Why is this so stressful?

[newbaby]

I’ve always wanted an CAG and now that I’ve got one, I’m so stressed out lol.

She’s been to see an avian vet. She’s fine, but she seems so small. When I got her she was 366g and then she spent the next two months losing weight, gaining some weight, then losing it again. She’s five months old now so I assume she’s now her full adult weight? She hovers between 350-360g. I weigh her daily. She’s still being hand fed twice daily. Approx 50-55g of food each time. So she’s eating at least 27% of her weight in food daily. She nibbles other foods but doesn’t really eat much besides her hand feedings.

Is she stunted from losing so much weight after I got her?

Sorry about my obsession with Millie’s weight. Lol.

 

[rheashard2]

Welcome and please post pictures. Calm down. Don't worry about your weight obsession. Parrot owners tend to worry about weight, food, activity and the all important poo. It's a fact of our life. Some birds like people, other animals have tendencies. Even with in groups there are variations. How active is she? My CAG plays all the time. It's been a two decade battle to keep her weight above 390g. Vet says testing and her appearance is normal. Her activity is normal. Her poo, and intake are normal. But for more than two decades I have worried about her low weight. I celebrate it I get her near 400. I throw a party if she gets above 410. She has never reached the recommended low end weight of about 420g. Your baby may be small like her and simply small. Are you weighing her after her morning poo and before food and fluid intake? That's the most accurate time to weigh your baby. There's a thread here; I purchased an unweaned grey before I knew better..It's that title or something very similar. It has a good chance to answer many of your questions. She started posting with a much younger CAG. Again Welcome.

 

[newbaby]

The poster you’re talking about is actually me. Hahahaha.

Millie is super active and appears happy. Vet says she’s fine. I’m just a worrier. Knowing that she’s now her adult weight and that weight being less than what she weighed when I got her at only 9 weeks old just feels so wrong.

 

[rheashard2]

I absolutely know how you feel. The struggle I go through to keep weight on Nameliss is fact of our lives. My avian vet of two decades has his stock reassure ready. Nameliss is lightweight but healthy. It never really reassures me. If I had a dollar for everytime, I said yes but...I'd be able to purchase almost any of the more expensive cages on the market. I haven't been able to stop my weight worry for two decades. So join the club. Read everything over and over. Above all take a deep breath and relax. Don't worry about to much about her weight. If you succeed please tell me how you did it!

 

[newbaby]

I absolutely know how you feel. The struggle I go through to keep weight on Nameliss is fact of our lives. My avian vet of two decades has his stock reassure ready. Nameliss is lightweight but healthy. It never really reassures me. If I had a dollar for everytime, I said yes but...I'd be able to purchase almost any of the more expensive cages on the market. I haven't been able to stop my weight worry for two decades. So join the club. Read everything over and over. Above all take a deep breath and relax. Don't worry about to much about her weight. If you succeed please tell me how you did it!

I’m so obsessed with her weight lol. I don’t want to be hand-feeding her anymore, but I’m also worried about the day she decides she doesn’t want to be hand-fed anymore. How will she keep weight on if she never eats real food?

I’ll probably just be stressed until I die. lol.

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

Baby birds tend to weigh more than adults until they fledge, and may even reject food while they learn to fly. As long as you're monitoring your baby's weight and the weight loss isn't anything drastic, you should be fine

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I'm pretty sure your baby isn't stunted. Another member was trying to hand raise a couple ringneck babies after the parents rejected the hatchlings but the babies weren't growing and at four weeks they still looked like hatchlings until they thickened the formula and changed the feeding schedule. They were concerned that the babies were permanently stunted but once they got enough food into them the babies' growth caught up and they matured, abliet late. I think your baby CAG is just a small one.

Newly weaned parrots eat much less than when they were actively growing. It does feel concerning when you're accustomed to feeding growing babies that eat a huge amount, but it's normal.

 

[wrench13]

Overstressing! For each species there is a range, but even that does not cover the outliers. Just like people, theres average height, but there are also women for instance that are way taller then the average group, and men who are way shorter.

Instead go by activity levels, and general demeanor.