The Vet said my Mealy is small

[Love My Zons]

really? Kazoo is small according to my Avian. He said the Blue Crowns are generally larger. Well Kazoo is where he's been and today he weighed in around 576.

The Doc said that he's a great shape, and hated the clip the breeder gave him last August. I told him once those flights are in, they are staying in!

Both Zon boys are fine and in great shape.

 

[marian]

Thats great news on your zon'sThey sure are pretty

 

[Gen120]

Glad to hear that both your zons are healthy and happy!

 

[Bahama's Momma]

Well that's good for a zon, better to be on the lighter side that's for sure given their tendency to be on the round side Just shows he's having lots of fun being active and getting a good diet in his loving home

 

[Archiesmom]

Always glad to hear about a healthy report from the vet on the fids here at AA

 

[expressmailtome]

I am glad that they are both doing well!

Matt

 

[Ashley]

glad to hear your zon's are fine

 

[Jadie]

They are both just beautiful Good to hear both boys are healthy! Charlie can give some of his weight to Kazoo is he wants some lol.

 

[Love My Zons]

I am sure that that lean part is in his weight is that he's never really had anything bad to eat since I brought him home. I pretty much watch the nuts the both consume. I will tell you guys flat out, he loves meat. I mean begs for chicken it's insane and scarfs it down. He is also flighted, or somewhat........after the Vet commented on the horrible clip job his breeder gave him. Once they fall out and new flights come in I am sure he will be just as avid if not better than he is now.


Both just little bits is all he gets. When he's at the dinner table, he will get as much veggies that he wants to consume. Sometimes the stinker will drop a veggie thinking something else is coming along. Once he figures out it's a veggie and nothing else he will usually eat it.


For the rest of his diet, it's the Tropican pellets and the low fat bean Tropi mix and will will say very little seed they get only what you see in a nutriberry.

 

[Michaelg]

Most Blue Crowns are Farinosa Guatamalae. I think yours is the other subspecies, which is smaller. They are not as common as the Guatamalae, but are absolutely one of my favorite Amazon species.

 

[TITANIS]

really? Kazoo is small according to my Avian. He said the Blue Crowns are generally larger. Well Kazoo is where he's been and today he weighed in around 576.

The Doc said that he's a great shape, and hated the clip the breeder gave him last August. I told him once those flights are in, they are staying in!

Both Zon boys are fine and in great shape.

Very glad both your Amazons are doing fine. Kazoo's weight is a little on the low side but not out of the range usually seen for Mealies (~550g-750g). The Blue Crowns I have read about seem to be close to the 600g and some quite a bit under, so don't know how much larger this subspecies can get. The largest Mealies on average are not the Blue Crowns, though, that is for certain. All the Mealies I had ever known about (half a dozen or more individuals) over 800g all belonged to the other subspecies, notably the Chapman's Mealy, which can attain 1000g or more. For example, Anna's KerBear is not a BCMA and believe she's at or above 800g. The following picture can give you a rough idea about size. BCMA in the middle and two different unidentified Mealy ssp. on the left and right, each 800g or more.

 

[Michaelg]

The mealy in the middle is Blue Crown, Amazona Farinosa Virentemporis. The bigger Blue Crown on the right is Amazona Farinosa Guatamalae. The bigger one on the left is what we call a, "mealy" and could be of several different subspecies. I'm doing this from memory so there might be some mispelling of the Latin words. I've had all 3 kinds of these. On top of that, it is very likely that the Guatamalae is a male.

 

[TITANIS]

The mealy in the middle is Blue Crown, Amazona Farinosa Virentemporis. The bigger Blue Crown on the right is Amazona Farinosa Guatamalae. The bigger one on the left is what we call a, "mealy" and could be of several different subspecies. I'm doing this from memory so there might be some mispelling of the Latin words. I've had all 3 kinds of these. On top of that, it is very likely that the Guatamalae is a male.

From what I recall on the website the pic originated, only the individual at the center is A. f. gautemalae commonly referred to as the Blue Crowned or Guatemalan Mealy. The other two were not identified. My guess is the left being a Greater Mealy (A. f. inornata or nominate) the other possibly being a Chapmans' (A. f. chapmani), because weight-wise it was the heaviest (pic is deceiving since the bird is leaning forward). The Costa Rican Mealy (A. f. virenticeps) has a yellowish wash over abdomen and don't think any of these birds is a CRMA, but I could definitely be wrong. I have modified diagrams using Photoshop that I found of some popular Amazon species and their subspecies depicting each of their unique colorations, which I occasionally refer to for proper identification. Unfortunately, the size is much harder to tell even from an accurate photo. Here is another view:

 

[Jadie]

Hey Titanis, would you happen to know any of the noticeable differences between the nominate Mealy and the Greater Mealy? Is it just size?

 

[TITANIS]

Hey Titanis, would you happen to know any of the noticeable differences between the nominate Mealy and the Greater Mealy? Is it just size?

Hi Jade, There are coloration differences between the subspecies, some of which are subtle whereas others not so subtle. I really need to create a chart or post the diagrams I have modified. From what I gather, most Mealy subspecies are generally within the same size ranges (which varies a lot), but the Chapman's are towards the larger end of the spectrum. But, as we see with any species/subspecies of animal, there can be exceptional cases in either extreme. What I recall from my research in the past, males tend to be somewhat larger than females, and the largest of all Mealies were the old wild-caught males of previous decades. Some of them were reportedly huge (multiple pounds) and doubt there are any that large bred in captivity today, although 1000g individuals are not uncommon. There would be no question if I ever stumbled upon a large Mealy of that size, I would do whatever I could to accommodate the bird.