Adventures in Weighing

GaleriaGila

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After 25 years of using an old mechanical postal scale to weigh the Rb, the dang thing finally broke. Towards the end, it started giving very questionable results, so I was already being very irresponsible by not replacing it. Next, to make things worse, I repeatedly offended the bird by abruptly introducing new/different scales (various sizes of flat scales, a new perch-affixed scale). He repeatedly flew away and became suspicious of anything that remotely resembled a scale.

Soooooooooooooo... I finally realized I needed to slow down and remember the parrot basics. My husband built a little t-perch, and I got the Rb used to stepping on it. Then my ol' man added a base, and I got the Rb used to that. Then we found a very flat, wide kitchen scale, and little by little I was able to get Rb on the perch, set the perch on the scale, and... ta-da!!!

So if you don't yet weigh your bird, maybe that would work for you. In other threads, members have shared their success with flat scales or special bird scales which you can purchase (the only ones I saw had the perch permanently affixed, and the Rb wouldn't perch on such a strange thing).

I started a log a few weeks ago. The vet suggested weekly measures, but I'm doing it twice a week. Lately, a lot more! I've actually gotten a little fascinated with it. The Rb consistently weighs 233 first thing in the morning. Towards afternoon, he's at about 240.

Then I really started nerding out. I weighed his pellets at morning and night, and figured out that he eats (or tosses, or shreds) about 25 grams of Harrison's a day. The average green chile weighs 80-90 grams, and then 50-60 after he's done gutting it. Hmmm... what could I weigh next? I'm thinking up a method for figuring out the maximum weight with which he can fly. Come on, bird nerds, you know you wanna do some of this stuff!

I'm really glad I'm weighing the Rb accurately and regularly again!
 

itzjbean

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That is totally genius! And I imagine super satisfying to know exactly how much he pigs out on every day! ;) next is how much he drinks, perhaps?? This sounds like such a fun experiment!!
 
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GaleriaGila

GaleriaGila

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How much he drinks! I'm on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

SailBoat

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Good Lord!!! This will likely end with you scaling his waste product!!! No!! STOP!!! That's a play on humor, not a challenge!!! :D:D:D
 

wrench13

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Gail, I've gone so far as to weigh Saltys pellets before he gets to them, and weighing whats left in the bowl, after gathering all the ones he tosses out in the course of the day, and adding that back. I forget what the numbers were ( it was when we first got Salty and the scale) but it was a surprizingly small amount actually got ingested.
 

RavensGryf

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Ooh thanks for the reminder Gail :D! You got me going now! I have a flat platform type ss food scale. It's time to weigh everyone.

Griffin is hard. He won't step up without a safflower seed. Hold on, be right back....... 116 grams! What a shrimpy little Ruppell's Parrot! That's about his average. A bit more petite than most Poicephalus.

Robin, Red Bellied Parrot is 123 today. He's also on the smaller side for a Poicephalus.

Raven, Bronze Winged Pionus - he really varies widely, 240 to almost 260, but today 245 grams.

Mink, English Budgie is 52 grams. Chip is pretty wild so I don't want to get him out now. But he's about the same as Mink. A standard (non-English) budgie is about 30-35 grams for reference.

My cell phone is 172 without it's case, 252 with it. My glasses are 37 grams. (Just in case you were wondering :p).

Okay, you didn't ask for all that so I'll stop now!
 
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GaleriaGila

GaleriaGila

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Mr. Boat... great brains on the same track! YES, I thought of it!

I swear to God, Wrench, that was my next ambition... genius.

Gryf... good report! A+, and extra credit for the cell info.

Scott, I would be so ON THAT, but he keeps 'em filed on those special perches... dang it. I'm interested in feathers, though, when the July moult gets going.

Water has proven illusive to measure, cuz it evaporates.

I'm a weighing nerd.
 

Scott

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I'm interested in feathers, though, when the July moult gets going.

Reminds me of the "stump the dummy" trick question of "Which is heavier, a pound of feathers or a pound of rocks?" :worship2:
 

Dinosrawr

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Hahaha! Weighing is great. We actually use a legitimate scientific scale for weighing the birds on, and I have this dorky little chart that I fill in daily with how many grams of chop they ate, how many grams of pellets, and what their daily weight was. I erase it every Sunday and continue again for the week. It hangs above where their scale is and I have about 3 different chalk marker colours that I like to use.

I'm pretty sure us parrot people are inherently a bit nerdy :D
 

BeatriceC

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MrC was awesome and let me sleep in this morning. He forgot to do a pre-feed weigh-in. This doesn't need to be done every day except for with Leo, who's been on a food management plan for borderline obesity and problems with his crop. Whoops.

Though in good news, Leo is down to 125g, which is exactly where he should be. He was up to nearly 150g, which is a little porky.
 
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GaleriaGila

GaleriaGila

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Scott, Dino... good ones!

Congratulations, Team Leo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're all gram geeks!
 
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GaleriaGila

GaleriaGila

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I can't leave it alone.
I just can't.


Since I re-instituted regular (pretty much daily) weighings...

My vet scolded me at the last physical! And I deserved it.

I CAN'T weigh him first thing in the morning, as most recommend. The bird wakes up before dawn and starts eating and drinking. PLUS, he won't settle down enough to perch on the perch I place on the scale until afternoon, soooooooooo... I just go for consistency. I weigh him at about 3 p.m.
I'm trying to get him to gain (healthy) weight... mostly just by encouraging him to eat more Harrison's and less green chiles (lowwww callllll). He got a 'keel rating' of 2.5 at his last physical... that's kinda skinny. Ridiculous: my ol' man's skinny; our dog is skinny; Rb is skinny; I'm... uhhh... not.
I eat the pellets and make yummy noises... he eats more of 'em in response.

February Weekly Averages
Week 1 - 236.5
2 - 233.5
3 - 236
4 - 233
range - 233-240
grand monthly mean - 235.41

March Weekly Averages
1 - 234.75
2 - 236.5
3 - 239.25
4 - 238
5 - (projected) 240.5
range (projected) - 236-242
grand monthly mean (projected) - 239


He seems to be gaining. Not statistically significant but... hey... headed in the right direction.

An important thing, unexpected. I have to weigh the perch every day. Then subtract from perch+bird weight. Untreated wood. Humidity absorption changes. It varies 3-7 grams!

Okay, weighing-bird-nerd OUT! :)
 
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GaleriaGila

GaleriaGila

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Ohhhhhh, fellow weighing nerds...
*sigh*

Please prepare for a tedious NERD POST...

You may recall how I treasured my weighing regimen.
A mighty challenge has arisen.

Months ago, after our old scale died, we laboriously re-established a routine with a perch-scale. I happily embarked on a nerd-weighing adventure (see above posts).

I loved it. It was the ONE THING the Rb did on command, seemingly just to please me. I'd offer him the perch, he'd step on it, stay there as I placed it on the scale. When I chirped a happy "Okay!" he'd fly to my shoulder. I loved showing that off. I loved it so much that i started weighing him every day.

I was so excited about showing my extensive record to y'all, AND MY AVIAN VET!!

Exhibit A
11A8oBY.jpg


My ol' man told me to slow down... "he's gonna get tired of that". And...

Abruptly, three days ago, I offered him the perch and he flew to my shoulder. I fought with him all day, trying to get him to perch. No dice. I fought with him the next day, and the next... he was so mad that he neither stepped on the perch NOR flew to my shoulder.

This morning, I was so frustrated that when he refused perch and/or my shoulder, I just shut the door and left him in the cage all day. He robbed me of my one claim to in-charge-parront.

Then, close to sundown, I came to my senses. I enticed him out with the mesmerizing green chile, and just generally indulged and loved on him until bedtime. He forgave me, and again flew to my shoulder and to other perches and back.

All's well.

I'll revert to perch-training, using chiles, with a gradually extended transition to my shoulder, building up his tolerance until I can place him on the scale. He's now more traumatized and ticked off about the perch than initially. It'll be hard, butttttttttttttttt... I hope we'll get it worked out. I don't know what suddenly turned him off to weighing.

I lost sight of the whole REASON for weighing: Rb's welfare, NOT my nerding out.

Sorry, my little rooster...

AND sorry, weighing nerds, to have sullied our worthy obsession!!!!!!!
 

Kentuckienne

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If I were a better nerd I could science this. Rig up a perch on a scale with the morning food bowls. Tare it and set to remember the changes in weight. Then he could wake up, go to the bowl, and weigh his own self in the morning. Maybe could make a perch with built in strain gauge. I bet the Make Magazine makers could make something...
 
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GaleriaGila

GaleriaGila

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You're officially invited to come spend May with me.
What snacks do you like? My treat.
 
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GaleriaGila

GaleriaGila

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We weighed today!

After 3 weeks, my anxiety was mounting. But he still refused the old method. Then today he seemed a little less loud (no, it didn't last) and that scared me... was he sick?

Low-tech. I lured the Rb onto a food scale using the Holy Grail green chile. 238 grams.

It took at least an hour, but he finally lit on the scale long enough to register a weight. It'll probably never work again, but...

If anybody cares to share weighing tactics, I'm all ears.

Here's a technical diagram. Yes, I have a lot of time on my hands. :)


kWExbDC.png
 

SailBoat

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Amazon technic: (Warning, truly boring!) Confirm awareness of equipment, bring Amazon from Sleeping Roost to scale perch, obtain weight, take Amazon to his breakfast perch. Write down weight, repeat 24 hours later!

Note: Always obtain weight of Amazon as normal before CAV visit. Their scale has been defined as evil by said Amazon!
 

Inger

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I tossed three pieces of uncooked oatmeal on a scale and Bumble hopped right up. RickeyBird is just an over-achiever. Also, my iPhone keyboard just predicted RickeyBird when I got as far as Rick hahaha!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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GaleriaGila

GaleriaGila

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Mr. Boat... I will look into getting a nice sleeping perch independent of the playtop of our fine Lani Kai Lounge cage (and thanks again for that recommendation).

Inger, too funny. The Rb has invaded your world...
I do think that just getting him on the scale directly is worth trying again.

Kentuckienne needs to invent that fancy perch-thingie she ws brainstorming about earlier...
 

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