# Is something wrong with Kiwi's chest?



## budgielyfe (Dec 25, 2018)

Ever since Kiwi (my green/yellow) started becoming mature (she's almost 2 years old now), I've noticed her chest tends to stick out quite a bit compared to Ben's. It seems a little weird to me. Is it abnormal? I thought budgies should be more streamlined. I'm attaching a photo. It seems to be slightly bigger than it used to lately, but not much. I could even be wrong about that.

Is she just fat? She eats, poops, flies and acts normally like she always has. Plenty of poop, trust me lol.










Sometimes it's even more pronounced depending on her posture and position, like so:










She's very active and not acting out of the ordinary.

EDIT: For comparison, here's a picture of her three months ago in May. It looks the same, so it's not like this is a new thing:










EDIT 2: Okay, so I went back even further to look. This one is from SIX months ago in February. It still sticks out, but less than it does now. Is this something I should be concerned about?


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

My guess is that is is a fatty deposit, the chest and lower abdominal area are common spots for fat to accumulate. What is their diet and how much are you feeding?


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## budgielyfe (Dec 25, 2018)

I feed them the Kaytee brand "Fiesta" mix. It has fruits, veggies, seeds and grains. I try to feed them fresh stuff sometimes, but they're both very stubborn and just won't touch much else besides what's in this mix.

I often see Ben munching on the fruits and veggies in the mix, but Kiwi seems to almost totally go for the seeds. It's something I've been a little worried about with her, I know it's not healthy long-term.

As far as amount, I put about 4 tablespoons in each of their dishes every night and let them eat it at their own pace until the next night. There's usually a decent amount of uneaten food by then, but I dump it and replace anyway.


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

4 tablespoons per bird is too much seed, letting them eat more or less cafeteria style can be a big factor in them gaining weight. You can try splitting up the feeding times, I would give a portion in the morning and another at night and see if everything you give is being eaten, try a couple of teaspoons at a time, not tablespoons. Have you ever tried offering pellets in a separate dish? Try clipping a small floret of broccoli to the cage, they just might like to pick on it.


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## budgielyfe (Dec 25, 2018)

I am probably slightly overestimating that, I just eyeball the amount and probably about half of what I put in there gets wasted every day but I put that much in so they didn't have to bend down so far in the bowls to get to it. They're kind of deep dishes.

I'll try controlling their food a bit more. They do get a ton of exercise though, they fly freely all day until it's bed time.

I should go back to the bird store I got Kiwi from. It's a bit of a drive, but they have a huge selection of pellets and other foods. All fresh stuff. Maybe I can find something they'd like. Kiwi munched on some of their pellets when she was a young bird, but stopped eventually.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Bending down to get their food is just fine for budgies. You do not :nono: need to fill the cups up to make it easier for them to eat.

It is very important to ration the amount of seed your budgies get. Each budgie should get no more than 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of seed per day.

Separating the amount into two rations - one morning and one evening works well.

Many people like to spread the seed on the clean paper placed on top of the bottom grate of the cage to allow the birds to forage for the seed. Obviously, this means you change out the paper twice a day.

Part of owning any pet is ensuring you are giving it a healthy diet. Just because they haven't "liked" vegetables so far is no reason to stop trying.

Please read the following information:

A Healthy Diet for Your Budgies

Cuttlebones, Mineral Blocks and Manu Clay Roses

Quality Seed Mix

You can also consider sprouting seed:
Sprouting Everything*


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## budgielyfe (Dec 25, 2018)

I might try to get them on the mix from Dr Harvey's. What's the consensus on the Kaytee brand stuff? No good?

They do have cuttlebone and mineral blocks. They've always had those.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Personally I would recommend either Dr. Harvey's or Volkman when it comes to a quality seed mix.

However, that still does not negate the need to supplement the seed with pellets and vegetables.

You can also try dried Herb Salad mix and Miracle Meal.*


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

budgielyfe said:


> I might try to get them on the mix from Dr Harvey's. What's the consensus on the Kaytee brand stuff? No good?
> 
> They do have cuttlebone and mineral blocks. They've always had those.


Dr Harveys has a higher fat content than most seeds mixes, it is 13%, I am guessing that comes from all the nuts that are part of the ingredient list. https://www.drharveys.com/products/birds/331-our-best-parakeet-blend-natural-food-for-parakeets


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