Baby Green Wing macaw refusing formula at 11 weeks old

[chad84]

Hey guys my baby just woke up from sleeping and he is panting. Panting right? But he hasn't even been playing or flapping. Just woke up and panting. Then he started sneezing like once every 5 mins. There is a clear spray of liquid that comes out when he sneezes.
If you look at the video you will see the clear spray when he sneezes at 29 secs in the video. You may have to use slow motion on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwTljm-qTW8

[Wolf]

Two things, first is that he needs to see the vet right away and second check the humidity in your home and then get a good humidifier.

[Pajarita]

[quote="chad84]
@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.[/quote]


Well, that doesn't look like any brown rice we have here... And, unless I am going blind, I don't see anything but a couple of branches in the large cage...

[Pajarita]

Chad, there is something wrong with your bird. You say he was plucked by his mother and that is, of course, a possibility but, for his age, his plumage looks terrible (see these of a baby green wing growing up http://www.jaredworkman.com/ariel.htm) and his losing weight added to the sneezing are NOT good signs. I already explained to you that there is something very fishy about the way your friend got that bird and that whenever parents stop feeding a baby and pluck them, there is a high chance that there is something very wrong with the baby. PLEASE take that bird to an avian vet if there are any in your country or you might lose him.

[chad84]

Hi everyone. Finally back home with Robert. Had to consult with 3 veterinarians. Third and last one helped. A non-Avian vet who is very knowledgeable about birds; namely parrots. I spent 4 hrs at this vet as he did all his prodding and examination, he concluded that Robert doesn't have a respiratory infection. But he does have Hypovitaminosis A. He told me his plumage is very dull, the papillae on edge of the choana on one side is smooth and he has an irritation in the trachea from having been exposed to something foreign & having low immune system.

He requested that I get a specific multivitamin, some raw broccoli & pumpkin blended in blender and gave me an antibiotic for 10 days. He also asked that I update him at the end of the treatment.

Gonna start with him night feeding.

[chad84]

[quote="chad84]
@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.[/quote]


Well, that doesn't look like any brown rice we have here... And, unless I am going blind, I don't see anything but a couple of branches in the large cage...[/quote]

That large cage isn't completed yet as I told you before. I just wanted to see how he reacted to it. Toys are in smaller cage.

[Wolf]

I suppose that I will have to be more specific when mentioning rice. I do not use the white processed rice for my birds and since I have only mentioned rice in conjunction with whole grains, I suppose that I should say that white rice does not enter in my thoughts when talking about whole grains. I really don't consider such a highly processed item to be a whole grain, but live and learn, I will try to be more specific in the future.

[Pajarita]

I no longer use brown rice, either (too high in arsenic for my taste), I am now using black and/or red rice as well as wild (which is not even a rice).

The antibiotic he gave you, Chad, is what we call Clavamox here. It's very effective for cats and dogs but, for birds, avian vets usually choose liquid enrofloxacin. But it will do.

Low vitamin A is one of the most common causes of respiratory infections in birds but I don't see how he could have avitaminosis A when he is been fed handfeeding formula (they are all very high in vitamin A, one of the reason why I don't like them as vitamin A is dangerous when ingested in its final form instead of the precursor, beta-carotene).

Was there bloodwork done?

[Wolf]

Actually I don't use brown rice either, I use wild rice which is also not actually rice either.

[chad84]

They didn't do any blood work. He just examined the bird using some tests ( I don't know what he was doing) and then he told me it is vit A deficiency. He said then is no need for blood work or samples as he knows what's wrong. A I told you he isn't an avian vet. But it's the best I can get here in Trinidad and Tobago.