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Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

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Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

Postby chad84 » Mon Apr 04, 2016 5:56 pm

I have a baby green wing macaw. His name is Robert (wife named him). He is about 11 weeks old. Got him from a friend as a gift. He told me he was about 8 weeks old at the time and I have had him for about 3 weeks. I am not really sure of his age. Can you judge by the pictures?

I have 2 issues.

2 days ago he hasn't been taking all of his Kaytee Exact hand feeding formula for baby macaws. He usually takes about 90cc 3 times a day. I add 4 drops of Bragg's Apple Cider Vineger and 2 drop Multivit CH to his food. He weighs about 1035g at 11 weeks old. He started refusing formula after he has had about 45 - 60cc. I also noticed he is not doing the head bobbing (begging for food) as he used to. Sometimes he doesn't bob at all. He has been panting a bit after playing alot and I took him to vet today who said he has respiratory infection. He gave me antibiotic to feed him orally for 5 days 2x a day. He started refusing food before I gave him the antibiotic.

Second issue, I caught playing with his poop. I caught him 3 times. Don't know if he is eating it but it scared me. I decided to cut up some banana and give to him to see what happens. He ate it all up. This puzzles me. I just fed him formula again and he wasted half. But right after he had a good bit of banana. Also tell me if his poop looks ok.

Other than that he is playing alot and following me around the house. He nibbles on my toes and is always playing with his toys. He isn't acting sick in any way. He is active about 10hrs a day and sleeps about 14hrs a day.

Posted pictures below.

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Videos in youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pubgVCT8BIo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL1c1hbHHvU

Can you assist me?
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 04, 2016 9:10 pm

Your bird is at about the right weight and age that his cutting back on his formula is probably a temporary thing in preparation of fledging. They normally will cut back on food when they are getting ready to start trying to fly for the first few times and then their appetite picks right back up. Unfortunately I do not know enough about macaws to be of any real help to you and Robert. I looked this bit of information up. There are others here who will be able to be of better assistance than I am, but I wanted you to know that we will do our best to help you.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Location: Lansing, NC
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2Celestial Parrotlet
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Flight: Yes

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

Postby chad84 » Tue Apr 05, 2016 12:06 am

He finally ate some food. 60cc of formula. But I had to mix it in with some vanilla yogurt. He did head bob for 45cc of it and the rest i put on his tongue and he swallowed.
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 » Tue Apr 05, 2016 7:14 am

I did some thinking about what you have posted so far and thought to share what I ended up with.

Most parrots gain weight to the extent that they are heavier than the normal weaning weight and then just before fledging they will cut back on their weaning formula and then pick it back up after fledging. Another thing is that if you will allow them to do so they will wean themselves, that is provided that you supply them with adult foods to eat. When giving them adult foods to try and eat it is good to remember that their beak is not yet ready for the hardest foods and there will be some foods that while they can eat they are not yet strong enough to eat enough of it to satisfy their nutritional needs or hunger.

In addition to being the primary time that they learn to fly and establish the motor and sensory pathways for flight in their brains and body it is also the prime time to introduce new foods to them as it is just after fledging that the parent birds do this in the wild. I would probably stay away from the harder nuts for a while but it is a very good time to introduce fresh fruits and vegetables into their diet.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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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 » Tue Apr 05, 2016 11:25 am

Hmmm, first of all, was he tested for any disease at the vet? Was blood work done? Secondly, why are you adding vitamins to a food that has all the vitamins and minerals the baby might need? Now, don't misunderstand me, I am not a fan of hand-feeding formulas because they are all made with soy (I don't feed soy to any of my animals) with man-made vitamins added to it (I prefer food-derived ones) but hand-feeding formulas already have vitamins and minerals and more of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing (too much vitamin A, calcium, iron, etc is as bad as too little).

Do you feed him anything else besides formula? Because, at his age, he should be getting soft food
as well so he can start eating on his own. This is not only very important for their physical development (nothing man could make rivals real food) but also for their emotional growth, too.

Do you weigh him every day at the same time? This is VERY important because it not only tells you if the baby is gaining as he should but also tells you how much you should be feeding.

Have you change the consistency of the formula as he has gotten older? Because baby birds will reject formula that is too thin as they start growing up. I don't know if you know this (if you do, simply skip this part) but formula needs to become thicker as they grow up so, when they get to an age where they start learning to feed themselves (as yours is now), you can put a bowl with formula in their cage as well as two other bowls with soft food, one with some type of grain carb and another with fruit - macaws eat A LOT of fruit. Soft food is just what the name implies: food that is soft and easily digestible... things like cooked polenta (corn meal), couscous, whole grains, birdy bread, pasta, etc which you would mix with first pureed and later finely chopped veggies and fruits (you can start with baby food). So, you feed the baby in the beak and then put him in his cage with two or three kinds of fresh and warm soft food (you need to serve it fresh twice a day) so he can pick here and there and start not only eating on his own but also getting used to a large variety of produce (this is the age when the parents teach them what to eat).
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Location: NW Pa
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Flight: Yes

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

Postby chad84 » Tue Apr 05, 2016 9:55 pm

He ate 110cc tonight. I am understanding how to invoke his feeding response now even if he isn't begging. I show him the syringe and he opens his beak, then I use my thumb and index where his beak joins. And as soon as I touch his tongue, he bobs his head. So happy. Food is fed at 108 degrees for 1st 60cc and then 107.2 degree for 2nd 60cc.

Enjoy the pics below. I have so many more I wanna show you. He did alot of things from yesterday to today.

Been a few days since he ate his due. happy to see that nice round crop.

Image

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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 » Tue Apr 05, 2016 10:00 pm

Great! Thanks for the update and the pictures.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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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 06, 2016 7:44 am

I am uploading some pics. A before and after.

Before: 850g and 8 weeks old (when I got him as gift)
He was raised by parents and was not hand fed

Image

After: 1052g and 11 weeks old (3 weeks of formula)
Started hand feeding after never tasting it and loved it

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 Pajarita » Wed Apr 06, 2016 10:40 am

AWWWW, sweet little baby! So glad he is eating again! But -and this is just a clarification of terminology because it's a very important distinction when it comes to pet parrots- he is not a parent-raised bird. He is a handfed baby. Please make sure he gets soft food, too. He needs it to develop correctly.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
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

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

Postby chad84 » Wed Apr 13, 2016 7:41 am

Hello to my friends! Robert has been full of energy even though he was pumped with antibiotics for the last few days. He still is refusing formula and only eats about 50cc a day. I offer him bananas and veges every time I feed him. He seems very content and very demanding at times. Always begging to come along when the wife and I leave the house. I ordered zupreem pellets to mix with his hand feed and also to offer to him moist as weaning food. It seems like he is almost ready to wean as his interest in non formula food has been awoken.

After eating 50cc, he would usually start quarrelling and running from the syringe. Is this at all normal?

Also, my wife has been complaining that all I do is talk about Robert and that I kiss him up so much. She also said I don't do that to her as much. Truthfully I have been spend ALOT of time with Robert. But I also give much more time to my wife. Seeing that he is a free range companion and he has no cage, he poops everywhere. I normally clean it up very quickly. The wife also complains that the house smells weird because I don't mop the tiles often enough. I always wipe up his poop as soon as he drops it. But I try to mop at least once a week.
She told me don't make her regret the decision to get a macaw. She is under some stress with her studies these days. I hope I don't lose Robert. I shed some tears this morning when she said maybe I should give him back if the house continues to smell funny.

All my life I have wanted to have a parrot pet/companion. I begged for it since I was a young child. So now that I have Robert, I can't let him go.

Image

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

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