My GCC loves to eat but how much is too much?

Persie, my GCC, seems to spend most his time eating. I was told by the breeder to just put food in for a few hours a day where as others have said leave it in and he will eat just enough without getting fat...

So whats right? I cant really tell if hes getting fat as such and seeing as hes only 4 months im guessing he is still a growing boy but I dont want him to end up a fat, unhealthy porker and end up resembling a painted chicken!!

Any advice appreciated

Jon

Conures are so active I don't think obesity is much of a concern for them. It's usually amazons and budgies that have that issue. My amazon is a bit overweight, but he was in a tiny cage, had no toys and ate seeds and peanuts before I got him. I'm hoping with his better diet and that he is much more active now that he will be ok and get back in shape.

Are you feeding pellets and healthy foods like veggies and fruit? If so, I would let him eat what he wants. Also veggies are better nutrionally than fruit, so feed more of those.

My BCC ate like a pig and never had issues with obesity. I don't know why but she ate like twice what my other conure eats.

roxynoodle said:

Conures are so active I don't think obesity is much of a concern for them. It's usually amazons and budgies that have that issue. My amazon is a bit overweight, but he was in a tiny cage, had no toys and ate seeds and peanuts before I got him. I'm hoping with his better diet and that he is much more active now that he will be ok and get back in shape.

Are you feeding pellets and healthy foods like veggies and fruit? If so, I would let him eat what he wants. Also veggies are better nutrionally than fruit, so feed more of those.

My BCC ate like a pig and never had issues with obesity. I don't know why but she ate like twice what my other conure eats.

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Thats ok then, I will let him continue to be a pig, like I say he is still young so might be growing still. He is on tropical mix of dried fruits and nuts plus seeds in a seperate bowl for him. Im trying to get him to eat fruit but he turns his beak up at anything I try to give him... If I cut it up small and put it in his food bowl he seems happier to try it...

Ok, I would probably cut down on the nuts as conures don't need them like macaws do, and they are fattening. I only give a little piece as a treat. I split a walnut up or some other nut each day and divide among all 3 of my birds. I also let my 2 bigger birds have an almond each day.

Seeds also tend to be fattening, and not very nutritious. It would be better to convert him to a pelleted diet like Harrison's, Zupreeem or Roudybush. In the long run that would be much better for his health as he will get all the vitamins and minerals he needs to be healthy. Some birds take to eating pellets quickly and some take time and patience.

lol don't give up on the fresh stuff!! you can leave nothing but fresh in his cage at certain times in the day even

i always thought my nut never liked her fresh, except the really good stuff, but she will eat almost anything as long as i present it right lol

Nuts are very fatty and are discouraged for parrots in captivity. You may want to look into pellets as a staple, and use nuts only as an occasional treat.

Yes, don't give up on the fresh food either. Sometimes it takes birds a really long time to try something new because they don't recognize it as food. My conure is the easiest for me to get to try a new food because if she sees me eating it, she wants it. That is how I got her on pellets. I put them on my plate and started eating them. Of course she wanted to try them, too. So I handed her one, and she ate it. I just kept doing that, and then put them in her dish, and she ate them. But, she has been interested in my food since the first day I had her.

My BCC was not so easily convinced about the pellets no matter how many I ate in front of her. I had to try different ones and she finally consented to eating a Zupreem Fruitblend one. So that is what I converted her to.

Now my amazon wouldn't try the Zupreem ones. But, someone had given his previous owner some Harrison's that he mixed in with the seeds. I saw Pete eat one, and then had to figure out what kind they were. So I bought him the Harrison's and got him converted to that. His previous owner had told me no way was I ever going to get him to eat a pellet, but he actually converted pretty easily.

So stick with it and more likely than not, you can get the bird on pellets and to try other new foods. Pete is about 29 years old and he did it. He loves his veggies now, too.

From what I have read about birds is that they will not over eat. The issue is that they behave like small children going for their favorite foods first. This can result in them getting too few nutrients.

As long as you are offering health foods, I wouldn't worry about him overeating.

Puck plays with his food. He will spend an hour on a single dried fig, mushing it around in his mouth, cracking all of the seeds, making a mess, and LOOKING like he is eating! Lol.

I was concerned about this too but than I watched how my bird eat and she more makes a mess than eats so I figure she spends so much time eating because she plays with her food a lot.

Last night I was reminded of a the I took Puck to a pumpkin carving party. He spent HOURS on a bowl of pumpkin guts, chewing them up. We thought he was eating. When we got home, he was ravenous, and I realized his crop was empty! He had just been playing with the pumpkin guts for the last 4 hours!

Remy said:

Last night I was reminded of a the I took Puck to a pumpkin carving party. He spent HOURS on a bowl of pumpkin guts, chewing them up. We thought he was eating. When we got home, he was ravenous, and I realized his crop was empty! He had just been playing with the pumpkin guts for the last 4 hours!

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What a character! lol