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Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Talk about bird illnesses and other bird health related issues. Seeds, pellets, fruits, vegetables and more. Discuss what to feed your birds and in what quantity. Share your recipe ideas.

Re: Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Postby Wolf » Wed Apr 13, 2016 10:54 am

Macaws eat a lot of fruit in their natural habitat and just bananas isn't going to be enough, he needs a variety and I worry that just bananas might throw the balance of potassium off in his body. Too much of any one vitamin/ mineral is just as bad as not enough of it in terms of his health. Try adding apples, oranges, strawberries, cantaloupe, mangos, pears, kiwi, but stay away from avacados as they are toxic. Macaws also eat more tree nuts than many other species of parrots so try almonds, hazel nuts, brazil nuts, walnuts, pecans and such, peanuts are not nuts they are a legume.

You are at that point in the cycle of his life that his parents would be teaching him what foods to eat, how to eat them and where to find them, so this is the best time for you to teach him to eat a large variety of fruits, vegetables and nuts. The longer you wait to do this the harder it becomes to teach them to try new foods.

I really don't care for pellets and zupreem would be among my last choices for them if I fed them as they are known for using inferior ingredients in their parrot foods. I feed gloop which is a home cooked food that consists of about 40% partly cooked whole grains, 40% mixed vegetables and 20% fully cooked white beans and lentils. I get the whole grains from a health food store, the mixed vegetables from the frozen foods at the grocery store and the white beans and lentils from the grocery store as well. There are some recipies for gloop in the health, nutrition and diet section. Gloop is a soft food with plenty of moisture in it and it is what I feed all of my birds for all day long and it should be very easy to switch him from formula to the gloop.

I also feed a good quality seed mix and a few tree nuts to my birds for their dinner and then remove them when the bird goes to sleep at night.

I have never noticed a smell from my birds poop unless they are sick, but keep the peace and increase how often you mop the floor, just be careful of what products you use to clean the floor with as some of them are toxic to birds. Read this link, there is a list beginning on the second page that lists foods, plants, trees, woods and household items that are safe and toxic to your bird.

I hope this helps you.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
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Re: Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Postby chad84 » Mon Apr 18, 2016 2:25 pm

Take a look at this poop. It looks weird; cloudy and yellowish. By the way I am uploading some more pics and videos.

Faeces is kinda solid. But dunno about urates and urine.

Camera flash off
Image

Camera flash on
Image
chad84
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 80
Number of Birds Owned: 0
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Postby Wolf » Mon Apr 18, 2016 6:50 pm

Is this the way his poop looks most of the time or is this just once in a while?
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Postby chad84 » Tue Apr 19, 2016 7:50 am

It looks like this most of the time. Since he got active 2 weeks ago, it started looking cloudy.
chad84
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Re: Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Postby Wolf » Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:10 am

Since you started a new thread, my answer is there.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Postby chad84 » Wed Apr 20, 2016 7:02 pm

Hi all, as promised. Lots and lots of pics of Robert doing stuff. Enough pics of poop. Finally some activities!

Short video of him exercising.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Tz2pf0xl8

He likes to sleep on my lap while the wife drives.
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This is how he sleeps in his cage most of the time. Yes I finally bought a cage for him to sleep in at night. But he is still a free range bird.
Image

Cage in the porch/gallery that I built using aluminium 1 x 1in angles, 1in wire mesh, steel sheet for tray at bottom and self tapping screws. He will stay in here when we have to go out. Haven't put him here yet as he goes everywhere with us.
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Night time cage to protect from predators and to keep him safe when we are cleaning the house
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He is climbing up on the bed and unto my pillow now... lol
Look at how beautiful he is! This is last weeks pic (week 12)
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Was looking for him all over the house... look where i found him!
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Wife is onboard... they love each other so much. He shares a different more gentle bond with her. But with me he threatens me and get his own way and begs to come along.
Image

Image
chad84
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 80
Number of Birds Owned: 0
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Postby chad84 » Wed Apr 20, 2016 7:40 pm

What do you think of this pic as my forum profile pic?
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Since Robert has become interested in food I decided to make a kind of concoction of fruits, veges, grains and nuts. I used what was available in the fridge and freezer today. Didn't take long. About 1hr. He absolutely loved it!

Preperation
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Made it all bite size!
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Mix
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Close up
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I bagged it without fruits because I find that fruits don't freeze and unfreeze well. I mix fruits in fresh. or maybe not at all to prevent from being too sweet.
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Adding fruits
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Fruit, vege, nuts, grain mix
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Mix close up
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He took his time and sampled everything then decided to eat everything in the mix.
This is his most recent pic. Tonight! 13 weeks old!
Image

That's the backlog I have had for the last 2 weeks while he was ill.
chad84
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 80
Number of Birds Owned: 0
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Postby Wolf » Wed Apr 20, 2016 9:32 pm

I really think that you are doing great with Robert, And I like all of the things that you have done to keep him safe and still allowing him to go outside.

To tell you the truth, I do get a bit concerned when I see a bird and especially one of this size free while in a car. Not that I am bothered about the bird being free while the car is not moving and I am still a little bit concerned but not too bad if there is a second person in the car that can keep the driver from getting distracted or nipped while driving if the bird wants something. but I am deadest against a bird roaming freely about a moving car with only the driver to keep a watch on them. It is just not safe for the driver or for the bird.

Your chop looks pretty good, but if he is eating everything in it I think that I would consider leaving the vegetables larger so that Robert can pick them up and hold them while eating. I think that I would give him a larger variety od tree nuts like brazil nuts and walnuts to name just a couple of them that he might like and I would give them to him shelled for now and otherwise pretty much left whole. but I don't think that I would use so many of them. in the chop.

Those are about all of the changes that I would suggest that you consider with what I have seen. I really do like the pictures and loved the video where Robert was trying to figure out how to use his wings to help him climb onto the bed. And the picture that you chose for a profile picture is a good one, in my opinion.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Postby Pajarita » Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:36 am

Yes, I pretty much agree with Wolf but I would not use white rice (it's nothing but empty carbs, it has no real nutritional value), I would use whole grains instead. I would also put toys in his cage. They don't have to be the expensive commercial ones but he needs enrichment (stuff to climb and chew).
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Flight: Yes

Re: Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Postby chad84 » Thu Apr 21, 2016 6:45 pm

@Wolf

Thank you. I observe how much he appreciates being out of the cage, so he spends about he spends about 10 - 16hrs out of his cage. Read the picture description. I say that he is on my lap while the wife drives. There are 2 people in the car when he comes along.

I really wanted the veges a little bigger, but the food chopper thing is really quick. Before I knew it, bam, small bits. lol. I used almonds in the food. I used what I had hanging around. When some more money comes in I will buy lots of nuts and add bigger variety.

Will be using the picture then!

@Pajarita

The rice is brown rice! Did my research. I found out brown is better in nutritional value than white. Check the pictures above. He has 2 toys in his cage, a colourful wooden toy and a stuffed frog.
chad84
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 80
Number of Birds Owned: 0
Flight: Yes

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