Rescued military macaw (or possibly Buffon macaw..??)

Hello everyone,
My husband and I got Koko from someone who said they rescued her from an abusive home. They stated the people would torture her with water by throwing her into it, and it's clear Koko was also physically abused due to her being extremely skiddish. The person we got her from may very well have been the abusive owner, but I'm not too sure. It's clear Koko is malnourished due to her beak and the condition of her feathers.. which was later confirmed that there were BBQ pringles and cheddar cheese popcorn in her food bowl. They also smoked around her, because she smelt heavily of cigarette smoke.

Koko has some major hurdles to get over, but she is absolutely wonderful. I Make her food (absolutely NO pringles!!) and give her all the things she needs. I was told she didn't like women, but she instantly has bonded with me. We have made her a part of our family and love her dearly.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone could take a look at her pictures and see if she is Military or Buffon. Her eyes have the black pupil, gray ring, and then a soft yellow ring which I have read is distinctive to the Buffon. She is (supposedly) 5-6 years old so that may explain why she's a bit small, if she was a Buffon. I will also be posting more on here for help with her behavioral issues.. haha! She is a biter, but will occasionally let me pet and snuggle her (only me).. but I figure that's due to the previous owner's abuse. Thank you in advance!!!

Welcome and thank you for rescuing this beautiful bird! Coco is a beauty and it's a real shame she was being mistreated in her prior home A tragically all to common thing to see in the world of large pet parrots. If you haven't already, it would be wise to schedule an appointment with an avian vet to get her checked over and get expert advice on what she needs nutritionally given her woefully inadequate prior diet. Fortunately, you have likely gotten her young enough any damage done by her poor care should be reversible with proper care so she can live a long and healthy life. Her nippiness could also be a bit of hormones kicking in mixed with her distrust of humans. She is getting to be of that age, and it would be in your and her best interest to do some serious research into puberty in parrots to prep yourself for her upcoming changes she will be experiencing and how to best handle them. As you are training and socializing, stick training (training her to step on a stick as well as your hand) is a good idea for all large parrots, as it provides a safe alternative to move them when they are feeling too hormonal to handle. This is a good thread to start on with biting:
http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/56384-big-beak-o-phobes-guide-understanding-macaw-beaks.html

Big Macs are a bit large for my comfort level, but I have always greatly admired the beauty of military macaws as a fan of green birds. I hope to see more of her on the forum!

Thank you! I have been doing a ton of research on macaws, but haven't looked into puberty yet so I really appreciate giving me that direction! It hard for me to understand how anyone could be abusive towards any animal, but especially to a bird. A lot of information on the internet is extremely helpful, but not so much when it comes to abused birds.

I will be taking her to an avian vet, we live in NC and I am trying to find a good one. We live in North Carolina so finding an avian vet is a bit difficult, but there are some in my area thankfully. Thank you for your feedback!

If anyone could take a look at the photos and give me their opinion on if they think she may be military or Buffon, that'd be awesome. She's about 28inches long, and due to her eye color it makes me think she may actually be Buffon

cathyncarlos said:

If anyone could take a look at the photos and give me their opinion on if they think she may be military or Buffon, that'd be awesome. She's about 28inches long, and due to her eye color it makes me think she may actually be Buffon

Click to expand...

I looked at a few online resources, and they all say the difference is mostly in size. The Buffon's is also called the Great Green Macaw and the Grand Military Macaw. The Buffon's is a larger bird, size ranges given as 30-35 inches. The Military Macaw is listed as being smaller, around 27-33 inches, with plumage described as olive green, not as bright as the green of the Buffon's. Does that help any?

Thanks so much for taking her in. I second the vet idea...she might have some nutritional deficiency and benefit from immediate injections of vitamins, etc. - some deficiencies can lead to infections setting in.

Thank you. I've read those resources as well. I will be bringing her to the vet, as stated before. We have only had her for a 2 weeks this Tuesday so that definitely will be done soon.

Thankfully her dropping indicated she is getting on the right path. Before they were very watery and didn't look like they should, but now they look healthy. Still, she needs to go in to get tested for some things and to get her beak checked out.

I was just hoping someone on here would be able to help with identifying her species because her eyes don't look like that of the normal military macaw. Maybe she is a hybrid of hybrids

Hi, my vote would be that she is a military macaw. I looked into getting a military before I changed my mind, so I'm no expert, but that would be my thought.

I see what you mean about her eyes, but I think there's too much non-orange to be a buffons. Her tail also looks true military to me.

It would make sense with her size too, but obviously there is variation and if she wasn't being fed well she might be smaller.

I don't know enough about macaws to really speculate on species when they look so similar, but when you take her to the avian vet, be sure to ask then. A vet specializing in parrots is surely able to identify what species she is, especially since they will be able to examine in person, weight her etc... The vet can also do a DNA gender test to verify she is actually female, as it is impossible to tell visually with parrots and many times gender is assumed/guessed.

Seeing as she doesn't sound to have any urgent health concerns, is young and there are no other birds in the home, you have the luxury of a little time to research vets in your state and choose which one seems to be the best fit. If you can get an call in to set an appointment within the first month, that would be good. I am unsure if any NC vets are in this thread, but could be worth checking out:

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/9841-vets-your-area-11.html

Thank you for giving this wonderful baby a beautiful home! More photos please!

Honestly my money is on military macaw. Buffons macaws are just not that common. Plus the eyes and eye patch feathers are to me more reminiscent of military based on the comparison photos I've seen.

Oh yeah.. I know gender cannot be detected with an eyes view. We do have other birds, two parakeets, but they aren't even kept in the same room as Koko. We just got one the other day, to have as a companion to the original one, and I actually had to call some avian vets to get him checked out because I thought he was sick! Thankfully it was just him being overwhelmed/nervous about being in a new home and he is perfectly healthy.. so the plus side in that is that they do treat macaws as well.. so we found an avian vet for KoKo and she will be getting seen next week.

Koko seems perfect rly healthy, but I do need to get her to the vet to double check her nutrition needs.. I Home make all her food and she get nuts/fresh foods/pellet/ and some seed.. but she eats mostly fresh fruits/vegetables. I also was hoping the vet could lead me in the direction of an avian behaviroists (??). I've been watching non stop YouTube videos and reading a ton, but I think we both could benefit on some training!

We also have 4 children (5 years old and younger!) so Koko just made need time to adjust to the chaos.. she's great with the kids though.. they feed her and she is very gentle.

And here are some more photos of our baby

more photos (I don't know if the other ones uploaded properly)

I do have a military macaw and I think you also have a military. The breeder I bought Maui from also had Buffon macaws and they are really a lot larger and their colors are much lighter green.

Of course I am no expert but that's what I think by watching your photos.

This Maui:



Her eyes are grey/brown.

Great that you decided to give this beautiful macaw a second chance! Once he/she opens his/her heart for you, you will have a friend for live! Just keep patient and treat him/her with love!

My vote is with Military as well!

Bless you for rescuing her!!! I'm sick to my stomach that she was abused!!

So happy to hear she bonded with you and is so loved though!!!

What a happy ending!❤️


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Military.

BIG BUFFS are HUGE, and there really were not a lot of them imported, and they are now critically endangered, so they are pretty hard to come by.

Oh ok, thank you all. I also think she is military, for sure. I was more concerned that her malnourishment stunted her growth, but she's perfectly healthy size wise! The plus side is she has an appointment on monday with an avian vet that is super close to our home! The other fantastic news is Koko finally got a bath, even though she was absolutely terrified of water (her old owner apparently threw her into water/ sprayed her with water to be cruel).. so she looks absolutely beautiful now!

Christa said:

I do have a military macaw and I think you also have a military. The breeder I bought Maui from also had Buffon macaws and they are really a lot larger and their colors are much lighter green.

Of course I am no expert but that's what I think by watching your photos.

This Maui:

View attachment 19006

Her eyes are grey/brown.

Great that you decided to give this beautiful macaw a second chance! Once he/she opens his/her heart for you, you will have a friend for live! Just keep patient and treat him/her with love!

Click to expand...

Maui is beautiful!! It also makes me very sick and angry that someone could abuse any animal, but it's especially horrible when it's a bird.

I believe it's a military she looks just like a military that's at the bird shop I buy from.