Dec 31, 2011 18:48:12 GMT
budgiemadness
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 30
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Weight
Jan 29, 2012 20:38:39 GMT
Post by budgiemadness on Jan 29, 2012 20:38:39 GMT
Can budgies become overweight? Charlie and Tommy have a seed bell in their cage and Charlie is obsessed with it. Well not quite obsessed but he loves it. But i'm worried he will get chubby.
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Weight
Jan 30, 2012 1:49:00 GMT
Post by Hezz on Jan 30, 2012 1:49:00 GMT
Yes! Most definitely. The best thing to do is moniter their weight regularly, and you will soon get to see whether their weight is stable or they are getting heavier. I find a small piece of millet on the kitchen scales works a treat. It did take a number of tries to get my feral Sparky onto that strange thing, but as soon as they work out there is millet involved, they are more than happy to step up. Plenty of exercise and greens etc are the best counterbalance for overweight budgies. I actually remove the seed from my budgies' cage for a while every day and give them veges instead, so while they have plenty to eat, they can't get to the seed, and so eat more veges than they would if both were available all the time.
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Jan 30, 2012 3:00:06 GMT
Post by stace on Jan 30, 2012 3:00:06 GMT
Personally, I don't use those seed bells as they contain things like honey and I know pet birds can be prone to getting a little chubby.
I use good quality seed and clean water every day, millet sometimes, a little bit of boiled egg and egg shell twice a week, a variety of veges and fruit regularly, and fresh eucalyptus leaves once or twice a week.
This is a non-breeding diet and I also use a supplement regime that provides essential vits and mins as well as iodine and shell grit, though that's probably not really necessary if you provide a cuttlebone and iodine block and grit etc separate.
For chewing and mess making pleasure, the seed bells seem a good idea, but instead I hang big chunks of eucalyptus bark in the cage or provide big chunks of cooked egg shell.
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Oct 8, 2011 20:57:03 GMT
Bonesy
Normal Violet
Posts: 198
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Weight
Jan 30, 2012 3:09:51 GMT
Post by Bonesy on Jan 30, 2012 3:09:51 GMT
Yes birds are prone to weight issues as their body is unable to process lipids, or blood fats, and any they consume collects around the organs. The most common is fatty liver disease, usually characterised by a greening beak, unoiled fluffy feathers and over plump gizzard & crop area. Plenty of greenery like dark lettuce, dandelion, spinach and celery will do your birds good and give them something to shred up, seeds should only make half the diet, at a ratio of "roughly" a teaspoon a day per bird if dieting, if you're feeding eggfood and greens ontop. Possibly a teaspoon and a half if bigger like an exhibition bird. Most high activity birds can be given two teaspoons of seed per bird as they'll burn it off faster. Pet types dependant on build and mix should be around 30-40gram, and exhibition blood can range from 35-48gram. Generally anything over those two, unless the bird looks large and in lean condition, could be considered going "overweight". This is how I weigh my birds, it's quite easy to set up & train in. Mikko was overweight after an incident breeding wherby he ate the whole tub of groats for the chicks crop milk all to himself... His standard weight was 45gram, he's 66gram here!
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Jan 30, 2012 7:17:06 GMT
Post by barrieshutt on Jan 30, 2012 7:17:06 GMT
if you are concerned remove the fatty foods
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Dec 31, 2011 18:48:12 GMT
budgiemadness
Brand New Budgie
Posts: 30
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Weight
Jan 30, 2012 18:29:30 GMT
Post by budgiemadness on Jan 30, 2012 18:29:30 GMT
Thanks everyone i have taken note!
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