I just gave my balding little guy a blood orange when this message came up on him

Unknown...

That's a small bug that will happen when you praise a peep (which is one of the effects of the fruit) while they're reading email. Since they won't check email on their own, praising them for it is something the game isn't programmed to handle.

Ah, I was not trying to praise him, I was trying to keep him alive a little longer.

The fruit has several effects, one of which is praising. Even when that's not what you intended, you will still praise the person when you give them fruit.