Fat Cockatiels – How do I know if my Cockatiel is Overweight?

Do You Own A Fat Cockatiel?

Although it doesn’t happen too often, fat cockatiels are luckily quite difficult to find.

I think it is far more common to find fat dogs than it is to find fat cockatiels.

In fact, I couldn’t even find a photograph of a fat cockatiel to put on this post, so you will have to make do with this drawing.

If your cockatiel is overweight, it is usually because of incorrect nutrition. In most cases, a cockatiel will carry excess weight from eating too much human food, such as crisps, cheese, sweets, and peanut butter. That my friend is totally your fault, not the birds.

It is important that your cockatiel follows a balanced diet and gets some exercise every day. The problem of owning a fat cockatiel is a pretty simple problem to avoid because in most cases, they normally do get fed a healthy diet and they are naturally active birds.

Fat cockatiels will normally show excess weight on their thighs, chest, and abdomen.  If your cockatiel is only showing signs of excess weight in one of these areas, there is a chance he could be ill or have a tumor.

Like humans, cockatiels could also suffer from diseases relating to obesity.  He could end up having avian diabetes or problems breathing.

If you suspect that your cockatiel is too fat, seek advice from an avian vet before trying to put him on any sort of diet.  This will rule out any other diseases.

Also, do not feed your cockatiel any of the following – click here.

Make sure you include the following in your cockatiel’s diet:

• Naturally fortified food.
• DHA Omega-3 supports heart, brain, and visual functions.
• Nutritionally enhanced daily diet.
• Natural vegetation, grasses, seeds, and bark provide the nutritional variety and mental stimulation nature intended.
• KAYTEE Foraging Diet is the fun, affordable, and responsible way to feed your bird’s mind and body!
• Formula specifically designed for Cockatiels
• Formulations with DHA, an Omega-3 fatty acid that supports heart, brain, and visual functions
• A complete daily diet developed for the unique needs of cockatiels.

Why not try making some homemade food for your cockatiel? Here are some recipes for homemade cockatiel food.

Hopefully, if we pay a little attention to our cockatiel’s diet and avoid feeding them unhealthy food, we can eradicate fat cockatiels in the future.