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Widget the Caique | Diet conversion
🕑 Added 2021-04-11 13:00:03 +0000 UTCIn this video I share my diet conversion journey with Widget and how I go about determining a higher weight for her to be better than the weight she came to me on.
Comments
BirdTricks
It needs to be cooked and mashed and added to the thawed portion that only lasts 3-4 days. Then re-made again.
Ayaaz Patel
How do you add your sweet potatoes in to the seasonal mix? Do you steam/boil it or do you give it uncooked?
BirdTricks
Any bird given the option of zupreem and our pellets will likely go for the sugary pellet since ours have none of that. The seed mix isn’t bad unless it’s 100% of the diet.
Lisa Bearwald
I have a six month old budgie that eats your seed mix, chop and fresh veggies. He is showing interest in supreme natural over your pellets. How bad is the seed mix long term.
BirdTricks
The previous owner is a patron and her circumstances just sort of changed so for widget’s series I’ll be keeping her background more private for this patron. 💜
Chelsea Lang
Will you do a video talking about why/how Widget came to you as a project bird? :) I love these!
Heather Wolf
She's an itty bitty, but the vet said her keel to muscle was fine, and showed me how to tell when I should become concerned, and I'm concerned regardless, just like a mom. She does eat well, both the seasonal feeding system and TOPS pellets, but trying to get her to eat MORE chop to keep her weight up has been a challenge. The info in this video was extremely helpful!
GraceGarden
My vet said Christopher (GCC) was small for his species and his range is 70-73gr.
tzxazrael
From Heather's reply, it sounds like it might be at least partly due to the clip. doing summersaults is "just a caique thing" so i don't think it necessarily contributes xD
BirdTricks
Luckily for me she will eat it mixed with sweet potato or eggs, either one. Hopefully she gets off the need with that added in in the next few weeks though. If I add Blueberry's seed mix to it then she's like 160+ grams lol. I don't really know much about Widget's previous diet. I was told she wouldn't eat any pellets, and when I met her she had some fruit and bread in her dish. I was kinda told mixed things on her diet like that someone got her addicted to coffee at some point and she would scream for it, and then the previous owner (after the coffee one apparently) said she would give her some veggies too. Never really know what that means or looks like though.
BirdTricks
I know that Widget has been clipped at least once, and she took a fall spell at one point before coming to me as well - she also tends to do summersaults in the corners of her cage like a little acrobat so I don't know how much is because of the clip job, the fall, the roughness that young birds are on their feathers... or all of the above.
Jessica Maree Matthews
I've had some recent struggles with maintaining the weight of my flock. They sometimes fluctuate a lot and I'm not sure what their optimum weight is. This video is really helpful, I also love seeing Widget's progress.
Carmen Griggs
In bigger birds would the variation be bigger then? My TAG seems to fluctuate as much as 10 grams on a daily basis, first thing in the morning weight. I only weigh him then. Also curious to know Widget’s previous diet? I think it’s great you have her on SFS mixed with sweet potato and egg so quickly. I still have to add the small seed mix or flax seed to Tuckers breakfast every day. Something about his first 11 years on only seeds I would guess, he loves crunchy textures and hates anything wet.
tzxazrael
ahh, i wonder if that's what happened to Widget as well, then.
Heather Wolf
My GCC was clipped by the breeder (only the one clip, she's now fully flighted), and the last 2 or 3 flight feathers got that spikey look until her new ones grew in.
Heather Wolf
I find my GCC fluctuates from 63 to 67 grams (dependent on things like foraging for hidden seeds and treats, etc.), and she seems so skinny (her keel to muscle) at that lower weight. I haven't thought about what her behavior is like at the different weights, so this has been an extremely helpful video for me!
tzxazrael
what's up with Widget's wings? in the first video there was that "you can't fly!" moment, and in this one, there were some shots where they looked... either badly or incompletely developed.... just "spikes" instead of proper feathers or is she just young and they haven't full finished yet?
Holden Kendrick
It's funny that I just asked a diet/behavior question for the Q&A this month that is probably related. No weight changes for my bird no matter how he eats but I do notice that he doesn't seem to do well if he doesn't get a little fruit in his diet. I'll look forward to your thoughts on that when you post the Q&A response video.
