21 y/o B&G Macaw

[itsjustpam]

hi, we recently bought/adopted/rescued (whichever way you want to look at it) a blue & gold macaw (aprox. 21 y/o) and i need some advice on caring for him please.

his history as i know it:

aprox. 19 years with elderly couple. you can tell by his talking that they loved him. have no idea what his diet was with them. they died a couple of years ago and no one in the family wanted Bubba.

he spent about a year with a man who had owned 'tiels for a while but never a big bird. he put Bubba's cage in a walkout basement with his tiels. also 6-7 small dogs who came and went through doggie door and kept this guy a nervous wreck. not sure bout his diet there either.

from there he went to the people we got him from. about a year with them. he was only being fed zupreem fruity diet and once in a great while a peanut or almond. no fresh foods at all. the man would take him out every couple of day to mess with him. he would put his arm behind Bubba's legs and use a child's toy broom to scare Bubba into backing onto his arm. cage was nasty. no toys. the woman said she got him 1 toy and he destroyed it right away (chain was still hanging by torn up splitring and was evidently small bird size) and she never got him another. they told me on the phone that he was molting so looked kind of shaggy. also, they think he plucked some while he was in his second home.

so, now he is with us. his cage (i think the one he has been in all his life) is an old prevue 36wX24dX48t. we have a new one coming to him tomorrow( an E&A 40X30X76 dome top). we have several toys in his cage and he started playing with them after about 3 days here. he is now on a seed and nut w/pellets diet (hagen, but can't think of the name of it right this second) with fresh fruits and veggies. he talks, and every day says new things. he knows "up" and will step onto my are from his cage and from the floor when he is out.

my questions concern diet and feather care. he doesn't like his veggies at all. i don't know that he has ever had them before. i know he didn't at his last 2 homes. how can i make them more appealing to him? he does like bread so am planning to try making some birdy bread tonight and see if he likes that. do the veggies lose much nutritional value cooking them?

also, his chest and wings are missing color and are mostly grey down (i will post a couple of pics. he is not plucking now, is very healthy. we are sure the feather prob comes from diet and boredom. i have been spraying him with plain warm water daily (took a little for him to accept it but now seems to kind of like it a little) but this doesn't help in getting him to preen more. he just sits there and drips dry. he is preening a little bit more than when he first got here, but still no where near as much as my grey or any other bird i have known. any advice?

i apologise for this post being so long but thought it would help for you to know his background (or as much of it as i know).

thank you in advance for any help/ideas/info/advice you can offer.
pam

[Bonesy]

Poor old chap! he looks gorgeous though.

Never stop offering greens, and if there's one thing some of my clients fussy birds CANNOT resist, it's freshly made, warm mashed swede! (i'm a bird trainer)

Get him tucking into a spoonfull of that & then you can add in bits of spinach, cabbage, broccli etc. Many of my clients birds get whole carrots hung up to destroy & munch on. Obviously if you're doing a big batch for yourself, take out enough for the birds before you add your butter. Only put a TINY bit of low fat margerine in the mix, and give it a good mashing. Little more than the tip of a knife, just to bind the mash.

Keep up his spraying & get some Johnsons Plume Spray, that should help him some.

Try a eye bonding excersise, sit with him & wink & squint until he does it back, it's a great trust-builder. :) the happier he feels & the moer at home & bonded he gets, the more he will be willing to try new things & act more naturally :)

Hope this helps!
Soph.

[itsjustpam]

thanks for your advice. but i HAVE to ask. WHAT is mashed swede? having images of myself going to sweden and tackling a native to try and mash him. Bubba must be getting the same image because he just started laughing like crazy

he's been a bit wild yesterday and today. i think becase he is feeling more secure here, but i DO WISH he would quit throwing his dish out hopefully new cage will stop that

[Bonesy]

Again, clicker training will help combat negative behaviours like that to stop him throwing his dish around.

Swede is a root veg, let me find a picture or a link a sec..



Rutabaga - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[itsjustpam]

oh... ok, i know what a rutabaga is... glad i don't have to chase down the ricolla man.

i have some videos that show how to do the clicker training. plan to start it as soon as he is settled and ok in his new room.
thanks again,
pam

[ConureFan]

The Ricola man is Swiss, not Swedish...

[svolk]

Thanks for taking this guy in. I'm sure you'll see progress little by little once he settles in and realizes how much more enriching his life is now.

You mention that you have a grey. Is Bubba near the grey much or can he see your grey? (I'm not sure if Bubba is in quarantine or not) Most birds learn through watching their flock - such as eating those strange foods we call veggies and learning they're ok to eat if another flock member is eating them. YOU can also eat the veggies in front of him and act like it's the most fun thing in the world He could probably learn to preen more, after showers or in general, if he sees your grey doing the same.

[Chief's Mom]

Just a quick note on getting him to try new foods....

Last night I fixed Chief a new type of squash, but this time I microwaved it whole and put it on a plate instead of chopping and putting it on a kabob, raw like normal. He wouldn't even look at it until I pretended to eat one of the seeds. I put it up next to my mouth, and said, 'Mmmm.' He ran right up to it and dove in. Might be something to try.

Since he's a baby, we're still experimenting on what he likes. We throw out lots of veggies over here between the fridge and what he throws on the floor. But he's worth every penny of it!

Congratulations on the new 'baby.' It always so nice to hear from people who take guys like this in and give them a second chance at a wonderful life.


***I realized after posting that this was the experts thread, and the expert hasn't posted yet...Sorry!!

[Winged_Victory]

Thank you for taking the bird in!!

How is the birds weight, plump in chest or or can you see the keel bone?

I would start giving him a 15-20 minute shower several times per week. Once the shower is over, spray him with "george's" aloe vera to help bring back his feathers and the shine to his feathers.

Our macaws eat 25% pellets, 25 % fresh, and 50% a nut seed mixture for macaws. Ask you vet if a couple of vitamin shots might help your bird. Keep trying to feed green and yellow veggies, he may like fruits like apples etc. don't feel bad if he refuses to eat them, but keep offering. We have a couple of birds that don't eat a lot of veggies so we offer more pellets to them (we use natural pellets). You can add many things to birdie bread!

Take your time and show the bird some love, he will come around. Keep a supply of toys in his new cage to keep him occupied.

Keep us posted

[Barb E]

That's a sad story with a happy ending for Bubba :)

I cook up a stew and then puree and freeze in ice cube trays.
- sweet potatoe,
- squash,
- carrot,
- brocolli,
- kale/dandelion greens,
- red pepper,
- green beans,
- cooked lentils or mixed beans
- leeks for flavour

I heat up a cube every night and add crushed peanuts or cashews and spoon feed. Sometimes I use it like a sauce and mix with whole wheat pasta or brown rice.
I also usually add an Omega 3 supplement called Missing Link
Sometimes I skip the supplement and mix in some pellets - Pretty Bird (that's what he was raised on).
Of course, Ollie also gets fresh fruits, veggies, grains (porridge), meat, fish, egg.

I wish I could show you how beautiful he is. His feathers glow - I'm very proud of him :)

I'd bet that with your love and interest and a good diet, Bubba will return to being a beautiful and happy Macaw.
I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing his progress.

Barb