Pretty Boy came to me a little skinny but in the last three weeks is starting to look a little pudgy. Is this normal and ok?

I am getting so attached to my little guy, and being a first time QP owner, I worry alot.


He is almost completley off the seed diet (except for treats)but I'm worried that at 15 wks of age, after having been on seed since he was weaned, I'm wondering if it could have caused any problems? Like cholesterol or too much weigh gain.

Has Pretty Boy ever had his first vet checkup?..If not, it would be wise to do so and then you can rest at ease to know one way or another about his weight....In the event that you may need a vet quickly, which hopefully that won't happen, you will already have a vet lined up....But do get his first birdie checkup....
Also it is important to have a gram scale to keep track of his weight...you can purchase them at WalMart for about $30...

Hope this will help you some....someone else may be able to give you some more advise.....

when we went to our new vet, she weighed the birds but also did some physical exam to determine if they were at a good weight. first she felt around the keel bone and determined that the birds were at a good weight based on what she felt. i think the method is, you feel the keel bone, then feel the meat on the sides of the bone. if shouldn't be overly boney in that area, and definitely not too meaty. you should be able to feel the bone, but have a decent amount of meat on either side. so the bone is neither too prominent nor overshadowed by the body. does that make sense? then she weighed them. our qp is 107 grams, and she said he shouldn't gain or lose any weight as that seems to be a pretty good weight for him.

as was mentioned, a initial well bird check is a good idea both so you can get established with a vet in case of an emergency but also so you can get some baseline values for your bird, also in case of an emergency/illness. it could be much easier to make a diagnosis, IMO, if you have "normal" values on file to compare to should your bird suddenly appear ill.

kris

Vet check is in about a week. Thanks!

My bird went from 117 grams in December to 131 grams in August. The vet told me not to worry because she has probably put that on in anticipation of egg laying. (Although she hasn't laid an egg in two months, and she's usually pretty predictable.) He told me not to worry. I can't imagine how I'd put my parrot on a diet.

Shawna

Me neither as he is still a growing baby(only 15wks old).

They lose some weight at weaning time. At 15 weeks, he may just be gaining back to his normal weight.

I am sure yourr baby would not be over weight at such a tender age ..Get the vet check and then get some scales I made the little stand for the boys to stand on and I tell them they are such good boys when the stand on it for me to check their weigh usually once a week, I give them a treat of half a unsalted cashew ..so they get excited when the weights and stand come out..They didn`t like standing on it when I had no stand I would get them down near it and they would fly off , the stand worked..
Buddy and Sunny are usually btween 108gms to 110gms in the morning and btween 112gms to 114gms of a night before bed ..so pick the one time of day to weigh your little one as it does fluctuate, Buddy being a blue quaker tends to be on the smaller side, Quakers weights can vary some have big bones (LIKE ME ) and some are petite ..
Goods luck with the vet well check..

I agree with Majj, a good digital gram scale, should be one of the items you buy in preparation for bringing a bird home. This way you can keep tabs on the weight and keep the guessing part out of it