GCC eating lots before bed

[TinyFeathers]

Hello, so my GCC has never really ate a whole lot. I've always tried to get him to eat his food but mostly he would just eat seeds, play with his vegetables (throwing them at the wall) and leave the pellets. I think normally throughout the day he would eat about half the pellets I gave him and he seemed healthy so I just let him self manage how much he ate. I've had him for over 4 years and just this past month he's started eating more and more. Particularly before bed. He used to run into his tent once I covered him but now I hear him eating in the dark. He eats everything in his bowl now, and it's always empty the next morning when in comparison I used to throw out about half of what I gave him. He's constantly eating, and I'm getting concerned because I don't know if I'm even feeding him the right amount. He's eating right now as I write this.

I usually give him a pinch of seeds, and fill the bottom of his dish with pellets maybe twice. Then he gets chop. It seems like a lot, but then again maybe he's just finally eating enough?

My main question is why is he doing this now, and secondly how much am I actually supposed to feed him?

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[Pixiebeak]

My green cheek conures actually eat a larger volume of food , than my quakers who are larger and double their weight and size .

Parrots metabolic rate isn't static. During molts they can require 25% more calories to double their baseline calories. Not all pellets are able to meet the demands of a molt , many manufacturers make a standard maintenance diet , and a high potency molt/ breeding diet . This is stated on high end diets on the food bag , but as it's not required (to my knowledge) lower quality brands will not make this declaration .

Also breeding season requires more calories, and even without a nate or another bird around their bodies can go through changes in preparation of this .

Cooler temps , more activities, stress, can increase calories needed.

I prefer to offer more food than they eat in a day , so their is always some good left in the dish and let them self regulate. Unless they have an obesity problem , or are a species prone to obesity like cockatiel or Amazon to name 2. Green cheeks as a generalization are not prone to obesity ( as always individual exceptions)

as mine are just wrapping up molts , I expect yours is molting? Or just getting ready to ? Any pins? As well as a bump in calories, they need a slight bump in protein during molts . The high potency pellets will have this , and I prefer offering a little animal based protein, like a little boiled or scrambled egg, a tiny piece ( thumb nail size for your size bird) of boiled it well cooked white meat chicken no skin. I also offer tiny pieces of walnut . About 3 times a week just ahead and during molts until molt is finished. For me , this has resulted in better molts, feather quality and condition during a d post molt.