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Old 12-03-2007, 08:41 PM
hollmer hollmer is offline
Certified BirdBoard Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Amherst, NY
Posts: 62
I have read your posts and looked at the pictures. You say the people who have the bird are good people, ask them for there vets name and get permission to speak with the vet regarding the Blue and Gold. Here the diagnoses from the vets mouth. If they are truely trying to help birds they have nothing to hide. How much do they know about the birds history. Did the B&G have a tradition cage suited for macaws or was it kept in a crate. From the pictures the bird looks content in the shavings. If the bird was kept in a crate without perches from a baby it might not want to stand on a perch and will need to re-learn. You stating the B&G is eating does it feel underweight can you feel the breastbone(if it will let you touch him) The pictures look like he is fully feather and has good color. You also stated they wormed the bird Did the vet recommend this or was this because they could not find anything else wrong with the bird. I have worked with a dog & cat vet, in an aquarium with marine mammals(dolphins and sealions) I have horses, birds, dogs cats, fish etc. I have seen the effects of stress many times. I think the people who currently have the bird are right about not moving the B&G into a new situation yet. First they need to figure out if the behaviour is a result of a medical contion or a response to the B&G's current situation. Since you have never owned a macaw before one with questionable behaviours is not a good macaw to start with. There are too many varibles with this situation which as someone stated before could leave you heartbroken. Leaving this bird at its present location to be rehabilitated is the best thing to do for the bird. I have had macaws for 13 years. Both babies I have handfed and rescues. Rescues can be quite callenging for an experienced bird owner, so make sure you know as much of the birds history as possible. Having never owned a macaw before you may find any macaw being rescued might be a challenge for a while but in a rescues case first impressions are not always a true picture of the wonderful bird frightening and hiding inside. I have a blue and gold the I took in from my Husbands friend simply for the reason of her life changed she got divorced and had to get a second job to support herself leaving very little time for Sierra, and because of this she chewed off most of her wing feathers and was freying her tale. Our friend knew she could not keep the bird any longer and we took her in. Other than a lack of attention she never had any tramatic experiences and she loved her owner. She is still learning to trust us. She is pretty good with me but will only go to my husband when I am not around and I cannot hold her without holding my miltary who I handfed and have had for 13 years or he gets very jealous and tries to bite me or her if he gets a chance. So there is a lot more to it than which breed is better. A macaw that was given up because the owners knew they were not providing enough attention might recover quickly just by getting attention. But a macaw that was rescued from a home where it may have had tramatic experiences may never recover. It takes a lot of time and patience to get a rescue bird to trust you. Do not expect to take it home and within a few days be able to handle and touch the bird anytime anywhere. It is a great reward to overcome past problems and help any animal to trust again. I know you really want to give an unwanted/homeless Macaw a home, this is commendable and I have done it myself, but don't completely overlook the idea of a baby macaw either. Some people are strickly against the idea of starting with a baby but there are benefits to having a baby macaw, handfeeding creates a bond between you and your bird that will last a life time but even if you are not comforable with hand feeding starting with a baby that has no history you can create a bond without having to overcome fear or mistrust and once you have experience with macaws you can rescue you next one because if you are a true bird fanatic there will be a next one. either way. do research, only adopt from a reputable organization or breeder, and visit the bird several times before finalizing any agreement to make sure you are a good match for eachother.
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