# Possibly overweight budgie



## Sim (Apr 22, 2019)

Hi!
Recently, while looking at my budgie Stella, I realized that her chest is pretty large if compared to my other budgies, and I'm afraid she might be a little overweight.
I can't weigh her because she is not tamed, unfortunately.

I took a photo of her while she was not puffed up at all.
Do you think she is overweight?








Thanks in advance. :001_smile:


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Looking at the picture you posted it seems that she may have a fat deposit in the upper chest, this is a common area to see that if the bird has excess fat in the system. What does she eat and how much and how much out of the cage time does she get?


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## Sim (Apr 22, 2019)

She eats seeds and fruit (I'm currently trying to convert her to pellets but it is not working) and she never goes out of the cage because she is afraid of me and not tamed.

Should I try to convince her to get out of the cage to help her lose weight? And is her diet a cause of the excess fat too?


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Yes to both of your questions. Cut out the fruit because it is too high in sugar and offer veggies instead, fruit once in a while is ok but veggies on a consistent basis are better. An all seed diet is nutritionally incomplete and can be fattening, especially for a bird that does not get exercise outside of the cage. It can be very difficult to convert to pellets and must be done carefully, what type of pellets are you offering? Is her cage in an area that would be safe if she were to come out? How long have you had her?


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## Sim (Apr 22, 2019)

Thank you very much. :001_smile:

I tried to make her and my other budgies eat vegetables but they didn't like them, I guess they don't like food that doesn't have a strong taste.
The only non-sugary fruits they eat are peppers and tomatoes.
The pellets I offer them are the Versele-Laga NutribirdB14 pellets, the only ones available where I live.

Anyway, I might let Stella and Sid, her mate, out of the cage in the room where my other budgie, Celeste, is. She is tamed and her cage is basically always open, from morning to night.
I had to separate her from Sid and Stella (her parents) because they were aggressive towards her, but perhaps having a whole room and two cages (Celeste could take refuge in her cage if they attack her) might help them get along. What do you think?

I bought her a year ago, by the way. She was young, around four/five months old, but despite this I wasn't able to tame her at all, she has always been afraid of me.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*As Cody as indicated, fruit is very high in sugar content and should only be given very occasionally as a special treat.

Stella does appear to be overweight. She needs more exercise as well as changes to her diet.

Obsesity and Hepatic Lipidosis/Fatty Liver Disease

A Healthy Diet for your Budgies

There are many different herbs and vegetables to try which your budgies may enjoy.
Try kale,romane lettuce, basil, dill, cilantro, chickweed, dandelion greens, radicchio, arugula, zucchini, sweet peppers, carrots, etc.
Remember that variety is important.

Allowing Stella and Sid to have out-of-cage time in the same room as Celeste is fine as long as you are giving them direct supervision during that period of time. If there is aggression, then you'll be right there to separate them.
Additionally, if you have a different room which you can make budgie safe, you can allow Stella and Sid to have supervised out-of-cage time in that room instead.

I recommend you remove the wooden dowel perch in the cage and replace it with natural wooden perches of varying diameters to help prevent pressure sores.

Pressure Sores

The information in this link will give examples of better options for perches:

Essentials for a Great Cage*


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## Sim (Apr 22, 2019)

Thank you, I will offer them those vegetables then, hoping that they will eat them this time.

Anyway, I let Sid, Stella and Celeste out of their cages in the same room.
However, while Sid almost immediately got out of the cage, flew in the room and interacted with Celeste without being aggressive, Stella didn't.
She stayed in the cage and even bit Celeste's toes through the bars, so I had to interrupt her out-of-cage time even before she could, well, get out of the cage.
And Celeste's room is the only room that is budgie safe.
Allowing Sid and Stella to spend some time out of their cage is harder than I thought. :sad:
Changing Stella's diet is crucial to help her lose weight, at this point.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Can you move Celeste's cage out into a different room for a period of time each day so Sid and Stella can have out of cage time in the bird-safe room?*


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## iHeartPieds (Jan 9, 2017)

You've been given great advice above. I would also recommend taking your budgie to the vet, as they can do a body assessment and determine what an ideal weight for your individual bird will be. Weighing regularly will help you ensure she is at a healthy weight.


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## Sim (Apr 22, 2019)

I guess I could move Celeste to another room while they have out-of-cage time. 

However, I think Stella didn't want to get out of the cage yesterday because I was in the room, as she is terrified of humans (and maybe because she didn't know the room) but I can't leave them there unsupervised.
Maybe I am overthinking it, but would it make sense to try to tame her?
I could have some taming sessions in the budgie safe room until she gets to the point that she can jump on my hand to eat seeds. After all, she is not even one year and a half old (so not too old to be tamed), and Sid already steps up on my finger to get a treat (even if he bites me after that, I talked about it in my other thread "Celeste's training journal") and she might copy him as budgies are known to do. 
Doing the taming sessions in the budgie safe room would also make her get used to stay there.
Or would it better to keep things as they are? Perhaps she might decide to follow Sid out of the cage anyway.

@iHeartPieds, that is a good idea, thank you, after all almost a year has passed since Sid and Stella had their first and last visit to the vet, so taking them there would be the right thing to do regardless of Stella's current condition.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Working on training (taming) with Stella is always a good option. 
Remember that it is all about helping her learn to trust you.
Move slowly, talk to her calmly and quietly and never force her to do anything she isn't comfortable with.

Taming and Bonding is all about helping your budgie learn to trust you and it takes a great deal of time and patience on your part. 
You should never grab your budgie or force her to be touched. 
To bond with your budgie, you need to build her trust in you.
She will have to learn over time that you will not hurt her, grab her and try to force her to allow you to hold her.

To build your budgie's trust, sit by her cage and read, talk or sing quietly to her for a period of at least 10-15 minutes, 3 or 4 times day. After the 2nd or 3rd day, rest your hand on the outside of the cage when you talk to her so she'll learn that your hand is safe and will not hurt her.

After a week, rest your hand inside the cage when you talk. 
Don't make sudden moves, don't try to touch her. 
Let her get used to the idea that the hand is now in her safe place and not harming her.

After 2 weeks, begin moving your hand slowly toward your budgie. If she becomes agitated, stop moving your hand and just hold very still until she calms down. When she's comfortable with your hand near her, you can offer her a bit of millet or a few seeds. In a few more days, you can begin your taming and bonding sessions.

Always work at your budgie's pace. 
Move slowly and talk reassuringly and calmly to her whenever you interact with her.*


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