What Gram Scale Shall I Buy?

[Chief's Mom]

My gram scale has a perch screwed onto it. Chief has learned that if he steps onto the perch by himself, he'll get a macadamia nut. He steps up and looks toward the cabinet that I keep them in and won't get off until he gets the nut. We never were actually attempting to train him to do that, he learned that one all on his own I just searched for bird scales on google and this one popped up. I think you had the choice of perch sizes too.

[birdlady49]

Yes, birdsnreps! That's exactly what I'd like to get and continue to use my gram scale. I guess I'm hitting the wrong stores because I don't find any of those baskets that have covers.

Thank you thank you thank you!

[birdlady49]

Originally Posted by Chief's Mom

My gram scale has a perch screwed onto it. Chief has learned that if he steps onto the perch by himself, he'll get a macadamia nut. He steps up and looks toward the cabinet that I keep them in and won't get off until he gets the nut. We never were actually attempting to train him to do that, he learned that one all on his own I just searched for bird scales on google and this one popped up. I think you had the choice of perch sizes too.

Again, I"m talking about flighty, untame birds. Your setup is perfect for companion birds. What I have right now is a gram scale with a flat round top. I needed something to put on top of the scale that could contain the bird because the bird would fly off before the scale had a chance to weigh him/her! But thanks for your help!

[birdsnreps]

have you tried hittin' the dollar stores in your area? they tend to sell a bunch of plastic cheap stuff like this basket, you might be able to find some there. another place that has a ton of stuff all the time is walmart, lol. the one we use at the zoo is very light-weight and it feels cheap, haha.

you could always use a regular plastic bin, something like this:

http://www.industrysearch.com.au/pro...mages/food.jpg

they sell those at all walmarts, we keep our bird food in simliar bins. just cut a few air holes so when you close the lid, the birds can still get fresh air :)

[Lori~D]

Then I guess I would opt for the basket too,lol. You know I think my vet has a stainless steel lidded colander for that when he weighed my canary!

[birdlady49]

I haven't really put a concerted effort into finding a lidded container. I've seen plenty of those cheapy vented plastic containers at the dollar stores but none with lids and I won't go near Walmart till after the holidays. (I may be nuts, but I'm not crazy!)

Thank you all for essentially talking me out of buying the Ohaus triple beam scale since I know there are now options for containing the bird to be weighed.....

Happy holidays all. I'm going to bed.

[birdsnreps]

i would NEVER pay for that ridiculously over priced scale!! all you would be paying for is the brand name really. any new gram scale will work just fine, and with the basket, you can weigh anything :)

[PowerBBS]

I got a digital postal scale from walmart (cost me about 15.00). It records down to 100's of a gram and up to 5lbs. It came with a removable clear cover to go over the scale that I was able to screw a hole thru to attach a perch to for my fids to stand on.

I simply put this on the scale. Hit the Tear button to set it to zero again and put my fid on it to weight it. What I like about this scale, is the perch I made from a wooden dowel cost me an additional .99 and a simple screw. This same type of scale is selling all over the bird market for about 40.00 to 90.00.

I just couldn't bring myself to waste the money on one of those already made that way. Save yourself some money and just get a good digital scale from your local walmart. And first off, if you're considering weight down to the 100th of a gram. You're basically considering the weight difference of less than one shelled sunflower seed. That's just so unnecessary and is too picky. Simply measuring down to a 10th of a gram is more than adequate.

Ok, I guess maybe if you're weighing a parrolet "maybe" down to a 100th of a gram. But even then... doubtful.

[sassie]

Originally Posted by Valo's Moirana

i use a digital kitchen scale with gram units.... don't know about the above one - would look scary to me if i was a bird... however, i was wondering the same thing - bella and valo step onto the scale without problems, nino is too shy and i'm wondering how i can weigh him... have to say though that i almost like the towel idea better than the basket on the scale (would feel like i'm stressing him out every time)

sassie - what kind of basket do you use?

Just a small one I found at walmart

[birdlady49]

This has been a wonderfully informative thread for me. Thank you very much.