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Need Help! Taking Care of Two Parrots

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Need Help! Taking Care of Two Parrots

Postby Josef R » Mon Dec 05, 2016 10:59 am

Hello!
I'm responsible for taking care of two parrots, a Scarlet Macaw and an African Grey, over the next two weeks for my parents while they're on vacation. The problem is I hardly know anything about parrots, but I've done some research. The bigger problem is that I feel like they have been negligently cared for. From what I understand they're kept in their separate cages 24/7 with hardly any handling, and their diets seem very poor. They get walnuts, almonds, peanuts, dried banana chips (meant for human consumption), and goldfish crackers. They are defensive and I'm sure have a slew of behavioral problems. I work from my home so I can try do dedicate plenty of time to them over the next two weeks and hopefully I can somewhat start to improve their well-being.
Josef R
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 3
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Scarlet Macaw
African Grey
Flight: No

Re: Need Help! Taking Care of Two Parrots

Postby ParrotsForLife » Mon Dec 05, 2016 11:35 am

From what I know Dusty species shouldn't be near Macaws because they have a very sensitive respiratory system.Sorry if I don't reply I'm kinda taking a break.
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ParrotsForLife
African Grey
 
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Types of Birds Owned: Rocko and Loki, Cockatiels
Mango, Plum headed parakeet
Tiko, African grey, Oscar, BFA
Flight: Yes

Re: Need Help! Taking Care of Two Parrots

Postby Pajarita » Mon Dec 05, 2016 12:49 pm

First thing you need to do is put on some good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement because those birds must have severe nutritional deficiencies by now. Then you need to start changing their diet to a better one (they need veggies, fruits, leafy greens, some cooked whole grains, etc) and put them under a solar schedule with full exposure to twilight. You can start letting them out a bit but, if these bird have not been handled, they are going to be aggressive (unless their bad diet/health made them too weak for it) so be careful and don't get bit. Unfortunately, you don't have anywhere near enough time to make a dent - they will require months of rehabilitation.
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Norwegian Blue
 
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Flight: Yes

Re: Need Help! Taking Care of Two Parrots

Postby Josef R » Mon Dec 05, 2016 1:48 pm

Thanks ParrotsForLife, didn't know that.

Pajarita, thanks for the dietary suggestions, that was what I was particularly concerned about. I'll get working on them eating better. I realize two weeks isn't long, but I think I'll urge them when they get back to let me care for the parrots. The room their cages are in has very big windows, so lots of sun comes in at least. I tried letting the African Grey, Lullabell, out thinking since she's smaller she'd be more manageable, and I can say for sure she is very aggressive. Constantly tried to bite at me and eventually got a hold of my sleeve. I'm worried that the macaw will be just as aggressive and needless to say his beak is far larger. I've been hand feeding them some and they do take food out of my hands well, but anything besides that they get very defensive.
Josef R
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 3
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Scarlet Macaw
African Grey
Flight: No

Re: Need Help! Taking Care of Two Parrots

Postby Josef R » Mon Dec 05, 2016 6:25 pm

So I went and got a good seed mix that looked like it had most of the recommended ingredients for macaws as well as pellets for the extra vitamins and mineral fortification to mix together. Also got some fruits and veggies, namely bell pepper, cucumber, broccoli, kale, carrots, mango, apple, and banana and diced them and mixed them together and stored them in bags in the freezer. My plan is to thaw and integrate the fruits and veggies into the mix each meal, as well as use fresh bigger chunks of fruits and veggies as treats.

During their dinner feeding I tried letting out the macaw. He wasn't necessarily aggressive, and seemed mostly curious, sort of following me around. However when I tried to have him climb on my arm he bit, which I mostly expected. Fortunately the bites weren't bad. I made sure to remain calm and not yell or anything. I attempted to use a thick stick as a perch for him, but when bringing it to his feet he got terrified and flapped away. My plan was to let him perch and then walk him around the house some before putting him in his cage. Had to just wait for him to go back in his cage himself. The good news is they ate the food and seemed to like it. I was worried they wouldn't considering their diet has just been fatty nuts and junk food.
Josef R
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 3
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Scarlet Macaw
African Grey
Flight: No

Re: Need Help! Taking Care of Two Parrots

Postby liz » Tue Dec 06, 2016 7:40 am

You are wise to ask for help. This forum will come up with the information you need or they will research to get the answer.

This is MY ideas:
I cut veggies for the Amazons in the size easy for them to pick up. If they can't pick it up they will take it from the plate and pin it down to eat beside the plate. Keeping veggies in separate piles on the plate will let you know what they are eating and if something is not to their liking. Mine love grapes. Rambo used to peel his before eating but has learned from Myrtle to just pin it down and go at it.
The more time you spend in their presents is key to helping them figure you out. You do not need to interact the whole time. Just do as many things as you can in that room. Mine were in the sunroom just of the dining room. I would take anything I could carry to the table.
Small birds are more likely to bite than the bigger ones.
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liz
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Re: Need Help! Taking Care of Two Parrots

Postby Pajarita » Tue Dec 06, 2016 11:54 am

If the mix has seeds, nuts and pellets together, they will never eat the pellets. You need to get a good vitamin supplement that is water soluble. It's not the best kind because vitamins degrade very rapidly in water but it's the best 'shortcut' solution for a bad diet.

Also, if you are going to make chop with fresh produce, you need to know that fresh is not the most nutritional when it comes to fruits and veggies, frozen is. Frozen fresh fruit will become all soggy and weepy-nasty when thawed (the freezing process 'breaks' the cell 'skin' and the entire thing loses integrity and releases all its juices). I give mine gloop (lightly cooked whole grains mixed with pulses and chopped veggies)made with frozen veggies that are never thawed until they need to be served (I put the baggie with the frozen gloop in the fridge three days prior I am going to serve it and then nuke it for 30 seconds to make it room temperature) and serve it with raw produce (one leafy green, one fruit, one veggie) for breakfast and all day picking and, then, for dinner, I give them the seed/nut mix (but the larger species get mostly nuts). This diet works very well because it gives them the healthiest food when they are at their hungriest (morning) and the protein food, which the body takes longer to digest, for the night (which also allows you to control the portion they eat). Check out our diet section, lots of good info there.
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Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


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