obese owl..go on a diet?

chinchilla · Post by **chinchilla** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:23 am

one of my owls is very fat. is he obese or is it something else? all the other finches are fine and stream-line looking, i wormed them about 2 months ago, could it be worms?

any way here are some picks of the fat little puffball

and thats him on the right, compared to the others

their diet is seed, herbs, and green food daily and egg food and live food weekly.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Wed May 21, 2008 6:36 am

I would start of by watching for a while, see if he is spending more time eating than the rest of your birds. if he is then maybe move him to a cage of his own for a while on a diet of dry seed with just a little of the other foods once every few days, making sure he has to fly between perches and to the food dish. while on his own I would also pay attention to his droppings, if they are different to your other birds then it could be an internal problem. may even pay to move him out straight away and see what happens

FeatherHarp · Post by **FeatherHarp** » Wed May 21, 2008 9:37 am

My goodness...what a cutie but he sure is a little chubby fellow! Both my Owls are normal weight...so far! I wonder why yours has the weight problem when the others don't....curious!

It looks like your Owls have a lovely view out the window....lucky birds!

rkn · Post by **rkn** » Wed May 21, 2008 10:41 am

wow he is big...cute as heck but on the fluffy side of life indeed. wonder what makes them larger? maybe like people he's got a fat gene? clueless here but think he's cute!

rkn

Post by **Sally** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:33 pm

He is such a cutie, looks just like me!

Seriously, I haven't run into this with any of mine. Is he really that chubby, or is he fluffed? Have you taken him out and checked his breastbone--you should be able to at least feel it. If he seems healthy otherwise, maybe he does need to eat less and exercise more. Keep us posted.

chinchilla · Post by **chinchilla** » Thu May 22, 2008 2:40 am

well i did what mickp said and put him in a cage of his own, his droppings are normal and he's eating ok. when i held him during the cage transferal he did feel fat but no abnormal lumps, i could just feel his breastbone. in the aviary (where he was before) when ever i when near the cage and they flew around he deflated to almost normal size.. so like Sally said he might be just fluffed.

but he's been 'fluffed' ever since i got him lol maybe he likes looking so cute

i think i need to install a gym in the cage, make them lift weights or something hehe

Post by **Sally** » Fri May 23, 2008 12:18 am

Hmmm..if he deflates to almost normal size when flying around, then it sounds like he is puffy. If he was just fat, he would be fat all the time. I'd keep him separate for now and keep watch on him.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Fri May 23, 2008 5:58 am

keep him seperated for about a week, if all is ok put the fluff ball back with the others and enjoy the antics

williep · Post by **williep** » Wed May 28, 2008 10:26 am

He looks a little puffed up to me as well, maybe a health issue of some sort but hopefully he just like to puff himself up and look more intimidating. How long have you had him?

If he is overweight the best remedy is exercise, put him in a high flight with the food on the floor so he has to work for it and see how it goes.

BTW why have we all decided he is a he and not a she? Just curious?

poohbear · Post by **poohbear** » Wed May 28, 2008 11:26 am

chinchilla · Post by **chinchilla** » Wed May 28, 2008 8:01 pm

i've had him for about a year now, and no i don't know if its a male or female

i'll move the perches around and make them fly to their food,

hehe thanks poohbear, mcdonalds and their food