Underweight or just a small CAG? ):

[Lullx]

My Nephele is 10 months old and has been with me since June. She was always much smaller than her brother in the aviary, and I believe she is still a rather small congo. I sadly haven't seen or interacted with any other CAGs in person so I have no real sense of scale. I've only recently been able to accurately weigh her (she was scared of the scale for the longest time). I know that the "average" weight for CAGs is supposed to be anywhere from 450g to 600g.

This morning, she was 372g. I handle her every single day and she is energetic and eats and poops well and loves "fighting" with me and talking and singing.
We saw an avian vet in August who examined Nephele and mentioned that she was small, but a healthy weight for her size. She also showed me how to check the keel bone for weight. That's how I was checking to make sure she was keeping her weight on before I was able to successfully weigh her. I'm here most of the day to see how much she eats (a ton) and behaves when she's just being a bird in and on her cage. I assumed she was a perfectly healthy, albeit small, grey.

I mentioned her weight online and a comment I received got me worrying... Is she underweight? Should I take her to the avian vet again even though her weight hasn't been decreasing and I haven't seen any other signs of illness or injury?

If this is indeed her "normal" and healthy, can I expect her to still continue to grow for a while? Will I just have a teeny grey forever? I just want her to be healthy and happy.

I feel really silly asking about this, but I would much rather be overly cautious than risk causing her harm.

Thank you!

 

[Aquila]

She's very likely still growing, but as long as she's proportionate, she's fine! My Grey seems to be pretty small, but I'm used to my amazon who's twice his size!

Also remember that muscle weighs more than fat, and she's still building muscle, especially if she's allowed to fly, which can also make her appear leaner. I wouldn't worry as long as the vet says she's healthy.

 

[Lullx]

Thank you for the reassurance!

The aviary clipped her wings and they haven't grown back yet, but I plan to allow her to keep them when they finally come in. We're also almost done with harness training, so she's going to be a buff little birdy, running and flying all over town next year!

I'm still very new to life with my little cloud (this is our 6th month together!) so I got really worried when this was brought to my attention today. I feel a bit relieved now, thank you again.

 

[Scott]

There can be significant size differences among species, even among siblings from the same parents.

I have 3 mature Goffins hatched in my home from the same parents. Interestingly, each consecutive birth was notably larger!

 

[Lullx]

That's really good to know Scott, thank you!
My Nilly is the youngest of two from her clutch. Her brother Willow (who went to a different family) was much bigger and darker than her the entire time they were growing up. He's only one day older than her! We all thought she would get bigger and darker like him before she was ready to leave the aviary, but that obviously didn't happen. She has gotten bigger since I brought her home in June at least.

I was just so worried when someone brought up how small she is because she is my first ever experience with a medium/large bird. I know their needs and requirements differ pretty greatly from my smaller flock members and I get nervous because this is still so new to me.
I specifically made an account here to get help with my grey while I'm still learning about her as an individual, as well as her species' typical quirks. The assistance I've gotten over the last several months here has been a lifesaver.

 

[Birdman666]

Probably just one of the smaller coastal variety CAGS. SOME CAGS ARE ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AS TIMMYS... I've seen them as small as 325-ish....
That goes by what part of Africa his parents came from when they were imported.

If the bird's keel is fine, if the bird is active and eating, and maintaining the weight that is normal for him... If the bird appears healthy, then I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

I have on of the opposite end of the scale. I've got a mammoth "silver gray" (interior gray) He's around 525-550 grams, and he's not fat, even though that is well above what he "should" weigh according to the charts.

He eats fine. He's not fat. He's not skinny. He's active and he doesn't pluck.

If it's not broken don't fix it.

 

[Lullx]

I certainly won't be losing sleep over it now, thank you so much!

I guess part of my worry was that her brother from the same clutch was much bigger than her. But I didn't think about her weight being an issue after the vet told me it was fine.

This little girl has SO much energy. I won't worry about this anymore. I'll keep monitoring her weight like normal (372g again this morning!) but won't stress over it. She's obviously healthy and happy, with so much energy.

Thank you all again for the reassurance!

 

[ZephyrFly]

I was told by the breeders i got my little guy from (i don't have a local avian vet to go to readily for check ups) that checking the keel is the best way to check whether a birds under/over weight for its size, as there is notable variation in the same species.

 

[Birdman666]

I certainly won't be losing sleep over it now, thank you so much!

I guess part of my worry was that her brother from the same clutch was much bigger than her. But I didn't think about her weight being an issue after the vet told me it was fine.

This little girl has SO much energy. I won't worry about this anymore. I'll keep monitoring her weight like normal (372g again this morning!) but won't stress over it. She's obviously healthy and happy, with so much energy.

Thank you all again for the reassurance!

The only time I would ever stress about weight is if there is a sudden rapid weight loss.

Or if your bird is becoming perfectly ROUND...

One of my red lored's buddy amazons was a male red lored who was OBESE... (A 900 GRAM RED LORED AMAZON?! And trust me, this bird was not unusually large, just amazingly overfed.)

 

[Lullx]

I was told by the breeders i got my little guy from (i don't have a local avian vet to go to readily for check ups) that checking the keel is the best way to check whether a birds under/over weight for its size, as there is notable variation in the same species.

That's what my vet told me as well, and that's how I'd been checking her before I was able to weigh her. But now that she behaves during weigh-ins, I don't have to worry about that so much. I bought a decent kitchen scale as it instantly reads out the weight and measures in grams and use it to weigh all of my birds. Highly recommended if you don't already have one!

The only time I would ever stress about weight is if there is a sudden rapid weight loss.

Or if your bird is becoming perfectly ROUND...

One of my red lored's buddy amazons was a male red lored who was OBESE... (A 900 GRAM RED LORED AMAZON?! And trust me, this bird was not unusually large, just amazingly overfed.)

That is one big bird! Goodness!
He has to be a perch potato, right?

I joked with Nilly that she was too small to eat on Thanksgiving, and we'd try again next year.
I don't think she found it as funny as I did.

 

[Birdman666]

An overfed seed/junkfood junkie perch potato, whose liver values I suspect were through the roof. That bird was tired just walking from one end of the perch to the other... (Absolutely adored mine though... he was in love!)

In human terms, that bird was a 5'2" female who weighs in at 420! Just not healthy at all...

That's more than twice the healthy weight!

 

[Lullx]

Woah. Thank you for putting that into perspective for me! Poor thing. What sort of life is that for a parrot? ):

I won't let my grey touch seed at all (save for the occasional nutriberry, if that even counts) because I worry she'll become picky and only want to eat that. Not taking that chance. She still has plenty of variety in her diet without a seed mix.
She also gets in some good exercise right now while she can't fly by wrestling with me. She loves it and will actually laugh during our skirmishes, which of course makes me laugh. She's pretty strong for her size as well, but I'm trying to encourage her to climb more to really build up those muscles. I cannot wait for her wings to grow back in. I think she's going to really love flying. Every morning when I first take her out of her cage, she holds onto my hand and flaps her wings as hard as she can for about a minute.

 

[Birdman666]

I sprinkle in some straight safflower seed over the top, but it's a teaspoon or less. My birds get enough variety, that their diet/weight/liver values have never really been an issue.

I've fostered, and adopted birds that came to me with those issues, but for the most part, I've been pretty successful in converting them to "THIS IS WHAT WE EAT HERE." Again, this is where having a "flock" helps. When everyone else is digging in and enjoying it, even if they don't recognize it as even being "food" at first, they eventually will end up eating it.

 

[Lullx]

I sprinkle in some flax seed over the top of her fresh or cooked foods and she always noms that right up. I bet she would appreciate some safflower on top as well. Is that sproutable? I'd feel better giving her seeds that have been sprouted rather than just laying there in the husk.

I've also sprouted flax and chickpeas a few times for everyone, but I really need a dedicated sprouter. Maybe I'll buy one for my birthday! No one was really impressed with the previous sprouts, but I know that if I keep giving them to everyone, they'll eventually start eating them. It's just a bit of a hassle to try to do with just a mason jar/terracotta saucer. I know that sprouts have a lot more nutrition in them, and they're probably more fun to eat.

I keep her in the same room as my other 6 birds, but right now she won't really interact with anyone else. That's something that is slowly improving as everyone gets used to her (she's bigger than all 6 of them combined!) I know she watches them, but I feel like she watches me far more. She's very good about eating most food I try giving her and I try to mix it up as much as possible so she'll hopefully always be such a good eater.

When I brought my rescued conure home, his feathers were very bronzed and splotchy with black marks, he seemed underweight and his muscles must have been atrophying. He physically could not fly and I really don't think he had ever been out of his cage before I brought him home. He eventually started eating the fresh food I offered (after seeing my other conure and cockatiel eating away happily), and after several months his new feathers came in shiny and bright and now he's starting to build up more and more strength in his wings. He's even starting to fly around on his own a bit and is getting pretty good at it!
Everyone other than Nilly is a "normal" weight, just where they "should" be for their species. My two green cheeks actually weigh the exact same amount most weigh in days!

 

[miloslave]

My Charlie, a Congo male weights in between 382 to 398....had the vet check and he says he is definitely eating enough, lol. Trying for that perfect 400, but so far it seems elusive, lol.