Over Feeding?

[Alien J]

Hi! It's us, Alien J and TD, again. Hope y'all don't get tired of the endless questions (and pictures, I'm like a new, first-hand Mom, huh?).

I'm worried about over feeding TD. It seems he's eating continuously. He's always hungry. Should I remove his food at night so he's really hungry in the morning? Do most birds free feed?

Does he look overweight to any of you? He's bright and alert. He seems especially intelligent to me. He's already doing the wolf whistle. George swears he said, "I love you" today. He plays a mean game of "Peek-a-boo" (Watch out, Ollie!)

I'd be grateful for any and all of your opinions!

 

[Mizzely]

In the wild, a parrot would spend their days flying, socializing/mating, and foraging for food. In our homes some overeat because that's their main form of entertainment (sometimes even when provided other stimuli, like toys etc). So they can definitely over eat. Instead of taking out his food at night, what I would do is measure how much he is actually eating. For me, I started at 1/4 cup of food and saw how much was left at the end of the day. It turns out my birds only eat about 1-2 tbsp of pellets, so I only provide that much.

You can assess body condition using the keel bone like so:

 

[cassiesdad]

TD looks fine to me. We leave pellets in our tiel's cages all day. Pellets are changed every morning in one bowl, the other bowl is used for "chop"..fresh veggies, fruit, pasta, greens, etc. Like @Mizzely , we found that our tiels really only eat about 3 to 4 tablespoons of pellets a day.

Our girl tiels always weighed more than our boys. Mocha and Sunshine come in at about 107g apiece...Igor is a svelte 95g. Goalie, our last girl, averaged 119g.

A good scale is always a nice thing to have. Weekly weigh-ins are a tradition here...except for Milton..of course. He's been with us for over six years and still thinks the scale is something to BBBIIITTTEEE....

 

[Rolanda]

He looks like a Sweetie!

 

[sunnysmom]

Cockatiels typically don't over eat. And I believe they should have access to food 24/7 because of their high metabolism. Checking the keelbone as suggested is a good way to tell if a bird is under/over weight. And you can get a gram scale and monitor weight. It's a good idea in general to weigh a bird, because losing weight is often a sign of illness. Tiels' weight can vary a lot based on size. 80-110 grams is probably typical. My tiel was little though and only weighed 74 grams but my vet said was a healthy weight for him. Some tiels are even 120 grams. It just depends.

 

[janicedyh]

I always left my birds pellets in 24 hours but removed their fresh at night so they wouldn't eat spoiled food.

 

[Begone]

Do most birds free feed?

Mine does, but they are very active.
I would not remove food, but if they get fat I would give them the amount of what they need, and the rest food that contains lower carbs and protein.
Is TD eating only pellets?

 

[Tiel Feathers]

TD looks fine to me, and just as cute as always! My tiels always have dry food in their cages all day, and I have never had a problem with any of them overeating. My tiels range in weight from 78-105 grams. I weigh them every week, and they fluctuate a bit, but it's nice to keep track. My tiels don't have any food in their cages at night, just water.

 

[Alien J]

Is TD eating only pellets?

No, Eloy, not just pellets. TD is eating some (very little) seeds. I have been introducing a variety of veggies, fruit, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, etc. He just started him on pellets. What I've been doing is smashing the pellets into an almost powder like substance, adding a little bit of Kaytee Exact baby formula and hot water, which I hand feed him once a day (he still likes to be babied a bit, ya know?). The rest of the day he has the seeds, fruity pellets, and regular pellets available to him.

 

[Alien J]

Thanks, Cassiesdad!

 

[Begone]

TD is eating some (very little) seeds. I have been introducing a variety of veggies, fruit, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, etc. He just started him on pellets.

That sounds perfect!

What I've been doing is smashing the pellets into an almost powder like substance, adding a little bit of Kaytee Exact baby formula and hot water, which I hand feed him once a day (he still likes to be babied a bit, ya know?).

And that is awesome! And he is still so young to I don't think you have anything to worry about.
And it's not for sure that he is eating everything he puts in his mouth, he can be just testing it too. (and that is also good)