I have 2 Brown Chinese who are mated and live together since they hatched. Both hatched in February '22 so are just over 2 years old. At year 1 of age, my female laid a few eggs, but unfortunately they were all in *terrible* spots and were so filthy by the time I found them (she hid them well, just in awful places) that there was no way I'd try to incubate them.
Fast forward to this year. Both are healthy, active, love bathing, have the same good appetites they've always had, are talkative and very interactive with me, alert, etc - no indication of problems. She lays no eggs this time, however they *both* go broody, starting with him. He won't eat sometimes for multiple days and I have to physically carry him off the empty nest to plunk him in front of the food & water, which he then devours and drinks of ravenously. She can't understand why he's ignoring her and won't come out, so she becomes very clingy, distressed and follows me around, wants lots of attention, etc, which is understandable. I talk to her and interact with her all throughout the day so she doesn't feel so lonely.
About a 1.5-2 weeks into this, she decides to join him in being broody on that empty nest. I figure maybe she might still lay an egg or two, so I leave them be, and just encourage them to eat so they don't drop a ton of weight. More time goes by, and she just won't eat. I get really concerned about her well being and decide to boot them out of the area where they're sitting on nothing (completely close it off with plywood), hoping her broody hormones will quit and she'll come back to her senses and eat. And here begins this ongoing problem.
Her mate will eat with gusto. She on the other hand looks completely depressed, mopey and will pick at her food on good days. With a lot of encouragement and with him eating as a visual cue, I can get her to eat little amounts of food, but only that at best. To put it into context, all I normally have to do is say the word "cabbage" or tear a piece of the stuff and they come excitedly honking and running over to me, because that's their favorite treat. Right now she might eat half a dozen tiny pieces of it and then stand there.
They have access to the same clean water, the same supplemental feed, the same forage, the same everything. She does not have a fever or elevated temperature, there's no other discernable symptoms (as of an infectious illness).
I'm at the point of wondering should I tube feed her? Looking for advice on this. I need to do something asap. She's lost a ton of weight and looks absolutely horrible from not eating. She's listless, uncoordinated, weak, and still has that depressive air about her. And this morning I couldn't get her to eat anything at all, despite all the gentle encouraging efforts that usually get her to eat *something*.
For those wondering their history:
Both have been healthy, always had a good appetite, always been active, and grew up eating the majority of their diet as fresh foods, being allowed to graze with supervision for hours as babies and then later living out where they could graze 24/7 once they were large enough to be safe here. There are various grasses, various tree leaf fodders, Dissotis rotunda, and the occasional leaves of my pure green Cordyline fruticosa (Ti) that they are able to reach. Occasionally they get cabbage pieces, brussel sprout leaves, little bits of collard leaves, watermelon rinds, and sometimes they like to eat a little fresh coconut meat out of the shell at treats.
I do give them small amounts of supplemental whole (in shell) oats, millet, buckwheat, amaranth and when it's cold enough to warrant it I give them *a little* cracked corn. Sometimes they're more interested in one of these than the others and won't eat the rest, so what they're getting rotates based on their interest. They've been eating like this and foraging stones for themselves for 2+ years now, with no former troubles whatsoever.
Fast forward to this year. Both are healthy, active, love bathing, have the same good appetites they've always had, are talkative and very interactive with me, alert, etc - no indication of problems. She lays no eggs this time, however they *both* go broody, starting with him. He won't eat sometimes for multiple days and I have to physically carry him off the empty nest to plunk him in front of the food & water, which he then devours and drinks of ravenously. She can't understand why he's ignoring her and won't come out, so she becomes very clingy, distressed and follows me around, wants lots of attention, etc, which is understandable. I talk to her and interact with her all throughout the day so she doesn't feel so lonely.
About a 1.5-2 weeks into this, she decides to join him in being broody on that empty nest. I figure maybe she might still lay an egg or two, so I leave them be, and just encourage them to eat so they don't drop a ton of weight. More time goes by, and she just won't eat. I get really concerned about her well being and decide to boot them out of the area where they're sitting on nothing (completely close it off with plywood), hoping her broody hormones will quit and she'll come back to her senses and eat. And here begins this ongoing problem.
Her mate will eat with gusto. She on the other hand looks completely depressed, mopey and will pick at her food on good days. With a lot of encouragement and with him eating as a visual cue, I can get her to eat little amounts of food, but only that at best. To put it into context, all I normally have to do is say the word "cabbage" or tear a piece of the stuff and they come excitedly honking and running over to me, because that's their favorite treat. Right now she might eat half a dozen tiny pieces of it and then stand there.
They have access to the same clean water, the same supplemental feed, the same forage, the same everything. She does not have a fever or elevated temperature, there's no other discernable symptoms (as of an infectious illness).
I'm at the point of wondering should I tube feed her? Looking for advice on this. I need to do something asap. She's lost a ton of weight and looks absolutely horrible from not eating. She's listless, uncoordinated, weak, and still has that depressive air about her. And this morning I couldn't get her to eat anything at all, despite all the gentle encouraging efforts that usually get her to eat *something*.
For those wondering their history:
Both have been healthy, always had a good appetite, always been active, and grew up eating the majority of their diet as fresh foods, being allowed to graze with supervision for hours as babies and then later living out where they could graze 24/7 once they were large enough to be safe here. There are various grasses, various tree leaf fodders, Dissotis rotunda, and the occasional leaves of my pure green Cordyline fruticosa (Ti) that they are able to reach. Occasionally they get cabbage pieces, brussel sprout leaves, little bits of collard leaves, watermelon rinds, and sometimes they like to eat a little fresh coconut meat out of the shell at treats.
I do give them small amounts of supplemental whole (in shell) oats, millet, buckwheat, amaranth and when it's cold enough to warrant it I give them *a little* cracked corn. Sometimes they're more interested in one of these than the others and won't eat the rest, so what they're getting rotates based on their interest. They've been eating like this and foraging stones for themselves for 2+ years now, with no former troubles whatsoever.
