# Pigeon Only Eats Safflower Seed



## ericolsonmusic (Jul 17, 2017)

Current Problem:

I’m concerned about my pigeon (Pat) because she only eats safflower seeds and nothing else from her seed mix. A month ago we noticed she really likes the safflower seed so I ordered more of it and added more safflower to her normal mix because she was underweight and I thought this would be a good fatty/oily seed to help her gain weight. Then she started only eating the safflower and ignoring the rest. So now we stopped adding extra Safflower seed but she still only eats the little bit of Safflower in her mix but nothing else and it looks like she is losing weight. She is also nesting and sitting on 2 eggs and rarely takes a break to get up and eat/drink or stretch her wings. Should we continue to withhold the Safflower seed or just give her what she wants till she gets back up to a healthy weight? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Medical History:

Pat also had a history of parasites in her system (Last august 2017. When we first rescued her) that she was medicated for. We’re not sure if the medication helped. I think it did because of the improvement in her mood and behavior but she was never taken back to the vet to check on the parasite count. The parasite problem contributed to her weight loss in the past.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post!
-Eric


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

It would be helpful if you could be a bit more specific. What did she have that she was treated for? Can't know if treated long enough or at correct dose, or if it is something that often comes back on them, or what. Can't help if we dont know what it was.

That aside, no, I would not let her keep eating only safflower seed. That is not healthy for her. I would make her eat all (or at least most) of the seed you give her before giving more. She more than likely won't let herself starve. She needs to try the other seeds and get used to eating them. That's the only way she will do that. If you are worried about her weight, at the end of the day, you can hand feed her frozen peas which have been defrosted and warmed under warm running water. Top her off before bedtime. She won't much like it, but you will be making up some for what she isn't eating on her own. Just do this till she starts eating better. Here's how:

If you need to feed peas to a pigeon, hold the bird on your lap and against your body. This gives you more control. Reach from behind his head with one hand and grasp his beak on either side. Now use your free hand to open the beak, and put a pea in, then push it to the back of his throat and over his tongue. Let him close his beak and swallow. Then do another. It gets easier with practice, and the bird also gets more used to it, and won't fight as much. If you can't handle the bird, then use the sleeve cut off a t-shirt, slip it over his head and onto his body, with his head sticking out. This will stop him from being able to fight you so much. Just don't make it tight around his crop area. It helps if you have him facing your right side if you are right handed.


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## ericolsonmusic (Jul 17, 2017)

*Thanks Jay3 She's doing better*

Hi Jay3 thanks for responding to my issue so quickly. She's finally eating the other seeds in her mix. I guess I was just overly worried. I'll remember your pea trick in case it happens again. Thanks again!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I'm glad she's doing well. Many of them will try to pick out just their favorites, but they really need to learn to eat all the different seeds. Just explain to her that she needs to learn to "eat her veggies".


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## AynjewlFaycc (12 mo ago)

ericolsonmusic said:


> *Thanks Jay3 She's doing better*
> 
> Hi Jay3 thanks for responding to my issue so quickly. She's finally eating the other seeds in her mix. I guess I was just overly worried. I'll remember your pea trick in case it happens again. Thanks again!


Glad she decided to eat more variety. I'm not a fan of force feeding any animal or human. We have forgot to trust nature. Birds are particularly in tune they sleep when it's dark and wake on the sunrise. They know what their body needs and when. I had this issue a bit with my bird just eating the sunflower seeds and making a huge mess digging them out. I would make her stop at times to save some for the other birds. The other day I remembered what I mentioned above and just gave a handful of sunflower seeds (unshelled, no salt) she didn't eat all of them but it helped a little bit with the digging. She ended up going in one of the dishes and still making a mess. Either way, I trusted her. Sometimes her poops are liquidy sometimes she struggles to get them out. Especially for females laying through their only vent, it's just part of their bodies cycle. Just provide them with as much variety as you can and they will know what is right. Sometimes I even feed my birds pieces of banana out of my hand- sometimes they love it, sometimes they won't eat it. xo


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