Bluey is on a diet but is sooo hungry.

Im introducing fresh veg which he is slowly trying but hasnt eaten any when Ive been out at work today (for 8 hours)

I gave him a teaspoon of seed this morning but he seemed so hungry when I came home from work.

Can I gradually decrease his amount of seed as 2 teaspoons seems so little compared to the amount he has been eating

As soon as he sees me with the seed he gets so excited.

Do what works best for you. If you want to say give 2 teaspoons in the morning, and 1 when you get home, and slowly work your way to 1 or 1 1/2 in the morning, and 1/2 or 1 in the evening, then go for it. Your the one who has to put up with the attitude from the bird, and that can be scary

I just know I couldnt cope with such a crash diet

I want to do whats best for him/her I cant get my head around the fact that Pixie informed me yesterday he is a girl

I wouldn't be able to do it either! I would suggest every 3 days reducing the amount a bit more.

It really should be done gradually, drastically reducing his food intake so suddenly could cause him(her) awful stress and even discomfort.

I would just change his seed to finch seed and make sure he has plenty of fresh fruit and vegitables.

What I have been doing too is chopping up the veggies and fruits and then mixing in 2 tsp of seed therefore he has the variety even if he doesn't want it. If maybe you do it this way you wouldn't feel like he was going on such a crash diet. I also noticed that when I put the mixture on the floor on a plate he eats it more readly (he really is a bottom feeder), when I put it on top of his cage he ignored it up until today. He is even more active when I place him on the floor vs on his cage.

If you are restricting his food, make sure you weigh him every few days. You don't want him to lose more than a gram or two max per week. After two weeks or so you will be able to tell by how he is acting and what he feels like on your finger to cut his weigh-ins down to once a week. Watch his feces, and if they start to turn black (when they are fresh, not after they dry) then you need to increase the seed as he is starving himself. Try giving him sprouted seeds as part of his seed ration - they are much more nutritious. Feeding wheatgrass is a good idea too, also adding cooked diets. Does he eat pellets? Budgies are stubborn eaters, and it will be more trial and error in the beginning to make sure he is eating enough to sustain him, but also that he will slowly lose weight. How much weight does he need to lose?

With Candy he used to get a full bowl of seed and I gradually reduced the amount on the bowl by about 1mm a day until now he only gets half a bowl, I also firstly cut millets sprays in half until he gradually got none. I upped the amount of veggies he got to well loads of different ones. He lost over 10g on this diet and is not allowed millet and the odd seed treat - in fact a huge one today because its his first birthday today!

Hooray for Candy! It's so good to read success stories.

 

Sing him "Happy Birthday" for me, okay?

Edited November 29, 200519 yr by Rainbow

He has been great although obviously not as strong as the others still and probably wont be in the flying category but he prefers spinach to seed how good is that.

 

I will be sure to sing loud for him Anne I arent holding much hope on the seed treat being there tonight hehe!