Paorrt under weight

[Cozzy]

Hi Everyone.

I have been feeding my ,now 11 months, with ZUPREEM diet since he came home 6 months, however, on the scale, he seems under weigth 11Xg...
should I consider swaping to another pellet diet for him.
Beside under weight, he doesn't have any problem.

[pchela]

Does he eat anything besides the pellets?

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Does he eat these pellets well? Does he get them free-choice or in a measured amount? If measured, does he clean them up?

Bottom line is he needs to eat more... either a pellet he eats better, more of the pellet he's getting, more supplemental food, addition of healthy seeds, whatever seems to get more in him without compromising his nutrition.

[miajag]

By underweight do you mean he's lost weight since you got him? Or he's just below average weight for a Senegal? It's possible he's just small; not all parrots of a given species are the exact same size.

[Michael]

How do you know he is under weight? What is this based on?

If he is losing weight, I'd suspect it is sooner illness than pellet brand issue. If he is lower than the weight you'd expect a Senegal to be, that may be different. Kili normally ranges between 113g-120g. If I put her on free feed she can get as high as 130-135g.

If you are feeding unlimited pellets and the parrot is not eating a lot and dropping in weight, it is quite likely sick.

[Cozzy]

I just refer to the parrot weight guide on the internet...
Weight is stable.... 115+-4g...for more than a few months.....
PPl told me that should not be a big deal.
However, I feel safer to get him up to around 120+-5g

[Ark]

Why do you think he's underweight? Did you have a starting weight to go by with him and he's lost, or is it because he is under the average Senegal weights that are posted all over the internet?

Here is a diagram that shows what to feel for, and the vet can always say if the bird is at a good weight for him so you know where to go from.



A bird that has never flown may also not have as well-developped muscle mass when being compared to a bird that has always flown, which is the case with my Greys.

Does he eat other things too?

[Ark]

I just refer to the parrot weight guide on the internet...
Weight is stable.... 115+-4g...for more than a few months.....
PPl told me that should not be a big deal.
However, I feel safer to get him up to around 120+-5g

Sorry, I was writing my last post as you posted this. But, in my opinion you should not really be concerned about the weights you saw on the internet even if your Senegal is smaller. His weight is stable, which is what is important. And if you are unsure about if he needs to fill out more, you should discuss it with your vet and they will be able to tell you if he really needs to or not. The weights on the internet are just averages, and many healthy birds fall over and under these weights.

[Cozzy]

Beside, pellets, I also feed hime with nuts. also some dry banana, corn....
I normally fill the cup with 15g of pellets and nuts mix....
Normally he consumes around 8-9g....
Also, I introdue another pellets with higher protien for him...
seems like he likes it....

[Michael]

If he's eating 8-9g then I wouldn't worry about it. That sounds about right. Also don't forget that different foods have different weights. You can have two Senegals of equal stature weighing different because of the food in their belly. Empty, both might be 100g, but one has 15g of light but concentrated food in its crop/stomach while another has 30g of heavy but less caloric food in its system.

I was often concerned that Kili was on the lighter side of Senegal Parrots but experts and vets that have seen her always commented on how she looks a perfect weight/stature for her size. So it's all relative and you have to compare how the parrot is filled out compared to its own build rather than the statistical average.