- Joined
- 12/9/20
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- 1,890
Winston Churchill is pudgy. No, scratch that. He’s plain old tubby. He’s a chunk.
He always has been a larger bird, and to a certain extent we (his vet and I) believe that he will always be on the bigger side of Cockatieldom genetics. His healthy weight is normally ~145 g.
Due to his frequent severe night frights causing permanent damage to his flights, his vet has grounded him permanently. Not flying has kept him safe on that front but it’s been an uphill battle in regards to his waistline. His weight has ballooned, 176 grams as of vet visit today.
We have been (trying) working it off with very little forward motion.
He has been on a no nut, low fat pellet for nine weeks. Half of the normal seed ratio he has been used to, in favor of more low fat styrofoam pellets he regards as akin to being fed POW rations. He is only getting food that is weighed out and portions sized for the weight loss as prescribed by the vet. We have an exercise regime that’s also religiously adhered to. He has to move, move, move! to get to all his food/water/toys and we are still doing all the PT prescribed exercises to help the injured shoulders from his last fright a few months back. However this is a bird who has always been a super strong flighted bird and no real amount of ground based exercise has been able to compensate for his lack of flight.
He is the pain in the butt Tiel that won’t eat any fresh foods, so my usual tricks of using low calorie veggies won’t work.
So far there has been exactly 5 grams lost in this quest. 5. That’s it. His doctor is frustrated as well, knowing that the longer he remains this chunky the more at risk he is. Right now all lab values are normal. But who can guess if they’ll still be six months from now if we can’t get this weight off?
He looks like fat Thor sitting on the couch in that superhero movie. I feel like theres to be a birdy reality show called “My 200 gram life” and I will get a call asking when Churchill can star in it. If he were a human, I’d refer him to a band or gastric sleeve procedure!!
I have been very successful in getting weight off of older Amazons, Toos, and Macaws. But this porky tiel has me almost pulling my hair out. I welcome tips or tricks that have worked for you.
He always has been a larger bird, and to a certain extent we (his vet and I) believe that he will always be on the bigger side of Cockatieldom genetics. His healthy weight is normally ~145 g.
Due to his frequent severe night frights causing permanent damage to his flights, his vet has grounded him permanently. Not flying has kept him safe on that front but it’s been an uphill battle in regards to his waistline. His weight has ballooned, 176 grams as of vet visit today.
We have been (trying) working it off with very little forward motion.
He has been on a no nut, low fat pellet for nine weeks. Half of the normal seed ratio he has been used to, in favor of more low fat styrofoam pellets he regards as akin to being fed POW rations. He is only getting food that is weighed out and portions sized for the weight loss as prescribed by the vet. We have an exercise regime that’s also religiously adhered to. He has to move, move, move! to get to all his food/water/toys and we are still doing all the PT prescribed exercises to help the injured shoulders from his last fright a few months back. However this is a bird who has always been a super strong flighted bird and no real amount of ground based exercise has been able to compensate for his lack of flight.
He is the pain in the butt Tiel that won’t eat any fresh foods, so my usual tricks of using low calorie veggies won’t work.
So far there has been exactly 5 grams lost in this quest. 5. That’s it. His doctor is frustrated as well, knowing that the longer he remains this chunky the more at risk he is. Right now all lab values are normal. But who can guess if they’ll still be six months from now if we can’t get this weight off?
He looks like fat Thor sitting on the couch in that superhero movie. I feel like theres to be a birdy reality show called “My 200 gram life” and I will get a call asking when Churchill can star in it. If he were a human, I’d refer him to a band or gastric sleeve procedure!!
I have been very successful in getting weight off of older Amazons, Toos, and Macaws. But this porky tiel has me almost pulling my hair out. I welcome tips or tricks that have worked for you.