Enzos vet visit.

[bigfellasdad]

She has just returned from the vets. He was very happy with her but suggests she is 24g over weight at 462g, she has a slight line down her front which initially he thought confirmed over weight but it turns out she has very strong chest muscles as she does fly a lot. Her plumage could be a little better he thinks as well.

I told him she is still strongly bonded with me and he suggested a diet change to pellets and to alternate pellets and seed for the first few days. She eats lots of veg every morning and obviously they stay in her diet. This could well remove her being so broody as birds will get broody once carrying a little extra weight. So fingers crossed this could help reduce some issues we have.

Overall though he said he is happy with enzo and the way we are caring for her. The visits are not as much about enzo more an educational lesson. Good stuff

 

[SailBoat]

At that weight, she is chasing mid-sized Amazons.

Just as an observation: Her being a flyer and over-weight is an odd combination. She is either spending extra time at the seed dish or may need to fly a bit more each day.

Consider, first watching very closely what seeds she is eating and consider limiting those as you begin adding pellets. I'm not a 100% pellet diet person, and work at targeting something between that balances her intake.

Also, if you are not obtaining her weight at least weekly consider taking her weight first thing in the morning. Best after her morning movement and before she hits the food dish. Remember to write it down so you can track it.

Nothing like a positive Vet visit!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, a big girl?

Okay, you little Mae West, time for a weight record, agreed!

I have weights going back 30 years, and it's a big comfort to me. I figure that I'll see any first signs of worries. He weighs an average of 245. Skinny, always! His stature/body length is about that of a Grey!

 

[bigfellasdad]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, a big girl?

Okay, you little Mae West, time for a weight record, agreed!

I have weights going back 30 years, and it's a big comfort to me. I figure that I'll see any first signs of worries. He weighs an average of 245. Skinny, always! His stature/body length is about that of a Grey!

As Benny hill said, I like em big

I do try and weigh her weekly and it's hard as she can't stay still but I generally see 450 to 460 so my scales maybe reading a little low.

In my house she flies all the time but now I'm at the girlfriends she doesn't fly as far but just as often so I'll definitely keep my eye on things more. I think/know her extra weight is down to snacks she gets as everybody spoils her...

I promise I'll put a stop to it.

One other thing, at the vets they have a room for boarding parrots and their was a grey and a timney in there, enzo does look larger in height than them

 

[ChristaNL]

I do not get how your vet came to 'overweight'.
Enzo flies a lot so has more muscles than the average cagebound/ clipped grey so she is bound to be heavier.
(mine weigh in around 500 grams, and only Japie is truely an XL-grey, although Appie is not the smallest heigthwise we have ever seen /they breed them larger here? The further south/north in Africa they were caught the smaller/larger the greys are, so we could be breeding from different populations/ groups )


I would go by palpating the fatty layer on the keel (if any!) not some 'ideal weight list'. Knowing the exact weight is great for keeping track of their heath in general and when it comes to dosing medication.
But afaik you should match height and weight.

 

[TiredOldMan]

Gracie averages 500 or a little over. She is considered by her Dr and me to be under weight even though she is heavier then any of his other CAG patients.
She is going back to see him in 2 weeks because she isn't gaining.

 

[Tami2]

I loved Benny Hill, used to watch it all the time back in the day.

Levi hovers around 445g and his Vet is fine w/ that weight.

 

[Billdore]

HAHa my little Timneh weighs 305 grams. Shes gained quite a bit of weight since I first got her about 30 grams. She lost some weight cause of cutting out the peanuts and sunflower seeds cold turkey after I got her. Then I feel like she gained a ton of weight in muscle when she started to fly till where she has leveled off at 305. Vet says she looks great knock on wood.

 

[bigfellasdad]

She had 110g of veg and 20g of pellets and a single potato crisp along with maybe 10 very small sunflower seeds yesterday. Her poops are far better today but she seems to be on the hunt for snacks everytime a cupboard is opened lol.

 

[ChristaNL]

Getting them more active does this- before Sunny got here she was hanging in her cage ( from the ceiling!) almost all of the time, eating zupreme and peanuts for snacks, so she was really squishy-feeling on and around the keel.
Changed the diet and got her out more -> no more squishyness!
(haven't been able to weight her lately though/ good you brought that up!)


hahahaha, great mental picture of Enzo: parrot on the prowl ...
"the Hunt For Snacks - part one"

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

"At that weight, she is chasing mid-sized Amazons. "

Indeed! Amys "usual" weight is about 484g's Enzo could beat Amy up!




Jim

 

[bigfellasdad]

"At that weight, she is chasing mid-sized Amazons. "

Indeed! Amys "usual" weight is about 484g's Enzo could beat Amy up!

Jim

Hi Jim, Enzo is lighter than Amy, the vet wants her weight at 440g, not 462g. But agreed, I thought an amazon would weigh a lot more than a CAG.

 

[ChristaNL]

I always vieuwed amazons as being smaller than african greys (congo's not timneys) ...go figure

 

[bigfellasdad]

oh, maybe you are right, the only amazons I have seen are at a local parks aviary, the amazons looked a lot more bulky that the CAGs there.

 

[EllenD]

I too would have assumed that any of the larger of species of Amazons would definitely be heavier than a CAG. I grew up with a CAG who is now 32, and though he might be "taller" than most Amazon species, he is very lean and not at all bulky. Even when he fluffs-up his feathers he doesn't look near as bulky as the larger Amazons do. Most of the larger Amazon species that I've had direct, personal contact with at the Rescue are very bulky birds (granted, a good amount of their bulk may be feathers, depending on the season). They are much "rounder" than a CAG is, by far, and not only that, but if you compare the diameter of even their legs they are larger...their heads are larger too. I'm sure that there are some CAG's that are much larger than average, of course, but in-general the BFA's, YNA's, and DYH's are big, round, bulky birds. Most of them that come into the Rescue are said to be "overweight" by our Avian Vet, usually due to a fatty diet and being clipped...But there are always exceptions, I guess this is one huge CAG!

 

[bigfellasdad]

Well, 4 days in on s veg and pellet diet and enzo is going for the pellets first in the morning which is a turn around as she loves veg for breakfast! She dunks the pellets in water before crunching away.
Her poops are so much better than they have been which is hopefully a great sign too.
Not sure if it's related but she is doing her 'chicken dance lots more so I think she in back in season, oh no....

 

[EllenD]

So I asked my mom what Van's weight averages (our CAG who is a male and is now 32 years old). I would say that Van is an average sized CAG, he's not any larger than average, meaning height-wise or just overall "build". Also, Van flies every single day quite a bit, either on the Aviator Harness and the long leash-extension that he has for outside, or inside of their house, which is a 3 story house with an entirely open living room/staircase/upstairs hallway, it's almost like a loft that you can see from the living room, so he has tons of room to fly and places to perch up high, and skylights in the ceiling to look out of.

She said that Van usually weighs between 480-490 grams. And I certainly would not call Van at all "overweight". He also has eaten pellets as his main food, with a healthy seed-mix that he also gets every day but in small quantities, with lots of fresh veggies, and then treats such as fresh fruit, nuts, etc. She's really good about no people food, she doesn't even feed her dogs any people food, and I get yelled at when I go over there and give her pug anything at all that I'm eating. She's a big meanie.

I think I would take what Christa said very seriously, about birds that fly naturally weighing more than birds that don't, and it's not an indication of the bird being at all overweight...Muscle weighs more than fat, that's a fact. So birds who fly every day and who have larger breast muscles than those that don't fly tend to weigh more, and even though they weigh more, they are not the birds that are overweight, rather the birds in this scenario who weigh less are the birds that are overweight.

You said something about Enzo having "a line down his chest/belly"...are you talking about his keel bone? I'm hoping that your vet felt Enzo's chest muscles on either side of his keel bone, and realizes that his "weight" is simply a number on a scale in this situation. I haven't seen a photo of Enzo, but if Enzo has been a flyer most of his recent life, then his current weight certainly doesn't indicate that he's overweight. Yes, he should be eating pellets as his main diet staple and then getting only a small amount of a healthy, varied, low-fat seed-mix daily as a supplement to the pellets, but that isn't because he's overweight, it's because you don't want the any extra fat from eating only seeds as his staple diet accumulating in his liver.

 

[bigfellasdad]

Thank you Ellen, that's very reassuring to hear. I don't enzo flies as much as your mother's but probably more than most cag' s.

Her new and improved diet seems to be working, she certainly isn't going hungry! I'm now going to give a handful of her seeds and give it to her when we eat our evening meal so she doesn't miss out and stop her from begging for out food.

Thanks very much

 

[EllenD]

Thank you Ellen, that's very reassuring to hear. I don't enzo flies as much as your mother's but probably more than most cag' s.

Her new and improved diet seems to be working, she certainly isn't going hungry! I'm now going to give a handful of her seeds and give it to her when we eat our evening meal so she doesn't miss out and stop her from begging for out food.

Thanks very much

That's a very good idea, as they should still get seeds. Just as Sailboat mentioned, I'm not one who only feeds pellets either, as pellets don't exist in nature, and their GI Tracts were created to digest and process seeds. Plus, being able to shell and eat seeds does also fulfill a psychological need as well...As long as they aren't horribly fatty seeds, such as sunflower seeds, then I think they should be a part of their daily diet. As my CAV always says when we have this discussion, "I've never seen a pellet hanging from a tree or sprouting from the ground"...

 

[texsize]

After being around Amazons for 30 + years I was surprised how small my Bella was.
I think it's more in the build than overall size. She has a leaner look to her than Bingo but was a bit larger than Pacho was. Pacho was my smallest Amazon.

I have not weighed Bella but I guess I should give it a try. Have to see if I can get her to step onto the scale.

texsize