Very underweight galah cockatoo

[Lpearson]

My husband and I are extremely concerned about our 6 month old galah cockatoo and we really need any advice.

He had a yeast infection when he was about 4 months old. He has since been treated and weaned and is active and happy.

He weaned about a few weeks after he got over his infection and eats Roudybush pellets. We give him occasionally nuts/seeds/safe human food as treats.

Our big concern is that he was about 240g when he started weaning (he was 4 and half months old at that time). He dropped to about 205 by the time he was all done weaning. He has consistently stayed at that weight with very little fluctuation for the past two months. He eats his pellets really well and seems healthy otherwise. Dropping are normal too.

Yesterday, we took him to get his nails/beak trimmed by a trusted pet store and when they brought him back to us, they were super concerned because of how much his keel bone sticks out and how skinny he is.

We don't want to overload him with fat foods just to make him gain weight. We will take him to the vet this week, but in the meantime, how worried should we be? How does being underweight affect a young bird negatively? What can we do to help him gain weight/muscle?

We don't "think" he is ill because he eats well, sleeps well, plays well, is active and alert. And he hasn't lost any weight, he just hasn't gained any.

Any help is appreciated- we are super worried. Thank you!!

 

[Jayyj]

I think you're certainly doing the right thing get him into the vets to get a proper assessment of his weight and health, but if he's eating and otherwise acting normally I would try not to worry to much and wait to hear what the vet has to say. But I know it's hard waiting when you think they could be ill and there's nothing immediate you can do!

 

[Mekaisto]

Theres no harm in giving him a few extra nuts a day, even as a part of training, to get him to put on some weight.

Is he flighted? A bird that doesn't fly will naturally have less breast muscle than one who does fly, and that can make the keel feel sharper.

Is he having a faecal test done, to check for the presence of parasites?

 

[Lpearson]

Thank you SO much for your replies!! My birds are my children so I worry about them day and night.

Yes, when he is at the vet I think we will get an X-ray done and a gram stain. We want to make sure that he didn't sustain lasting damage from having his yeast infection. Is there something that can cause birds not to lose weight but not to gain it either??

We are working on giving him as much protein as he will take! He is not flighted, so he does not get exercise flying. He does get about 4 hours outside of cage time each day to wander around.

Are there problems that are associated with an underweight galah? There is a lot of information on overweight birds, but not much on underweight ones besides saying that they need to gain weight.

Again thank you for your help in advance!!

 

[Pinkbirdy]

My gut feeling is theirs something wrong . Glad your going to the vet. Ive had sick birds and weight is a big deal. One of the best ways to put weight on your bird is hand feed them . But I think its some sort of illness.Dont wait on this. Good Luck