SEVERLY underweight - bad breeder?

[Newticus]

Hi all,
I do not actually own my own macaw, but I am helping to care for one in a pet store I used to work for.

I have never hand raised a macaw baby before, so I don't know much about their speed of development, but this baby is about 3 months old, still TONS of pin feathers and those feathers are in the worst condition I have ever seen in many years around birds.
The are covered in stress bars and some so bad they are see through.

I have also never seen a baby bird so skiny. His keel stuck out so badly you can feel the ridge of bone where it joins the rib cage (poor diagram) -\_/- kinda like that.

So we have been adding peanut butter to his baby mash to help bulk him up a bit, and it has been working. However the over all bird dept manager (who buys these back yard bred birds) doesn't want peanut butter being fed to him on the idea that he can get asperiligosis (sp?) I thought asperiligosis was mainly in the shells that get kinda fungus-y because they come out of the ground and sit around for while.

ANY WAY

my real problem is, is there an issue with adding peanut butter to baby parrot mash?

Any and all help would be great!

Melanie

[Congobongo]

OMG, do they want to sell the bird or let the bird die? Peanut butter should be fine but I will defer to others out here who know more.

[Congobongo]

All I can say is nuts, like peanuts and walnuts have good fat in them for birds. After my Blue and Golds check up my avian vet told me to keep an eye on how many peanuts I gave her. She was in absolutely perfect health but on the high scale for the size of a B&G. She is a robust girl but, in perfect feather and all her tests came out either perfect or better. He was gushing about how healthy she was.

Having said that I would say to give this bird peanut butter or mix it in it's formula to beef it up. Give it scrambled eggs cooked in coconut oil. Get some fat on it's bones.

[kellywess]

Peanut butter is not a good substitute or acceptable additive for Hand Feeding Formula. I would put this baby back on Hand Feeding Formula or if the bird is trying to eat on its own, I would add hot water with the pelleted diet until it softens and drain excess water and offer it. If you are not experienced in hand feeding, I suggest seeking someone in your area who breeds birds or an Avian Vet for mentoring as improper hand feeding can have disastrous results. How many feedings is the bird on a day? How much is the bird taking?

In addition, this baby should be weighed daily and as for the pin feathers, well he just needs a little help in getting them to open up, doesn't sound like the breeder did a whole lot. I would definitely suggest a vet visit.

NONE of my birds get peanuts... if you offer them one, they will drop it. Peanuts are not good for birds, ask any vet.

[Greycloud]

Peanut butter can be added but in minut amounts. I would cook up some sweet potato and add that. It is full of vitamens and carotene for feathers and weight growth. The baby does need to be seen by an avian vet.

[Newticus]

Ok, well I guess it wasn't clear.
I am not an inexperienced hand feeder, I just have never helped raise a macaw.

The bird is still on hand feeds, 3 a day. It is only receives 3 feeds because it doesn't drain well. Which we suspect is because the breeder over streched the crop.

The bird is weighed daily, and we do help him with his pins. I am having a hard time finding out how developed a 3 month old macaw should be.

I have never heard of peanuts being bad for birds, I have heard of their shells being bad, but not the actual nuts.

And when I say peanut butter, I do not mean your average grocery store brand full of sugar and salt, I mean litterally ground up peanuts.

The macaw has only been in our care for a little over 2 weeks.

This macaw is not interested at all in solid foods yet. He will half hartedly throw some warm soaked foods on the floor of his baby cage. So for the sweet potato I am not sure how I would get him to eat it unless I blended it with his baby mash.

So can you please tell me what it is in peanuts that is so bad for birds?

Thank your for all your responses

Melanie

[Greycloud]

Peanuts are high in fat and it should be fine to ground some up into the mash. The sweet patato can be smushed and added to mash and even his formula. He has a "slow crop" so you want his crop to empty before feeding him to alliviate a chance of bacteria growth. Which I bet he already has. I would lay odds on it. He needs a vet check asasp. He is just alittle baby is no where near weaning. I would offer sweet potato cooked to him and brown rice and tiny pieces of cooked veggies and some colorful fruit. All in tiny pieces.
Peanuts in the shell have a percentage of causing aspergillus a respiratory illness.
I am hoping Tina sees this thread and can offer some more advice. Get that baby checked.

[Congobongo]

I hand fed my Umbie Cockatoo with formula and a small bathroom paper drinking cup. I would mix the formula, she would open her mouth like a baby does and I would pour in the formula. I had to watch not to pour too much, and she would dribble it all over but the majority got into her. I fed her multiple times a day, but she would let me know when she wanted her feeding. She would assume this baby bird posture and open her mouth wide like I should put something in it. As she got older she would eat her pellets but still ask for her feeding. And then one day, she just stopped. She became a big girl. I sort of miss it actually.

[xafsmom]

A good organic peanut butter is fine to add to the formula for a boost in weight gain for Macaws. Just don't add a lot. You might consider putting him on Formula One as well, that packs the grams on. Sweet tatos are also a good additive and the beta carotene cannot hurt at all.

[milkevi]

If I were you, I would be using Rick Jordans recipe, it is for Hys, but can be used for any caws especially sick or underweight. I have used it and it is wonderful and like Tina said if you can also add some Formula 1 into it, this should help him greatly!

Here is the mixture:

• 175g Kaytee Exact Macaw Large Macaw Hand-rearing Formula

• 75g fresh pear or apple (no seeds)

• 75g fresh broccoli tops

• 75g Brazil nuts

• 600g Water

All these ingredients are added to a blender and blended until smooth. The formula is then poured into ice trays to be frozen and then used as required.


Now I use Zupreem Embrace Plus, instead of Kaytee, I find you have to add a bit more fromula to get the consistency just right, you will need to experiment with it a bit. He should be down to 2 feedings soon, so try to get alot of this in him now. Also give him whole (shelled) tree nuts to play with, they learn to eat these pretty easily and this will also help add the needed fat to his diet.