Gained 19 grams

[Milo]

Pellets soaked with water? That sounds like a lot of food for a bird his size. Is he finishing everything you're giving him? It sounds like the ratios of what you're giving him are right, but it sounds like you're overdoing the portions. You're right that an overweight bird isn't a healthy bird, they're very prone to atherosclerosis and fatty liver, both of which become very serious very quickly.

When you give him fruit on the kabob, is it a whole fruit? Like, a whole strawberry, grape, etc?

If you had to measure it, how much food total would you say you're offering him per day? 1 cup? More? Less? Like I said, it sounds like his diet is great, he may just need less of it

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Pellets soaked with water? That sounds like a lot of food for a bird his size. Is he finishing everything you're giving him? It sounds like the ratios of what you're giving him are right, but it sounds like you're overdoing the portions. You're right that an overweight bird isn't a healthy bird, they're very prone to atherosclerosis and fatty liver, both of which become very serious very quickly.

When you give him fruit on the kabob, is it a whole fruit? Like, a whole strawberry, grape, etc?

If you had to measure it, how much food total would you say you're offering him per day? 1 cup? More? Less? Like I said, it sounds like his diet is great, he may just need less of it

Yes, the pellets are soaked with water.

I know for a fact that I give him waaay too much food. I would say about a cup total because I know he throws away most of it. He just take a little nibble of most fruits and veggies and then drops them and moves on to the next thing.

For the kabob I usually but a whole one if it's something small like a blueberry or raspberry but if it's something bigger like apple or a strawberry I give him about the size of a grape. But he usually drops it midway so he doesn't eat all of it. I know I should feed less but I worry he won't get enough variety if I give less.

I tried blending stuff to get the most nutritional value packed into one little blob but he was not a fan of that. He likes to hold his food.


Eta* I would esimate that the amount of food he actually swallows is anywhere between 2-3 tablespoons a day.

 

[Milo]

I totally get it... but you'll be okay cutting back the food. If you feed him less he will be okay, and I'll bet he wastes less when you offer less. 2-3 tablespoons is still a lot of food!

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

I totally get it... but you'll be okay cutting back the food. If you feed him less he will be okay, and I'll bet he wastes less when you offer less. 2-3 tablespoons is still a lot of food!

Ok, thank you!

 

[Mizzely]

My quakers are currently offered 1-2 tbsp of chop, 1 tbsp of pellets, and 2 nutriberries or 1/2 tsp of seed everyday. They vary on what they prefer each day, sometimes eating all their pellets but leaving half the chop and others the opposite, but they rarely eat it all. I would say they consume about 1.5 to 2 Tbsp of food a day total though, and both are healthy, but also fly.

Birds sadly evolved to be super messy.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

My quakers are currently offered 1-2 tbsp of chop, 1 tbsp of pellets, and 2 nutriberries or 1/2 tsp of seed everyday. They vary on what they prefer each day, sometimes eating all their pellets but leaving half the chop and others the opposite, but they rarely eat it all. I would say they consume about 1.5 to 2 Tbsp of food a day total though, and both are healthy, but also fly.

Birds sadly evolved to be super messy.

Thank you for the guidelines! I will try to give a little less from now on

One question please....when you give them a teaspoon of seed, do they ever give up healthier stuff in hopes of waiting it out for more seed?

 

[Mizzely]

Thank you for the guidelines! I will try to give a little less from now on

One question please....when you give them a teaspoon of seed, do they ever give up healthier stuff in hopes of waiting it out for more seed?

Well, a 1/2 tsp of seed isn't that much, and I never really give them more than that, and its always that OR the 2 nutriberries, one in the morning, and one at night to reward them for going back to their cage, never both. At first I am sure they did hold out for more seeds, but they were sorely disappointed as I don't give in They can eat what I give them. My one exception is pellets; I do make sure they like and are reliably eating at least one pellet brand. Starvation is not the answer!

Their 1/2 tsp of seed is usually not "free" either - I put that in foraging toys

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Well, a 1/2 tsp of seed isn't that much, and I never really give them more than that, and its always that OR the 2 nutriberries, one in the morning, and one at night to reward them for going back to their cage, never both. At first I am sure they did hold out for more seeds, but they were sorely disappointed as I don't give in They can eat what I give them. My one exception is pellets; I do make sure they like and are reliably eating at least one pellet brand. Starvation is not the answer!

Their 1/2 tsp of seed is usually not "free" either - I put that in foraging toys

You have a great system! Thank you!!

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Well we had a vet appointment this past week and I forgot to ask if the Dr thought he was too fat. But there was no mention of it.

Now looking at the paperwork he has a body score condition of 3/5. So I'm assuming most of his gain was muscle?

 

[Peachfaced]

A 3 is a good score. That's where you want to be.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

A 3 is a good score. That's where you want to be.

Thank you, Sadie! I had Googled bsc cause I wasn't sure at first what that meant and I also read 3 is ideal.

So that makes curious about how he could have gained 19 grams in such a short amount of time but still be at a perfect weight?

Our first vet appointment in Sept 2016 the vet thought he looked excellent at 88 grams so he was not underweight. And if he's not overweight at 107, it must be muscle, right?

 

[Peachfaced]

That's what I'm thinking, is that it's muscle gain.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

That's what I'm thinking, is that it's muscle gain.

Great! That makes me very happy! Thank you again!

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Sooo... he's up to 115 grams now
That's a 27 gram weight gain in 10 months

He does look somewhat big/wide to me, but does not have any birdie cleavage.


Does he look overweight?

He flies alot so I'm hoping most of it is muscle

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

Aww, he's adorable and does not look fat to me at all. Quakers are naturally "puffy". My Sam is 115 grams and according to the vet, at a pretty good weight. He has weighed up to 135 grams, but never less than 110. He does have some health issues though. If I cannot weigh my birds, I always do a keel check. You should be able to feel the keel bone, it shouldn't feel sharp though. If you cannot get a good feel, it could mean there is excess fat in the area.

 

[Milo]

Sooo... he's up to 115 grams now
That's a 27 gram weight gain in 10 months

He does look somewhat big/wide to me, but does not have any birdie cleavage.

View attachment 253476
Does he look overweight?

He flies alot so I'm hoping most of it is muscle

You can't tell from just looking at them... how does his muscling palpate? Did the vet say he had any extra body fat? In addition to the keel they can store extra fat further down near their pubic bone. Quakers are so prone to obesity if this were my bird I would be very concerned. Have you adjusted his diet at all?

 

[LunaLovebird]

I thought it sounded like a good weight too. I know blue quakers are a litttle smaller naturally but 88 grams seemed tiny to me. My first quaker was 145 lbs!

Good lord, I hope you meant grams! A quaker just lighter than me is a scary concept!

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Aww, he's adorable and does not look fat to me at all. Quakers are naturally "puffy". My Sam is 115 grams and according to the vet, at a pretty good weight. He has weighed up to 135 grams, but never less than 110. He does have some health issues though. If I cannot weigh my birds, I always do a keel check. You should be able to feel the keel bone, it shouldn't feel sharp though. If you cannot get a good feel, it could mean there is excess fat in the area.

Thank you! I will try to feel fir a keel bone this evening.

You can't tell from just looking at them... how does his muscling palpate? Did the vet say he had any extra body fat? In addition to the keel they can store extra fat further down near their pubic bone. Quakers are so prone to obesity if this were my bird I would be very concerned. Have you adjusted his diet at all?

Thank you! I am not sure what to look for in terms of muscles palpating? The vet didn't say anything last time we went (like 2 months ago) Next time we go I will ask specifically.

I honestly, haven't adjusted his diet much cause he doesn't seem to overeat. But I guess, if he's fat, I will have to start adjusting.

Good lord, I hope you meant grams! A quaker just lighter than me is a scary concept!

Hahaha! I meant grams!

 

[Milo]

You should always be able to feel the keel bone, what you're feeling for is the muscling (or fat....) on either side of the keel and the shape it makes. It should just make a gentle slope outwards

here's an image I stole from google what you don't want is the 4 or 5. At this point since he's still gaining weight working on the diet would be a strong recommendation. Gradually reduce the overall quantity of what you're offering

 

[zoo mom]

Good lord, I hope you meant grams! A quaker just lighter than me is a scary concept!

Yes but he would make a good construction worker.