Is your bird overweight?

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as a fat bird. Too many seeds, too little flying or climbing and suddenly you could be looking at a serious health problem. Here’s what you need to know to make sure your bird stays in shape.

Why Birds Become Overweight

Obesity is a common health problem in captive birds, typically caused by poor nutrition and an all-seed diet.

In the wild, birds get a lot of exercise flying from tree to tree, escaping predators and searching for food. In captivity, birds usually have their wings clipped. If they go anywhere, they usually walk or climb. Their diet is frequently high in fat and low in important nutrients. This situation is the avian equivalent of the person who sits on the couch all day long eating French fries and cheesecake!

How to Know If Your Bird Is Overweight

Obesity in birds can lead to a variety of illnesses with the potential to be deadly. The most devastating is fatty liver disease, which is extremely common in Amazon parrots that eat an inappropriate diet. There are also fatty tumors called lipomas, which are particularly common in some of the smaller birds like budgerigars. Here’s how to know if your bird is overweight:

• Check the breast muscle. The best way to tell if your bird is carrying an appropriate amount of weight is by looking at their breast muscle, which lies over a bone called the keel. When you look at your bird from the front, there should be a bone running down its midline. This is the keel. To either side of that bone, there should be a rounded muscle. If your bird is too fat, they will have “cleavage.” In other words, the keel bone won’t be the most prominent part of your bird’s chest. If your bird is too thin, they will feel bony to the side of the keel and the area alongside the keel will feel concave (curved in) rather than convex (curved out).

• Look for fat. You can also look for subcutaneous fat (below the skin). Feathers grow in tracts, so there will be areas that are non-feathered. One of these areas is along the side of the neck beginning at the base of the jaw. If you part your bird’s feathers to look at this area, you should easily be able to see their jugular vein. If the vein is difficult to see, and there’s a yellowish tint beneath the skin, your bird likely has subcutaneous fat and is gaining unnecessary weight.

• Telltale signs. Other less specific signs of obesity may also be present. For example, if your bird gets out of breath with a small amount of exercise, it may be from carrying extra weight. Also, if your bird’s beak grows excessively long, it may be a sign of fatty liver disease, which is caused by obesity.

• Weigh your bird. Of course, you can weigh your bird periodically using a gram scale. Your veterinarian should also be keeping track of your bird’s weight during their annual physical examination.

Helping Your Bird Lose Weight

Just as it is with people, it’s all diet and exercise. Get your bird on an appropriate diet of pellets, vegetables, some beans, rice, pasta, and a very small amount of fruit. High-fat seeds and nuts are only for treats (the exception is the hyacinth macaw) and should be given in small amounts (one or two seeds) once or twice per week. Pellets should be left in the cage at all times. Home food should be left in the cage for no longer than 30 to 45 minutes at a time.

Try to increase your bird’s activity. If you have access to an outdoor flight cage, use it. If you’re in a situation where you can bird-proof your house so that they can fly indoors under close supervision, give them the opportunity to fly. Increase the frequency of showers because the preening and movement associated with bath time will burn calories. Increase activity by regularly changing the toys in their cage to increase stimulation. (However, be careful with this – if your bird is afraid of strange things, and is prone to feather picking, too frequent changes can be detrimental.)

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Common Signs of Stress in Birds

While it is often difficult for bird owners to tell whether their pet is sick, as birds commonly hide signs of illness, it is even harder for most bird owners to tell if their pets are unhappy or stressed. Birds can certainly feel these emotions and hide them until these feelings become so extreme that they are manifested either physically or through behavioral changes. Birds can express unhappiness and stress in several different ways.

How can a bird owner tell that their bird is stressed or unhappy? Here are some common signs of stress and unhappiness in their pet birds:

1 - Biting

While many bird owners misinterpret birds’ biting as an act of aggression, this behavior is often a sign of stress and fear. Birds will frequently bite and lunge to try to protect themselves when they are afraid. Since biting also may be a sign of pain or discomfort in birds, a bird that suddenly starts biting a lot should have a complete veterinary examination to ensure there is no underlying medical problem for this new behavior.

2 - Screaming

Depending on their species, a bird will make loud noises. However, a sudden increase in screaming and screeching may indicate that a bird is stressed, unhappy, or bored. Just as biting can be indicative of pain or discomfort, so can screaming. Thus, any bird that suddenly starts screaming should be checked out by a veterinarian to ensure there is no underlying medical issue for this behavior.

3 - Decreased vocalization

While screaming can indicate underlying stress or unhappiness in birds, so can decreased vocalization. Birds that suddenly start to vocalize less may be stressed, unhappy, bored, or ill. It is imperative that any bird who suddenly vocalizes less be examined as soon as possible to make sure that there is no medical cause for this change in behavior.

4 - Feather picking

Feather picking is a very common outward manifestation of stress and boredom, particularly in larger species, such as Eclectus parrots, cockatoos, and African gray parrots, but this is also seen in smaller birds, including Quakers parrots and lovebirds. Some birds will start picking as a result of an initiating cause, such as loud noise or the occurrence of construction in the house. They may even continue to pick even when that initiating stimulus is gone. Feather-picking birds should have a thorough medical examination by a veterinarian that includes blood work to help rule out other causes of illness.

5 - Self-mutilation

Some very stressed or unhappy birds will go beyond feather-picking to the more extreme manifestation of chewing on their skin or even dig deeper into muscle and bone, causing severe trauma. These birds must not only be examined by a veterinarian immediately, but also be started on anti-psychotic medication and/or fitted with an Elizabethan collar (the “cones” that dogs wear) to prevent them from doing further damage while the owner and veterinarian try to figure out what’s going on.

6 - Stereotypical behaviors

Some species, but especially cockatoos, manifest stress as stereotypical behaviors such as pacing, toe-tapping, and head swinging. Often, birds perform these behaviors to stimulate themselves because they are bored. While these behaviors may be harmless, they can be a sign that the bird is unhappy, and owners should pay attention to these actions before they progress to more destructive activities such as feather-picking or self-mutilation.

7 - Decreased appetite

Birds that are so stressed that they are depressed may eat less and ultimately may lose weight. Since decreased appetite can also be a sign of medical disease, birds whose appetites change should be thoroughly examined by a veterinarian to make sure they aren’t hiding an underlying illness.

Related articles: 5 Steps to a Better Bird Welfare for ideas

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5 Steps to Better Bird Welfare

#1 Fresh Food

Provide a healthy and varied diet—not just seeds, but grains, beans, vegetables (cooked and raw), formulated pellets, and some fruit. Harmful foods for birds include chocolate, avocado, highly processed or overly salted foods, human junk food, and caffeine.

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#2 Flight

Think outside the cage. Provide your bird with daily exercise and ample out-of-cage time, preferably in a safe, supervised environment. For day-to-day life, give your bird the largest enclosure possible.

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#3 Fun

Provide toys and enriching activities. No more boring, barren cages. Birds love toys that can be chewed up, so this means buying or making bird toys frequently.

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#4 Flock

Provide plenty of socialization with other birds and/or human caretakers. Birds are social flock animals. In the wild, they are rarely—if ever— alone.

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#5 Freshen Up

Birds need access to water for bathing. Some birds prefer to bathe in a shallow dish while others will enjoy being misted with a water bottle. There are also some that may enjoy perching in a cool human shower.

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Rescuing a Sick or Injured Wild Bird & Bird Safety While Fishing

You may encounter wild birds displaced by the latest bout of blistery, wet weather. As an overview, here are a quick list of temporary care instructions:

Temporary Care Instructions

• Find a medium/large-sized box and place a folded towel at the bottom.

• Ensure there are holes in the box big enough for airflow.

• Place the bird in the box and keep in a dark, quiet place.

• Keep the bird warm.

• Please don’t feed the bird.

• Leave the bird alone; don’t handle or bother it and always keep children and pets away.

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Pelican & Bird Safety While Fishing

Catch fish, not pelicans! With just a little extra attention to your surroundings, you and your pelican friends can both have a great day out on the water.

Brown Pelicans are now the most commonly sighted bird on the coasts. Pelicans eat smaller fish that are not preferred by recreational fishermen and that are not commercially important. Pelicans are protected by both federal and state laws.

With their keen eyesight, brown pelicans will spot a fish from high in the air and dive-in. It’s their specialty, after all. After surfacing, they drain the water from their pouch and swallow their catch.

Entanglement in fishing gear may be their number one enemy, leading to a slow death from dehydration and starvation. Bony fish scraps are also a killer, tearing the pouch or lodging in the throat. Feeding pelicans draws them to fishing areas and puts them in danger. Shorebirds, storks, herons, terns, and gulls are also casualties. We can all help keep our pelican friends alive and healthy.

Casting near any bird only increases the chances of hooking one.

Birds focus on the injured fish in a school, which is your lure or baited fish. Pelicans dive for fish on the surface of the water or just below it. When fishing, never cast towards any bird.

Don’t feed the filleted boney carcasses to the birds, even if they are begging for them.

Pelicans and other fish-eating birds such as herons and egrets easily digest the bones of small fish, but can be severely injured by the stronger, sharp bones of the bigger fish you have caught. Carcass bones may puncture the pouch, throat, or intestines, leading to infection and a slow, painful death.

Don’t feed your extra bait fish to the birds.

Feeding attracts birds to fishing areas, where they are more likely to become hooked. It is also illegal to feed wildlife in all state parks.

Always discard your old or tangled fishing line in recycling bins or covered trash cans.

Birds and other wildlife become entangled leading to entrapment, strangulation, starvation, loss of limb, or subject to easy predation.

Lead or zinc weighted jigs, lures, and tackle are deadly toxic.

Instead, opt for stainless steel, tin, tungsten, copper, pewter, or brass, porcelain, or stone fishing gear.

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Related: We have more information under our small animal care & avian resources categories.

Poultry Owners: Biosecurity Explained in 6 Simple Steps

As a poultry owner, you know how important it is to keep your birds healthy. By practicing biosecurity, you can help reduce the chances of your birds being exposed to animal diseases such as avian influenza (AI) or exotic Newcastle disease (END).

"Biosecurity" may not be a common household word. But, for poultry and bird owners it can spell the difference between health and disease. Practicing biosecurity can help keep disease away from your farm, and keep your birds healthy.

Biosecurity: Make it Your Daily Routine

Consistent biosecurity practices are the best way to prevent diseases such as AI and END. The following steps can help you keep your birds healthy:

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Making biosecurity a part of your daily routine while caring for your birds can decrease the chance of END or AI showing up on your doorstep.

Information sourced from the USDA. For a full brochure on biosecurity, read the United States Department of Agriculture's online PDF (here).

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Don't forget to subscribe to our email newsletter for more recipes, articles, and clinic updates delivered to your inbox (here). Or, you can keep up to date by liking and following our Facebook page (here). We also have additional helpful articles under our new Avian category (here).