Skinny Golden Conure

[Goldiegirl]

Is it possible that my Golden Conure is thin because he plays so much? I opted for a large cage for him, 40" x 36" x 52" and he has lots of branch perches and toys. He is very tame, falls asleep on my chest when not playing on me, and says good morning, I love you, night night and is adding more all the time.

I am home all day, and he spends much of the day with the choice of in or out of his cage. When he sees that I am working at my desk, he walks the bottom of his cage and wants to be picked up, but he is content if I can't play right then to be inside his cage.

He walks, flaps, hangs upside down from his toys all day long. He is in perfect feather - no plucking.

I feed him Zupreem pellets five days a week, seeds two days a week and a "fresh" something every day. For example sweet potatoes, apples, oranges, mixed veggies and pasta (commercial kind one boils up), pineapple etc. some of this he likes and some not so much. Not crazy about boiled pasta and veggie seed mix, apples are a favorite. He seems to eat a little of something and then won't any more.

Suggestions advice please. Thanks so much, I love my Nana.

[cml]

How much does he weigh then?

[marie83]

Rating weight is a subjective thing when using visual or tactile methods, he may appear thinner or fatter to you than to than to somebody else. Different factors will also play a part such as the lack of flight may make the keel more prominant due to muscle wastage, the bird may just be naturally small for his species etc.

The only way you can really know for sure is with regular weigh ins which can help tell you what is the normal for your bird. However that wont help if the bird is 1. new to you or 2. you haven't weighed reguarly in the past. If its the latter you might be able to gauge weight loss by tactile or visual methods but it depends on the bird and usually by the time the loss shows the bird has already lost a significant amount of weight.

If the bird genuinely looks skinny and you have no weight records (on paper or in your head) then you should see an avian vet to rule out any health issues.

Other than that we cant really help you without a lot more info.

[Goldiegirl]

Nana weighed 243 grams in late December and weighed 240 grams yesterday. It was on a different scale, but hopefully accurate. He will be 1 year old on June 1st.

I have no idea what the average weight for a Golden is.

[Andromeda]

Wow, you have a Golden Conure? I saw them at a theme park here in Florida once and thought they were SO beautiful! I'm curious where you live and if you need a permit to keep one since they are CITES I protected? Where did you even get one? Sorry, I have a million questions. LOL

Anyway, regarding the weight, various sites differ on average weight. One says 250 g, one says 270 g, and one says 290 g. Regardless, 240 g does seem too low, but then again if he's only one it's possible he's not fully grown and has not reached his adult weight yet.

What exactly makes you say he's "skinny"? Is it just the weight on the scale or is it something about the way he looks or feels?

You say he is tame so would you be able to feel his keel bone? That's the bone that runs straight down the center of his chest, vertically. You should be able to feel the keel but it should not be protruding too much versus the surrounding tissue on the chest and if it is that bird is either sick or malnourished.

Here is a chart I found:



"The keel bone runs down the centre of a bird’s chest and is represented in the above pictures by the black line in the centre of each picture. A parrot that is a healthy weight should have a curved chest. In terms of the pictures above most healthy parrots should be somewhere around or between body conditions 3 and 4. Condition 5 is common enough in pet birds, but it is an overweight condition and poses some serious health risks. Conditions 1 and 2 are underweight and if it were my bird I’d be very worried that the bird is either malnourished or has some sort of illness that is preventing the bird from gaining/holding its weight."

This is just so you have an idea of what to look for yourself but honestly you should consider taking him to the vet for an evaluation. Birds are very good at hiding illness but one of the key early indicators of illness is weight loss or being underweight.

Good luck and keep us updated!

[Goldiegirl]

Thanks so much for the great diagram. Spoke with a board certified avian vet over the phone - doesn't think anything is wrong, BUT taking Nana in on Monday just to assuage my fears! The breeder did say that Nana is smaller than his clutch mate was....

You do not need a permit if you buy your QOB conure in the same state that you live in, at least that is what I was told by the appropriate government agency when I called regarding the permit. Fortunately I was able to find one in my state.

Just a note - it is my understanidng that all of the QOB in the US are related to only 20 birds that were orignially imported. I have looked at the stud book online and there is no way of knowing if that is true (at least that I can figure out). I am always concerned about genetic diversity, so hopefully someone much brighter than I that breeds these darlings has it all figured out.

And lastly, would I give my Nana up to be placed in a breeding program to help save the species? Yes, it would break my heart but I know it would be the right thing to do.

There are reputable breeders of these golden gems on the Internet, apparently they breed quite easily compared to other species of parrots. I did a lot of homework before I got my Nana, but in essence nothing more than the research that I would do prior to getting any parrot.

PS To say that Nana is tame woudl be a gross understatement. He is handleable in any way, and knows the word "no", and has even learned that my earrings are off limits! He is not a screamer and has learned that I will respond to his first contact call in the morning and then that is it, meaning it does no good to call after that - so he doesn't. Well, except when I first get home after being gone - then after a quick "hello" from me he is quiet.

PPS Sorry I am so lengthy here - but I just love my Nana. If you ever have a chance to get a QOB, you would not be dissappointed, although my only experience with the species is Nana.