# Fledging weight loss



## xxxemmzxxx (Jul 27, 2012)

Hi.

My cockatiel chick is now about 4 1/2 weeks old and is starting to fly around the aviary. I was just wanting to check about his weight loss and keel bone. He currently weighs 88 grams - down from 102. This is over the course of a week. I've read that fledging babies will lose 10-15% body weight during fledging. My questions are:

1. When should he start to regain the weight that he's lost?

2. How prominent should the keel bone feel? Also if anyone had any pictures of birds/month old (or so) chicks where the keel bone is too prominent just so I had a visual gauge as well as touch. It's freaking me out since before now the crop would be so packed that I would never feel the bone and now I can.

3. He is definitely being fed by mum - I've seen it and heard it; is there a weight that I should step in and assist feed? Like, if he's still active and foraging plus being fed by mum but has lost 20% is that still ok? Or should we assist?

Thanks

Emma


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

He should start building up muscle mass with all the flying he's doing here pretty soon. Is it only mom that is doing the feeding? Normally at this point, mom stops feeding and dad takes over as the sole feeder of the babies. Mama birds loose interest after a certain point usually.

88g is a normal weight for a lot of tiels, but if you notice any more weight loss, it wouldn't hurt to offer a couple hand feedings. You can offer one in the morning and one in the evening just to help the little guy out.


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## xxxemmzxxx (Jul 27, 2012)

It's definitely only the mum that's doing all the feeding; the dads not really taken much interest other than sitting during the day. It seems more like the chick isn't wanting to eat as often cause I've seen the mum try to feed and the chick resist - he's still super active and chipper!


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## Chipper&Trillie (Sep 1, 2013)

I had a problem when our parents stopped feeding chicks at 4 weeks of age when they started a new clutch. I started handfeeding (with 0 experience) but they didn't want to eat from me. They lost a lot of weight and were really skinny. Since that, the father resumed feeding them + some of them responded to my feedings. We are thru that difficult times. 
They are all weaned by now (almost 12 weeks old), having stable weight (upper 80/middle 90g), are being very active and having a great appetite. But the keel bone is still kind of sharp to touch. I am not worried because there is really nothing I can do, except for feeding them well.


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## Chipper&Trillie (Sep 1, 2013)

this is a blurry picture and she is dirty because of the formula. She has lost a lot of weight with keel bone very prominent when the pic was taken - I would say at about 5 weeks old. Why is she on the christmas tree? Because she was escaping from me trying to feed her. This particular girl never ate from me, even much later . Where you see the curvature - its not that she is fat. this is her keel bone and nothing else around it


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## Chipper&Trillie (Sep 1, 2013)

To my own experience (which is only one clutch), 88g is a very good weight and not that much loss. My chicks went from 95-107g at the peak to 70+... lower 80s when they fledged and parents didn't feed them.


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## Chipper&Trillie (Sep 1, 2013)

From what I was told asking the same questions - if you are sure that parents feed the chick, you don't have to assist. But I guess it wouldn't hurt offering though.


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