So yesterday as i was doing the cleaning of the cages i decided to weigh the birds because peeps was having issues flying and felt a little heavy. so the weights were

 

Peeps 53g month ago 32g

Bo 48g month ago 30g

Curry 42g month ago 37g (not a real jump)

Odie 45g month ago 29g

 

i'm dead sick because of this they all get flying time daily, they have no seed or millet, just pellets, fresh stuff and sprouts. how do you GET A BUDGIE THAT FAT in a month, little pigs...

 

my quakers are 104g and 127g, and neither if fat both a good weight for their size but i have tiny blobs of fattiness... what do i do!

 

where is the budgie diet book :feedbirds:

l'm not 100% sure about this , but l have heard that an all pellet diet ( with no seed) is not good for there diet , it should be 50% pellet and 50% seed , l think it is because pellets are high in fat or protien , l forget which one ( sorry , l can't remember ) .

Edited December 17, 200618 yr by birdluv

birdluv is right, budgies generally don't do well without some seed in their diet. The protein content of pellets is too high to give it to them exclusively.

 

What type of pellets do you feed? When they're out for flying time, do they make good use of it or are they pretty stationary?

Sounds like some budgies might be a little bored...just like people, I think they eat when they are bored. After all, most of our birds have 24/7 access to food of some type. I have budgies that are battling the bulge also, and have had to somewhat restrict their access to food. More calories in minus fewer calories expended equals weight gain. Even if they are still flying around, if they are eating more calories they will gain weight. That is a huge weight gain for a month though. I think I would re-weigh them first of all. If you are truly getting the same weights, then for whatever reason, they are eating more than usual.

 

I think you should add some seed to their diet, as they will get some vitamins, minerals, and oils from the seeds. Decrease the amount of pellets. Many birds that eat pellets start to eat the same amount of pellet as they used to eat of seed. Since pellets are a more concentrated food, not as much is needed to maintain weight. What I have done is to try to have only the amount of pelleted food that they would all eat as a full meal (if they were to eat one consisting only of pellets) in one sitting, and that is what I leave in the cage during the day. I don't have it down to a science yet. From reading and research, I have come to the conclusion that they do not need access to food all the time. Wild birds don't have food sitting in front of them all the time. If they go a few hours without it, what will happen? They will be hungry, they will be more likely to eat what you feed them then, and (at least my hope is) that they will get on a more normal eating schedule. Most birds forage in the morning and again at night, with the occassional opportunistic snack during the day. Most parrots sleep in the mid-afternoon. I think a few of mine were eating when they should have been resting those beaks, LOL. I feed them in the mornings, and again in the evening. During the day they can eat pellets, but I'm finding they are more excited about whatever I bring for dinner than they have been in the past. And are more likely to eat it instead of play around with it, step in it, fling it on the walls, flip it on the floor....well they still do those things but not as quickly. They eat first, then play. Before it was the other way around.

 

Definitely keep us posted about what you do, and your successes and failures. For something as basic as food, it sure is a complex issue. I am very interested in what works and what doesn't.

 

I'm finding it very tough to get the weight off my birds.