Obese hens are also more prone to become egg bound when breeding. Adequate exercise is important for all birds, but obese birds must be exercised cautiously at first. Any significant increase in exercise could kill them. I have seen many birds that were reported by the owner to have died of a heart attack when flying, only to find out at necropsy that the real problem was obesity. Birds should be given large flight cages when not breeding to stimulate exercise.
Obesity is a common problem in cockatiels.
It can only be corrected over long periods of time by monitoring weights, feeding balanced diets that are low in fat, breeding birds that do not have a tendency toward obesity, and by moderate exercise. We'd love to hear from you. All contents of these web pages are copyright 2000 by the National Cockatiel Society. NCS may authorize reprints in whole or in part provided written permission is obtained from the online editor. All rights reserved articles and reprinted with the permission of articles require written persmission from the original source and the author.