Weight loss over time

[Shine]

I posted a few days ago about Addys beak and if I should get it trimmed or not. As I said in that post, I took her over the weekend to get her nails trimmed. I get this done at the local parrot store. They do it every weekend for anyone who needs it for free. (also wing clipping. Last time I had Fidgets wings clipped, my vet actually complimented the clipping job. ) Forgot to mention that she is a 12 year old RLA.

She has seen a vet once, right after i got her. He said she appears healthy but we didnt do bloodwork.

Anyway, while she was there I asked them to also weigh her. When I got her in June 2019, she weighed 472 gms. When they weighed her this weekend she weighed 430 gms. That seems like a big drop but its over 6.5 mos. The guy who handled her said she felt like a healthy weight.

Shes a VERY picky eater. When I got her she only ate pecans, apples, nutraberries and cheezits. Her diet has changed a lot since I brought her home. She now gets chop daily, with pieces of apples, a few small pieces of pecans, and one nutraberrie. I also mix in more fresh stuff when I have it. I have found that she usually likes snap peas, and has eaten the occasional blueberry. Oh, she also loves pistachios but she only gets those occasionally. She does get pine nuts when I want her to step up. She is eating fruit Zupreem when she in on her playstand but wont eat them when she is in her cage?? She is very shy and runs if I offer anything else.

I constantly offer new and different fresh stuff but she never touches it.

My concern is that with the weight she has lost since I got her, should I change her diet so that she doesnt lose more? Or just keep feeding her what I am currently giving her and maybe increase the stuff that she does like? Or something completely new and different!

I just dont want her to keep losing weight and end up too thin?

Thoughts and advice would be appreciated.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Is Addy a flier? How active is she? I'm not familiar with a RLA..I know they are smaller than a Blue Front. Amy is kinda "big" for his age (just turned 30) at his porkiest he was a huge 548g's but after diet change,less treats,he has maintained between 507 to 511g's. But he doesn't fly.
Addy might be losing some weight coz you have her on a better diet? Do you have a scale where you can monitor the weight? I ended up getting one (can't remember from where) on line..think it was from Parrot Wizard and I weigh both Amy and BB weekly.


Jim

 

[Shine]

No, she isn't a flier. Shes mostly a perch potato and is just starting to play with toys. She's very shy and very leary of anything new. (Other then strange men. She loves all men without hesitation!)

I don't have a real scale, I guess that's what I'll use my Amazon gift card I got for Christmas for.

I can't figure out why she won't eat the pellets in her cage? That might help if I can get her to do that.

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[bill_e]

Get a food/diet scale and make a perch for it. You don't need a $100 scale, $10-$20 is fine.

Get in the habit of weighing her every day at the same time of day and jot down her weight. My bird's weight varies both day to day and throughout the day so getting on a schedule for weighing is important for consistency.

Waiting for a vet visit to weigh her is not good/often enough as monitoring weight is right up there with monitoring poop as a great indicator of health.

 

[noodles123]

I posted a few days ago about Addys beak and if I should get it trimmed or not. As I said in that post, I took her over the weekend to get her nails trimmed. I get this done at the local parrot store. They do it every weekend for anyone who needs it for free. (also wing clipping. Last time I had Fidgets wings clipped, my vet actually complimented the clipping job. ) Forgot to mention that she is a 12 year old RLA.

She has seen a vet once, right after i got her. He said she appears healthy but we didnt do bloodwork.

Anyway, while she was there I asked them to also weigh her. When I got her in June 2019, she weighed 472 gms. When they weighed her this weekend she weighed 430 gms. That seems like a big drop but its over 6.5 mos. The guy who handled her said she felt like a healthy weight.

Shes a VERY picky eater. When I got her she only ate pecans, apples, nutraberries and cheezits. Her diet has changed a lot since I brought her home. She now gets chop daily, with pieces of apples, a few small pieces of pecans, and one nutraberrie. I also mix in more fresh stuff when I have it. I have found that she usually likes snap peas, and has eaten the occasional blueberry. Oh, she also loves pistachios but she only gets those occasionally. She does get pine nuts when I want her to step up. She is eating fruit Zupreem when she in on her playstand but wont eat them when she is in her cage?? She is very shy and runs if I offer anything else.

I constantly offer new and different fresh stuff but she never touches it.

My concern is that with the weight she has lost since I got her, should I change her diet so that she doesnt lose more? Or just keep feeding her what I am currently giving her and maybe increase the stuff that she does like? Or something completely new and different!

I just dont want her to keep losing weight and end up too thin?

Thoughts and advice would be appreciated.

Has she had a blood panel (CBC)? This is important for any bird, but especially a picky-eater with a sketchy food history and weight-loss.

 

[bill_e]

I don't think you have enough data points to panic. Get a scale and weigh her for a few weeks or so. I don't know how your vet weighed her...was it the same procedure both times? Do that weigh her in her carry enclosure?

 

[bill_e]

I don't think that you have enough data points to panic. Get a scale and weigh her for a few weeks or so. Did your vet weigh her the same way both times? Does he weigh her in her carry enclosure?

 

[Anita1250]

I think that perhaps another visit to the vet may be in order. I have a cautionary tale about my Sambird. He goes to the vet regularly, and has blood work once a year. This one visit, about three years ago, he had lost some weight. Perhaps 70 gms. or so. The vet commented on it, because Sam is a big eater, and has never lost weight before. The vet suggested we do an extra blood panel. We did, and discovered that Sam had developed an issue with fatty liver. He went on Lactulose with milk thistle and has been stable since.

I am not saying that your bird has any issues. What I am saying is that weight loss is a signal that something may be amiss. It may also be the change in her environment. However, it can never be ignored.

 

[SailBoat]

Truly great advise provide above! And, a major weight change is something to be concerned about, especially if there have not been a like change in diet or activity.

We target checking weight in the early morning after the major 'movement' and shortly after our DVH Amazons wakes-up and prior to morning feeding. By using this timing, you have the most stable weight to compare with between weights.

Our guy provides consistent weights around 500 grams. On the light side for a DYH, that is also an active flight. When he first came to us, he was 524 grams and Not Flighted. Once he started flying again, it took him a bit more than two years to trim-down to his stable weight.

NOTE #1: Unless you are activity working to reduce your Amazon's weight, they should have a dry food bowl with water available all day.

NOTE #2: RLA come from three separate regions and their size differs between each region. So, it is likely your RLA may be normally larger than a RLA from a different region.

I understand that 'free' is a very nice thing. But, we choose to spend the additional monies to place our Amazon in the eye sight of an Avian Professional at different points of the year.

 

[Shine]

I'll make an appt for bloodwork. I'm also buying a scale so I can better monitor her weight.

The "free" is only for nail trimming and wing clipping. I just asked them to weigh her while I was there. I would never replace a vet visit with that.

I was wondering if that sort of weight loss over a 6 month time period would still be a problem, or if spread out over that long might not be such a big issue with all the transition she's gone through.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.



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[Inger]

Get a food/diet scale and make a perch for it. You don't need a $100 scale, $10-$20 is fine.



Get in the habit of weighing her every day at the same time of day and jot down her weight. My bird's weight varies both day to day and throughout the day so getting on a schedule for weighing is important for consistency.



Waiting for a vet visit to weigh her is not good/often enough as monitoring weight is right up there with monitoring poop as a great indicator of health.

Bill beat me too it. A food scale is fine and mine was less than $15.


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[SailBoat]

Weight loss should always be viewed 'Over Time' and with specific changes that would attribute to a such a loss. Hence the comments regarding diet or activity changes. A weight loss over a six month time line with no or only minor changes in diet or activity needs to be considered as a possible issue.

It is VERY important to always keep in mind that unless there is consistency in when the weight is taken, fairly large swines in weight is possible. Consider the difference between a first thing in the morning weight and one late in the afternoon with a full gut and crop, plus a lot just waiting to be dropped. With our DYH, that could be as much as 18 grams. Yes, his dumps can be huge.

Remember that it took our DYH near two years to drop around 24 grams. That weight loss was attributed to his regaining his flight. If it was just as a result of diet, it could have been larger. Remember that muscles are heavier than fat, so as he loss fat, he gained muscle mass.

Please understand, we work with Amazons that have had serious health problems and as a result, we likely over-do the Avian Professionals 'Eyes-On.'

At present, you are very lucky to have an individual that knows what they are doing and providing a service outside of an Avian Clinic. That said, our current owner received a wind clip from a clerk from Pet (Not So) Smart from the Adult kids of the prior owner. The loss of flight resulted in Three surgeries to repair his rump. So, I get a bit overly sensitive to non-skill individuals providing services. Sorry if it came across too edgy.

 

[Anita1250]

It may very well be all of the changes have caused her to eat less. A stressed bird will more likely not be as interested in food. However, you cannot be sure what caused it. A visit to the vet will likely give peace of mind that nothing is amiss, and an opportunity to learn more about the birds health.

 

[Shine]

Have an appt with the vet on the 24th for an exam and bloodwork. Hopefully he can shed some light on the situation.

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[Inger]

Have an appt with the vet on the 24th for an exam and bloodwork. Hopefully he can shed some light on the situation.

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Please keep us posted.


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[Shine]

I just got home from the vet with Addy. He did a physical exam, then blood work and trimmed her beak a bit. He also sexed her. I was told she was female, but dont know for sure. So, now I'll know for sure.

He said everything looked good from the physical exam. However, she had lost even more weight in the last two weeks. She is now down to 418. But he said she wasnt pathologically underweight, that she actually felt like a healthy weight. Everything else looked good physically. We talked a lot about her diet. He told me to give her more of the food that she will eat for now (pecans and nutraberries.) and to just mix it with what else I'm giving her. He said the bloodwork will be back tues or wed and after he sees those, we will talk more about her diet based on those results.

I'm anxious to get the blood test results and praying that nothing else is wrong.

 

[GaleriaGila]

If you should want a second opinion...

Certified Avian Vets
https://abvp.com/animal-owners/find-an-abvp-specialist/
If none are near you...
Avian Veterinarians
http://www.aav.org/search/custom.asp?id=1803
In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.
International contacts, too.
Or... sometimes I find a place to start just by Googling "avian veterinarian near ((your location))"

Best of luck to you.

 

[Laurasea]

Good job on getting her to the he vet. That's very concerning about more weigh loss. Diet changes have to be slow. So yes give her more nutraberries!!
Do you have your scale? I got one at Wal-Mart for under 20 bucks. You could get a block of wood for her to stand on , if she won't just stand on it.
Keep us posted. Did he do a fecal exam and fecal culture, or just blood work?

 

[Shine]

As far as the vet goes, hes not a CAV, but the reality is there are NO CAV's in my state, anywhere. The vet I go to has been treating birds for a long time and is highly recommended in this area by everyone who has birds. (I live in Nevada) There are no better, or really even, other options. He is very knowledgeable and spends a ton of time with people and seems to connect with the birds.

I have a scale. I just weighed her today, (exactly 24 hours after the appt where she weighed 418) and she weighed 426. I know it doesnt really mean anything but it made me feel a bit better.

I think I tried to change her diet too quickly. I was still giving her the things she liked and ate at her previous home, but I gave small amounts of the stuff she liked, in hopes that she would start eating the stuff that was good for her. Apparently she didnt, she just didnt eat. The vet said at this point to increase her pecans to about 6x what I had been giving her and told me to give her about 3 nutraberries a day. (nutraberries, pecans, apples and zupreem occasionally are the only thing she eats.) I gave her a bunch of pecans when I got her home and she literally chirped and purred while she was eating it. This morning she got a big dose of pecans and nutraberries along with the regular stuff I've been giving her. I just got home and gave her more. I'm letting her eat all of it she wants at this point. I'm looking forward to hearing about the bloodwork.

I blame myself this weight loss problem. I feel like I've been starving her. I feel horrible. I'm just praying we get through this and the bloodwork doesnt show anything major is wrong.

 

[LaManuka]

Please don’t beat yourself up over this. Like the rest of us you want what’s best for your bird which is why you’re here seeking input and support in the first place. Since they can’t tell us exactly what’s up with them getting those blood tests done is the next best thing. From personal experience I know sometimes getting them to eat healthier can be very difficult since they’ll often resist you every step of the way!

I’ve had the opposite problem with my lorikeet, her issue was she was slightly overweight which triggered in her little brain “Oooh, there’s plenty of food about, this would be a very good time to raise chicks!” and she promptly started laying eggs. Her vet said it’s better for her to be slightly underweight because she’ll (in theory!) be less inclined to lay eggs next season. So we’ll wait and see how that works out!

Either way it sounds like Addy couldn’t have a more loving and dedicated carer than you and I wish you every success at your next appointment with the vet!