Normal Weights in Companion Birds
We recommend weighing your birds because as caged birds and clipped parrots, they get far less exercise than that of their cousins in the jungle so obesity is not uncommon in our exotic birds. Another added benefit is making sure they are healthy.
Although small birds are hard to weigh on a gram scale because they are generally kept flighted and are not hand trained it is the converse for parrots. We strongly recommend you weigh your bird routinely at the same time of the day if possible.
Exotic birds are prey and are very skilled at hiding any illness almost until it’s too late.
The ONLY way to tell if your companion bird is not well is weight loss in grams every day. Here is a guideline for adult birds so keep in mind babies still on formula can surpass these numbers but will lose 10-15% of their body weight during the weaning process but should gain it back in their first year. These are ranges, and of course, each bird can vary slightly due to frame size or how many were born in his or her clutch but if you are weighing regularly you’ll know baby’s own baseline weight.
I couldn’t possibly list all species and subspecies here but these are the most common birds we see:
Species Average body weight (grams) Reported range (grams)
finch
Zebra 15 10-16
Canary 22 12-30
parakeet
Ring-neck parakeet 115
Quaker parakeet 105 90-150
Budgerigar 30 25-35
Parrotlet, Pacific 30 30-34
Lovebird 45 45-70
Conure
Green-cheeked 70 60-80
Blue-crowned 140 130-180
Cockatiel 90 80-125
Macaw
Hahn’s 140 120-160
Macaw, Military 900
Macaw, Scarlet 1000 900-1100
Macaw, Blue and Gold 1100 900-1300
Macaw, Green-winged 1200 1200-1600
Macaw, Hyacinth 1355 1250-1695
Severe macaw 350 300-450
Senegal parrot 125 110-130
Mynah 180-260
Pigeon (rock dove) 240-300
Pionus, Blue-headed 250 230-260
African Grey parrot
Timneh 350 300-400
Congo 500 450-600
Amazon parrot
Orange-Winged 400 300-450
Blue-fronted 400 300-500
Yellow-naped 500 480-680
Double yellow-headed 568 450-650
Eclectus parrot 432 388-524
Cockatoo
Goffin’s 350 220-390
Umbrella 650 400
Moluccan 900 700-1000
Citron-crested 360 360-425
