Baby macaw need little help please

Maybe you could add some more toys to the cage? But make sure she still has enough space to move around…It doesn’t need to be anything special… I think I can see some birdie bangles in between of her toys on the floor and looks like she played with them, maybe you could put few on the bottom of her cage and see will she grab them and maybe some parts of destroyed toys could be hanged…I actually quite often recycle bits of toys instead of buying new ones, we kind of create new toys out of usable parts from old ones, our toys don’t look as nice as the ones you can buy (I would say sometimes they look like rubbish hanging on parrot safe leather strings)but parrots don’t care🤣and one of mine she mostly plays with toys in her weird way whatever is hanging she slides it back and forth cage bars or smashes it on the cage bars …both of our parrot have few things in their cages, so they have something to do because they do have to spend significant amount of time in there, we both work full time ( but I start my work very early in the morning so usually I am back home around 1pm latest 2 pm and my boyfriend starts his after 9 am so he gives both parrots breakfast in the morning and have them out for little interaction but then he has to go to work )we did run experiment once for one week we were recording them when weren’t at home and actually they don’t seem too upset, but as soon as I walk in to the house mad screaming starts and it will intensify if I don’t go to say hello asap
 
My understanding with poop training is that you have to make sure that they are always available. If birds are trained to poop in specific areas, they may hold back if the areas are inaccessible, which is not good for them.

Jardine Jessie has three main areas that she uses when out of her cage and she has never been trained/encouraged to use them. It works for her and they are very convenient for us, as they are hard surfaces that are easy to clean. I cannot remember the last time she left a little present on my shoulder!
 
Hello! 👋🏻

I have an African Grey and a Parrotlet and both are super different birds. My grey is a super needy vocal monster who likes to think he is independent but isn’t. He used to scream when i left the room but with time and patience and reassurance he no longer does this as he knows mum will return.

I have not potty trained either of my birds, just as I have heard stories of birds becoming poorly and holding their poop. I have a pack of wipes in every room and accidents do happen however easily cleaned as i have laminate flooring throughout and all throws etc are washed and changed every few days and more often if the birds poop on them.

Sometimes we cannot help leaving our birds alone, i work shifts and every two weeks the birds are left in their cages three days per week due to my working hours. I’m lucky my parents nip to my house to see the birds in the middle of the day to give them cuddles snd attention however not everybody has this luxury:
For the days im not home all day i have a radio on in the birds room to ensure background noise, both birds have all foraging toys refilled and toys are rotated weekly. If I know I’m working i change the toys each day they are left alone and refill the foraging toys daily. It’s a chore but it occupies my babies minds and i feel less bad knowing they have ‘new’ toys and fun things to do 🙂

when im home my birds LOVE doing everything with me, they wash up, clean the house with me, do the washing and sit and watch TV on my knee.
nonstop talking so i never hear the TV but i make sure the birds are involved, they prepare veggies with me (by destroying the veggies they’re allowed) and then when im cooking they return to their room to prevent accidents but i involve them in everything.
For me this has helped my birds know if im there, they can be involved if it’s safe to do so.

Toys are trial and error, you will learn which toys your bird prefers but i would add more toys to the stand and the cage to occupy the mind when you are not in the same room.

I also make sure the cages are safe spaces for my birds, i never put them in their cages when they are misbehaving (which is every day ha!) and i leave the door open so the birds can go in and out when they feel like it. Both birds enjoy spending time in the cage as they have things to do in there 🙂

You will get there and your routine will fall into place 😅
 
Hello,

I'm following your journey while I try and find a Macaw.
I did read that Macaw's need a fresh diet in morning and maybe pellets in evening? A full seed diet is very fatty?
I'm sure the experts will correct me?
 
Todd said:
Hello,

I'm following your journey while I try and find a Macaw.
I did read that Macaw's need a fresh diet in morning and maybe pellets in evening? A full seed diet is very fatty?
I'm sure the experts will correct me?
Click to expand...

For parrots that are not specialist feeders a diet with plenty of variety is best, but you have to keep an eye on things to make sure the bird is not just selecting its favourite things which are likely to be the least healthy. I have very limited experience with macaws but I believe they do need a good deal of fat in their diet, so I'd say feed a variety of seeds, nuts, pellets, sprouted seeds/pulses and plenty of fresh food. Much depends also on the amount of exercise the bird is getting, so if you were free-flying your macaw it would be likely to easily burn off the calories from the seeds and nuts, and would have needed plenty of them in the first place. On the other hand a largely sedentary bird on a mainly seed diet would not be in good health.

I've just looked in Rick Jordan's book "A Guide to macaws as Pet & Aviary Birds", and he says "Macaws require high levels of plant-based fats in their diets. For this reason, the diet should include nuts and seeds including sunflower and/or safflower seed."
 
A netted garden? How amazing!!!! She's going to be one lucky bird!! You could definitely add a few more toys to her room. Maybe a spring swing/boing hanging from the ceiling. The ceiling adds a whole extra playing dimension. You could even suspend whole branches from the ceiling.

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She has a playtop to her cage - yay! Line it with newspaper and put some toys on top:

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Here's a pic of a cargo net and java stand. Your stand is lovely though:

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I have hanging boings, Atoms etc through the house so that the birds have somewhere to fly to and sit on... which kind of solves the poop problem - I just put newspaper below the hanging play areas.

VVYsN4C.jpg


You could also add a bowl (I use screw in crock bowls) of foot toys in her cage. All my birds love foot toys (except Chico who can't hold them due to arthritis).
 
@dizzyblueax @Wera @JackAndRob @Lauraj @Todd @Zooamazons @Roz

Hi all-

Firstly I would like to thank you all for replying and helping out
Although I have not been replying I have been reading everything and trying my best to implement things-

Im glad to say that things have gotten much better- she doesn’t go crazy when I leave the room and plays with her toys or tries to fight / interact the parakeets outside – lol
I noticed I didn’t have enough toys so I went online and just ordered 500-600£ worth- which helped a lot
I have opened up all rooms for her just not the bedroom and not the sofa yet- mrs will kill me if there is a poop mark –
The next thing I need to focus on is her diet- shes currently on harrisons pellets pepper –
And gets some apples – banana -but im contious that shes not getting veg as she should be –

Ordered a few of mikey and mia’s new food for macaw’s with over 51 different fruits and veg which I will mix with the pellets- or I might give her pellets in the morning and the mix in the evening –
I struggle to “free style” often I need instrctions i.e. 10g of broccoli and 10g of carrot ect-
IF someone feels up for the challenge on what I should give her in the mornings please let me know
Right now shes got her pellets and access to them 24/7 I don’t ever leave her with out food –


@Roz ive been thinking of removing the metal play stand for a java tree style one i like your setup it looks big enough for a macaw-
can i trouble you to send me some links where to find all the cargo net - and the hanging rings ect- ive been searching everything and they all seem too weak or small for a macaw


thanks everyone you guys are amazing <3
 
Glad to hear all is going so much better now. Buy a cheap throw to put over the sofa to protect it from poops. I also put a line of cheap tea towels across the back and on the arms.

I got my Atoms and Boings from the USA (Mother Pluckin Bird Toys) some 14 or 15 years ago and sadly the vendor stopped making them a few years ago which is a shame - still hoping that one day she will start again.

The closest and perhaps largest Boing I can find in the UK is:

Parrot Boings - Enrich the Cage Environment with a Boing Bird Perch

A parrot boing provides a great way for your pet bird to climb, play, and explore. We carry a vast range of parrot-safe boing perches for you to choose from. Shop now.
www.scarlettsparrotessentials.co.uk www.scarlettsparrotessentials.co.uk
I bought one of these from Scarlett some years ago and I think it is the same.

This looks large too:

Large single coloured rope hoop parrot toy

Coloured rope hoop toy for medium and large parrots to climb and swing. Great exercise on these well made rope hoop toys a great range from Scarletts Parrot Essentials
www.scarlettsparrotessentials.co.uk www.scarlettsparrotessentials.co.uk

This is the largest toy closest to an Atom that I can find. You might find bigger in the US. Mine measures about 45/50cm in diameter. This one is 40cm but might be fun?:

Astro Lobe Large Rope Climber

Astro Lobe Large Rope Climber This tightly wound rope toy is fun to climb and swing on. Great for in the cage or hung on the ceiling. Colours Vary
www.scarlettsparrotessentials.co.uk www.scarlettsparrotessentials.co.uk

I may have got the cargo net from Scarletts - this one looks to be the biggest:

Medium Parrot Cargo Climbing Net

Scarletts Parrot Essentials. Strong natural cargo nets for parrots, no preservaties used, completely bird safe.
www.scarlettsparrotessentials.co.uk www.scarlettsparrotessentials.co.uk

I do have a couple of these for the aviary:
www.northernparrots.com

Sisal Tarzan Rope - Parrot Toy - Large

Use the metal quick link provided to quickly and securely fasten this Large Sisal Tarzan Rope to your bird's cage or play gym stand. The watch your Parrot explore as they use the chunky knots to climb up and down, or to hold on to whilst swinging about. The uneven surface ensures your...
www.northernparrots.com www.northernparrots.com

Also try:

Our Shop

Happy New Year, all you lovely Beaks and Parronts. We are back on the 8th of Jan and although we are keeping the 6 week lead time in place, we'll be getting stuck straight into all the orders and will have them winging their way to you as soon as possible. Karen & Darran
www.naturalbirdco.co.uk www.naturalbirdco.co.uk
Karen and Darran can make bespoke toys for your birds, however Darran was involved in a bad accident and he can't make everything they used to yet as he recovers. They have made loads of stuff for us over the years, including this:

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As for food, a couple of recent examples of breakfast bowls are:

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hi all -

need some help/ advice here

life has been smooth sailing ! her room is PACKED with toys and we go on long walks outside and do little flying here and there.

about a month ago - she had really bad sneezing also little discharge- i called the vet and they told me to keep an eye on it - IF it gets bad then bring her in - she got better however still sneezes here and there....

i mentioned this to the vet during a normal check up - and they stated that if shes sneezing it sounds like a respiratory - they need to take blood and i would have to apply medication through her nose or mouth.... then they stated that i needed to keep her room between 20-30 degrees and they are tropical birds and not used to this kind of weather -

today i woke up and took her out the cage- she was sneezing with little discharge and a runny nose- outside temp is around 14 degrees and her room did feel a little colder-

i remember someone saying in this thread that i did not need to turn on a heater overnight unless temp dips below 8degrees-

should i be worried? or do i just need to keep her room at a higher temp? could something else be impacting her?

any advice would mean alot !

thanks in advance!
 
Errr you need an avian vet. Which vet are you using and where abouts in the country are you see if we can find one more suitable.
That information makes ZERO sense to me.
Find yourself a good avian vet and go there.
Nasal swab of mucus should be taken and investigated for infection and cause.
Odd sneeze or two is perfectly normal discharge is not.
Night time temperature as long as it is not a huge rapid drop is not a massive concern. Your bird was born in UK not recently imported not is it an unweaned chick who requires an incubator.
How do you think they are kept outside in aviaries and bred outside in this country if that information was concrete?
I keep cockatiels kakarikis and budgies all Australian species outside in an aviary they breed out there and live out there and even play in the snow when we get it.They are acclimated to the UK weather.
I have to keep my indoor birds at a set temperature as Henni a hen African Grey I took on has no feathers to keep her warm she is nude so temperature control and humidity for her health and welfare is paramount.
 
@Samin Alakozay
Has your bird been in contact with any other birds whilst you have been taking it outside? Wondering about if it has caught anything from another bird or if you allow others to handle your bird or have had it at somebody else's house who keeps birds? Trying to think of any disease transmission issues you may have come into contact with.
But either way avian specialist vet is your best route to go and have tests done as could be a number of things.
 
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There are four main causes that can lay behind sneezing and nasal discharge that come to mind these are:-

Viruses - Things like new castle disease, avian influenza, pox virus.
Fungus - Things like Candida and Aspergilliosis
Bacterial - like e. coli and pasteurella.
Other possibilities would be nutritional related stuff (allergy) and mycoplasmas

Suppose we could include a couple of the parasitic things such as coccidia and worms but that's a far from likely cause.

Perhaps @MJGB - MikeJenGaryBeckyBoo has some other reasons that could be added?
 
Agree with DizzyBlue. The only bird in my household who receives extra heat is 55+ year old Chico because he is severely arthritic. Of course sick birds also need extra heat so that they can conserve the energy needed to keep warm.

I don’t know about the sneezing - you could get a blood test to make sure all the levels are in the normal range. Bear in mind that if the discharge is clear it is unlikely there is an infection. Ollie Amazon came to me sneezing every minute or so but he had obvious sinus problems (and Aspergillosis). He gradually got better and the sneezing stopped. Kobe Pionus has had sneezing and runny nares since he was a baby. Despite loads of inconclusive testing it is presumed it is allergies especially as it seems to be worse when tree pollen is around, which is now.

Blue & Golds have especially sensitive respiratory systems which is why it’s not such a good idea to keep them with powder down birds such as cockatoos, Greys and cockatiels. Do you have a good HEPA air filter?
 
I can only echo what has been advised. That is too high a temperature to keep them in constantly. In the summer at those temperatures, the room needs to be cooled down or at the least very well ventilated. Our vet (specialist avian) recommends keeping them without excess heating unless it's a bad winter. High heat just encourages breeding behaviour and makes the air too dry resulting in potential skin and respiratory issues. A hepa filter and a humidifier are required. I would just advise getting registered at as proper avian vet (exotic vets are not specific avian vets), and getting her checked over again to eliminate any possible nasties. Make sure that you're not using any aerosols or fragranced candles for example, as that is bar for parrots. Ours have had snotty ceres and sneezes occasionally, but it's usually cleared overnight. Best of luck.
 
@DizzyBlue @MJGB - MikeJenGaryBeckyBoo @Roz

first thank you guys for replying - you guys have made it so easy for me! and my bird!

i live in west London and the vet i go to is almost hour and half away -
Trinity Vet Centre - Maidstone
6 Hermitage Ln, Maidstone ME16 9NZ

i think there is one specialist for birds and one vet that deals with everything - when i was there the same vet saw a snake- trutle - dog- rabbit - the initial reason i took my parrot there was due to a toy ring being stuck on her beak- the vet suggested that we gas the parrot down to which i refused and said use a towel - from there i was very cautious and took his advice knowing im going to get a second opinion on here -

he stated that i need to keep the temp of her room 20-30 at all times and keep one side of the room hot and other side cool whilst the parrot will decide what part of the room she wants to chill with - so it sounds like i need to get a AC system onside and a heater on the other LOL!

if you guys can find a vet for me it would mean alot - i searched for hours and thats the best i could find - distance isnt a problem i can drive and she has a pretty big cage although she doesn't like long car journeys

my parrot is very selective with who she interacts with - so her contact is VERY limited with outsiders- shes been in contact with my brothers parrot which is a flue fronted amazon - however this condition existed before they ever crossed paths-

i was in the office today and when i got home her nose was dry - but in the morning was really wet... so not sure whats happened there...

nothing of aerosols or fragranced candles being used at all near her - i did have a humidifier but she decided it was a good toy and chewed the cable in half! i might buy a humidifier too and put both of them somewhere high out of reach it might help ?

im due to fly to turkey for 1 week on Monday and she will be looked after by my cousin who already has a macaw and a ringneck - i hope this doesnt cause futher issues

please let me know guys - many thanks<3
 
Very surprised you said it was Trinity Vets as have heard good reviews from them from other members but can't see on their list of vets anybody with specialist avian qualifications.

There is an avian fully qualified vet in London at CJ Hall Vets its owned and run by Dr Matthew Daniel Fiddes
 
Snap @Roz as you know so did we. Chris such a nice chap he was so pleased & excited all those years ago when he took the premises on we got showed around, it used be a a Dairy and was on the corner . Memories eh.
 
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@dianaT Chris Hall was the best avian vet I have ever known. I was so sad when he had to retire. I too got shown around the premises with some other clients one Christmas. Really interesting. I didn’t know it used to be a dairy!
 
I agree he was the nicest person, he was so excited as was slowly building up his equipment obtaining some from a local hospital that was upgrading(tables, cabinets and I think xray too) As Alan was on the PS committee we both got invited to go and look before he'd properly opened. He was involved in making a prosthetic beak for a macaw. I've no idea whether he's still alive but know he sold his practice to Matthew Fiddes.
 
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