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I've been weighing my kids every other day since I got them, and started keeping written records in the last couple of weeks. Ginger, one of the last girls I got, had a bacterial infection the day after I brought her home, but 17 days and 2 different antibiotics from the vet has cleared her up. She weighed in at 92 grams on the vet visit, and her weight has steadily increased day by day. As of this evenings weight, she was up to 109 grams, and her morning weight has been averaging about 103-105 of mornings. She does seem to love her food. She is clipped, and does get plenty of exercise, including mock flight or wing flapping, but I'm just wondering how much heavier she will get. I've read that some show birds will approach 120 grams or even a little more. She is a lot bigger bird than all the others, except Gizmo, a male, who is steady about 104-105 grams. Any of you have any heavy kids that are not show birds? I do know once they fledge, they are supposed to lose a considerable amount of weight in prep for flight, but just a little concerned she might be actually getting FAT, which could lead to significant health problems later on, like fatty liver, or fat tumors. Is my concern justified at this early age?

My vet feels tiels become endangered when their weight goes much over 90 grams. Many of mine are heavier, but they fly a good bit every day. Still, I watch their diet carefully and have them vet-checked regularly, with bloodwork. Your vet is the best person to answer your question by feeling Ginger's body to see how much is muscle and whether any is fat. If s/he says Ginger's weight is good, then work with diet to keep her from gaining.

Paca

Paca,

I have been feeling around Ginger's body, and especially around her breast and near her rump. I can still feel the keel quite well, and on either side of it, there does not feel like any fat, just muscle, and there is no depression @ the keelbone. Hopefully, she will begin her first molt soon, and start getting her flight feathers back. I know that would help her control weight. I have no clue how to retard ones eating short of isolating her from the rest and limiting her food intake. I'm in process of converting all of them to pellets, and at about a 50-50 ratio now. She still prefers seeds, but she also really likes the Avicakes. LaFebers claim Avicakes would be OK for a complete diet, but I'm concerned the molasses in it would lead to her and the rest becoming sweet-food junkies.. I have to assume they know more about bird nutrition than I do, but it does make you wonder, especially with molasses being part of the binder. As you say, the vet is the best source of knowledge, but he was very happy she put on about 4 grams between her first and 2nd visit.

Sam

I would watch the weight very carefully. I lost my female cockatiel (Buddie) to fatty liver disease and knowing that I could have prevented it kills me. She was my first cockatiel and I knew very little about proper care and nutrition and was not given any care guidelines when I bought her. I believe every bird should come with a book on care. Anyway - she began to experience difficulties related to fatty liver disease and as hard as I tried to make her better, it had progressed too far. She weighed 116 grams on average and the main culprit was sunflower seeds. Try to limit the amount of seeds that you give your babies and offer more fruits and veggies, which you probably do already. You're doing the right thing by keeping on top of the weight and diet. Keep it up!!

Ginger, as well as the rest of the birds are getting more and more into the pellets, but I still provide some seeds in the mixture. Fortunately, the seed mix I buy does not have that many sunflower seeds in it. I was clueless about seed mixes in the beginning, not realizing sunflower seeds were almost all fat. Ginger is a big bird compared to the rest of them, which average about 90 g. give or take a couple. Gizmo, who is next heaviest is prett stable around 100 grams, but he is also a big bird. They all get a serving of kale in the morning, and I limit millet sprays to one per day. Smokey, the oldest bird does not really eat that much millet, but he'll eat the stem! Ginger is due for another vet visit, and I'm sure going to bring up her weight.

It sounds like you're taking great care of them! I wish I had known about the sunflower seeds early on. My vet explained that it was like giving them a Snickers bar every day! No wonder she liked them so much! Another thing you should check out are the many, many recipes out there for things like birdie bread, brown rice dishes, etc! You can find some really good low fat recipes that your birds would enjoy! Also - you can go to a health food store like Earth Fare or Whole Foods and get organic seeds in bulk and make your own mixture or add to a mixture you already have. They offer millet, quinoa, oats, etc.

My cockatiel seems happy and healthy and I have had him for five months now, but I have the opposite------I see the other birds in the pet store and they look so big! and mine seems so small. He is long, he just looks thinner-----a little whimp! He was the smallest one when I got him, and he seems to stay on the smaller side. He is aproximately one year old. He has grown some since we got him, but he just looks whimpy to me. He eats good and has lots of droppings. Everything seems good with him though, but I want to change his food. They gave him a seed/pellet mix in the pet store and I kept it til I knew he was at home here and wanted to give him some time first. Now I want to at least start mixing his food with pellets. How do you wiegh your birds? Mine is still not real tame and freaks out about coming out of his cage.

Smokey, my oldest bird who is about 6 years old, is a small bird for a male also. His weight hangs around 80 grams, give or take a couple. He's never been a real active bird, and is more or less a "loner", and is definitely not a people bird. I have long suspected he has some type of latent, perhaps dormant disease, but his last vet checkup did not reveal anything, but I would not let them draw blood, due to the chance of it killing him. I took a wait and see attitude, as he was just emerging from a horrendous molt period that lasted almost 3 months. Now, he's back to being pretty much his old self, but he's chasing one of the new females, who apparently is starting to get hormonal. She dropped her previous "friend" for Smokey, even after she let the other bird mate with her. I know she is too young for mating, and I really don't want it to happen till she's at least 18 months old. Missy, only weighs about 87 grams. As for how I weigh them, I purchased a set of kitchen gram scales from a place called Bed Bath and Beyond. I think they were about $60, and will weigh up to about 7 lbs. You can read in oz. or grams. As for the actual how to, I just sit them on the top of the scales and let them be still. I tried a perch stand, but they didn't like that. It just took a little time for them to realize nothing was going to happen, and they will all just sit there long enough that the scales stabilize.

If your 'tiel is really scared of coming out of the cage, might I suggest this.. get it out, and take it to a very small room, such as a bathroom, a shower enclosure, or even a closet with a light on. They will usually cling to you quite well, since you are then their security. I've only had trouble getting one bird, Smokey, to let me handle him, but even now, I still have to take him in a dark closet to capture him. He just does not like to be handled that much, and being full flighted, it's sometimes a challenge to capture him. The dark closet works every time, and now that he knows I'm not going to hurt him, he just goes along with the holding, and whatever I need to do for him.

Thanks! I will try that. We have taken him out a few times, but he flies and I am afraid he will get hurt because his wings are not clipped. He really doesn't seem to be as afraid of us as he is of coming out of the cage, so I think he will come around fairly easily, not too much work, maybe just some time. He gets on my finger if I do it while he's in his cage, and he loves it when I do things in his cage, clean it or move things around! Oh, and he LOVES the vaccuum cleaner! he sings happily when it is on, and the closer I get to him with it, the more he sings! funny birds! It's funny how they like certain things. My parent's cockatiel loved the hair dryer running and my dads electric shaver.

I have a fairly inexpensive gram scale for weighing food portions - Cuisinart precision portion scale and wieghs up to 16oz or300grams- it's a spring scale but it is accurate - wieghed the same on a digital scale - 92grams. It has a type of cup to hold the food - or bird as the case may be. Luna didn't like it at first but she's used to it now and doesn't mind .

Mytielwoody - have you considered clipping his wings? They will grow back after the next molt, he may be a little mad for a couple of days but you may just get the hands on time to tame him and for him to bond with you.

Yes, I am going to get his wings clipped! I don't think he'll get too upset about it------maybe when the vet does it he might, but after that I think he'll forget about it quick. He'll do good with it I think, and the only thing has been holding me back from taking him is the cold weather. I don't want to take him out in the cold. We do get some warm days here though sometimes even in the winter, like sometimes it has gotten up to 60 even in december. I won't take him out if it's too cold.

I don't blame you about the cold weather! I moved to TX from NY. Ayway, you could clip them yourself, it's not difficult. There are books, and websites that give the directions. Basically - pull the wing out and clip that outer feather - the flight feathers. They are the ones furthest from the body with the sing outstretched and they are also the ones that are closest to the rump with the wing outstretched. Just clip up to the nest layer of feather usually 5-8 starting from the tip. Try to make it even as possible or he may not be able to navigate to well. You can also bring him to a bird store or petshop that sells birds. Maybe go in for a lesson before you do it yourself to see how to hold him and clip him.

Luna Bella wrote:... with the wing outstretched. Just clip up to the next layer of feather, usually 5-8 starting from the tip... You can also bring him to a bird store or petshop that sells birds...

I agree that clipping is easy if you take just the outermost 5 feathers and clip no shorter than the next layer of feathers. Tiels are so small that you can hold the baby in your lap, perhaps under a loosely heaped towel to hold him down as you spread a wing very gently (Let go of the wing immediately if he tries to flap!) and snip those first few feathers. Then turn him around under the towel and get the other side the same way.

I would not encourage you to ever take a bird into a bird store. No matter how wonderful the owner and manager and staff might be, they have no control over the customers walking through the door. Someone who has a sick bird at home -- and perhaps does not realize it -- can track deadly bacteria into the shop. No, I would never do that. Sorry.

Paca

There is another prefered method of wing clip as explained Dr. Margaret Wissman at http://www.exoticpetvet.net/index.html and look under the vet to vet link. I like the way she does it, and it really does make more sense to clip them this way. The bird does not have anything left to poke him / her in the side.

Well, thank you all very much for your advice, but I just don't think I could clip his wings myself. Maybe someday in the future, but right now he is a handlful because he is not tame, he gets scared so easily. He gets on my finger but even then I feel the nervousness in his feet! You don't have to worry about me taking him to a pet store----the pet store where I got him from does not do wing clipping. I have already decided to take him to an avian vet the first time to have his wings clipped----just waiting for a warm spell in the weather!