Bud the crisp-addicted parrot has lost weight after strict diet

A crisp-munching parrot who was so overweight that she struggled to fly has slimmed down after her new owners put her on a strict diet.

Amazon green parrot Bud can detect a packet of crisps being opened from four miles away, according to Chloe Shorten, who adopted the 22-year-old bird last year.

She said she banned crisps from their house and Bud’s weight soon came down from 1lb 6oz (620g) to a healthy 14oz (400g).

The cheeky bird is now able to fly around her house gate-crashing family Zoom calls and being rude to delivery drivers.

Bud arrived at the RSPCA’s Mid Norfolk and North Suffolk branch in March last year when her previous owners could no longer take care of her.

Mrs Shorten, 27, who works at the branch, and her husband Jason initially fostered Bud once lockdown hit, and then decided to give her a permanent home with them in Norfolk.

“Bud arrived just a few days before lockdown hit as she’d become too much for her owners and they could no longer take care of her,” said animal welfare manager Mrs Shorten.

“She was extremely overweight, weighing in at a hefty 620g – more than 200g heavier than she should have been.

“While it’s tricky to tell from looking when a parrot is overweight, you could tell when she tried to fly – she would literally drop to the floor.

“She has the hearing of a bat and can detect a packet of crisps being opened from four miles away so it’s no surprise she was overweight.