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HELP! fat?

LinnieLife

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My baby pixel has a crease down her belly and I'm quite worried!! I've read that the crease can mean that they are overweight, i made a post a couple days ago but got no replies and I'm starting to get worried, she won't touch pellets & she's starting to get picky about fruits and vegetables (she's always loved them but is now only taking a few bites) Does this crease mean she's overweight? she's not hand tame so it would be very hard to weigh her but i will try my best to! she has overgrown toenails but I'm just hoping thats because of her perches (she has two dowel perches and one natural one, I'm getting her used to a second natural perch to switch out the dowels, I'm trying my best to get her nice natural perches but if i rush too quickly it could end badly!!) I just would really like answers because I'm kind of freaking out, does this crease mean she's overweight?
 

LunaLovebird

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Can you post a picture?
 

LinnieLife

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@LunaLovebird I cant post a picture right now because she is sleeping and i don't have any current photos, tomorrow morning i definitely will!!
 

Milo

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A picture isn't going to tell us much for sure about her weight. What I would recommend is a vet visit where they can properly assess her body condition and get those nails trimmed. If they're overgrown right now getting new perches won't help, they need to be trimmed.

There are two places on a bird's body used to assess body condition. The pectoral muscles and also coelomic fat. Body score is assessed by feeling the shape of the pectoral muscle in relation to the keel bone You want it to be a gentle "u" shape. Again if you aren't used to feeling this in addition to your bird not being hand tame, I would recommend a vet visit and when they are feeling the muscle ask to feel it as well so you can learn what to look/feel for. Linnies are definitely more heavy bodied birds, so yours may be okay but we really can't tell you from a picture.
 

Milo

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How much food are you offering her every day and in what proportion? If you're over offering on food she might become picky and only eat a few things instead of being forced to try others.
 

LinnieLife

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@Milo I know i have to get nails trimmed at the vet, I was just bringing it up because i freaked out at midnight after reading the crease down their belly could mean they are overweight and then i read that overweight birds could get fatty liver disease and that fatty liver disease causes overgrown toenails and yada yada yada, She's on a seed diet right now unfortunately but I've been trying to convert her to pellets, so she one small scoopful in her bowl in the morning and then either chop/mash or just a couple vegetables by themselves, Every week i give her quinoa for protein, she definitely gets a lot of excersize running back & forth and climbing (and her little hummingbird bursts) I asked my friend and she suggested i train her to perch on a cup and then put the cup on the scale (obviously subtracting the cups weight) is that a good idea or is it too inaccurate?
 

Tiel Feathers

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I weigh my birds by putting a small carrier on the gram scale, setting it to zero, (taring) and then weighing them on that. You can use any smallish object that your bird will sit on.
 

LinnieLife

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@Tiel Feathers Thank you! I will do this now just to make sure its not a extreme situation (and so i can sleep at night) & I will have the vet come next week for a nail trim & to feel her body condition
 

Milo

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@Milo I know i have to get nails trimmed at the vet, I was just bringing it up because i freaked out at midnight after reading the crease down their belly could mean they are overweight and then i read that overweight birds could get fatty liver disease and that fatty liver disease causes overgrown toenails and yada yada yada, She's on a seed diet right now unfortunately but I've been trying to convert her to pellets, so she one small scoopful in her bowl in the morning and then either chop/mash or just a couple vegetables by themselves, Every week i give her quinoa for protein, she definitely gets a lot of excersize running back & forth and climbing (and her little hummingbird bursts) I asked my friend and she suggested i train her to perch on a cup and then put the cup on the scale (obviously subtracting the cups weight) is that a good idea or is it too inaccurate?
You could zero out the cup first, that's an excellent way to get a weight :)

Linnie nails can get long just because they get long... Spot doesn't wear down his nails so I have to catch him up every once in awhile and give them a trim. How much is in a scoopful? I find that a lot of pellet conversions are unsuccessful because birds are being offered too much food and they don't have any motivation to try the pellets.
 

Milo

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@LinnieLife do you have any bird savvy family members that could possibly help with nails? That would be a good resource too!
 

LinnieLife

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@Milo Ok thanks! A scoop is 5 grams usually. and i don't have any friends or family that knows anything about birds haha, Besides I'm too paranoid to trim nails myself anyway!:confused:
 
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