Keel bone and how to

Scott199

Regular Member
So as per normal I managed to worry myself again, ive been concerned about Bert's weight/health for no other reason than because I read to many horror stories and scare myself into believing im not doing right :p ( I know other here feel the same way :biggrin: )

Any way I managed to weigh him a few times, mostly around 6pm time, not ideal I know but its the best I can achieve at this point.

Tonight I also managed to feel his keel, now he was on the indie of the cage, on the side with his keel/belly towards me and for the first time he allowed me to touch it, so to gauge weight/body size, I can feel his keel bone, I assume i'm basically feeling it between his "shoulders" and I can feel it running downwards for a few inches, is this the correct place ? or should I be feeling it lower "belly" type area ?

I wouldn't say it was prominent but I can certainly feel a slight ridge, am I feeling in the correct place and would it still work with him hanging on the inside of the cage like that ??

(oh I know really a vet check would be right, but I need to learn this info and also we have kind of just became proper friends and I don't want to towel him for a vet visit unless needed)
 
Ok so when you look at your bird there should be equal amounts of the muscle on either side ....
Hmmm think of a sunday roast .....
You should be able to feel the keel bone just and on parting the feathers slightly you should see a line running top to bottom
If the muscle on either side of the keel bone is "lower" than equal to the bone its self then he's underweight if you can't feel the keel bone and it appears to be dimples in due to the muscle on either side being "higher" or "prouder" than the bone .... errr he's a little on the porkie side and is over weight ....
 
Should be able to decide from just looking at the bird "square on" so if you can't decide then bang a picture up and we will be able to tell you, should be able to tell without you having to risk the loss of fingers trying to part feathers lol
 
if you select the link for normal weight of pet birds which is the last one on this page this is an avian vet Scott E Macdonald and he has put some good pictures up of what is lean what is normal what is fat and what is down right piggie-lishus!
 
here's a few, no idea if it shows he"s quite a "fluffy" lad.

Should be able to decide from just looking at the bird "square on" so if you can't decide then bang a picture up and we will be able to tell you, should be able to tell without you having to risk the loss of fingers trying to part feathers lol
lol, yep parting the feathers is not on my list of things to try,,,yet.

when he was on the side of his cage, felt downwards and across very lightly and I could feel a very slight "lip" as a felt across and downwards I can easily track the keel down the middle, its not massively prominent but easily identified to the touch, i'm concerned he's over weight but maybe im just being paranoid, well actually I am paranoid but more paranoid than normal :aplastao:

I'm going by grey weights I see, but the rescue guy did say he was one of the biggest he'd seen.

i'm not 100% confident in his weights but he's around 630g, ive had 619,620,633,626,633 but they are around 6/6:30pm before his evening meal but after most of his daily food/veg etc and some treat's (to get him on scales) id have no chance any other time of him even thinking about stepping on scales.

i'm not concerned just want to start learning and teaching him and getting into the habit.
if you select the link for normal weight of pet birds which is the last one on this page this is an avian vet Scott E Macdonald and he has put some good pictures up of what is lean what is normal what is fat and what is down right piggie-lishus!
I have had a good read of that and looked at a few other places to.
 

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Nothing to write home about looking at him perhaps a little plump and I mean a very little just by the way the feathers are laying but that could just be me seeing a dimple in the feathering is fatter looking either side of keel dipping in towards keel line.
Has to be a cock bird at that weight and a very striking looking one too :feel_loved:
Put it this way I'd be happy looking at him.
To weigh in the morning put a treat on the scales and let him step on to eat it of his own accord but before his breakfast and after the morning huge poop. He'll soon twig on what to do.
 
I’m looking for a baseline at the moment, not desperate but just a way to keep an eye on things, as he gets tamer, I do want to do a morning weigh but at this point as I can’t handle him and he doesn’t really step up, it’s getting the best I can.

at least I know the weight is about right (ish) so I have a baseline to work with/from.

When I read all the average weights and then he hoped on the scales I thought “oh dear”, I had a good look around and found a few sites saying they can be up to 700 but it didn’t help.

as he doesn’t fly I was worried he was a plump little chicken in a African grey suit, I was thinking I’d have to attach treats to me shoes and run round the house :biggrin:

thank you, I feel better now.
 
He's so gorgeous :feel_loved: We also try to keep role of thumb as the bottom of a ship sort of shape with the 'v' of the hull. Like has been said, if the body either side of the keel bone comes to the same level there's a little chubby alert goes off :lol:. Bebe has more of the v shape and is a lighter weight, whilst Gary has slightly less of a v shape and is 200g heavier despite the exact same diet. However our vet said that Gary is what you would call 'buff' which makes my hubby feel like he's been bested by the bird and needs to go to the gym :lol:. You will find the ideal weight for Bert.
 
@Scott199 Now I am worried about Dusky CAG, he is just rounded on the front so quite possibly a little porky. I know he was when he came to me but thought he had lost some. I was worried when he rarely flew, so I started excessively congratulating him when he landed on doors or flew down, which was rare, now his favourite speech is "Oooss a boy" or "whhhat a boy", he does not seen to be able to manage the 'clever' part, which is what I used to say to him to encourage him to fly more. I have found out since they do not fly a great deal in the wild.

@MJGB - MikeJenGaryBeckyBoo I heard that Macaws are boat shaped at the front, more so than other birds, which is a relief as Lucy's keel is rather prominent but she is not a big eater
 
@Kendra with our two being so different, I was originally worried that Bebe was too thin, but after a vet consultation years ago. We were reassured that she was perfect weight. Gary on the other hand has the potential to become a little chunk if he ever got less active. He's flying/climbing/jumping about most of the time which is great as he seems to be the one with the lower metabolism. Bebe just sits around staying lovely and slim.
 
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