ct92404
New member
- Oct 14, 2012
- 153
- 0
- Parrots
- My first bird was a parakeet named Buddy (passed away November 8, 2012). My newest friend is a parakeet named Chipper.
I took my parakeet, Chipper, to the vet a couple of days ago to get her claws trimmed. They always weigh birds whenever you bring them in, which I like. But it turns out Chipper is WAY overweight. (The vet tech said she's "a little chunky"). I knew she has been getting a little chubby, but I had no idea it was this bad. I don't have the papers I got from them with me right now, but I know her weight was 50 something grams! They said she's fine otherwise. She's very active and her feathers look beautiful...smooth, with bright colors. So as far as I can tell, she's otherwise healthy. But I'm really worried. I've read that budgies can get liver problems if they're overweight.
I do admit that she was eating mostly seeds. Occasionally, I was also giving her wheat bread and whole grain low fat crackers (I bought them specifically for her). Luckily, just recently she has also been willing to try apples and carrots. I chop them up with a food chopper into tiny pieces and she does eat them.
What should I do? I thought maybe I'll just cut way back on the amount of seeds I give her and just give her a small amount of them once a day. And then the rest of the time put apples, carrots, and other things in her bowl. She seemed to like carrots, but I'm wondering if she's getting tired of them. I think she's getting mad! She ate some of the carrots I put in her bowl, but she started tossing a lot of them out too. I know she's doing it on purpose!
I have so many questions, but my biggest one is will a bird let itself starve? Chipper is kind of stubborn and picky, would she starve herself because she doesn't like her food?
Please help! What is a relatively easy way to get my parakeet to lose weight? What are some healthy foods that I can give her that most birds like to eat?
I do admit that she was eating mostly seeds. Occasionally, I was also giving her wheat bread and whole grain low fat crackers (I bought them specifically for her). Luckily, just recently she has also been willing to try apples and carrots. I chop them up with a food chopper into tiny pieces and she does eat them.
What should I do? I thought maybe I'll just cut way back on the amount of seeds I give her and just give her a small amount of them once a day. And then the rest of the time put apples, carrots, and other things in her bowl. She seemed to like carrots, but I'm wondering if she's getting tired of them. I think she's getting mad! She ate some of the carrots I put in her bowl, but she started tossing a lot of them out too. I know she's doing it on purpose!
I have so many questions, but my biggest one is will a bird let itself starve? Chipper is kind of stubborn and picky, would she starve herself because she doesn't like her food?
Please help! What is a relatively easy way to get my parakeet to lose weight? What are some healthy foods that I can give her that most birds like to eat?
