Mangia, mangia, little bird boy!

[Cthebird]

My young Hahn's macaw (mini macaw) has gained weight in the last 5 months since we got him at 5 months old, but I wish he gained more. He seems perfectly healthy and happy, and is about the most active birds around. He must burn oodles of calories. Anyway, I feel like a sterotypical Italian mama wishing he would eat even more than he does.

He does eat his Harrison's pellets (which is the only food in his cage, sprinkled with a little dried greens and red pepper flakes), the mix on his play gym (consisting of Harrison's pellets and a mix that I think is a little more "yummy" to him that has stuff like sunflower seeds, dried corn, dried fruits, and a different type of pellet). He also eats some of the fresh food I give him, though he is a bit particular about what he eats. I have the following questions:

1. Am I putting too much variety in his fresh food dishes? Should I only offer some items in the morning and different items in the afternoon? Right now he has a dish containing fresh broccoli, fresh cauliflower, fresh organic greens, fresh baby carrot, fresh blackberries, fresh mango, fresh Mandarin orange, a few unsalted pistachios in the shell, and a few organic roasted hazelnuts. He primarily eats the mango, blackberries, and Mandarin orange, plus the nuts, but not all of it. I was thinking about using the frozen organic bird mash my late Pacific Parrotlet ate, which my Hahn's won't eat, to make birdy cookies. I'll see if he eats that. https://imgur.com/a/SUJtL

2. Am I probably acting too much like the type of mama wishing to fatten up her baby? He does eat. I just felt like my late Pacific Parrotlet was at the food dish more often than my Hahns. I give my Hahn's an incredible amount of freedom outside his cage because I'm in the room with him most all day. Again, he can always go into his cage for food/fresh water, and also to the top of his play gym for food and fresh water. I also give him treats on occasion when he's done something really good and during play, but the treats are not that nutritious.

 

[GaleriaGila]

My boy eats Harrison's and a diet similar to yours, and has ALWAYS been thin. My avian vet supports use of high potency Harrison's for this reason. I've tried everything... quinoa, garbanzos, high-carb legumes... no change. The vet dies not seem worried, and in fact, wonders if his thin-ness has contributed to his ongevity...

 

[Sunnyclover]

My Ollie is also a small birdie for his species. He does have those chest fatty parts that a healthy bird has but he only weighs 103grams and that's the low end for a Sun Conure. The vet said he's most likely the runt of the hatchlings and one of the reasons he's a good bird is he probably needed a little extra care from the breeders with being so small and all. So don't worry too much! A bird can be small and healthy at the same time just like humans...some are short and some are tall.

 

[wrench13]

Like Sunnyclover indicated, ther is always variation within a given species. Example, Salty's species,YSA, run from 285 to 320 grams. He has stabilized at 294-297 grams. Good idea to get a small electronic scale and small T stand w/ suction cup. Weigh your parrot before he has breakfast but after he takes his first poop of the day. Either or,just weigh him at the same time everyday, to be consistent. A drop of more then 5% should warrant closer study.

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

I have one overweight bird, Bluebell who used to be on an all-seed diet for the first year of her life, because the pet store only fed her seeds and by the time I bought her she wouldn’t eat anything else. Now she eats a healthy diet of grains, fresh veggies, and Harrison’s, TOP’s, and Roudybush pellets. She only gets seeds as a treat occasionally. The rest of my birds are within the normal weight ranges for their species. I don’t think you can ever give a bird too much fresh food! Variety is great! Don’t worry about your bird being small, like others have said there is a variation in size within a species.

 

[Cthebird]

Thanks, everyone, for the responses! I guess I won't fret about it too much unless he loses weight. I do own a scale that weighs in grams. He is above the weight he was when he was last weighed by the avian vet and the vet saw no problem with his weight, but I thought in five months the weight gain would be more. Perhaps he is just a little guy. In charts it says the average weight of Hahn's macaws is 10 grams more than him, but I think there may be a slightly bigger species of red winged macaws, plus maybe that chart's average weight is for adults. My guy is the equivalent of either a toddler or kindergartner. I do remember my Pacific Parrotlet weighing noticably less as a juvenile than as an adult.

Yesterday I baked my little boy a batch of Birdy cookies which sneaks in some organic mash. So far he seems to like them. I warm they up. I like my parrots to have something warm occasionally.