How much does your neotropical pigeon eat?

I'm not sure if all conures generally eat the same amount but I am curious how current conure owners (np's in particular) feed there fids.

When Skittles last had his annual (late this summer) the doc said he was overweight (he weighed 123grams) and given his high level of activity, that concerned me. I completed stopped ALL table foods for two weeks and then gradually added back fruits and vegetables but totally eliminated breads and severely limited pastas. When he had a scare a few weeks ago the vet said he had lost 2 grams. Skittles has always been on the larger side for his species and technically 110-120 is a safe range for his species as far as the upper range goes. But I notice he does eat a LOT.

I wonder if I should address this. I would assume he only eats when he is hungry and I've never heard of a bird 'over-eating' but is it an actual thing? Should I limit his food access? I just figure since he's free-flighted all the time that he just gets hungry quicker. He also drinks a lot too (non-alcoholic drinks, I had to cut off his beer access after he got into it with the neighbors imaginary cat). haha

Seriously though, what are other peoples feeding schedules? Do you monitor how much your conure actually eats? Does it stay persistent?

Geeeeez, I'd love to help you, but I have no way of knowing how much actually goes INTO the Rickeybird... he decorates the walls and floor with all of his food. I can say that I put out about 5 tablespoons of Harrison's, a cup full of fresh produce, a tablespoon of seeds, and hand-offered healthy human leftovers.
I think weight is the best measure.
Rbird weighs about 250 grams. He's a very lightweight species, so that's good, even at 18 inches long (lots of tail!).

See that's where I'm having trouble. I don't really know how much Skittles actually ingests because so much does end up discarded even while in his beak

I did find some very old posts on this forum that said it is possible for birds to overeat but the information provided didn't really answer any of my questions.

I just don't want him to get sick, but I also worry there may be an underlying cause.

His diet mainly consists of Harrisons HP Fine as well as power treats. I give him healthy 'human food' on occasion as a treat.

I just don't want to miss any signs.

You and me BOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm always questionning everything!

Eating must have a different meaning for Conures. I could say my GCC loves raisins or Nutri Berri's for instance. But mostly I can give him one of those treats turn around, walk away and I hear the light thump of either treat as it hits the grating. He's getting better with raisins. I am beginning to learn that its best to break or chop whatever they eat for best results.

Skittles pellets are pretty small, they are the 'fine' variety. There is also super fine and mash but those are more for smaller birds like budgies or finches etc.

@GaleriaGila Well, the Rickeybird hasn't made it to 32 by accident so you are clearly doing a LOT of things right. Especially when you consider that you got him in the '80s and we knew next to nothing about conures back then.

But stories like yours do give me hope. I just want to do everything I can and do it right. Lord knows I did so many things wrong in the past.

I love you, S'sDaddy.
I love our community.

I think that the daily weighing is always a good tell if your bird is eating properly. I have to keep a good track of my two blue crowns to make sure they are doing good and I write it down to record any fluctuations. Usually keep about a month or so daily record and a monthly average. It is interesting that I can see a seasonal trend. They all seem to gain a little during the summer months and lose some during the winter. About a 5 gram spread but it seems to be a pattern. This is the first year in the new house and the room the conures are in is brightly lit with sunshine. Much more than the apartment I had before. And the winter days won't be quite as short as they were in Duluth, MN. It will be interesting to see if the pattern holds this year.

Tootsie had a very poor diet for half of her life. All seed. Some human food. And morning coffee. She had fatty deposits on her when I adopted her. Very overweight. But she has slimmed down after I managed to get her onto a good diet. Though she can backslide very easily if I give her too much of the wrong things.

Rosco came to me as a heavy bird but it seems to be "normal" for him. He averages just over 200 grams while Tootsie is usually in the 180's. He does not seem to have any fat on him though he does have a longitudinal "fold" between the legs that looks like it could be fatty. But the excellent avian vet I had in Florida did an all over exam and concluded that he was just naturally a big boy. I feed him more veggies and less fruits than Tootsie just to be sure. They both have pellets to supplement the diet. And the occasional nut. Usually twice a day, morning and when I come home in the evening.

My senegal Sidney seems to eat more than either of the two larger conures. But he always stays around 150-155 grams. He has never given me cause to be concerned about his weight.

@GaleriaGila You too! I as well love this community!

@JamesC That's what the vet had told me as well. The thing is, the weight can fluctuate and its so hard to get a precise weighing of him because he figits around in the box. My gram scale is rather small (compared to the vet). He doesn't figit around at the vet, but he does here and it gets frustrating. Also, the gram scale I have is about the size of a calculator so even little fidgeting will throw it off.

I wonder what methods people use to get an accurate reading. I should maybe do some research on that.

I still think Skittles is underweight, but the vet disagreed. He isn't chubby but he is heavy.

My friend had a Sun that lived to only 16 because he was fed human food, including curry on occasions . If you are sensible in giving him a balanced diet, limit the treats, he gets plenty of exercise and is happy I cannot see a problem, honestly! After researching he is within the weight range of 110g-130g, so all good IMO. I use a flat digital kitchen scale to weigh Plum but have to offer inducements to step on. He has got used to it and now steps up onto it and waits for the inducement LOl, often before I have had time to reset it to zero.

Only thing I can suggest is have a go/research at 'sprouting' as this is great food for parrots and if he eats this will possibly eat less other stuff?? You will notice anything that is a little off with Skittles I am sure and will take appropriate action. We can learn from the past but not undo it.

Relax now he sounds in great form!

I made a scale similar to this. https://www.amazon.com/ZIEIS-A63SS-...TF8&qid=1477957302&sr=8-2&keywords=bird+scale

Just get a T-bar, a regular kitchen scale and drill a small hole in the center. Screw the perch to the scale and you are done. I put my birds on mine and if they are fidgeting I just hold my hands to either side and usually they stop moving to enough to get a good reading.

I guess mine little guy eats a lot too. I bought my own gram scale for my geckos and you never know when you need to weigh something small for cooking.

Any ways when I got sprinkles he was 72 Grams back at the end of june. A few days ago I put him on the scale he is 77 grams. I knew he got bigger but not that much bigger. He is not even a year old yet.

I read green cheeks can be 60-80grams. But not as many keep black capped conures so I cant seem to find the average for them I read 70 grams. I am making a vet apointment for sprinkles and will talk to her about his weight. I dont think he is over weight but he might be getting there.

Sprinkles can not fly yet I think by Christmas he will have his wings. I feel like once he flys more he get in shape. Right now all he does us wrestle with my hand for exercise.

Does anyone weigh the amount of food offered per day, or know how many grams of Harrisons would be ideal to offer? Ive always just had a bowl of Harrisons available to Loco, sometimes mixing in a "central american mix" but he isnt very fond of seeds, in fact rarely touches them (I know, what a healthy little pigeon ). I would love to start weighing the amount of food given daily to get a better idea of what hes consuming. Im waiting to weigh him when I get to my familys place to use their scale because mine is just a small jewelry one and he will NOT stay on it. I think it would be good to know how much hes eating compared to his weight though and be able to notice any changes. Fresh fruits and foods are always given during the day but im more interested in the weight of pellets he consumes.

Loko said:

Does anyone weigh the amount of food offered per day, or know how many grams of Harrisons would be ideal to offer? Ive always just had a bowl of Harrisons available to Loco, sometimes mixing in a "central american mix" but he isnt very fond of seeds, in fact rarely touches them (I know, what a healthy little pigeon ). I would love to start weighing the amount of food given daily to get a better idea of what hes consuming. Im waiting to weigh him when I get to my familys place to use their scale because mine is just a small jewelry one and he will NOT stay on it. I think it would be good to know how much hes eating compared to his weight though and be able to notice any changes. Fresh fruits and foods are always given during the day but im more interested in the weight of pellets he consumes.

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It is a great Idea to weigh out the food. For my bird more than half his food ends up on the ground so.... Some days he gets mad because I did not give him enough treats and he gets in his bowl and kicks every last pellet out on to the floor. He is such a brat.