Overweight Budgie

[brierose3]

One of my budgies has recently gotten really noticeably fat. I weighed the other budgie (although keeping in mind that its a lot younger) and it was 29 grams compared to the overweight one which is 78 grams. Over a few days she has lost 4 grams as i am making her do some exercise out of the cage by making her step up repeatedly. I know i should get them off the seed diet but what can diet can i put them on for her to get to a healthier weight?

P.S She can't fly too well (except not long ago she flew with the help of a gust of wind to the neighbours property and decided to spend the night high in a gumtree only to plummet to the ground the next morning and scramble into my hands)

 

[GuineaFowling]

78 grams is a lot for a budgie! Is this english bloodlined or american? If american it is way overweight.

Fresh food is your answer to a better diet. Most birds n seed diet take a long time to transition on to pellets so in the mean time feed him/her lots of fresh veggies and fruit. Avoid avocado as it is toxic, fruit seeds such as orange pips and apple seeds too. though blueberry, strawberry,pomegranate, watermelon, and kiwi seeds are safe.

There are many websites that give you a list of safe veggies and fruit you should check them out. Are your birds tame? If so it will be easier to get them to eat theri fresh food. I usually pretend to eat it making exaggerated yummy sounds and they then want to badly try what im eating.

What brand of food do you feed the birdies? I switch birds who dont accept pellets onto nutriberries and avicakes. Its much healthier than seeds alone.

Also exercise is good. If you cant get the budgie to fly around the step up trick is great too. My birds normally fly lapse around my room.

Good luck!

 

[brierose3]

Thank you
I have been making her exercise by stepping up repeatedly. We usually feed them Trill seed but my mum accidentally bought Coles brand so they've been eating that lately... Trying to get them onto more fresh food though as we grow a lot of fresh stuff ourselves (particularly kale and pumpkin)

Not sure as to whether she is an American or English budgie

(She is 4 years compared to the blue budgie on the left which is around 1 years old)


(Lost a few grams as you can see but still weighs quite a bit)



She also spends a lot of time lying down on the bottom of the cage mostly when its hot but it seems to be her preferred resting spot during the day as well as the perches.

 

[GuineaFowling]

From her face and body shape she looks english to me. Maybe half english? How big is she? 55 grams is how much an english budgie should weight.

 

[jhall6293]

She does look like an English Budgie and from my experience, can weigh anywhere from 50-70 grams, depending on the purity of the strain/diet, etc. That baby is 70g - which is a bit big, especially if you're not sure she's purebred English.
I definitely recommend everything GuineaFowling suggested as far as diet and exercise.
What do you feed them? Are they on seed or pellet? Both? Veggies and fruit?
You might also find that hamster wheels work great for budgies as exercise, just try to use the ones that are enclosed (not the ones with bars - they can be dangerous to toes and feet).

Keep us posted!