workouts really work!

[plax]

As some of you may recall, Salsa's weight went way up and I became somewhat concerned that it could be unhealthy for him. At the peak, his morning weights were within the 1670-1680 gram range. Consequently, I started him on a daily flapping workout regimen and of course I restricted the amount of food he consumes each day. I'm happy to report that Salsa's morning weight is now down to 1600 grams (on the money) :D. So congrats to Salsa!

[Honesty]

Thats great news. Congrats Salsa :)

It seems that a daily workout regime with Salsa has worked just the same as it would for us :)

[Blancaej]

Goes to show how important workouts are for birds, too! Great job Salsa!! :D

[Debra]

Way to go Salsa!!

[headfeathermistress]

Good job!:th_yah:

[Macawfancy]

Great going Salsa! Flapping is so good for keeping weight in check and to help their breathing with building muscle and putting a smile on their beak. :)

[coltfire]

well done ,:th_yah: keep up the good work (out) lol

[Turquoise]

Great job Salsa! I know how hard it is to get motivated. You are an inspiration to all of us big red guy! :th_biggrin: You are my hero.

Maybe I will just get to flapping my 'chicken wings' and shape up too!:th_hehe:

[JadeC]

Yay!!!! Congrats Salsa and momma for helping him! Keep up the good work!!!

[plax]

Yay!!!! Congrats Salsa and momma for helping him! Keep up the good work!!!Thanks. And I'm actually his "papa"... Some of us guys have birds, too :th_biggrin:

[Pinkbirdy]

Plax what type of foods do you like to feed your Macaws ?

[plax]

Plax what type of foods do you like to feed your Macaws ?Well, what I would like to feed them and what they will eat are not always one and the same. They hate all flavors of Harrison's pellets - the only Harrison's product they enjoy is Power Treats (with the exception of Salsa, who doesn't like Power Treats either). The only pellets I can depend upon them continually eating are the Zupreem Naturals. Zaf will also eat Roudybush pellets, but no others. Unfortunately Zaf, Jack, and Maynard are each extremely finicky birds. Salsa, on the other hand, eats nearly everything (except Harrison's products). All of them, except Zaf, like vegetables and fruits. And they all like nuts, and pasta, and egg whites, and bread (I don't give them much bread though). Zaf and Salsa enjoy cooked oatmeal - they really love it mixed with rice milk (but I'm concerned about the arsenic levels in brown rice syrup so I've virtually stopped using it for now). And they all like popcorn (with nothing on it) - Salsa will practically kill for the stuff!!! They all enjoy Bountiful Harvest mix as well.

Definite Likes

Zaf: macadamias, cashews, pecans, brazils, almonds, walnuts, Zupreem, Roudybush, eggs, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, whole wheat breads

Salsa: almost everything (except Harrison's and he's not crazy about cashews or pine nuts either)... mostly all vegetables and fruits (he really enjoys strawberries, grapes, celery, carrots, broccoli, oranges and apples), also oatmeal, and his all time favorite is air-popped popcorn!!!

Jack: cashews, pecans, brazils, almonds, walnuts, Zupreem, eggs, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat breads, carrots, celery, grapes, apples, oranges, popcorn, power treats

Maynard: pecans, brazils, walnuts, most other nuts (but he's not crazy about cashews or pine nuts either and he doesn't like almonds that much), Zupreem, eggs, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat breads, carrots, celery, grapes, apples, oranges, popcorn, power treats

There are other things they will eat, too... but those are their basic likes and dislikes.

[Pinkbirdy]

Plax ,your a great parront !!! Keeping up with your guys individual likes ;)

[plax]

Plax ,your a great parront !!! Keeping up with your guys individual likes ;)Thanks Pinkbirdy. It's not so easy sometimes, but I try.

[PlaxMacaws]

One thing I've discovered is that certain birds of the same or similar species may possess metabolisms which maintain healthy weights for them (and with seemingly no effort), while others may need some help. Kind of like people.

[94lt1]

Its true, flapping exercises do work wonders ..Monte got to a healthy weight finally... and is maintaining it so far...I'm glad that we were able to get him on the right track....

Glad you and Salsa had a good outcome as well.. :)

[plax]

Its true, flapping exercises do work wonders ..Monte got to a healthy weight finally... and is maintaining it so far...I'm glad that we were able to get him on the right track....

Glad you and Salsa had a good outcome as well.. :)Thanks Brandon. I'm quite glad to hear about Monte's success as well! Congratulations on that! Salsa's morning weight seems to be stabilized at just over 1600 grams. And he seems the right proportional size at that weight. He looks great except his feathers are kind of spotty at the moment since he's not finished with his most recent moult.

[94lt1]

Checking back... Monte is not loving Tue workout routine. Lol...but he begrudgingly does it with me lol.. still at a healthy weight. And his plucking has subsided again...thank god.

[plax]

Checking back... Monte is not loving Tue workout routine. Lol...but he begrudgingly does it with me lol.. still at a healthy weight. And his plucking has subsided again...thank god.Good to hear! And yep, Salsa too... he's still hovering at about 1600g in the mornings now. That's better than where he was, at about 1680!