Update on Maui, day 1

[MiloMacaw]

Don't worry, I wont do this every day :D

So this morning, while doing chores I figured baptism by fire is a good way to get a bird used to his new surroundings, so I went over to Maui's cage, prepared myself to be bit, and just jammed my arm right under him and said step up. Well he squawked something fierce and struck at me like a snake... but never bit. I kept pushing my arm against him until he stepped up and I pulled him out and he didnt bite me once, only banged his beak against me; he has bite inhabition, he KNOWS he shouldnt bite. He's just a big faker!

So he sat out on his new T-stand while I made breakfast for everyone, and he did just fine. He sulked at first, but I gave him a morning bath and some fresh fruit and Milo and Rio the sun conure (my roommates) started their morning routine and Maui joined right in and made himself known. He has a BIG rusty voice! It's much more "wild" sounding then Milos. Of course, he hasnt seen the other birds or them him, since he is in quarentine, but this morning they all talked to each other and made themselves known!

He eats so carefully and gracefully, this morning mango, pineapple, pear, apple, carrots, scrambled eggs and sunflower chunks were on the menu, and he would pick up the fruit and tilt his head back and squash it slowly in the tip of his beak so that he could drink the juice, and then he would drop the used up pulp. Such a clever boy! He loooves eggs, and ate them slowly and carefully so he wouldnt drop a bit. Of course with one leg he cant hold his food, so I cut them into small peices. He would pick up one small peice and tilt his head back and slowly eat it, or roll it around in his tongue to be sure he had a good grip on it. If it was something that he really wanted to taste and savor he would push it against the perch or his bowl and pick tiny little peices off.

It seems like its a little hard for him to step up and balance on an arm with his one foot, when I went to take him off the T-stand he pinched a little but finally grabbed my shirt sleeve with his beak and used it to hoist himself up.

Tomorrow morning is his vet appointment.. beak, nails, full panel, DNA sexing and wings trimmed.. poor baby but it needs to be done!

All in all he is fitting in well

[Riley0527]

What wonderful progress!

What happened with his leg? Do you have a picture of him? I have several handicapped birds and one of my macaws is missing all his front toes.

[MiloMacaw]

He lost his foot supposedly when he was a baby, it got caught in a peice of carpet and had to be amputated :(

here are pics and his story ! :) My new addition <3

[featherfanatics]

It sounds like he's going to be a great addition to the family. I'm glad things are going so well for you guys.

I hope everything goes well at the vets. A good vet is so hard to find in my area. I'm on my 3rd vet and she's recommending me to someone else with more experience!

[Riley0527]

He's beautiful. A friend of mine that also does rescue work had two CAGs that had no fee/legs and another friend of mine has a CAG that has no feet (they were burned off by his owner )

I hope you don't mind me making a few suggestions about perches since I have one with a stubby foot too. I have several different textured perches in Harleys cage. I have a "natural" wood branch; I used a pices of hand railing (can get at home depot) for a perch as well. It's rounder on one side and flat on the other.

It's hard to tell from the picture but it looks like he has a stump. My BFA has a twisted food and applies most of her weigh on her good foot. Well like all of us our legs/feet get tired or hurt. To help I put a shelf in her cage. Take a piece of wood and attach foam padding than wrap it in a soft towel. This will give him the opportunity to lay down if he feels like it. I can't tell you how much R2 loves her ledge/shelf!

When I get home I'll post some pictures of a couple of cages.

Jeanne

[MiloMacaw]

What a great idea! I will look into building him a shelf. He does have a stump, but he keeps it up most of the time, and rests all his weight on his good leg. The person who had him had him in a bare cage so I guess he's used to it but the poor baby. He really doesn't seem to know that he can climb around or what to do with his toys. He just stays in the same position on his wood perch most of the time.

[Riley0527]

I'll send you pictures when I get home. If you do the shelves on different levels it might help him interact. To give you an idea of how to build one check out macawdreams.com they give you step by step instructions on how to build a bed.

Jeanne

[ROYJOY]

i just posted about shelves on your other thread, so disregaurd my lateness.