Linnies have a very high metabolism and have a tendency towards obesity if you feed them fatty foods. The other day my girl friend was here for the day and she has a GCC. Over the curse of the visit she was watching Kobe and Tango. They ate off and on for 3.5 hours. That was a lot of food in a little crop. This made me wonder if other birds eat a lot like mind do.
I know some species are prone to obesity so like us they need exercise and healthy foods, not so many seeds. Species at a higher risk of developing obesity are Budgerigars, Amazons, Galah cockatoos and lorikeets and cockatiels. I read that Linnies are too. Obesity does not depend solely on the food eaten, but also depends greatly on the energetic needs. Like a bird that flies outside who free flies has a higher energy need. Breeding birds need more food than if they were not breeding. Birds living in colder climates also have a higher energy need. So how do we avoid our captive parrots living indoors from being "fat birds"? Pellets are not the sole answer because they contain more fat and protein than our relatively inactive birds need. Sunflower seeds are a whopping 50% fat and the oils added to the pellets (sometimes palm and coconut oils) may predispose to atherosclerosis (fat deposits in arteries). It is important to discuss this with your avian vet to formulate a life plan for your bird. This would include healthy foods, low fat treats and lots of exercise. Our birds are totally depended on us to maintain their health and that is no small task for a bird guardian.
Do you measure the dry foods you give your birds? If you do how do you know how much to give them? I pretty much give a dry mix of pellets and goldenfeast blends with ground eggs shells sprinkled on top. The dry foods are 1 tbsp. each along with 1 tbsp. pellets per day. Then they get fresh chop most days. Linnies do not like to fly that much as they prefer to climb. I set up a small climbing area over the cage and they like to spend time there. I admit to not having a scale to weigh my birds but the girls will weigh them with my grooming trips to the vets office
Now keeping your cat slim and trim is another story. I have a sweet Maine Coon kitty and they are big boned cats who are usually heavier than other breeds. My girl was "obese" by some vet notes and not obese by other vets notes. She has always been just over 13 pounds. She carries her weight ( like us) in the belly. Not as active now due to arthritis so I have a feeling the scale is creeping upwards. Oh I should say she loves to eat. I give her 2/3 cup of dry food every day and 1 tsp. of wet food about 3 times per week. Vet says for me to cut back on the dry food to 1/2 cup and since I did this she is crying late at night for food. It breaks my heart.
I know some species are prone to obesity so like us they need exercise and healthy foods, not so many seeds. Species at a higher risk of developing obesity are Budgerigars, Amazons, Galah cockatoos and lorikeets and cockatiels. I read that Linnies are too. Obesity does not depend solely on the food eaten, but also depends greatly on the energetic needs. Like a bird that flies outside who free flies has a higher energy need. Breeding birds need more food than if they were not breeding. Birds living in colder climates also have a higher energy need. So how do we avoid our captive parrots living indoors from being "fat birds"? Pellets are not the sole answer because they contain more fat and protein than our relatively inactive birds need. Sunflower seeds are a whopping 50% fat and the oils added to the pellets (sometimes palm and coconut oils) may predispose to atherosclerosis (fat deposits in arteries). It is important to discuss this with your avian vet to formulate a life plan for your bird. This would include healthy foods, low fat treats and lots of exercise. Our birds are totally depended on us to maintain their health and that is no small task for a bird guardian.
Do you measure the dry foods you give your birds? If you do how do you know how much to give them? I pretty much give a dry mix of pellets and goldenfeast blends with ground eggs shells sprinkled on top. The dry foods are 1 tbsp. each along with 1 tbsp. pellets per day. Then they get fresh chop most days. Linnies do not like to fly that much as they prefer to climb. I set up a small climbing area over the cage and they like to spend time there. I admit to not having a scale to weigh my birds but the girls will weigh them with my grooming trips to the vets office
Now keeping your cat slim and trim is another story. I have a sweet Maine Coon kitty and they are big boned cats who are usually heavier than other breeds. My girl was "obese" by some vet notes and not obese by other vets notes. She has always been just over 13 pounds. She carries her weight ( like us) in the belly. Not as active now due to arthritis so I have a feeling the scale is creeping upwards. Oh I should say she loves to eat. I give her 2/3 cup of dry food every day and 1 tsp. of wet food about 3 times per week. Vet says for me to cut back on the dry food to 1/2 cup and since I did this she is crying late at night for food. It breaks my heart.
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