Increase in Hunger?

[Boki]

As I understand it, Amazons are one of the parrots you need to control their diet as they will overeat into obesity. These 2 adopted amazons are guestimated to be 25 years old. I followed the instructions for feeding them from the rescue center.

But lately it seems to me that they are hungrier now than when I got them 7 months ago. I was wondering if anyone has noticed if there are increases or decreases in hunger. Is it seasonal? It is related to molting?

I really don't want to get off the prescribed feeding process but they were making a lot of noise an hour before their scheduled feeding time. They have never done that before, And boy do they fly to the bowls when they are delivered.

I don't want to starve them but I don't want them to get fat either.

 

[ChristaNL]

Not sure about your temperature outside then - now (no this is not a Fahrenheit-joke ) but birds will eat more if the temperature drops and they burn more energie just to stay warm.
Also: you probably have them more active outside the cage than they were used to: athletes eat more because they expend more energy.


Do you weigh them? (and feel of course - muscles are good news, layers of blubber are not)
Molting is a crazy time anyway- so maybe....

 

[Anita1250]

My BFA is 35, and yes I do notice a change in appetite when it gets colder. I guess it is just like us - don't like to eat much when it is hot. Mine is a good weight for his height. He goes between 475 and 500 gms. He is pretty tall, though. About 12" tail to head. Vet says he is ok weight.

That said, I give him his pellets for the day in the AM. During the day, he gets his fruits and veggies at intervals. He never finishes what was in his pellet cup. At dinnertime, he gets some walnuts and a good veggie. A treat before bed rounds out the day.

 

[Laurasea]

ChristaNL beat me to it! They are more active at your home and need more calories. You definitely need to weigh them. Change in temp can also be a factor. We have w zoo and it was big news when a zebra died of malnutrition ( being starved) because they fed it the same but it was outside in winter and required many more calories!!!

 

[Scott]

Investing in an inexpensive scale calibrated in grams is invaluable. It is a superb diagnostic tool provided you can train your birds to stand on the perch or flat tray. Might have to improvise to gain trust, and many scales have a "tare" mode to exclude whatever platform is used from the final calculation.

 

[Laurasea]

Yes sir Scott invaluable!!!!! I got one when Ta-dah was sick, now that she is well she gained 5 grams!!! Her being sick was so subtle, if I had a scale before I could have caught it sooner!! I put a dish with snacks and zero it then put bird on dish easy should have had years ago, cost 20 bucks

 

[jousze]

My BFA is 35, and yes I do notice a change in appetite when it gets colder. I guess it is just like us - don't like to eat much when it is hot. Mine is a good weight for his height. He goes between 475 and 500 gms. He is pretty tall, though. About 12" tail to head. Vet says he is ok weight.

That said, I give him his pellets for the day in the AM. During the day, he gets his fruits and veggies at intervals. He never finishes what was in his pellet cup. At dinnertime, he gets some walnuts and a good veggie. A treat before bed rounds out the day.

Your BFA must be huge lol!
Mine is just 330 gr :/ maybe its cause he's just 5 months old?

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

My BFA is 35, and yes I do notice a change in appetite when it gets colder. I guess it is just like us - don't like to eat much when it is hot. Mine is a good weight for his height. He goes between 475 and 500 gms. He is pretty tall, though. About 12" tail to head. Vet says he is ok weight.

That said, I give him his pellets for the day in the AM. During the day, he gets his fruits and veggies at intervals. He never finishes what was in his pellet cup. At dinnertime, he gets some walnuts and a good veggie. A treat before bed rounds out the day.

Amy is 30y.o. and when she is in good shape she is 484 to 504g's.
At her last wellness check,she was at a VERY alarming 548g's! The heaviest she has EVER been! Apon further examination,it was determined she has heart problems,an artery has a slight blockage from PLAQUE! This made her lethargic which in turn made her gain weight. She is now on heart meds,is now moving around and her intake has been adjusted. She is due for a re-evaluation in a few weeks.


Jim

 

[Anita1250]

He is pretty big for a BFA. At 5 months he was short and chubby with really big feet. I guess that old adage about big feet is true. He did grow into them!