Tracking pellet intake

[DRB]

I've tracked Perjo's pellet consumption for about 180 days now. I bought a gram scale and simply measured her food at the start of every day.

I use stainless bowls, their tare weight is usually 142-147g. I usually put 185-195g of pellets in her bowl to start the day. I weigh the next morning to see how much she eats, it has averaged out 21.5g. I think the most she has ever eaten in a day is about 31g and there have been a few days in which she at 9-10g, again this is just pellets.

I give her two other bowls each day, some variations of veggies and birdie bread usually. I have not tracked the amount of those yet b/c frankly pellets offer enough nutrition as long as our FIDS eat enough pellets. So if I had to guess what her total intake of food per day is I'd say 30g at minimum, maybe 35-40g max.

Figured this might be helpful for other CAG owners.

 

[SailBoat]

I've tracked Perjo's pellet consumption for about 180 days now. I bought a gram scale and simply measured her food at the start of every day.

I use stainless bowls, their tare weight is usually 142-147g. I usually put 185-195g of pellets in her bowl to start the day. I weigh the next morning to see how much she eats, it has averaged out 21.5g. I think the most she has ever eaten in a day is about 31g and there have been a few days in which she at 9-10g, again this is just pellets.

I give her two other bowls each day, some variations of veggies and birdie bread usually. I have not tracked the amount of those yet b/c frankly pellets offer enough nutrition as long as our FIDS eat enough pellets. So if I had to guess what her total intake of food per day is I'd say 30g at minimum, maybe 35-40g max.

Figured this might be helpful for other CAG owners.

I applaud your efforts, but the reasoning seems lost on me.

Pellets have their place as part of the diet, but the nutrition requirements of a CAG differs from an Amazon, which differ from a MAC, which differ from an, etc, etc, etc... Add to this the nutrition requirements of an Active Flier compared to a shoulder protector or whether (although minor) the differences between a Female and a Male. So, not only are there nutritional between species, there is differences within each species.

And, you are faced with an additional problems of how often and how much your Parrot passes though each day. Let us not forget the issue of drinking water and the amount and when!.

The only 'program' I am aware of regarding monitoring 'Pellet' intake is at larger facilities (like Zoos) that use that data to determine 'Buy' points and volume.

Regarding nutrition intake; The best and most healthy foundation is to duplicate what that species is know to activity eat in their Natural Range.

When comparing an 'all seed' (sunflower) to a 'general use' Pellet diet are compared, the Pellet diet is the clear winner!

So, if the study is targeted at how much a healthy CAG would be seen to eat in any given day, congratulations - a very successful study! That said, I doubt that you would recommend that only that amount be provided each day, correct?

- But even with the information you have collect, how can you be sure that your CAG is getting enough nutrition each day? What is the base nutritional intake each day for an active, moderately active or shoulder setter?

Great Project, but you may want to address a couple of more issues to assure that someone does not elect to only provide pellets (yes you did state other items) and only in at the maximum level you stated.

Yes, I have said this several times now, but I do not think the point can be understated; Great Project!

 

[wrench13]

DRB - I tried this with Salty, weighing his pellets, but then I realized he throws a lot out of his bowl. Same with his chop. Some days it looks like he didnt touch it, some days its empty. Then I look on the floor and yup, thats were a lot winds up. I would think weighing the bird would be easier. If Perjo was in a glass tank, and you could gather up all the waste food, and then weigh whats left in his bowl and the floor sweepin's - you'd know how much eaten. I'm wit 'Boats on this , parrots need more than pellets.

 

[DRB]

I do it for my own peace of mind knowing a set "soft" base line of what I know she typically does. Her level of exercise or activity is pretty consistent from day to day. It also helps me understand what she likes more of, she seems to eat as much in pellets as she does in veggies mostly.

So if a week of 7 straight days goes by and I'm dumping out 175g of pellets each morning then I know she has changed her eating habit for some reason.

I share it b/c wieght is a different issue for different species usually, weight is rarely an isse with CAGS, so knowing what they typically eat relative to their weight over time (I try to weigh Perjo once every 5-6 weeks, she will be weighed at vet twice a year for sure) I can at least stay ahead of subtle unseen issues if they arise with weight. A 2yo CAG weighing 430g will probably weight 420-440g forever if all goes well and their diet and avtivity levels remain consistent.

For me I also now know that there is no need to put 150g of pellets in a bowl b/c that isn't how she eats, and after speaking with my vet over the course of 18mos I know that a healthy CAG doesn't need anymore than they typically eat when things are right. A healthy bird will typically eat enough or more than enough of what it feels it needs, it's up to me to make sure that food supply is nutritionally proper. It is.

 

[SailBoat]

Again, not jumping on the study or even the why!

For a healthy Parrot, five to six weeks between weighting will not keep you head of subtle unseen issues. it will only inform you of a change that is happening at that moment. To monitor for unseen issues requires a 'minimum' of weekly weight check (in the morning, after the first moment and before first food or water intake).

The reality is that with a healthy Parrot, in which there are no visual signs or indications of illness, a general check on weight every 5-6 weeks plus twice a year at the CAV is wonderful. Just understand, that is will not provide a heads-up or keep you ahead of a subtle unseen issue, unless it by good luck is just that day or day before noted by a change in weight!

Again, Thanks for the effort in defining the Pellet intake of your Parrot. Great Study!

 

[DRB]

DRB - I tried this with Salty, weighing his pellets, but then I realized he throws a lot out of his bowl. Same with his chop. Some days it looks like he didnt touch it, some days its empty. Then I look on the floor and yup, thats were a lot winds up. I would think weighing the bird would be easier. If Perjo was in a glass tank, and you could gather up all the waste food, and then weigh whats left in his bowl and the floor sweepin's - you'd know how much eaten. I'm wit 'Boats on this , parrots need more than pellets.

Perjo doesn't throw out pellets, she like all birds doesn't eat every iota of each individual pellet but she doesn't just grab a pellet and toss it aside. And yes they need more than just pellets, I addressed that. My only point here is to give an idea of the amount of pellets my healthy Grey eats based on 6 months of consistent tracking.

I've also tracked the times of day she goes to eat or drink from her bowls. I gave up on the water b/c it's so different than food intake. And the only reason I stopped tracking the time of day for eating any food was b/c it varied more on when I put food out than it did on the bird herself. She's a bit of a flock eater so it was a waste of time to try to gain insight as to any patterns of her eating times as at least twice a day she stops to eat when she sees me eat. I eat at all sorts of random times quite often.