Over Eating?

[pepsico]

We just got Rocky a week ago, and things have been going great.

 

He loves carrots, mac and cheese (a little amount) Broccoli, and such.

 

We feed him Zupreem FruitBlend, which is what the breeder fed him. He is 14 weeks old.

My concern is this. For about a week, the cup or 2 of Zupreem lasted him. He hardly seemed to touch his Zupreem. I hadn't had to refill it.

 

Until today. We keep a live webcam so we can watch him while away at work. He ate pretty much all day.

When we came home, the wife made some pasta, which he had a small portion of and then he went right back to the newly refilled Zupreem food.

I took him out of his cage and put him on top and I swear he looked like "Popeye" with his chest (crop) way out.

 

We put him back in his cage and he immediately went back to eating Zupreem.

 

We are a little nervous about him overeating. I did some searches but could not find much. Should be limit his food? Or will he stop when he has had enough.

 

Concerned new owner. He is eating as we speak.

[Codys Mom]

2 cups of Zupreme to me thats alot, my biggest eater is KC my Eclectus and he doesn't eat that much , he gets about a half of cup of GoldenFeast and about 2 Tablespoons of seed mixture a day , he doesn't eat any pellets Eclectus have problems with toe tapping and wing flapping so pellets for him is a no no and besides he won't eat them anyway , my Tag Rudy is 7 months old and she eats about a half a cup of Roudybush pellets a day plus her fruits and veggies and a Tablespoon of seed mixture and plus what she can steal from Opey my Quaker lol they are best friends and she likes to help herself to his food when she can he eats the same pellets as she does , I could be wrong , what is your baby weighing , I always watch Rudys weight it gives me a idea incase she is dropping any weight and so far her weight is good,u should try to get your baby to eat Zupreme Naturals they are better for her

[casper]

Normally Greys wont over eat.

How much does your grey weigh?

I would feed as normal and keep a track on their weight.

Remember to weigh after the morning dump and keep to the same time very day.

A lot of Greys seem like they are eating a lot all day like my eldest grey Charlie, but when I go to clean the cage bottom the amount of seed/pellets dropped in there can tell a different story.

[katana600]

We have had Juno almost three weeks. I also thought he was eating all day. When he had his vet visit, he was underweight and the vet explained that in the wild if they show any signs of illness they will be driven from the flock to certain death, so in times of stress they will show activity of eating even if they are not ingesting the food just to keep the appearance of being fit and well. The best thing is the morning weigh-in every day at the same time after the first big droppings of the day. The vet can tell if he is overweight by feeling the keel bone. I don't know about that yet, but his weight is slowly coming up. When he just went into his big cage, he seemed to stop eating completely, but the dirty water in his cage and the weight on the scale keeps me from being overly concerned about it. The scale is really the only way to tell.

[danmcq]

All parrots chew on food and throw it about all day long. I would estimate 80% of the food you see gone was not eaten. It was chewed on a little and tossed or as pellets are concerned, they break in to smaller pieces and then they grab another whole pellet.

 

At 14 weeks he should be rather plump from all the feedings. They need as much as they can hold when growing at the super accelerated rate compared to humans. They basically go from chick to full grown in about 16 weeks.

 

One thing to note. Your grey at such a young age has not fledged. They will automatically start reducing the amount they eat to lose weight and make flight easier. That is an instinct that all birds go through.

 

As others have said, take a weight after the the first big poop in the morning. This will give you a running average.

 

When they are fledging, they can lose 30 to 50 grams during so. Then they will slowly gain it back over the next months.

[Greywings]

Cold weather can trigger a more active appetite as can growing new feathers but this may just be a form of play for him. You could try mixing some chopped veggies and a few chopped walnuts into 1/2 cup of the pellets and see if the variety gives him something more to do and think about. Maybe it is time for a new toy? Do monitor the dropping also-are they normal looking are they more frequent, are they watery?

[pepsico]

UPDATE

 

Rocky still isn't himself. He has eaten a lot. He looks very uncomfortable. Maybe we are just over-reacting..

 

His attitude has changed a lot in a week. When we brought him home, he was biting a lot. within 72 hours, no more bites, LOADS of chirping and monkey noises. He would jump/fly to us and just wanted to be held.

 

Now, the last 48 hours, he has eaten a lot. No chirping or monkey noises, when we try to get him to step up, he nips at us, to tell us no. No biting at least, but he is making it known he doesn't want to step up.

 

We are concerned about him and will probably call the vet in the morning if he is still the same. He looks off balance as a result to the weight in his crop. His droppings were mostly liquid before, but now they are pretty solid, and big.<br><br>Post edited by: pepsico, at: 2009/12/04 13:22

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

i dont think it is posssible for a grey to explode by overeating. but i am not 100% sure on this. u mite want ot check some place else to find out.

[casper]

Did you manage to weigh him or have you been unable to if he wont step up?

I would consult a vet if you are concerned about the changes. I really feel he needs to be weighed though by your vet if you cant do it youself, this will indicate on wether he is under/overweight or not.

 

Purchase some gram scales, these are what you need to use.

Please let us know what your vet says wont you? I hope everything will be ok.

[pepsico]

We cannot weigh him, due to the fact that we don't yet have a scale. I will be ordering one though. We can get him to eventually step up, he really doesn't want to though.

 

I am just worried of his sudden change in attitude. We have only had him 9 days, so maybe he is going through some adjustment phases. He seems to distant while just a couple days ago he was overly friendly.

 

I will be calling the vet when they open. Ill keep you posted.

 

Thanks for your help.

[pepsico]

UPDATE

We took him to the vet. He was stretching his neck and kept opening his beak up in addition to the other things.

 

On Tuesday, he weighed in at 418 grams. On Friday his weight was 540 grams.

 

They did a gram stain test and determined he has a bacterial infection. It was positive in his beak and his stool. They prescribed a pro-biotic (Bene-Bac), and a antibiotic called Baytril. They said that should help him feel better.

 

They explained that the infection could have been limiting the speed of his crop digestion and he wasn't getting the nutrients he needed, so he would keep eating.

 

They told us to ration his food, and only feed him when his crop is down. So right now, that's about 1/3 cup a day of pellets and seed.

 

We hope he makes a quick recovery.

[Luvparrots]

Glad to hear that you took Rocky to the vet and that his problem has been diagnosed and that medication is now correcting the problem. Your a great parront Pepsico! Please keep us updated on Rocky!