Gracie Question

[orphan1965]

Gracie is now 6.5 months old. Her hatch date was 4/18/09. This morning she weighed in at 310 grams. She doesn't eat much out of her fresh food bowl. She seems to eat more out of her pellet bowl. She will eat sunflower seeds and other nuts. She still wants a nightly feeding of formula before cuddle/bed time. She is pooping normal. no changes there. She plays with her toys. She loves to rip paper. She is starting to find her voice making baby sounds.

Gracie was hatched in NY by a family friend registered breeder, then went to my fathers house for 7 days until she was shipped to me. She went to my dads at the end of July weaned, but regressed so he fed her formula. He is also a breeder. I did that as well when she arrived here.

Today while shopping at the local pet store, called incredible pets, there was a female CAG. I had to pick her up. She felt so much heavier than Gracie. I asked the bird guy, who is very well informed about birds, how much she weighed. He took her into the nursery and she weighed 375 grams.

My question is, should Gracie be weighing more? She will fluctuate in weight from 300-325. Is she not gaining because I still give her the nightly formula? Should I try feeding her something to get more weight on her?

Maybe I am just being over concerned?

[Spinner]

There aren't any hard and fast rules as each bird is an individual and develops at their own rate. I hear your concern about Gracie's weight, but at six months, she's not significantly underweight. Can you feel her keel bone? Is it pronounced?

 

Also, you don't specify if she's a congo or timneh. I presume a congo since you compared her to one at the pet store.

 

There certainly isn't anything wrong with the nightly formula feeding. And, at her age, Gracie is still finding what food she likes and doesn't care for.

 

Has she been in for a well check with a good avian vet? If not, a well check would be in order. You are fortunate to live in an area that has excellent vets (besides, it sounds like you might work with some).

 

Let us know what you find out! Gracie is lucky to have a caring parent