We all wonder about the weights of our Quakers so I thought I would run my own compasrison as I have often thought Sten may be a little chunky at 150g pm but I am quite sure he is just a big tough boy as he maintains his weight and is active and flighted and on a good diet and does not have birdie boobs LOL.

So I will start and lets see what we average.

Thanks for playing along, sorry if this has been dome a gazillion times before.

At least I THINK he is 0-1 year old!~
My my, that Stendeck is a big boy!!!

Stendeck the Sumo birdie!!

I used Cosmo on there, can you go back and create another thing, like adding color?
If i did Marti her stats are
Blue: 0-1; female; under 100 (88 last i checked)

yep Stendeck is a big boy!

I didnt have enough options to add colour I did want to as I thought this may make a difference to weight/size.
God I do worry about my super size bird but in the absence of an avian vet in my area, just a plane one who probably has never seen a quaker I dont know what to think. I may ring his breeder up and aske how chunky his parents are perhaps they ar like giant quakers or something. I do think its odd. Maybe my scales are wrong - my cakes turn out ok so I dont think so grrrrrrrh!!

I messed up....I don't know what Georgie is.....I clicked on female not thinking.

Stendeck honey, looks like you and I need to go on Weight Watchers together.

I put down 116 - 120 grams but I have NO idea! I think he's about average so I just guessed....and since I don't know age OR sex, I just guess at EVERYTHING!! LOL

Doesn't matter to me......I love him anyways!!

(Isis, that is.......Chicken would be unknown age/sex/but smaller weight)

Wow I would say Stendeck is a very big Quaker.You have never had him at vet?How old is he?Does he eat seeds or alot fruits?Diet should consist of 80% Pellets & 20% good seed &veggies..Hmm just had to ask.Because my Breeding Quakers are very stocky.And they average from 108-111..Just thought I'd add the weight chart that vets use for everyone.0-1yrs=90-95grams, 1yr & up 95-100..And the max weight if from very stocky parents is 110..Hmm be lloking fowardto your reply..

Captain is 2 1/2, Green, Female and a whopping 96 grams...

Wow Cheri, is that weight chart correct? regardless of Poppy's age, he seems to be overweight at 108 gm. by your chart. The vet didn't say anything about his weight, and believe me... she said a lot!
so he is either 6 months old or 3 1/2. I got him in January and he was 106. Now he is 108.
Looks like we need to watch it! I know I do!

Stendecks you are a hefty one boy....

Harley is 3 1/2 yrs old weighing in at 142 in am and 146 in pm...

My two are female and the 6 yr old weighs about 90-95 grams and the unknown female weighs about 100 - 105 depending on whats going on.

Ig measurement is anything to go by in relation to weight Stendeck is 16cm from his head to the base of his tail, 26cm over all which by my information is average.

I think I give him too much fruit so thats going by the wayside now because I am soo worried seeing these results. He gets pellets for tea every night and a mix of dried but rehydrated fruit with a little soaked seed for breakfast with fresh of the day. But for a week I think I will just give him pellets day and night to see, what do you guys think.
I have never had him to the vet because our vet is not a bird vet and I have only just found an avian vet locally. Its very cold and windy at mo but I promise faithfully I will have him to see someone before his second birthday in July as soon as the weather backs off.
I can feel his breast bone easilly it has flesh on it but I can feel it, nothing is wobbling around it.
Julie I am glad Harley is quite a porker that makes me feel a little better.

Like you said, maybe your scale is just off a bit. My vet gave me a paper put out by KAYTEE which shows diagrams of the breastbone. I looked on the site but couldn't find it for you.
It scores 1-5, 5 being obese and 1 being severely emaciated. I will try to scan it at work and send it to you, if it will help. (KAYTEE grants permission for reproduction)

Any help would be appreciated, Im home from work now so will just have a hunt about the web now and check with the parot society.I dont want to be responsible for a shortened life.

Well, you should be able to feel the breast bone, and the muscles around it should be firm, but not past the breast bone..and the BB shouldn't stick out too much either. Thats kind of what i would go by and your vets opinion can't hurt either.
SOme of this also depends on the type of bird too, Macaws tend to have a heftier stomach than say, cockatoos, and of the 'toos U2's are the skinniest usually...

Hes fed up with me groping him now LOL perhaps hes just "oven ready"

HOLD THE BUS!!!
Just had the entire contents of my un opened dried food out on those **** scales and they weigh at most 25g over so Stendeck goes around 125g. Still a porker tho by your results so he is on a diet, much to his disgust I expect.
But at least hes not so enormous.
Thanks guys, carry on with the poll, looking forward to more results.

I'm not sure where the earlier chart came from, and while I don't have any references right now, I remember reading here and elsewhere that Quakers weight range can be quite wide.

Depending on the natural bone structure and genetics they can range anywhere from 85g to 150g and be perfectly healthy.

So pending a vet check, I wouldn't worry too much.

I would recomend however that Quakers, and this goes for most parrots, recieve more fresh veggies than fruit. Fruit is high in sugar. Veggies offer more nutritional benefits. So maybe switching Stendeck to a more vegetable heavy diet would be better. Might not make any difference with his weight, if he's predisposed to be chunky anyway.

I wouldn't take away his fresh foods all together, even if it means he still gets some fruit.

I agree no less fruit more veg, could you help with the veg that is sucsessfully frozen so I can make him up little birdy bags ready each day in case we have no veg in (we are not massive veg eaters clearly)
It would be handy to know.
I feel such an idiot so thanks for all your help.

Louie is a green male around 14+ weeks. A couple of weeks ago at the vet he weighed in at 97grms. Per the vet he is at a nice healthy weight and should probably top out once he matures at a healthy weight (for his built and bone structure) of around 113gr (min)



I found this little link that talks about data collected on QP in their native wild. The weight range they came across was quite broad - as low as 90 up to 140g. So it depends on the built, I guess. (although this is not a very current research)

http://www.duke.edu/~djb4/Monk%20Parakeets.htm



BTW - On a feeding note. My avian vet suggested to keep Louie's diet at no more than 50% pellets, the rest a mixture of good healthy cooked foods including some meat based protein, green fresh veggies, some fruit (not too much because they are high in sugar) and a bit of seed now and then. Sprouted seeds are very good for them and contain a lot of enzymes.

Yeah, I have also searched the web in the recent past and found that there are (good) avian vets out there who say that 150 grams can be a healthy weight for a Quaker.

First time I tried to slim Mohawk down, over ten years ago, I think he was in that area as well (maybe 145; I don't remember, but it may be in my records). Sioux tended to be 105-110. After I moved here, two years ago, both birds gained weight, Sioux to 135 which to me was a clear indication there was a structural problem, not just something that only applied to Mohawk (who was a lot heavier than 150 at the time).

When I got them back from the vet on Jan 29, they were around 109 and 138 on my scale, in the morning. Their weights went up since and now are at 120-125 and 160-165 (which the vet said was good, in this case), depending on when I weigh them (late afternoon generally up to 5 grams more than about 8:30 in the morning). Now that Mo's condition appears to be stable (and his weight is stable), I am increasing his exercise and his weight will slowly come down again (and that means Sioux will also be more active, so...). I suspect he will end up in the 140-150 range. He is also a big macho bird (like Stendeck) and has always been taller and more muscular than Sioux. (Muscles are heavy, too.) Both are 13 and probably male.

So - grin - I was not quite sure what numbers to fill in in the poll.

Ange
who's lucky cuz a veggie nut (I eat the birds' scraps LOL) and off to check that Duke link now

PS
Just look at our own bodies. Me, I have very thin bones (very thin wrists for instance) and to some people look really skinny (not to everyone), but I am quite muscular and tend to weigh more than most people expect.

PPS
I'll ring my vets here -thye're super- and see if they know of one closer to you. If not... come and see mine (Hampshire, could be worse) and we'll have a ball!

Click to view attachment



I know there is an avian vet about 30 miles from me its just too cold too cold and windy to take him that far in the car with the nasty old heaters blowing god knows wot in, if you find one closer Id be amazed. Ang are your birds UK bread? Perhaps we have bigger birds here, are they blue? I was wondering because from what I read the blue ones originated from Europe where they first appeared so wondered if that may make a difference genetically.

Also do they put on winter weight, our house is cold during the day as we are at work and leave the heating off till we get home 12 deg lately I have noticed, so perhaps Sten has retained som weight for warmth.

Appart from that I have to say after closely looking at other birdies he is quite robust.Click to view attachment

Hi Stendeck's mum (aka A? ),

My avian vets will ring me back this afternoon (as the main vet wasn't in). They're also at quite a distance from where I live (an hour by car) and in Holland too, I had to travel halfway across the country to get to a good avian vet (in Florida, I walked ). It's often how it goes when you have pet birds...

As long as Stendeck is healthy, it won't matter. Maybe you can get one of those heat packs that you put in the microwave and put it under the travel cage (I wrap mine in a pillow case and someone else here suggested using a blanket which would insulate very well).

My guys actually seemed to LOVE traveling to the vet's in Holland, even when I took the train and I have never seen any ill effects from that.

In Jan, here, when Mo was so ill, and I had to choose between having them here for a few days and then returning for another procedure for Mo or leaving them up there, I left them there and I could tell from how the birds were settling in there that I made the right decision (and also in case something went wrong). It is good to see an avian vet also because when you do have a problem, you can call them and they'll know your bird! That works less well when they've never seen you and your bird.

Nope, mine are native Floridians, and green (though I have never been quite sure about "cinnamon", which seems to be a touch of brown in the green, which might make mine cinnamon).

Yes, some weight fluctuation with the seasons wouldn't surprise me either (but not too much). But I gather that Stendeck was not 150 but 125, after all? My scale came with a little weight (100 grams) so that I can check my scale. I got it at Maplin's. Was not outrageously expensive, and goes up to 200 grams. I put it on a stack of books or something like that, to make sure that the bird's tail is not resting on something (that is a few grams). Having the tip of a toe not resting on something else than the actual weiging platform also makes a difference, so I watch for those things. If they move (stand still but wobble), I can see fluctuations as well.

Ange

Thanks Ang, another thing my mum pointed out is Stendeck has all his wings, I never really concidered that they may weigh LOL. Any way thanks all of you for the help I really dont know what I would do with out you, live in ignorant bliss and have a dead bird by his 5th birthday I would imagine.
Iv cut back on some things anyway diet wise and will keep you posted, the good thing is if hes got to have more veg then so do we LOL.

Nikki is a female green quaker parrot and weighs 109 grams

Sunny, the female sun weighs 115 grams but Suns tend to be fatter than quakers

Morgan averages at 129g. The vets say he is one healthy littel fellow and have never mentioned him being over weight.

Precious ( 6 year old Quaker) weighs in at 107 grams.
Quincy( 18 months old Quaker) weighs in at 132 grams ( he's my little butterball baby)
Bailey ( 18 months old Quaker) weighs in at 96 grams.
Sweetie ( Senegal) almost 6 years, weighs 100 grams i wish she would gain some weight)
Tiny ( 6 year old Lovie) won't let me weigh him, he doesn't sit still.

To me, this signifies a good weight. I do not go by any of those weight scales that base a bird's weight on their age or species/sex. They are very general and do not take into account body structure. The weight of the bird should be based on their body structure and not on their age.



Yep, that is exactly how I feel. While one bird may be a perfect weight at 105g, another bird may be drastically underweight or overweight, depending on what body type they have.



You'd be surprised how much those wing feathers add on for weight. I bet they add on a good 10 grams.

Something else to keep in mind, some breeders breed for size. Take Linda Greeson for example. Some of her show Quakers exceed 200 grams and are not overweight at all. They are just really large birds.

Julian is around 13 weeks old and weighs 100 grams (as of this morning).
He was in last Monday to the vets and is healthy.

Well that just goes to show ya. Hes going to the vet next Monday so I will let ya know whats said.
The poll resuls are interesting all round average age so far 1-3 years average sex unknown and the weight is just all over the place. Oh and stendeck had me in the kitchen all day yesterday making vegi parcels to freeze little portions for him, my fridge stinks now and we actually had scraps coz I was too busy fussing around for him to feed us properly.

Vorpal is a 6yr old female and the last time she was at the vet she weighed 113g. The vet says that on a range of fatness she would be about a 2.5 (a bit on the thin side).

This is an interesting poll, thanks Stendeck's Mum

Benny was weighed at the vet on the weekend at about 88g. The vet said his weight was fine so perhaps he's still growing (he's only 1-y-o)? Might be a silly question but at what age will he be fully grown?

I don't think he could really be underweight, the way he eats!

Channer and Kade weighed about 105 grams for the first year of their life and then started going up. At around a year and a half they went up to 115 grams which is what they are now at 2 years of age.
Tikileahsmom





Channer and Kade weighed about 105 grams for the first year of their life and then started going up. At around a year and a half they went up to 115 grams which is what they are now at 2 years of age.
Tikileahsmom

Dodger will be a yr next week.
I just weighed him and he is 93 grams.
He seems small to me comapred to other quakers i have seen...

Ok, so I always wanted to 'weigh in' on this topic, but didn't have a scale. Sylvia is 109 in the AM and 112 in the PM, so I averaged that to be 110.5 or so. Is this topic a sticky? I was thinking it would make a good one. Anyway... I love my scale, too- it's cute and orange. I should take a pic of Sylvia on it- goes well with her feathers.

cricket is almost 5 months old. when i brought him home at almost 3 months old he weighed in at 102 grams. about 3 weeks ago i took him back to the store where i got him so he could visit with the girls, i had him weighed again.

he went from 102 grams to 95 grams. i got scared... that seems like a big weight loss to me. i went home and warmed up some veggie baby food and he ate it like he was starving.

i had been starving my baby!! i feel so bad! i used to feed him oatmeal mixed with a fruit or veggie baby food and feed him pellets the rest of the day. now i feed him some veggie baby food when i get home from work too and my heart aches everytime he scarfs down the food.

he still won't eat fresh fruit or veggie or any other "people" food... but i keep trying.

I don't think you were starving him. If he had free access to his pellets and he eats them, then he is not a starved bird.

One thing I have noticed is that my birds will just finish eating their pellets but if I give them a favorite food, then will attack it like they haven't eaten all day! It is funny, cause their will stuff their little crops SO full!!

So, just because he is stuffing his face, doesn't mean he is starving, could be he just really likes the baby food (and careful with feeding that. Make sure to really read the label to check for sugar/salt contents).

And as for his weight loss...it is really hard to judge weight loss unless it is a significant amount. The best way to get a good idea of your bird's weight is to weigh him daily, first thing in the morning before he eats and after he poops, and do that for about 2 weeks. That will give you an idea of his accurate weight. That 102 gram weight you initially had could be on a full stomach (which will increase a bird's weight). Also, if he was clipped at the time, that will make a difference too.

Lastly, I highly recommend getting a digital scale. It will ease your fears and is one of the best ways to monitor your bird's health