13 week old baby GW macaw losing weight

[chad84]

Name: Robert
Age: 13 weeks

Genealogy: Wild parents; raised until 8 weeks old then abandoned
Adoption: Given to me by a friend to hand feed and raise as my buddy

Plumage: Head, wings and tail intact; mother plucked rest of body; new fluff and feather growths emerging
Home: My entire house; free range; sleeps in a cage at night for his safety; have a 5 ft x 6 ft aviary when he gets older

Vet: Non-Avian vet (knowledgeable with Avians though)

Current Meds: Amoxicillin oral 100 mg suspension (flavoured)
Dosage: .5 ml twice a day ( 1 ml a day)
Reason: Wheezing, sneezing and tail bobbing
Diagnosis: Aspiration/Respiratory infection
Duration for Meds: 7 days
Total time on Meds: full 7 days
04/Apr/16 - 10/Apr/16

Previous Meds: Diflucan 150mg gelatin capsule
Dosage: 20mg a day
Reason: Slow crop, sour breath, dough texture to crop, food undigested in poop, white blobs in mouth
Diagnosis: Candidiasis
Duration for Meds: 7 days
Total time on Meds: full 7 days
15/Mar/16 - 21/Mar/16

Off all medication for 10 days

Diet: Kaytee Exact Hand feed
Frequency: 3 times a day

Good day all,

Robert started eating less about 2 weeks ago when he was 11 weeks old. I assumed it was because of the medication. He used to eat 90cc 3 times a day. Now he will have 60 ml - 100 ml in the morning, about 40 ml during the day and about 60 ml - 100 ml at night. He has become interested in solid food around 2 weeks ago when he started eating less. I am offering him pellets moistened with water and bananas. He mostly plays with the food but sometimes he has a bit to eat. Also 2 weeks ago he has started flapping alot. And I mean ALOT. All he does is play, follow us around the house and FLAP. He also has gotten alot stronger as he climbs up everything. He climbs to the top of the gate, the bed, the couch. Once its taller than him, he climbs to the top and perches there until we pass by him and he come down, then percher high up where ever we move too. He also likes to play with us alot. He is extremely active for the last 2 weeks.

Now the scary part is, he has lost alot of weight. 2 weeks ago he weighed about 1050g at 11 weeks. But today at 13 weeks old he weighs 980g. That is a 7% loss in body weight in 2 weeks. My wife thinks it nothing as Robert has been extremely active for the last 2 weeks. Running all over the house and flapping up a storm. he is almost ready to fly.

I am so worried. please advise me. I told the vet (non avian) and he said it's probably nothing. We dont have any avian vets in my country.

[Wolf]

Since I don't think that it was ever stated and I would like to know, what country are you living in? Sometimes a vet that works with birds and other exotic animals may be as good or better than some certified avian vets and even if there are no avian vets where you live perhaps you vet does do consultations with avian vet that are elsewhere.

I really can't say a lot about your birds poop as I do not have enough experience to do so and the poop that we see is rarely used for anything but the most rudimentary diagnosis as it is often contaminated to much in the manner that it combines when the bird is getting ready to poop, or at least that is what my avian medical texts say. I do not like that it is cloudy or that it has a yellowish color to it and the actual feces is not well formed, but that could all be dietary as the only thing that you list for his diet is a handfeeding formula.

I believe that I mentioned this before but it is normal for a part to reduce its weight just before fledging and then it will begin to increase its food intake once it fledges. However you really need to start feeding this bird other foods than just the handfeeding formula. By now he should have begun eating fruits and vegetables as well as the handfeeding formula, because his body is changing and it will not be long before he begins to refuse the formula in favor of adult foods. The sooner that you get started on the process of teaching him to eat a wide variety of fresh raw produce and whole grains the easier it will be for both you and him. He is at that stage of development that his parent birds would be teaching him about the foods that he should be eating and for all practical purposes you are his parent.

[chad84]

I will begin offering him a wide variety of foods. Do they have to be mushy or can they be solid? I live in Trinidad and Tobago (in the Caribbean).

Should I remove his toys are they might pose a distraction from the new food?

Give me some meal examples and i will follow them. If you tell me early I will go to the market and get them today.

[Pajarita]

How were the bacterial and fungal infection diagnosed? Was there blood work and cultures? Was he tested for infectious diseases? Why was the treatment so short? (it's usually a minimum of 2 weeks for antibiotics -I prefer 3- and 3 of fungicide).

Birds do lose a bit of weight when they fledge but not before they start flying (it's the exercise that does it, not a decrease in portion although it might seem that way to the keeper because they do eat less formula but this is also when the bird starts eating on its own so it is actually eating pretty much the same amount or more).

Babies are supposed to eat a 10% of their weight on each feeding so your bird is simply not eating enough. It could be that the formula is too thin or that he is now craving more solid food (look in the diet section for soft food and gloop but, basically, it's food that is soft, warm and easily digestible -things like cooked whole grains, polenta, couscous, etc mixed with pureed veggies and fruits seved fresh and warm twice a day). But it could also be that he is sick.

Now, I checked the avifauna of Trinidad and Tobago and it does not list green winged macaws so the possibily of your friend 'found' a baby abandoned by its wild parents is iffy, my dear. I did find there is a small flock (about 12 individuals) of escaped pet ones in the Southern Watershed Reserve which is supposed to be a protected area but I don't know exactly what kind of 'protection' is given to it... The reason why I bring this up is that if your friend is a poacher the 'parent abandonment' is crappola but, if he is the breeder and he gave you the bird for free because the parents abandoned it, it could be that your friend knew there was something very wrong (parent birds will stop feeding a sick baby they know it's not going to make it or when they are sick themselves) so it would behoove you to find out exactly what the situation is. But, in any case, I would take that baby back to the vet because, if nothing else, the treatments were too short and I would also start feeding it soft food.