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Post by starlingqueen on May 11, 2014 20:59:21 GMT
Larry, one of my aviary birds, seems to have got a bit fat. He never seems to fly as he has a FM companion so there is a network of branches for him to access the whole aviary without the need of flight. How can I get him to lose weigh? His brother, Basil is next to him in this picture so you can see the difference.  |
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Post by Budgies Retreat on May 11, 2014 21:52:09 GMT
What mutation is he? My newest bird Joy is the same colour, like an olive green.
It will be difficult getting him on a diet when he has access to the aviary food. Can you place him in a cage within the aviary with his own smaller supply of food? Hope that someone else has some ideas for you.
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Post by birdguhl on May 11, 2014 21:53:41 GMT
Hmmm - he is looking pretty chunky there. Tricky one - unless everyone has to go on a diet at the same time...
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Post by BudgiesBuddy on May 12, 2014 3:51:51 GMT
How much he weighs?
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Post by OP on May 12, 2014 6:46:55 GMT
I find it difficult to tell if he is fat or just comfortable in that photo. Joey has many different feather positions so it is difficult to tell. Does he not come out of the flight at all? Into the house maybe, to get him flying? Just a thought.
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Post by samwiseg on May 12, 2014 7:15:12 GMT
It is a tricky one - especially as he is in the aviary. What do you feed them on SQ? I had a similar thing recently with my lot - Murph is our biggest bird and I soon discovered that he was fishing out all the groats out of the seed mixture!  So I ended up changing their mix to Johnston & Jeff 50/50 so I can ADD groats separately when I need to. He has since lost weight and become a better flyer as a result  |
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Post by mizloco on May 12, 2014 8:47:27 GMT
It is a tricky one - especially as he is in the aviary. What do you feed them on SQ? I had a similar thing recently with my lot - Murph is our biggest bird and I soon discovered that he was fishing out all the groats out of the seed mixture! So I ended up changing their mix to Johnston & Jeff 50/50 so I can ADD groats separately when I need to. He has since lost weight and become a better flyer as a result Yes me too with Bert and the groats. I've put them on the same seed and he's much better. |
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Post by starlingqueen on May 12, 2014 10:11:48 GMT
It's a hard situation as I have cockatiels who eat sunflower seeds. I buy a coakatiel mix that is mainly the usual budgie seed but with the sunflowers.
I have no idea how much he weighs, he is not handled so have never weighed him. How do you weigh a budgie? I know he doesn't fly unless he really has to. When I enter the aviary all the birds go to the other end but he is always already there so just clambers to wherever he feels he needs to be. When I approach from the outside and touch where they are sitting the rest will fly off but he doesn't. He can fly because I forced him to yesterday.
The way I see it is I have 2 choices. Take Titch out so I can remove the network of branches or somehow put them all on a diet.
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Post by stace on May 12, 2014 11:48:11 GMT
Goodness me. He is rather portly, isn't he.
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Post by Hezz on May 12, 2014 23:04:36 GMT
How to weigh him? Well of course your first problem is going to be catching him. Can't help with that one, unless you have a net or something, but for an uncooperative bird the best weighing solution is put him into a small, closed, box and weigh on the kitchen scales (digital really is the only way) and then release him and weigh the box separately. You don't need me to tell you the difference is the weight of the bird. |
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Post by BudgiesBuddy on May 13, 2014 8:16:58 GMT
I weigh a budgie just like I weigh myself  Put the box on the scale and make the scale zero. Put the budgie in the box and close it and weigh it. |
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Post by OP on May 13, 2014 11:31:42 GMT
Make sure the budgie can't fly inside the box.
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Post by starlingqueen on May 13, 2014 13:26:05 GMT
I weigh a budgie just like I weigh myself Put the box on the scale and make the scale zero. Put the budgie in the box and close it and weigh it. Who puts you in the box BB?  |
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Post by samwiseg on May 13, 2014 16:06:54 GMT
I weigh a budgie just like I weigh myself Put the box on the scale and make the scale zero. Put the budgie in the box and close it and weigh it. Who puts you in the box BB? He's only just been let out  |
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Post by Hezz on May 14, 2014 0:50:36 GMT
I weigh a budgie just like I weigh myself Put the box on the scale and make the scale zero. Put the budgie in the box and close it and weigh it. I am wondering now who puts the box on the scales???   And I do hope it is one sturdy box!!!! OP's point is a good one - you need a very small box, a budgie-sized box, so Larry can't flap about too much. |
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So I ended up changing their mix to Johnston & Jeff 50/50 so I can ADD groats separately when I need to.
And I do hope it is one sturdy box!!!!