What do you do for seeds in nostrils?

[rivx]

This has happened a few times with Gracie -- usually, I give her a bath and it seems to help get it out. This time it was cold and late so I left her overnight and it seems to have gone on it's own, so I'm wondering if spraying her with the water when she gets seeds is really necessary the rest of the time.

Is there anything you should be doing for millet seeds in the nostrils or is that something they can handle alright themselves?

[Dragonlady2]

I would continue to give her a light misting to induce sneezing. She doesn’t need to be totally drenched. Better to be safe than sorry, but that’s just me.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

How did the seed get there in the first place? Is she pushing her face into a bowl of seed? Perhaps just put a thin layer of seed in the bottom of the bowl. Or is she taking it off the vine?
I am trying to think of ways of stopping it happening again. Bigger seeds or food pellets perhaps.

[rivx]

I put some millet in a bowl and I think that while flinging shells around to try and see if there were any left, she got one in her nose -- though her normal seeds come from a parakeet-mix, so they're quite small too. We'll keep misting when she gets them, but I'll stop feeding millet that way too.

This is the first time it's ever been really cold since we've got her (we live in Florida, the temperature change is very sudden) and she's going through a molt right now, so I think she's a little stressed. She hates baths most of the time so I try to keep them to once a week light mistings but better safe than sorry, I agree.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Cold in Florida... that'll be about 60 degrees then? :pinkgrin:
They do get a bit irritable whilst molting, you have to watch out for the pin feathers (the ones still in the sheath that they grow in) as they are very tender. Don't rub them in the wrong direction or you will be soundly scolded.
We mist Casper with warm water and then make sure he is not in any draughts whilst he is drying.

[Dragonlady2]

Actually, misting will help with the molt. Gets those pins dried out quicker and soothes itchy skin.

[rivx]

I've heard, but she's still running like crazy, lol.

I'm a bit worried about her. We had to move her cage (only a few feet across the room) and there's a lot of new decorations in the house. I'm not sure what's stressing her out -- there's a lot that could be right now, unfortunately -- but she's been screaming a lot more and she's eating less today, so her feces are a little more watery. Should we see a vet or is this behavior probably just stress?? :confused:

EDIT: I took her to my room, where she always gets her out of cage time, and she ate a lot there. When I put her back in her cage, nothing...until the rest of my family came home at which point she immediately started eating. They'd been out all day. I'm still keeping an eye on it, though. Hm.
:b222:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

She's a flock feeder, loves the company at meal times. :)
Screaming is normaly attention seeking, even when sitting on your shoulder. Just keep chatting to her, tell her what you are doing etc. like you would with a child.
Poop can get watery if they have been eating stuff like pears which have high moisture content.
Keep an eye on her weight. Whilst they do fluctuate seasonally a rapid loss of weight combined with lethargy would see me whizzing round to the vets with Casper.
We weigh him once a week by the way, before he has his breakfast. Friday is known as weigh-day and it is always written down in a little blue book along with comments like whether he is molting or it is very hot weather so we can look back and relate to how he was in previous years.

[Dragonlady2]

Given that’s it’s the holiday season, you could cover the back half of the cage so she can “hide” if she chooses when changes are happening. It doesn’t take much to throw a bird off when there is excitement in the air or a change in routines.

[rivx]

Thanks!! I haven't weighed her before -- any tips on weighing a bird who's not much into handling? She likes head rubs, but hands doing anything else tends to frighten her.

I do take notes on when she does something strange and when she did it and she actually stopped eating as much around this time last year too -- late November, but similar. She stopped eating as much of her normal food and would only eat certain things then. Right now she's being a pig with the noodles. :th_smile:

I've covered part of her cage as well. Thanks again. :b221:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

If you use kitchen scales you can set them to zero including the weight of whatever you are going to put the bird in or on. Our vet uses a plastic bowl or you could use a cardboard box if she is likely to not stay put (they love playing in boxes by the way). We use a perch I made that fits on the scales. At first we had to bribe Casper to go on with a bit of nut but he just steps up now as it is such a routine.
[Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks] ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks])
How to weigh a parrot ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]) by Jean-Pierre Declemy ([Users must be registered and logged in to view attached photos or hyperlinks]), on Flickr
There is an album of Casper pics on my flickr gallery.

[rivx]

I may have to towel her to weigh her - she will sometimes venture off of her cage but for the most part, she'll only sit on the top playstand or perches attached to the outside. I'll see if I can get her to accept a box and go from there, though. :pinkgrin:

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Try putting some of her favourite food in the box - that should keep her busy long enough for you to weigh her :)

[rivx]

I'm starting to think this bird is just an extremely messy eater. I was petting her last night and found a bit of dried carrot from a treat mix in her head feathers. :rolleyes:

[Dragonlady2]

My parrotlet has the same problem with food in his feathers. A good bath usually gets him sorted out.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

If you look in a dictionary for the definition of "Parrot" you will find the words "messy eater"
:exactly:
maybe*