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Cockatiel ideal weight

Butterpopcorn

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hi!

I have a cockatiel who is around 7-8 months old but her weight is only 70 gr at the moment and it has never been higher than 72 gr. I was wondering if this is considered a healthy weight because compare to other cockatiels she is quite small. She does not seem to have any health problem outwardly and seems pretty healthy. Should i bring her to the vet for a check?

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Tara81

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It never hurts to bring your pet for a checkup. If she was always 70 g since the age of 2-3 months, I would guess she had a rough start , a runt of the litter, which may be while she is under the average.
 

Butterpopcorn

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I adopted her when she was about 2 months old and she only weighed 50 gr when I brought her home but she had a rapid weight gain to 65 gr over a short period then the number is now stuck at 70
 

Shezbug

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It is always a good idea to have your bird (or any animal really) checked by a qualified vet. The vet knows exactly what they are looking for with each different animal/species where as we can only make an uneducated guess as to the health and condition of our animals......I always find it very reassuring getting the vets opinion on the health of my companion animals :)

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sunnysmom

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Cockatiels' weight varies by size. If your bird is small and isn't actually losing weight, it may be a good weight for her. Typically tiels are about 80-100 grams. However, my cockatiel Sunny only weighted 74 grams. My vet said it was a good weight for him. He was just small. An easy way to check is to look at the keel bone.

keel bone.jpg
 

cassiesdad

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It is always a good idea to have your bird (or any animal really) checked by a qualified vet. The vet knows exactly what they are looking for with each different animal/species where as we can only make an uneducated guess as to the health and condition of our animals......I always find it very reassuring getting the vets opinion on the health of my companion animals :)
...agreed. If you have any concerns about your tiel's weight, your vet is the place to get good answers.

Our tiels...for comparison...Sunshine goes between 105 and 108g. Igor, our 19 year old, has never been more than 89 g.

Our heaviest tiel ever was Goalie...a hen that regularly tipped the scales between 125 and 130 g. She definitely was a big girl...and lived a long , healthy life...26 years...
 

Tara81

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I adopted her when she was about 2 months old and she only weighed 50 gr when I brought her home but she had a rapid weight gain to 65 gr over a short period then the number is now stuck at 70
Since she gained weight since she has been with you, it sounds like she had a slow start before she met you. Her gaining weight is a very good sign, and her not losing weight is also a good one. It sounds like she was a runt (not fed enough by parents or caretaker) or just born more tiny then the rest, or she may have been sick while young . Usually when they have a rough start they do not become the same size of an average tiel, as they usually stop growing to their adult size at the age of 2-4 months.
 

Nibbles

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I adopted a 20-year old female lutino cockatiel from my next-door neighbor two and a half months ago. Her name is Nibbles and, three weeks after I got her, I took her to a vet. The vet said she was a little skinny at 66 grams but otherwise healthy. I just weighed her on a jeweler's scale I got off of Amazon. She now weighs 85 grams. The neighbor kept her in a cage in the living room and almost never let her out. They thought she couldn't fly. The cage was too small for her. I just got her a bigger one and I'm in the process of switching her over from seeds to pellets. Shortly after I got her, I opened the cage and I've maintained an open-door policy and let her come and go as she pleases. She's sitting on top of my head as I type this. Most of the time, she's either sitting on top of my head or on top of her cage. Photo on 5-12-21 at 10.58 PM.jpg
 

sunnysmom

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I adopted a 20-year old female lutino cockatiel from my next-door neighbor two and a half months ago. Her name is Nibbles and, three weeks after I got her, I took her to a vet. The vet said she was a little skinny at 66 grams but otherwise healthy. I just weighed her on a jeweler's scale I got off of Amazon. She now weighs 85 grams. The neighbor kept her in a cage in the living room and almost never let her out. They thought she couldn't fly. The cage was too small for her. I just got her a bigger one and I'm in the process of switching her over from seeds to pellets. Shortly after I got her, I opened the cage and I've maintained an open-door policy and let her come and go as she pleases. She's sitting on top of my head as I type this. Most of the time, she's either sitting on top of my head or on top of her cage. View attachment 382528
She's beautiful. Thank you for helping her.
 
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