Why is he eating so much?

[bird-brain]

Okay, everyone knows about the conure that followed me home. Lovey Cabo seems genuinely happy that there is another bird in the house but today he at like a little piggy. He still did his playing and singing and bath but I swear he spent most of the day going at his food. (and begging for pumpkin seed). I always change his food out at night and my hand shy birdie actually sat in his eating spot and watched me fill his dish then did not budge when I replaced it and was in the dish before I got my hand off!

Note worthy that I gave him the conure feed I bought which is different from what he was on (it actually has more small seed very little sunflower seed which he hates) and have not given him any millet for 3 days cuz he wont eat anything else if he has that. Also he has been an idiot with his toys for a couple days and played non stop, has a new larger cage to romp in as well and the feed is in a different location.

Could it be that he is missing something from this mix and therefore eating constantly? The pellets in this mix are larger but he has actually nibbled on those too rather than just picking around them.

[linda040899]

Sounds like there's something in this new mix that he really likes so he's pigging out on it. Also, if the temperature in your home is cooler than normal, birds will eat more so they have energy to keep themselves warm. You mentioned that he's playing more than usual and that will make him eat more. As long as he's eating healthy food, I'd let him do it. In the wild, birds graze all day long, although they have to forage to find what they eat.

[bird-brain]

Thanks Linda. I always worry that he isn't eating as well as he should. We are working on fruits and veggies but as yet to no avail. It HAS been very damp and cold here too. I keep the house the same temp all the time but lately I have felt cool even with it 72 degrees in here due to the cloudy wet ickiness. I can tell in my dogs in a heartbeat by their coats if a food is not what they need cuz my shepherd will shed to the point I have to vacuum 3 times a day. With birdies it's just not so easy.

[Chickobee]

Birds are also social eaters. Maybe just having another bird in the house, even though it is in a different room, is making Cabo eat more. Have you heard the saying "he who eats the fastest gets the most"?

Also, if the newer food has larger seeds there could be a higher percentage of waste from the hulls so it might appear that he is consuming more. This food may also more closely resemble what he was eating before you got him so it may look familiar.

I agree with Linda. It does sound like the changes are good because he is enjoying the new food and being more active. So, no worries!

[bird-brain]

Birds are also social eaters. Maybe just having another bird in the house, even though it is in a different room, is making Cabo eat more. Have you heard the saying "he who eats the fastest gets the most"?

I kind of wondered about that being possible...new birdie might steal my food.


Also, if the newer food has larger seeds there could be a higher percentage of waste from the hulls so it might appear that he is consuming more. This food may also more closely resemble what he was eating before you got him so it may look familiar.

It actually has more smaller in it which just seems backward to me. But now that yo mention it, it is the same food he was eating when I got him so this is actually the food he was weaned to. Of course he pulls out all of the fruit and peas and anything else that is good for him :)

[CompassionAk]

When I brought Annie home for Boo he started pigging out too,I thought it was funny like maybe he thought she was going to eat all his seed so he had to beat her to it!

[Enko_chan]

I've noticed this phenomenon when a new bird comes home.

Still, the amount birds eat always surprises me, even though I've seen it all my life. None of my birds are fat or unhealthy so it seems they know what they're doing.

Whoever coined the term "eats like a bird" never actually watched one eat!

[bird-brain]

Whoever coined the term "eats like a bird" never actually watched one eat!

I have said this most of my life. hehe