feeding amount help please

[scott199]

Hi all.

We have Bert, he's a rescue, he came on Harrisons high potency pellets and eats them like they are going out of fashion, we had no info on amount to feed, so went with the Harrisons guide, we also mix Harrisons lifetime in but he's not that keen.

I've been reading a few blogs/books and I think I might be over feeding him, can anyone give me an idea/weight of the daily food yours has.

At this point he gets around 30grams of pellets per day (20grms in the morning and 10grms around 7:30pm, bed at 8:30pm) and he'll clear his morning food almost instantly, then he gets some form of lunch (usually sprouted mix), then at 4:30/5pm he gets a bowl of fresh veg, around 6:30 he has a avicake (when we have our meal)

veg wise he only nibble's on broccoli, carrot, sweet potato, cauliflower, but 80% of the time its only broccoli or cauliflower. odd piece of apple and a grape.

I seen a few blogs/pictures of the "daily" amount other feed and compared, it seemed a very tiny amount, now he never eats all his sprouted mix or veg.

Ive also heard 15-20% of their body weight ??

but I'm wondering how to know what "enough" is ?

(he's still not very hand tame, so weighing would be a real issue)

 

[Mizzely]

If he is not overweight, let him eat. Most birds don't overeat. They can eat anywhere from 10 to 20% of their body weight, but unless you have reason to restrict his food, I wouldn't.

 

[scott199]

If he is not overweight, let him eat. Most birds don't overeat. They can eat anywhere from 10 to 20% of their body weight, but unless you have reason to restrict his food, I wouldn't.

Thanks, he’s a big lad at a guess he would be on the upper end of the grey weights, when the rescue brought him over, they said he was one of the biggest greys they’ve seen.

I have no real way of telling if he’s the right weight/size.

 

[Mizzely]

Thanks, he’s a big lad at a guess he would be on the upper end of the grey weights, when the rescue brought him over, they said he was one of the biggest greys they’ve seen.

I have no real way of telling if he’s the right weight/size.

You can try to visually inspect his keel


Otherwise, a vet visit would let you know his body condition

 

[aooratrix]

You could try fresh in the morning when he’s at his hungriest.

 

[scott199]

You could try fresh in the morning when he’s at his hungriest.

lol, i have tried this quite a few times, he just simply won't eat, then i give in after a few hours and let him have his pellets.

 

[scott199]

You can try to visually inspect his keel
View attachment 341568

Otherwise, a vet visit would let you know his body condition

Thanks.

Visually he looks fine i think, i'm trying to avoid a vet visit just due to the stress of getting him there and back, id probably have to towel him to get him in and out is travel cage.

i'll work harder and come up with a solution to weigh him, i'm not overly worried, it was just seeing pics on what some feed theirs in a day and i thought, oh Bert gets loads more than that.

 

[BertAllen]

Tinker is fully flighted and has access to food 24x7. He is on basically the same as yours except he eats his veggies etc in the morning. My guy weighs 425 g. Depending on his activity level he eats more one day than the next.

Pictures would be nice to see of Bert.

 

[scott199]

Tinker is fully flighted and has access to food 24x7. He is on basically the same as yours except he eats his veggies etc in the morning. My guy weighs 425 g. Depending on his activity level he eats more one day than the next.

Pictures would be nice to see of Bert.

hi, Bert can't or won't fly (not sure which yet) but here is an album of some pics.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/94737641@N02/cGV130

I managed to hind some old kitchen scales under his news paper tonight, not sure how accurate they are but i'll weigh him everynight for a few days and see what I get, it was a bit of a guess as he just walked over, even with a treat he knew something was up and stepped off

 

[Monaco]

Are you any closer to a t-perch or perch you can hold to carry him places? He's making huge progress, but that will help you in numerous ways. (Monaco hates them, but we're getting closer to accepting small towels nearby... Also pipettes/syringes.)

@mythic55 may have some caloric data to gauge his needs vs his activity.

 

[scott199]

Are you any closer to a t-perch or perch you can hold to carry him places? He's making huge progress, but that will help you in numerous ways. (Monaco hates them, but we're getting closer to accepting small towels nearby... Also pipettes/syringes.)

@mythic55 may have some caloric data to gauge his needs vs his activity.

T-perch he will accept 8/10 times now, when he's out and want's to go back to his cage but mostly he just pushes it away, at least he's not attacking it anymore, took me nearly 2 hours the other night, I offer, he "beaks" it away (pushes it with a closed beak) and i'll move it and sit it next to him, then try again in 5/10/15 minutes and around we go

I can syringe feed him, i've been doing his weekly since he arrived, so he'll take direct from a syringe, will drink from a shot glass and I have a small spoon bent into a kind of bowl shape he will drink from.

im sure if I pushed him he would step up, but im in no rush and want it to be his choice to step up when he's ready.

i'm going to start to target the scales and see if I can get him to stop on them, I had him walking over them on the cage floor earlier, so just need to teach him to stay

 

[Monaco]

T-perch he will accept 8/10 times now, when he's out and want's to go back to his cage but mostly he just pushes it away, at least he's not attacking it anymore, took me nearly 2 hours the other night, I offer, he "beaks" it away (pushes it with a closed beak) and i'll move it and sit it next to him, then try again in 5/10/15 minutes and around we go

I can syringe feed him, i've been doing his weekly since he arrived, so he'll take direct from a syringe, will drink from a shot glass and I have a small spoon bent into a kind of bowl shape he will drink from.

im sure if I pushed him he would step up, but im in no rush and want it to be his choice to step up when he's ready.

i'm going to start to target the scales and see if I can get him to stop on them, I had him walking over them on the cage floor earlier, so just need to teach him to stay

OMG, you are leaps and bounds ahead of most rescues! I was thinking of a step off to the scale for a treat, but your method might be faster.

You're doing so well for him! Did the application go through? Is he yours forever and ever amen?

 

[BertAllen]

Wow nice pictures'

I have a small perch that sits on the scale. I then offer sun flower seeds to get him to step up onto it and stay. He weighted in at 429 G today at 8pm.

 

[scott199]

OMG, you are leaps and bounds ahead of most rescues! I was thinking of a step off to the scale for a treat, but your method might be faster.

You're doing so well for him! Did the application go through? Is he yours forever and ever amen?

hi

yes pretty much, we have to have parrot insurance to re-home with the rescue, so i'm just waiting for my cert to come through, so i can send it off to them and then sign, so technically yes, he's ours pending some admin stuff.

Wow nice pictures'

I have a small perch that sits on the scale. I then offer sun flower seeds to get him to step up onto it and stay. He weighted in at 429 G today at 8pm.

Thanks, i think i'll have the weight thing by the end of the week, i can sit the scales on his cage floor and "in theory" teach him to come over and stand on them perfectly still for me

 

[Ali]

You can try to visually inspect his keel
View attachment 341568

Otherwise, a vet visit would let you know his body condition

@Mizzely , that last image looks like it may have resulted in a bite... or at least a nibble!

 

[Mizzely]

@Mizzely , that last image looks like it may have resulted in a bite... or at least a nibble!

Not my photo but I agree

 

[scott199]

so I managed to get him on the scales in his cage, im not 100% sure how accurate as they are small digital kitchen scales and getting him centre is a challenge but his rough weights, im assuming they are close as im getting the same.

Thursday - 620g, Friday 619 and today 617, todays was before his dinner at 5:30 ish but the other two were 7pm after dinner.

pics

 

[Monaco]

He is a big guy!

 

[scott199]

He is a big guy!

yes, the rescue come round a few weeks before with a grey to see how we got along, not Bert, just a personal one, and we had him on us and both felt quite comfortable, but he was a tiny grey and Bert isn't

 

[BertAllen]

WOW he is a giant.
He certainly doesn't look fat in those two pictures. Crop looks full in the one.