Macaw Weights Thread

[luvmytooo]

I Need to get a scale. Where be the best place. Ebay

MySafeBirdStore has a nice one.
Wish I had seen it before I had bought mine.
The perch is a pain but it works good.
Weighing my guys all depends on whether or not they are in the mood to
play with the perch ....
If Stella grabs the perch , it may be a while before I talk her into dropping it :/
Baby is a breeze , so is Rosie but my Yoshi is afraid of the scale , I have to hide it somehow without affecting the weight. I have used Tare to zero out a towel , a oven mitt , a cut out piece of cereal box , lolol.
Somehow he figures out the scale is under neath and will leave immediately !!!
It's a work in prioress though , lolol
But three out of four birds is pretty good IMO

 

[Devann]

How often do you guys weigh your birds? maybe I should get a scale???

 

[plax]

How often do you guys weigh your birds? maybe I should get a scale???

Since each of mine are so good about it, I used to weigh them every morning. That seemed a bit excessive, though - or could that be obsessive? I now weigh them 2 to 3 times per week.

 

[luvmytooo]

Why would it be obsessive ? Their weight changes can let us know something is brewing way ahead of time , way before we see actual signs , like a drop in food intake.
And every gram matters when talking about birds.
I should be that dedicated !!!!
Makes me feel like poop now

 

[azdesertrhino]

We weigh Mac once a week but we are also very observant of food intake and behavioral changes.

Mac probably gets more attention and care than a lot of children.

Sad but true!!

 

[Devann]

Thanks guys, off to buy a scale!

 

[plax]

Why would it be obsessive ? Their weight changes can let us know something is brewing way ahead of time , way before we see actual signs , like a drop in food intake.
And every gram matters when talking about birds.
I should be that dedicated !!!!
Makes me feel like poop now

That's true. I was kinda joking there It's just that I watch them so closely and handle them continually and I feel very in tune to each of them. I'm with them virtually all day. In addition to their regular weight checks, if/when I notice any little variation in their behaviors or appearance (or the way they feel when I'm holding and interacting with them), I bring them right to the scale.

 

[luvmytooo]

Why would it be obsessive ? Their weight changes can let us know something is brewing way ahead of time , way before we see actual signs , like a drop in food intake.
And every gram matters when talking about birds.
I should be that dedicated !!!!
Makes me feel like poop now

That's true. I was kinda joking there It's just that I watch them so closely and handle them continually and I feel very in tune to each of them. I'm with them virtually all day. In addition to their regular weight checks, if/when I notice any little variation in their behaviors or appearance (or the way they feel when I'm holding and interacting with them), I bring them right to the scale.

Well the reason I said that is because I'm home with my guys as well , lolol.

 

[Alisana]

Oh wow! Listen to this!

I was reading in one of my avian books about one of the clinics who weighed in a female Blue and Gold at almost 1800g!! She would've been huge!

 

[azdesertrhino]

Oh wow! Listen to this!

I was reading in one of my avian books about one of the clinics who weighed in a female Blue and Gold at almost 1800g!! She would've been huge!

I've read that some species of birds were prone to being "overweight". Kind of like me!!

That would be a huge B&G!

 

[Alisana]

Oh wow! Listen to this!

I was reading in one of my avian books about one of the clinics who weighed in a female Blue and Gold at almost 1800g!! She would've been huge!

I've read that some species of birds were prone to being "overweight". Kind of like me!!

That would be a huge B&G!

Mm, yeah. I wondered about that - but still, that's double the weight. I know one guy on the forums here has a GW named Neleno(??) and s/he said that he weighed in at 1700g - and that he was just BIG.

I flicked through the book but couldn't see any clinical comments about the weight - just the observation.

 

[plax]

I weigh Salsa nearly every morning to keep track of his tendency toward weight accumulation. I as well occasionally weigh him during the afternoons and evenings to see how much food he's eaten. Well, last night he hit his all time high! 1605 grams! The weird thing is that I didn't expect he would be anywhere close to that since his crop wasn't all puffed out as it often is after his evening meal. I guess all he had consumed earlier must have been further along in his digestive tract. I weighed him again in the morning and he was down to 1544g. So I at least now know he can hold over 60 grams of food and drink He's gained over 50 grams since he arrived here. I've actually been watching his portions fairly closely but he's still managed to gain.

 

[tab_xo]

fargo weighed 995 grams, 2 days ago.. and he is 7 and a half months...
he was 1002 grams the day we picked him up.
both times were with a pretty full crop

hows that ?

 

[plax]

fargo weighed 995 grams, 2 days ago.. and he is 7 and a half months...
he was 1002 grams the day we picked him up.
both times were with a pretty full crop

hows that ?

Not bad. He's gonna gain more though

 

[tab_xo]

hahah is he gonna be a fatty like salsa

how do you give your guys their food ? i just read you should chop all the fruit and veges up, but fargo prefers to hold it in his foot.. should i chop it up? i tried the kebab, but he just broke the clip and held the whole kebab in his foot to eat

 

[plax]

hahah is he gonna be a fatty like salsa

Hey! The bird loves to eat... what can I say? I doubt you have anything to worry about. I don't think many Macaws crave food as much as my Salsa does

how do you give your guys their food ? i just read you should chop all the fruit and veges up, but fargo prefers to hold it in his foot.. should i chop it up? i tried the kebab, but he just broke the clip and held the whole kebab in his foot to eat

Personally, I don't like to discourage them from using their feet for holding food. Usually with larger fruits and vegetables I'll slice them into segments, sticks, or disks of an adequate size for holding in their foot-fists

 

[tab_xo]

hahahah, salsa is just a very special boy

oh ok, yes his food is in sticks and foot size pieces

 

[plax]

By the way, I've been closely observing Salsa. I've determined that a lot of Salsa's weight flaring and puffiness isn't obesity. It's because he likes to excessively bloat himself up with water. He drinks tons of it while he plays in it and he loves to play in it all day! So that's why his crop gets so huge at times. He does eat all the time, but he actually sucks down more water than food. And Salsa is very active. I was watching him this morning and he was constantly hanging upside down, swinging from ropes, fighting with toys, etc. During this workout of his he wasn't yet bloated for the day and he actually looked rather sleek and muscular with his feathers tight against his body during his vigorous activities. He went on like that at high speed for about an hour and he didn't tire or become out of breath at all. As such, he must be fairly fit. I'm not saying he's a thin bird... I'm merely saying most of what concerned me was actually from the copious amounts of water he drinks daily.

 

[tab_xo]

is it normal to drink that much? he couldnt get sick from drinking alot of water could he?

fargo is terribly unfit and if he goes for a fly or swings around his cage he goes to get a big drink of water afterwards

 

[plax]

is it normal to drink that much? he couldnt get sick from drinking alot of water could he?

fargo is terribly unfit and if he goes for a fly or swings around his cage he goes to get a big drink of water afterwards

It likely won't do him any good to drink so much water, but it seems he's always been obsessed with water play. When my late friend, Terrie, had him, Salsa spent much of his days playing in his water bowl and that's precisely what he's continued to do since he came to live here. He loves to make soup (from everything imaginable) and drink it I don't think it's normal but it hasn't killed him yet