Macaw Weights Thread

[plax]

so he will stay around the 1500-1600g mark ?
haha he must really love his water

I think his morning weight should stay in the 1570s range. I've concluded that he lost over 100 grams after his mom, my friend, passed away on May 12 and he then had to stay confined in his cage all alone most of the time. If my theory is right, he's finally gained all his weight back (after 5 months of adjusting to his new environment here). I talked to my friend's husband last night and it seems that Salsa has always liked to drink lots of water while eating lots of food. So ultimately his weight figures in the mornings are his true weight values, which are the only thing that counts That 1642g the other day was when he was full of water and food in the evening.

 

[triordan]

wonder what normal weight fluctuation is for the larger birds? 10%??

 

[chadwick]

if you like you can check Dr . Scott McDonalds website and he has an article with weights for almost every bird...broken down into amazons cockatoos macaws ect website is http://scottemcdonald.com/pdfs/Average%20Weights.pdf

 

[plax]

if you like you can check Dr . Scott McDonalds website and he has an article with weights for almost every bird...broken down into amazons cockatoos macaws ect website is http://scottemcdonald.com/pdfs/Average Weights.pdf

Wow, that's great! Thanks for the link

According to Dr. McDonald's data, GWs like Salsa and triordan's Remington are quite a bit above the mean weight range for their species. Also, my Hy, Zaffer, appears to be on the high side of the mean weight range for Hyacinths (he's in the low 1400s). My B&G, Jack, seems as well to be above the mean range for his species (he's 1120 to 1130g right now - and this is his 'light' time of the year - he gets up to 1200g at times). So it looks like Maynard, my Military, is the only one of my 4 who's got a weight that's consistent with Dr. McDonald's average for his species (he's currently at 920g, but he goes up to and holds 950 to 960g for a large portion of each year). Very interesting.

 

[plax]

Oh, and by the way...I'm astounded by that HUGE Blue & Gold!!! It seems that Jake's weight is over twice that of my Jack. A 2415 gram Blue & Gold is indeed a monster bird :11:

I'm now thinking that perhaps it IS possible for Tab's Fargo to overtake Salsa's weight Jake is the largest Macaws I've ever heard of...or the fattest, anyway

 

[plax]

Well, I'm starting to obsess about Salsa's weight again :-\ He remained in the 1570's for about 2 weeks - I really thought he'd stay there. But his morning weights then started inching up again. He bounced around in the 1580s for about one week, then for the last few days he broke into the 1590s. I kept hoping his weight would start to drop a bit. However, this morning, unfortunately, after Sals woke up and pooped etc., and before he consumed any food or drink, he weighed in at above 1600 grams. This is the very first >1600 gram weight session he's had 'empty' in the morning.

I snapped these photos of Sals this morning:

I'm considering a vet visit.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I don't mean to be cracking up laughing here, Plax, but the second picture, where Salsa looks at the scale, he almost looke in disbelief, ROFLMAO.

I personally don't think you have anything to worry about, but if a vet visit will put your mind at ease, by all means, do it

Salsa is one big, happy, beautiful & healthy young man.

 

[plax]

HAHA Wendy... until you mentioned that about pic #2 it never even occurred to me. But it certainly does appear that he's looking at and pondering his weight result in that snap LOL

I'll likely just monitor his weight for a while longer. I just find it hard to imagine he should still be gaining weight is all. I promised Terrie she could count on me to do my very best for Salsa if it ever became necessary for him to come live with me and I really worry about him sometimes. Your opinion is comforting though Thanks.

 

[JerseyWendy]

How active is Salsa, Plax? Does he do "flap flap" regularly? I'm just asking because Niko is always 30-40g lighter after a day of rigorous flapping and playing.

 

[plax]

How active is Salsa, Plax? Does he do "flap flap" regularly? I'm just asking because Niko is always 30-40g lighter after a day of rigorous flapping and playing.

Oh Salsa flaps! And yes, he does it on a daily basis. Plus, when Sals flaps, he flaps full blast! His flapping sessions are far more violent (fast and hard) than those of my others. He likes to grasp the top of that hoop on his play stand and do it. And I'd say his flap sessions have been just as frequent of late. I'll pay special attention now to be sure, though. But that's still a good thought, Wendy

In addition to his hard flapping sessions, Salsa often likes to engage in vigorous workout routines inside his cage. He climbs upside down and swings from his rope and roams all over his cage non-stop! He'll do it for about 40 minutes at a time. Actually, I haven noticed him doing it for a couple of days though. I guess that could be one factor. I'll watch him today and try to encourage him to go into workout mode.

 

[JerseyWendy]

:emoticonc: The way you describe his activity level I truly believe there is nothing wrong with him.

I bet when he flaps not only paper, but entire magazines and books go flying. :smile002:

 

[plax]

:emoticonc: The way you describe his activity level I truly believe there is nothing wrong with him.

I bet when he flaps not only paper, but entire magazines and books go flying. :smile002:

Yeah it's pretty much like a hurricane around here

I guess I'm just worried that Salsa's weight will continue to climb. And I find it hard to believe that he now outweighs Zaf by 200 grams. Zaf is NOT a small bird! I'm unsure exactly what to make of it all.

 

[plax]

I forgot to mention that Salsa weighed in at 1603 this morning. So at least he's no heavier today.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I forgot to mention that Salsa weighed in at 1603 this morning. So at least he's no heavier today.

That's GREAT news, Plax! Glad to hear that.

 

[WharfRat]

I still haven't got a new scale yet Between closing on the house and hurting my leg, my mind has not been as focused as usual. I did notice though yesterday (as did the wife) that as I had the GW's side by side in the office that Rea is definitely larger/heavier than Miri now. Not sure why I hadn't noticed before since I have them in here daily, but I'm pretty sure it has to do with their different behaviors, Miri flies everywhere all the time whereas Rea will RARELY fly anymore and prefers walking instead. (I don't know if I'll ever figure that one out:20: ) Their diet/consumption food wise is pretty identical so I don't see a difference there.

 

[plax]

Well, Miri's tendency to fly everywhere would certainly burn more calories - and do so on an ongoing basis. So it's reasonable to infer that such regular exercise would effect change to her metabolism from what it would be otherwise. That could account for a lot, I'm guessing.

 

[WharfRat]

Yea, that's what I think as well. Funny though, Rea used to fly all the time and was/is very good at it, just no clue why the change to walking instead.

 

[plax]

Yea, that's what I think as well. Funny though, Rea used to fly all the time and was/is very good at it, just no clue why the change to walking instead.

Maybe she heard that walking is good exercise Kidding aside, I'm not sure either. But I've found that occasionally one of mine will try some new activity and not long after that it becomes a habit.

 

[plax]

I'd like to report that Salsa did in fact finally level off at 1620 grams (per his daily weigh ins in the mornings). He's been at 1620 for almost one month now. So that seems to be his proper weight; it simply took him 4.5 months to plateau after his ordeal of losing Terrie .

 

[JerseyWendy]

Terrific news, Plax! You must be breathing much easier now that Salsa is maintaining his weight. He is one BIG, sweet, lovable boy.