Foods to help gain weight?

[itzjbean]

My little Ember seems to be rowing slowly - he was only 65 grams when I got him in July, and in two months he has grown 9-10 grams. While it's good progress I want to see him keep gaining. Boo (my other tiel) is a mature male and seemed like a giant when Ember first got home, his normal weight is around 100-105 grams.

For reference, cockatiels should be around 75 grams at 4 weeks old, so he seems behind to me. He saw the vet who did not seem concerned about his weight. Maybe he's just a slow grower.

What are some good fatty foods to give him that will help him gain weight?

He won't eat sunflower seeds or very much millet. He can be picky. I even let him have a couple bites of a cracker, french fries, chips, just to get him eating. Peanuts are too big for him but I could try to smash them up. I did just order some Harrison's high potency fine pellets to see if he takes a liking to them. Any more ideas?

Here's a picture of him for your efforts!

 

[Laurasea]

Gorgeous!!! How about scrambled eggs? Pasta ? Be careful of the salt in those french fries! He looks like a great weight, maybe just will be a smaller bird......vet check gram stain see if his gut bacteria is normal. He could have something chronic that's keeping him from max growth. Pretty boy!

 

[Laurasea]

K, oops saw you said he was vet checked fresh corn on the cob is used as a condition food by some breeders.

 

[SailBoat]

I'll not a big believer in putting weight on a Parrot just cause s/he is on the light side of the growth scale. Your Tiel is just too young to be concern regarding it being lighter than the growth scale. Like Humans and a ton of other creatures, there are natural variations in weight and size.

Using fatty foods to 'force' on weight can lead to health problems later in life and also introduce food types that are just not healthy for your Tiel or any other Parrot.

Provide a wide spectrum of healthy foods with fresh veggies being the foundation and when your Avian Vet becomes concern, then and only then should you.

 

[GaleriaGila]

The Rb is, was, and always has been skinny. Our wonderful world-class vet, for a while, suggested trying more healthy nuts, quinoa, legumes... nothing changed. The Rb weighs about 240 grams or so... average for his species, but he's long and big, and winds up being thin in his keel. So our vet isn't worried, saying the Rb is just an ectomorph... a healthy lightweight!

 

[GaleriaGila]

P.S.
BEAUTIFUL little guy! Maybe he was just meant to be a gymnast, not a linebacker!

 

[SilverSage]

Cockatiels actually can vary greatly. As long as you have ruled out infection and parasites, continue with regular formula feedings (I assume you are using a high fat formula already?) and wean normally


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[itzjbean]

Cockatiels actually can vary greatly. As long as you have ruled out infection and parasites, continue with regular formula feedings (I assume you are using a high fat formula already?) and wean normally


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Oh, he is already well weaned, eating on his own and nearly 6 months old! He's just not a huge foodie like my other male is so I wanted opinions about helping him like food more, lol.

 

[SilverSage]

Cockatiels actually can vary greatly. As long as you have ruled out infection and parasites, continue with regular formula feedings (I assume you are using a high fat formula already?) and wean normally


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Oh, he is already well weaned, eating on his own and nearly 6 months old! He's just not a huge foodie like my other male is so I wanted opinions about helping him like food more, lol.

Lol I totally misread that then! Ha! I was sitting here going “this member isn’t new to cockatiels... what’s going on??”

If his keel bone feels good I wouldn’t sweat it; does he feel too thin?


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[MonicaMc]

I'm with Silversage here... based his weight on keel bone. That said, as GaleriaGila mentioned, some birds are just prone to being skinny despite the diet they are put on.