Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

[chad84]

Actually, for what I have read, large macaws, with the exception of Hyacinths, are weaned between 15 and 24 weeks of age but even if they wean later, it doesn't mean that they don't start eating on their own way before they actually wean.

I also don't like the way he is acting on the videos... I don't like the way his head moves up and down so softly and constantly as well as the lack of curiosity or interest in the camera. I cannot say it's his expression because parrots don't have expressions but there seems to be something missing, a lack of brightness in his eyes... It's like there is no spark there. Young birds never look so composed, they are constantly moving, curious, full of pep and he doesn't look that way at all.

I am sorry, I also don't want to alarm you but I don't think he is doing as well as he should be and the fact that he is not eating on his own or even looks remotely hungry on the video prior to his feeding is of concern to me.

OKay I understand. Messaging the vet now to schedule a visit.

Considering that he has been ill for quite a while might be the reason why he has not begun weaning just yet. That is always present at the back of my mind. I want him to wean.

Once Robert get hungry, the only thing in the world that matters is his food! He sits there patiently until he gets it. No matter how long it takes. If I take too long (about 10 mins +), he would fly to me and start lapping up spilt formula in the counter top. He used to attack the camera all the time and would never let me film him. But after many tries he has become accustomed (at least I hope it's that).

[Pajarita]

Then, how about putting some finely chopped gloop in a bowl and see if he would eat that instead of the spilled formula? Have you tried that?

[chad84]

No I haven't will try that in the morning. Need to buy the gloop ingredients.

[Wolf]

I didn't think that you were upset with me. I may not have as much experience as Pajarita or Seagoatdeb but I am accustomed to watching my birds very closely, unfortunately none of them are macaws. So I can't really use my observations from them to substantiate my feeling with Robert and it is very hard to justify something to another person when all you can say is that it is a gut feeling. I know that I have a serious lack of knowledge with macaws, but I do care very deeply about Robert and wish him only the best.

[chad84]

I showed the video to the macaw owners at macawboard and some of them said it's normal for them to make noises before they eat and after they eat for a few mins. So I don't know, but I am trying to reach my vet to have her do a culture on Robert.

[chad84]

Hey guys. Tuesday (21 June) night I will be making a new batch of gloop. Can you tell me if the below ingredients are ok? It's all I have available. I need to also find out the portions of each food group that I need to use.

Banana
Apple
Almonds
Oats
Green peas
Green beans
Carrot
Pumpkin
Corn
Brown rice
Broccoli
Spinach
Lentils
Quinoa
Chickpea
Flax
Chia
Coconut oil/Coconut

[Pajarita]

Well, I never feed spinach to my birds (too high in iron and in oxalic acid). I also never use chia seeds. I tried once and both the birds and I hated them (they get all glutinous and stick together and to other things like a paste). I also stopped using brown rice because, here in the States, it has a lot of arsenic (do you know if this is the case with the one grown in T&T?). I use corn but only the fresh (actually frozen) one. And I never give coconut oil to my birds (I don't like to feed them solid fats or unnatural things) but they do eat unsweetened, grated coconut mixed with their gloop once a week as well as in their birdy bread, and they also get fresh coconut chunks as their daily fruit once in a while.

Aside from that, everything looks good although, personally, I would try to use more fruits for a macaw (they are BIG fruit eaters).

[chad84]

Hi friends. This is going to be long.
2 things are bothering me as of this morning (Tuesday 21 June 2016)

As of this morning Robert has been very grumpy and complaining from the time he woke (6am). Anytime we left the room he would whine and call for us. We thought he was hungry so we fed him. He continued his whiney behaviour even after being fed.

This is not the norm. Upon waking he would leave our bedroom (where he sleeps on a perch) and fly constantly for about 10 mins before settling down and begging to be fed.

We decided to cuddle him a bit but he exclaimed loudly several times during the cuddling, petting, kissing and scratching. It scared us to death because it was loud, sudden and sounded very painful. The strange thing is he continued coming to us to be cuddled but we didn't know how to touch him. he kept screaming with pain.
We were running late and left him in his cage and he didn't come to the end of the cage to see us off, he seemed very upset. As I was at work I could not concentrate with how we left him.

Left work lunchtime and went home. Decided I was gonna get to the bottom of this behavior. I carefully went through every single part of his body checking to see what's wrong. I figured Robert didn't know either.

Observation #1

I found pin feather cover his entire body. I realise 4 days ago he shed alot of tiny feathers. And these pins are the reason.

Head missing a good bit of feathers


Everyday for the last 4 days, these feathers are all over the house. Just lightly touching him releases them!


Whenever I approach him this is what he does


Pin feathers on head


Pin feathers on wings


Pin feathers on back (neck to tail)


Pin feathers on chest and abdomen


Pin feathers on leg


Observation #2

I found the part of him that's really paining. it's the very tip of his upper beak (the needle like tip). I pressure tested his entire beak by pressing it gently but firmly. He shrieked in pain when I reached the upper tip. He jumped on me and started licking me, scratching me with his claws and bowing his head. I touched the area a few more times to be sure. He allowed the touching but still screamed. I brought his favourite toy for him to play with and from the time he touched with his beak he screamed and got into a fight with it and they scrambled on the ground for 10 secs. I then give him my cell phone (2nd favourite toy) and when he nibbled it he screamed and grabbed it aggressively and would not stop attacking it. Tried my hand again and he held my hand with his foot and brought it to the painful part of the beak slowly so I could touch it and he cried out (as if he was showing me where hurt).

Gave him a grape (which he loves cold), and when he bit into it, he cried out and flung it across my desk.

Right side of beak


Left side of beak


Front view of beak


For the entire afternoon that I have been home with him, I can't leave a room without him following me and quarrelling. He keeps lying down on my stomach and fluffy his head. When I rub his head, if I get to close to the tip of his beak, he growls.
I am really lost as to what could have possibly happened to his beak. Maybe he crashed into something hard or fell from a height or hurt it somehow?
Right now he doesn't wanna leave my side. Usually he is independent looking to do mischief all over the house. But as of this morning, he is closely supervising all I do and is brushed up against me to make sure i don't move of leave him.

[Pajarita]

I don't know... his beak looks perfectly normal -there is no chip, no point missing, no discoloration, nothing to indicate that anything is wrong with it. Sweetpea Senegal once landed on tiles and, when he skidded, he tried to stop himself with his beak and broke the very tip of it. It bled quite a lot (it's not really THAT dangerous but it's VERY scary to see all that blood) to the point that I had to put ice on it to stop it but he never screamed in pain or anything and he ate without a problem. All my birds get soft food (which is what is indicated for something like this) but a grape is super soft so I don't think that his screams are because of the beak (it shouldn't hurt him when he is not using it even if the tip had broken -which doesn't look as if it had).

It could be the molt. They are always very uncomfortable and itchy so, sometimes, they do get a bit grumpy during it. And they do hate to have their pin feathers touched (they do scream in pain when you do) so maybe that is what is making him act like this. The only thing that worries me is that he is too young to start his juvenile molt. I am not an expert on macaws, I've only had two for a short period of time and they were both already adults but, for what I have read, they are supposed to start their juvenile molt at 9 or 10 months of age and Robert is not anywhere near this age.

[Wolf]

What about the inside of the beak? Are there any discolorations or soft spots there?