered some in a small dish and pecked at it with my fingers. Coco Pebbles took one little peck in the dish and then ignored it wanting me to feed him. I did add seed to the formula, just a bit. When I was done feeding him I put him back in his carrier with the small dish. A few minutes later I heard him "crying" so I went over to check, he was pecking in the dish while crying. I thought at first he was just pecking in there so I took a closer look and he was eating them. Not a lot, but I saw he managed to pick up a few seeds and eat them. He seemed a little confused by there texture in his mouth,lol. The he settled down and went to sleep. Thanks again, raising a pigeon is similar to a parrot but yet at the same time so different. Thanks for your help.


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## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

feathered_love said:


> Thank you all for suggesting to offer seeds to Coco Pebbles. I offered some in a small dish and pecked at it with my fingers. Coco Pebbles took one little peck in the dish and then ignored it wanting me to feed him. I did add seed to the formula, just a bit. When I was done feeding him I put him back in his carrier with the small dish. A few minutes later I heard him "crying" so I went over to check, he was pecking in the dish while crying. I thought at first he was just pecking in there so I took a closer look and he was eating them. Not a lot, but I saw he managed to pick up a few seeds and eat them. He seemed a little confused by there texture in his mouth,lol. The he settled down and went to sleep. Thanks again, raising a pigeon is similar to a parrot but yet at the same time so different. Thanks for your help.


LOL, we have had a few do what you just described - matter of fact we have a baby in the dining room now who would eat and cry, eat and cry when he was first learning to eat. Not all of them do that but it really is cute when they do. 

Do try to weigh him every day. We have found that when you wean a baby, they almost always lose a few grams at the beginning but then they start putting the weight on really fast. We weigh ours even when they're just on formula and keep a record. It really helps.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

I've notice that with a lot of mine, that they "cry" when they are learning to eat, especially at first. I think it's a mixture of sheer excitement and also wanting us to see so we can be proud.  Coco Pebbles looks great, just at that gawky teenage stage!


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

I'd be careful with him if he's picking up seeds now. They tend to eat a BUNCH at one time..........way too much IMO.......you might want to give the seeds, let him eat and then take them away. They learn when to stop eventually, but at first they CAN eat WAY to much........


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## feathered_love (Jul 22, 2008)

Lovebirds said:


> I'd be careful with him if he's picking up seeds now. They tend to eat a BUNCH at one time..........way too much IMO.......you might want to give the seeds, let him eat and then take them away. They learn when to stop eventually, but at first they CAN eat WAY to much........


Thanks for telling me, I would have never guessed,lol. I'll make sure not to leave Coco Pebbles unsupervised with the seed for now.


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## feathered_love (Jul 22, 2008)

Lady Tarheel said:


> LOL, we have had a few do what you just described - matter of fact we have a baby in the dining room now who would eat and cry, eat and cry when he was first learning to eat. Not all of them do that but it really is cute when they do.
> 
> Do try to weigh him every day. We have found that when you wean a baby, they almost always lose a few grams at the beginning but then they start putting the weight on really fast. We weigh ours even when they're just on formula and keep a record. It really helps.


When would you suggest the best time to weigh him would be?


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## feathered_love (Jul 22, 2008)

Also, along with seed is it ok to feed pellets, like the kind for parakeets?


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Here are some recipes that I've dug up for doves and pigeons.

Specific Seed mixes:

Nature's bounty mix:
Wheat, milo or ******, rice, millet,cracked corn, vetch, chopped peanuts, safflower and little black sunflower (high in oil) can be given. 

Commercial box blend: 
Mix 1/3 cup of each: 
Parakeet seed 
Wild bird seed 
Canary seed 

Fortified pellet blend:
Mix 1/3 cup of each:
fortified finch seed
parakeet seed 
Cockatiel pellet

Ringneck dove Safflower mix:
millet, milo, wheat, black sunflower, canary grass, safflower and cracked corn.

Commercial millet mix for ringneck doves:
60% - German & Brown Top Millet
20% - Japanese Millet
10% - Black Sunflower (Peredovik)
10% - Penngrain DR or WGF Sorghum


Feathered Friends millet-wheat mix:
White Millet, 
Red Milo and/or White Milo, 
Wheat
Safflower, 
Canola, 
Oat Groats
Buckwheat


Pelleted Foods:

Pigeon pellets or the smaller game-bird pellets (20 percent protein), or "crumbled" poultry feed, if reasonably fresh, are good for supplementing grain. The pellets will supply vitamins A and D3. The D3 is necessary if direct sun is not available.
Purina pigeon chow and commercially prepared pelleted foods designed for parrots are acceptable pelleted diets for pigeons and doves. Since pigeons cannot crack seed they usually cannot break down large pellets either. Pellets must be able to be prehended and swallowed whole by the birds. Most pellets fed to cockatiels fit this size requirement.

Mazuri Small Hookbill, Zupreem Cockatiel Blend, Pretty Bird Pellets, Lafeber’s Small Hookbill Pellets, and Kaytee Exact Cockatiel Pellets are all acceptable. If you can’t find dove food, the best alternative pellet is vitamin-fortified parakeet food. Doves will switch instantly to pelleted foods.


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