Hi everyone, Orah, who is 16 months old now, ate a bird fat ball late Monday afternoon. She’s been vomiting and has had diarrhoea ever since. I’ve got an appointment with the vet today, Wednesday. I’ll update my post so you all know what needs to be done in this situation.
Has this ever happened to any of you before?
Translated from French
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@Orah76 what Patou is trying to explain is that the ingredients in a bird fat ball are pretty much the same as those in cheap, low-end dry food.
We understand that your dog ate a fat ball meant for the birds.
Actually, when mine was a puppy, he ate another dog's bowl of cheap supermarket dry food. It made him just as poorly as yours has been with the fat ball. Some dogs just have sensitive stomachs.
I don’t really see why it would be such a disaster... and as for fat balls, not only are they unnecessary at this time of year, but you're doing the birds no favours! What’s the point in making them dependent when food is so abundant right now?? It’s just like those seagulls that feast on open-air tips and don't bother going out to sea to fish anymore...
Well, unfortunately, with all the pesticides, poisoned insects are killing the birds off, and right now they’ve still got young ones to look after, so they’re exhausted. I’ve been feeding them all year round ever since the fields were overrun with pesticides that kill the birds. Mind you, in the summer I only put out seeds and I give them less than in the winter... besides, I get far fewer birds in the summer anyway... they know the seeds are there, but it's up to them to hunt for insects, which is surely better for them...
Um, insect-eating birds eat insects, not seeds. Their beaks aren't suited to eating seeds; in fact, in the winter they head elsewhere to find insects to eat. And the seed-eaters can find food everywhere at this time of year.
Look, I’m no bird expert, but if they had the choice of eating seeds instead of wearing themselves out searching for insects, they’d find food everywhere. ;)
So yeah, there's no point putting out fat balls for the birds in summer.
I don’t really see why it would be such a big deal... and as for fat balls, not only are they useless at this time of year, but you’re doing the birds no favours! What’s the point in making them dependent when food is so plentiful right now?? It’s just like those seagulls that gorge themselves at open-air tips and don't bother fishing at sea anymore... Well, unfortunately, with all the pesticides, poisoned insects are killing off the birds, and at the moment they’ve still got chicks to look after, so they're exhausted. I've been feeding them year-round ever since the fields were overrun with pesticides that kill the birds; however, in the summer I only give them seeds and I put out less than in winter... I actually have far fewer birds in the summer anyway... they know the seeds are there, but it's up to them to hunt for insects, which is bound to be better for them...
For once I don't quite agree with you, Enicia! 😉
I don’t really see why it would be such a disaster... and as for fat balls, not only are they pointless at this time of year, but you're doing the birds no favours! What’s the point in making them dependent when food is so plentiful right now?? It’s just like those seagulls gorging themselves at open-air rubbish tips and not bothering to go out and fish at sea anymore...
Well, sadly, with all the pesticides, poisoned insects are killing off the birds, and right now they still have chicks to look after, so they’re exhausted. I’ve been feeding them all year round ever since the fields were taken over by pesticides that wipe out the birds. That said, in the summer I only put out seeds and I give them less than in the winter... mind you, I get far fewer birds in the summer anyway... they know the seeds are there, but it’s up to them to hunt for insects, which is bound to be better for them...
Hi there! Yeah, in my opinion, it’s probably more of a scare than anything serious. My beagle used to steal them from the birds all the time and he’d just get a bit of diarrhoea and that was it... but I suppose some dogs have more sensitive stomachs than others. I don’t think it’s a big deal, and while it’s always best to check with a vet if you’re unsure, based on the number of fat balls my beagle managed to scoff back in the day, it’s definitely not life-threatening.
I don't really see why it would be such a big deal... and as for the fat balls, not only is it pointless at this time of year, but you're not doing the birds any favours! What's the point of making them dependent when food is so abundant right now?? It's like those seagulls gorging themselves at open-air rubbish tips and no longer bothering to go out to sea to fish...
Patou88, the ingredients I listed above are for the fat balls, not the dry food. The issue right now is that Orah has eaten a bird fat ball, not dry food. . . Anyway, now I’m just waiting anxiously for the vet appointment.
It’s no wonder the poor thing has an upset tummy after eating that; my previous Dobermann did exactly the same thing. He had loose stools but that was about it.
The biggest danger is the plastic netting you often get around fat balls, as that can cause a blockage... Ironically, my dog ate that too and passed it out just as quickly...
An appointment with the vet might put your mind at ease, but generally speaking, just letting their stomach settle for a bit is enough to sort it out.
