My parakeets are overweight

[BabyBirdMa]

Well, I just took my parakeets to the vet and they are all overweight, Jesse being the most unhealthy. I feel like such a failure; I thought I was feeding them the best food but I guess that little bit of seed in their fruit and vegetable mix was too much.

 

[Kassiani]

Oh yes, I've definitely had pudgie budgies before! Most recently this past summer. I was visiting family for 6 weeks with the birds, and I had not packed either the scale to weigh their food or them for the trip. I was definitely overestimating the amount I was giving them! I kicked myself for that for weeks afterward!

Now I'm very, very particular about the amount I feed them. They are fed out 15% to 20% of their ideal weight in food for each day. So say Jelly and Juju should be 38g. That means they will/should only eat about (38 g x 15% is roughly 6 g) per day. And of that 6g per bird per day, 25% of it is seed. Budgies are granivores and need the seed to be part of their diet (according to my vet).

 

[BabyBirdMa]

Oh yes, I've definitely had pudgie budgies before! Most recently this past summer. I was visiting family for 6 weeks with the birds, and I had not packed either the scale to weigh their food or them for the trip. I was definitely overestimating the amount I was giving them! I kicked myself for that for weeks afterward!

Now I'm very, very particular about the amount I feed them. They are fed out 15% to 20% of their ideal weight in food for each day. So say Jelly and Juju should be 38g. That means they will/should only eat about (38 g x 15% is roughly 6 g) per day. And of that 6g per bird per day, 25% of it is seed. Budgies are granivores and need the seed to be part of their diet (according to my vet).

Maybe I should start weighing the food instead of using a scoop cup.

 

[Alien J]

Oh yes, I've definitely had pudgie budgies before! Most recently this past summer. I was visiting family for 6 weeks with the birds, and I had not packed either the scale to weigh their food or them for the trip. I was definitely overestimating the amount I was giving them! I kicked myself for that for weeks afterward!

Now I'm very, very particular about the amount I feed them. They are fed out 15% to 20% of their ideal weight in food for each day. So say Jelly and Juju should be 38g. That means they will/should only eat about (38 g x 15% is roughly 6 g) per day. And of that 6g per bird per day, 25% of it is seed. Budgies are granivores and need the seed to be part of their diet (according to my vet).

Maybe I should start weighing the food instead of using a scoop cup.

Pudgie Budgies and I have a Buddha Belly Birdie I just posted about before I saw this thread! I should have posted it here! In case you don't see it: