
The colorful and sociable Australian parakeets have adapted very well to our homes from its distant habitat of origin.Life in captivity has some advantages for these birds, such as extra longevity, and having guaranteed food..., even too much!
As with all companion animals, their well-positioned position in terms of food refers to some unexpected problem, so Animals and Pets Online suggests in this article about obesity in Australian parakeets some guidelines to try to avoid it and informs you of the consequences that this conception can cause, as well as the different pathologies that can derive from it.
Causes of obesity in Australian parakeets
Obesity may not be in itself a disease, but it gives rise to too many pathologies, so we could define it as a predisposing cause to suffer multiple alterations .
When there is a caloric excess in the daily intake, and a poor burning of the energy consumed, the final balance is positive and our parakeet begins to gain weight without hardly realizing it.The plumage can make us doubt about the body condition, but when our parakeet seems "eternally embolized", it is that there are enough grams left over.
Excess of energy
Diets based of seed mixtures have a danger, and it is the ability to choose.In those mixtures we will find very fatty and appetizing components that will be eaten the first, such as rapeseed seeds or sunflower seeds.We also commit the error of supplementing in a way extra to animals that do not need it, such as continuing to give cri pasta To parakeets that they don't need, because they love them.
We give them prizes such as honey bars, cookies or bread too often, or we opt for commercial poultry feed, but without pricing.The tendency to believe that the birds are self-regulating, since their feeders always have a mixture of seeds, contributes even more to this excess supply and consequent obesity in parakeets.
Lack of exercise
All of the above is aggravated by the sedentary lifestyle of our parakeets, which will rarely leave their cage, or if they do, it will be for a short flight through the room.In normal conditions, birds need a lot of energy to get going and fly considerable distances, but our parakeets are limited to jumping from one hanger to another, and the calories left over after covering the demand for maintenance metabolism accumulate in the form of fat.
And what can I do to correct it?
The varied diet should also be measured..The fruit and vegetables offered to them should have a few established days and a few hours, just like the seeds or feed.For example, the seed mixture a short period of time in the morning and at night, and on the established days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday...), the fruit and vegetables at noon, rotating what is offered: Monday apple, Wednesday spinach....You must withdraw after a while to avoid getting food dirty if we plan to offer them again later.In the corresponding article on "Fruit and vegetables for parakeets" you can expand this information.
If our Australian parakeets they have a flyer in a patio, we will have it easier, because they can spend some calories on some short displacement.And if we also enrich their environment with more toys, swings, mirrors that favor interaction, and trunks or extra hangers to climb, consume energy while its quality of life improves considerably.Otherwise, we can opt for a larger cage (it is recommended to visit the Animals and Pets Online article on "Types of cages for parakeets"), and with several heights.
Vitamin or mineral supplements very fashionable according to the times are not really necessary in birds with a varied diet and kept as companion animals, so it is better to do without them while trying to lose weight to our parakeet.
Prizes such as cookies or carbohydrates in general should be suppressed.Although we know that all the owners of parakeets have been excited to share a piece of cupcake with them, they do not need it, nor it suits them!
The pathologies developed as a result of obesity that are going to be mentioned below, will surely dissuade those who continue to offer everything they eat to their parakeets:
- Pododermatitis
- Lipomas
- Xanthomas
- Reproductive problems

Pododermatitis
The appearance of lesions on the plantar surface of the legs is a direct consequence of being able to bear more weight due.Our parakeets live, and even sleep on them, and stay on them, and stay on hangers that do not always have the appropriate surface.If you also have to endure an extra 30 grams all day, the typical nail head-shaped lesion will eventually appear on the part of the leg that clings to the hanger., the ailment is usually known as "clavo".
We can see that the parakeet refuses to climb on the hangers , dozing in a corner of the cage and making life on the ground.Something apathetic can be found by the pain, and if there is secondary contamination with bacteria the problems multiply.
How is it treated?
While it is put in March a weight loss plan, the ideal is to look for hangers padded , with a surface wide enough to be able to grab without unloading all the weight in the injury, and apply healing ointments.
In the most severe cases, it is necessary to bandage both legs to avoid chafing.Our veterinarian will guide us an anti-inflammatory to relieve pain associated with this consequence of obesity in parakeets.And if antibiotic and healing ointments do not work, you may need systemic antibiotics.
Lipomas
Excess fat leads to the formation of lipomas , that is, a cluster of adipocytes located in the skin or subcutaneous tissue.pediculates, so that their removal is more or less simple, but general anesthesia is inevitable.Unfortunately, obesity is one of the factors that most risks added to a general anesthesia in all animals.
In other cases, these formations are attached to the body, so that a clean removal is almost impossible.The yellowish color of this fatty formation can be observed by removing the plumage of the abdomen or in the area of the keel.
Drug therapy, products that favor the elimination of blood lipids, or anabolic steroids, to try to reduce their size has not yielded good results.In this way, it is always preferable to prevent than cure, and in this case with more reason.
Xanthomas
It is the deposit of cholesterol crystals in the skin .They appear as localized masses, more or less defined although they are usually irregular, and are characterized by being quite bleeding.
A particularly compromised location is on the edge of the wings, a very delicate area, since it is constantly exposed to chafing, and although a clean excision was performed, the scarring is complicated.In many cases, there is no choice but to remove a part of the wing.Again we are forced to a general anesthetic in an obese parakeet, something that can be more risky than the pathology we want to solve.
The diagnosis by cytology to differentiate it from any other mass or tumor is simple, in it you can see the cholesterol crystals under the microscope without difficulty.Drug therapy in this case has not given good results in an attempt to avoid the operating room.
Reproductive problems in Australian parakeets
Excess fat can lead to reproductive problems in Australian parakeets for two reasons mainly:
- Impossibility to perform the copula: the large amount of fat that accumulate in the abdomen can prevent the male and female sewers from mating and, therefore, fertilization.
- Dystocia: due to abdominal fat, the female may suffer from egg retention or inability for laying.This results in a major complication, the celomitis due to egg yolk , which occurs when finally the retained egg is broken inside the parakeet's body, giving place to an urgency from which few females recover.
Now that you know the consequences of obesity, if you notice that your Australian parakeet is swollen, fat and above its ideal weight, Do not hesitate to go to the veterinarian to indicate how to help you lose weight.Also, we recommend consulting the most common diseases in parakeets to be aware of all of them and prevent their development.

This article is merely informative, in ExpertAnimal.com we have no power to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis.We invite you to take your pet to veterinarian in case you have any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Obesity in Australian parakeets , we recommend that you enter our section on Other problems of health.
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