daily weighing

[ALRAINBOW]

on one of my training videos it suggests to weigh you bird daily . i bought a scale with a perch on it . so far only 2 weeks i can see she weighs much more then he does 20 grams more . she is two weeks older . same time of day is used . the point of this is to be sure the birds dont get over weight or under as i use mostly high grade pellets less sugar . anyone have thoughts on this

 

[noodles123]

In babies, I'd weigh often and at the same time, but with adults, I think daily is probably a bit frequent. If weight 1 or 2 x a week in adults, you should be okay---obviously in case of symptomatic illness, you would want to do more often.



Pellets aren't usually the reason birds become obese. It is more like too many empty carbs, seeds and lack of exercise. For me personally, the underweight thing has always been a bigger concern, as Noodles is healthy, but slim.

 

[Laurasea]

There is big range in weights that are normal from one bird to the next.
2 weeks is a huge are difference for young burds.

Some species female is larger abd some the male is larger

 

[Ira7]

Daily is overdoing it, unless you suspect something is wrong.

Of course, if you can easily weigh your guy...if you don’t have to trick or cajole him onto the scale...why not?

I manage to do it with mine without TOO much stress on him, but he doesn’t exactly love it, and it’s sometimes a little bit of a battle. But if the bird is eating and behaving well? Once every few weeks is enough for me.

 

[wrench13]

Noodles, Laura and Ira are 100% right. Unless your parrot is acting off or showing other signs of illness, once or twice a week is plenty for monitoring weight, especially if there is any resistance to actually getting weighed. Why stress the bird? I weigh once a week, even though Salty puts up no fuss, just a look of "What? Again? Oh, alright.".

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Regarding the scale they live it lol. it’s new it’s food given by hand. In short it’s a welcomed event. when I take the scale out of the cabinet and place it on the table. Then run to me stop what ever there doing. From what I read and this is just reading birds don’t like us much.
they only work with us for food and not being hurt by pain. now in some ways I see this but sone of my past birds sure seemed to like me no matter food or not. each bird gets 5 to 7 mins play time on the scale . I agree it’s over board but it’s also an activity now bonding time to me

 

[saxguy64]

A difference between the two is no concern. They're individuals, so the important thing is what's normal, healthy weight for each of them. Not a bad idea to keep a log to refer to later if things change.

Now, these are your Ekkies, correct? My concern here is the diet. Not sure what pellets you're using, but most are "enriched" with extra vitamins and such, and generally not great for Ekkies with their digestive system. Personally, I don't have a problem a few once in a while, but definitely not for the bulk of their diet. Everything in moderation, right? Some folks are more strict about that than I am, and insist on no pellets at all for them. Grains, veggies, and a little fruit should be the predominant items.

My guy Tucker came from a home where most of his diet was Zupreem natural, because it has a picture of an Ekkie on it. He loved it, but it's kind of like birdie junk food. Between that, and being clipped so he flew as well as a large rock, he was a little chunky/flabby. He's become an excellent flier now, and quite muscular.

Transition was not too bad for him, but he still isn't a fan of some of the green stuff. He's getting there. I've long since used up the last of the Zupreem he came with, and haven't replaced it. I do offer a few Tops pellets with his dry food daily. No added stuff in them, but I don't think they're as appealing for him. Sometimes he'll eat them, other times they get tossed. Birds...

 

[noodles123]

A difference between the two is no concern. They're individuals, so the important thing is what's normal, healthy weight for each of them. Not a bad idea to keep a log to refer to later if things change.

Now, these are your Ekkies, correct? My concern here is the diet. Not sure what pellets you're using, but most are "enriched" with extra vitamins and such, and generally not great for Ekkies with their digestive system. Personally, I don't have a problem a few once in a while, but definitely not for the bulk of their diet. Everything in moderation, right? Some folks are more strict about that than I am, and insist on no pellets at all for them. Grains, veggies, and a little fruit should be the predominant items.

My guy Tucker came from a home where most of his diet was Zupreem natural, because it has a picture of an Ekkie on it. He loved it, but it's kind of like birdie junk food. Between that, and being clipped so he flew as well as a large rock, he was a little chunky/flabby. He's become an excellent flier now, and quite muscular.

Transition was not too bad for him, but he still isn't a fan of some of the green stuff. He's getting there. I've long since used up the last of the Zupreem he came with, and haven't replaced it. I do offer a few Tops pellets with his dry food daily. No added stuff in them, but I don't think they're as appealing for him. Sometimes he'll eat them, other times they get tossed. Birds...

Good call- didn't even see that these were ekkies-- but even then, don't just cut them off cold-turkey (weaning off/gradually reducing=key because parrots are some of the only animals who will starve when presented with edible food that they do not want to eat. The general opinion (when it comes to ekkies and pellets) is that they can provide TOO MUCH nutrients because ekkies have uniquely efficient digestive tracts, as opposed to other parrots. This allows them to extract too much nutrients that other birds would partially eliminate without digesting.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Good for you for weighing your bird. I have done it regularly (about twice a week) for 30+ years with the main goal of noting any weight loss/gain, since that's often the first discernible suggestion of illness. My bird has been amazingly consistent... 240 grams, with a standard deviation of 5-10 grams over or under. It's always a comfort to see that same average!