Micheal there is a difference between monitoring a bird's weight to keep it healthy and weight management, please don't add additional confusion! Your definition of "weight management" in this article significantly differs from the actual meaning and use by professional falconers in which the idea was originally contrived for. This is a big misinterpretation on your part because this is what your article is discussing, is it not? You would be best replacing what you mislabel as "weight management" as "weight awareness".
I did not miss the point made in the post. You state calories in = calories out, no one can argue with that. But to go out and claim that "birds stuff themselves all day" as true? C'mon man, like I said if that were true pet birds would be popping like gorging goldfish. It just doesn't happen.
I agree that
food management is a good idea, perfectly acceptable. This is what I believe you are trying to convey in this post. Birds CAN have scheduled meals in the day just like people. Zookeepers do it and their birds are healthy. And as an added bonus it can be much easier to train birds around their mealtimes as well. This is something every bird owner can do and is much more readily accepted by professionals in the field.
All of the avian veterinarians I have questioned complain about exceedingly more overweight parrots coming in with health problems than underweight.
And don't all avian vets! But calories in calories out right? Most avian veterinarians will not blame free feeding for this pandemic (and you seem so to keen to put down free feeding). It's seed-based diets causing the problem, end of story. Like I said, if a bird is free fed pellets and greens no vet is going to complain because the bird will not be over weight! What is it with you being against free feeding?
You only question the points that are of little significance.
Really? Because it seems all the little insignificant things add up Micheal. You use them to support your view but you will not defend them. Can you not?
Do these really seem like insignificant issues?:
Bird's do not stuff themselves full all day. If they do it is not considered normal!
Free feeding does not mean bugs and rats will infest one's home.
Using the Appeal to Nature fallacy over and over again is not small, but is what your entire argument is supported by.
Animals in a healthy ecosystem (especially parrots) don't drop dead over lack of food.
Bird's naturally fluctuate in weight over the season's and should be allowed to do so. To not allow a bird to do this is considered unhealthy.
These "little" inconsistencies found in your post are topics that graduate students can write their major thesis about. These little things add up and makes a reader think that your blog is untrustworthy and not based on actual facts. This is not building trust with your audience Micheal, but breaking it.
Fact is, owners need to be aware of their parrots weight and learn how to make adjustments in food quantity/quality to ensure it shifts to or stays at the healthy condition. This article is not about how but why.
Yes! And you make it out to be more complex than it really is! Too much time on your hands? "Weight awareness" is all an owner needs. But then if it was that simple you wouldn't have something to sell this May.
What did your vet say in your video? "It's probably what we typically see, the majority of the birds are in the average body condition." Oh, did he just say weight management isn't needed to attain a healthy weight? I wonder what all those other bird owners are doing right...