Weight gain

[GreenWing]

I weighed my sennie recently and she has gained 7 grams since the last time she was weighed (last month). Is this normal for an adolescent sennie, or is my bird... getting fat?

[Utoomom]

7 grams is a hefty weight gain for 1 month. Are you giving your baby too many shelled nuts? They are super high in fat. Any change in diet?...better gaining than loosing..

[Michael]

7 grams isn't necessarily a lot. Weights must be considered in context and once a month weighing won't show this. I've seen Kili pack 20+ grams in a single eating after her victory on the Letterman show. On a daily basis she'll typically range 7 grams between full and empty. If you weigh a parrot full one month and empty another, the body weight could be identical and you're just comparing the food in its crop. It's also possible you weighed your parrot consistently both times in which case that would indicate weight gain but 7g still isn't anything to immediately be concerned about. Once you dive a bit further into food management, you'll be able to keep a better track of this.

PS it's not typical or necessarily good for a Sennie to go through 20g of food/water but that was a special occasion. She looked like a balloon after... but it was much deserved. They had a fruit buffet in the dressing room that she just had to sample.

[Andromeda]

On a daily basis she'll typically range 7 grams between full and empty. If you weigh a parrot full one month and empty another, the body weight could be identical and you're just comparing the food in its crop. It's also possible you weighed your parrot consistently both times in which case that would indicate weight gain but 7g still isn't anything to immediately be concerned about.

I weigh my birds several times a week and their weight varies based on how much they have had to eat. For example, my GCC weighs ~71 - 73g in the morning before he has eaten anything but if I weigh him again in the evening he's ~76 - 78g.

If you're concerned about weight gain you could start weighing her several times a week or even daily at a consistent time (ideally in the morning before she has had anything to eat) and see if it continues to go up over the next month or two.

Have you been flying your bird a lot since the last time she was weighed? My GCC put on a little weight once I started doing lots and lots of flight recall with him but the vet has checked out his keel and said his weight is normal.

[GreenWing]

Thanks everyone for the input. Recently I have changed Tiki's diet to Roudybush, which she apparently loves to omnom. She does get a lot of playtime, as well... but perhaps I should weigh her several times a week to monitor her weight a little more closely, like Andromeda does. Michael and I will be consulting soon, so food management may once again be ahead...

Thanks again

better gaining than loosing..

Hahaha, true!