# Size and weight?



## acrobandit (Jul 21, 2012)

Ludwig is about 3 months old now, and his weight varies from 73 - 76 g throughout the day. His weight hasn't changed much since I got him 4 weeks ago, and I was wondering if he might be underweight or if he's just a smaller bird, especially since he was born in the middle of winter. I saw some supposedly young cockatiels in a petstore today and they were considerably larger than Ludwig, which got me thinking about his size and weight.

He has a very healthy appetite, with unfortunately a huge penchant for seeds. I do try to mix in powdered pellets or make a moist mash of pellets and seeds to get him to ingest some pellets. He also gets his brocolli/spinach/assorted veggies in the evenings and has free access to millet spray in his cage (which is almost always demolished within a few days). He gets a lot of out of cage time and is generally very active and athletic-- could this be why he's relatively light? If he's just a small bird though, will he continue to grow to an adult size? And if he is underweight, what should I do/feed him to help him put on some? Here are some pictures of him..





































And with my rather small self for a comparison..


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## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

The best way to tell if your tiel is an appropriate weight is to check the keel bone. Here is a great sticky that will help you.

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=17680

I was worried about Quinn because everything I read said that your tiel should at least weigh 75 grams and he doesn't. He is perfectly healthy, though, just a small tiel. Ludwig could just be small, too.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I have a small tiel that usually weighs about 75g-78g..and he is a good weight.

Keep in mind that young birds have not yet filled out completely so he will probably gain a little more weight up until the time he reaches a year old.


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## half-moon (Aug 15, 2012)

I got a tiel recentley who is around the same age and same weight. Hes very active too, he seems pretty healthy and i think your cockatiel is too!

You have a beautiful bird!

~half-moon & Solo


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