Yesterday I felt a bit more positive about Sparkle but today I feel back down again. I think maybe my theory about her was complete rubbish. I am just clutching at straws because I don’t know what else to do for her.
At bedtime last night I sprinkled some sunflower hearts in front of Sparkle but she ignored them.
This morning I put her in the cat box once more with a bowl of water and a dish of mash which I again sprinkled with a few sunflower hearts. This time she didn’t even take the sunflower seeds from the mash. After the usual two hours she still hadn’t made any attempt to eat anything. I offered her a spinach leaf through the bars and she just turned away. She sits quietly and spends time sleeping with her head under wing.
Sparkle sleeping in the cat box
By lunch time she had still not touched the food. I put a cube of melon in her dish to try to tempt her but she ignored it. At half past one I decided to give up and return her to the run.
Sparkle moved at a snail’s pace through the run and started to preen a little.
I offered her some dandelion leaves through the wire and suddenly she seemed interested but couldn’t compete against the speed of the other girls. I got my husband to offer her dandelion leaves while I distracted the girls further up the run with leaves and she ate a few.
It seems that maybe she was having a strop at being put in the cat box. So tomorrow I will try plan B. I am going to separate part of the run like we do for integrating new girls. I will put her in there with water, mash, spinach and sunflower hearts. This way she can eat without competition and I will be able to see what she has eaten.
I can only hope that this may work as I am running out of ideas. We will see what tomorrow brings.
Click here to see the history of my flock.