Weighing a grey without the wrestling match
African greys are intelligent, suspicious birds, and the scale routine works best when it is boring. Use a gram scale fitted with a simple T-stand or perch, place it in the bird's usual training spot, and let the grey step up for a favourite treat until standing on the perch is a game rather than a procedure. Weigh at the same time each week, ideally first thing before the morning feed and after the big morning dropping, because a full crop and gut can swing the reading meaningfully in a bird of this size. Take the number once the bird is standing still, not mid-bounce, and write it down every single time. A grey that will not approach the scale yet can be weighed in a familiar carrier, weighing bird and carrier together and subtracting the carrier's known weight.
What the number should look like for a grey
Healthy adult African greys commonly weigh somewhere in the broad middle hundreds of grams, with the larger Congo type at the heavier end and the smaller Timneh type noticeably lighter, and hens and cocks overlapping throughout. That range is a starting reference only. The useful figure is your own bird's stable adult weight, established over several weeks of consistent readings when the bird is bright, active, and eating well. Judge changes against that personal baseline: a slow creep upward over months in a grey that loves rich table food is a different story from a sudden drop over a week, and both matter more than whether today's number matches a stranger's chart online. Juveniles still filling out should gain steadily, not hold flat.
The keel check, done gently
Weight alone cannot tell fat from muscle, so pair it with a hands-on keel check during a calm handling moment. With the grey held securely or perched, run one fingertip slowly down the centre of the breast. The keel is the ridge of breastbone running down the middle, with the big flight muscles on either side. In a grey in good condition, the bone is easy to find but sits in a gentle valley, with full, rounded muscle on each side. If the keel juts out sharply with a hollow either side, the bird is underconditioned; if you can barely find the bone because the chest feels like a smooth, padded cushion, the bird is carrying excess fat. Feel rather than press, and compare both sides, since uneven muscle can follow an old wing or chest injury.
Trends that should send you to the vet
Book an avian vet if your grey loses a noticeable amount over a week or two without a diet change, keeps sliding downward across three weekly readings, or gains steadily while becoming less active and breathing harder after mild exertion. Sudden loss paired with changed droppings, reduced appetite, a quieter voice, or more sleeping is a same-week concern, not a wait-and-see one, because greys conceal illness until they cannot. Also mention a keel that has turned sharp even when the scale number looks steady, since muscle loss can hide behind stable weight. Bring the record with you; a dated run of weekly weights is exactly the evidence that helps a vet judge how fast things are moving, and KinsLe's Pet Passport keeps that weight history filed with your grey's records so it is ready to show at the appointment.