Skinny cockatiel...??

Question

my cockatiel is on an all seed diet & he eats all the time, but he seems to be skinnier than he was before summer. i dont know if he has lost weight because of the heat, or if something is wrong...?? any help is appreciated

Answer 1

All seed diet is bad for a bird. You need to introduce fresh fruits and vegetables and also put him on a pellet diet.

Answer 2

How do you know it has lost wight?  Have you weighed your bird?  Maybe it is just growing taller so looks slimmer.  If you must feed an all seed diet at least remove the sunflower and safflower seeds or you will certainly shorten your bird's life.  They are the worst two seeds your bird can eat as they are really high in fat and can cause all kinds of illness.  You must try to get it to eat some veges or pellets.  This conversion could take several days, weeks or months, but keep trying.  If not, then try sprouting the seed as this is one of the best foods your bird can eat.  Look here for more info on sprouting, it's easy.

http://www.landofvos.com/articles/sprout...

Answer 3

You should start feeding fruits and veges.  You can also give it Millet Spray which is a seed and a treat all in one.  They love that stuff.  Mine loves Cheerios and corn flakes.  She just loves Cheerios, it's her favorite.  Birds can eat some people food as well.

Perhaps it hasn't lost weight.  Maybe it is just losing some of the feathers since it is Summer and it's trying to stay cool.

Good Luck Hon!

Answer 4

My cocatiel eats all the time too.  He seems to be losing weight too.  Maybe there is something different in birds than humans.  But I wouldn't worry about it.  It's probably just nothing.

Answer 5

First I'd like to know why you think your cockatiel is losing weight, because it can be hard to asses through all those feathers. Down the centre of a bird's chest is the keelbone, and on either side there are large muscles which flap the wings. If the keel bone is very prominant, then he's skinny. If the muscles are more prominant, then he's chubby.

Are you feeding a cockateil seed mix? Adding seeds such as sunflower or flax are very high in fat and put condition on quickly. If he's in an aviary outside he may need worming.

You can also get nutrient/vitamin mixes from petshops to add to water.