B&G Rescuse, Need Advice/Opinions

Gooooooood Evening,

I'm new here and joined for some advice/opinions from seasoned macaw owners.

I am rescuing a B&G. 30 years old. Same owner for 30 years. Owner passed away a year ago. B&G (Monty) was inside small cage for 30 years. No room to stretch wings. Swears like a sailor. I mean reeeeeaally swears. Plucked all feathers but grown back in last year. Lived in dusty kitchen for 30 years. When man who owned him passed he left him to his local pub landlady. Perhaps he was a drunk, who knows. She has had him for the last year and has brought his feathers back as stated, had him vet checked, de liced ect but believes he will thrive better in a home where there is more time and space for him.

My main worry are his wings. If he can not stretch them fully, but nothing is broken by vets standars, what excerices can I try doing with him (once he trusts me) to help build his muscles and hopefully relieve some pain and tension. I am aware he may never fly but am building a very very large outdoor aviary with room to learn to fly if he can and if not to play and enjoy the sun.

I have built him an indoor aviary (basically one of our spare bedrooms which is large) filled with trees (real and safe/non toxic) toys ladders bird bath ect ect and will be bringing him home tomorrow or Wednesday. He is semi tame, visibly cautious on video however allows himself to be petted and talked to. I think he will enjoy being in my home and I believe I will be able to better his life physically and mentally. Very nervous, feels like a big challenge ahead but I'm so excited and I'm sure it will be very rewarding in many ways, mainly (hopefully) seeing him thrive!

Thanks for any advice on wings and anything else you may feel worth mentioning.

Eloise & Monty

Hi Eloise and Monty,

wow that sounds a bit familiar...
(I got Sunny out of her sardinecan only last year, ruined feathers and stuck-into-place wings and all. No swearing though ...I already have a CAG that uses a not-so-nice word once in a while, in context, but still... )

After CAV-evaluation and bloodwork you'll know what to add to his diet.
(Sunny was examined under aneasthesia because she freaked when her painfull wings got touched/ so toweling her was a nightmare)

I spend a few months gaining her trust (and since she is my first macaw I had to get used to the larger scale and far worse biting than the greys ever did) and massaging the horrible kinks out of her neck and shoulders.
(I am a trained physiotherapist so for me that was the easy part.)
Only after that I could get started on her legs and wings.

So- try to find out how much touching your bird will tolerate and you can go from there.

After about a year of working on her wings (some breaks- when large feathers grow in she will not tolerate anything touching the wings) Sunnies are about halfway back to normal extension.
(She is only 11, so she had a lot less time 'to petrify' in her small cage and she was let out incidentally afaik)
My vets said she will never be able to fly again (but that was last year and ParrotGenie here is rehabbing another macaw that also has awful wings but can fly with those!) so never say never...


Offer you bird some bare branches/ ropes where he can have a good grip and plenty of space (the normal wingspan is 130 cm so anything under 5 feet of open space will stop them from even trying to flap).
If you are lucky and your bird is not in too much pain he wil flap-exersize by himself.

(Appie did it all by herself the moment she got enough room to spread and flap her wings -> she spend every afternoon upside down in the large cage just working out like mad - her cramped up wing is almost back to normal by now / after 2 + years of living in a larger cage)

Sunny is on quite a few supplements still (she had crappy food as well as way to cramped cageconditions) so some are to help her build feathers, but also painkillers en some that should work on the cartilage, depress inflammation etc. and probiotics.

I would start with the latter anyway (EllenD knows all the good probiotics you get in your corner of the planet-> I asume you are in the USA.) it really helps them a lot.
Everything else: CAV first and we can always discuss extraas & options after that.



Oh... macaws are pairbonding parrots rather that go-with-the-flow-flockbirds
So there may be some serious screaching when he can hear but not see you...
-> a room by himself sounds great, but he will want to be in the middle of things, so at least a perch in the main living/activity space would be good (for your ears if nothing else)
Parrots never want to be alone if they can help it...

Did someone say "Probiotics"????

Yes, I highly recommend you start him on a daily Probiotic supplement as soon as you bring him home, either BeneBac (available at any Petco/Petsmart or Tractor Supply), or Qwiko Avian Probiotic Powder...You NEVER want to put ANYTHING AT ALL in his drinking water, not vitamins, supplements, medications, etc., and if a Vet ever tells you to do so, you need a new Vet...However, you do put the daily dose of Probiotic powder on his morning meal (either pellets or seeds), it's a very small amount of powder, and that's it, he'll eat it while he eats his food, and it will replenish all the beneficial-bacteria throughout his GI Tract, keep away any Fungal/Yeast infections, and help his overall health in-general. This is good for any captive/pet bird...

Other than the Probiotics, you DO NOT want to start giving him any other supplements, vitamins, medications, etc., whether they are "holistic" or not, unless a Certified Avian Vet or Avian Vet Specialist prescribes it BASED ON HIS BLOOD-WORK AND/OR FECAL TESTING RESULTS...(No "Exotics" Vets for this bird unless they are also a Certified Avian Vet; there is a great search-tool here in the forum that is world-wide and only finds CAV's and Avian Specialist Vets based on your Zip Code, Country, City, Town, etc. So if you need to find one, we can post the link for you here in this thread...

You will definitely want to take him to either a CAV or an Avian Specialist Vet within the first month of bringing him home (the sooner the better) to have full Fecal-Testing (Gram-Stain/Microscopy in-house and then also a Culture & Sensitivity that they will send out to the lab), which will require you to bring a sample that is less than 24-hours old and was put in the fridge after it was collected, and then also complete, full, routine and 'baseline" Blood-Work, which will show you if he currently has any infections, is anemic, has any nutritional deficiencies or metabolic issues, will show both his Liver and his Kidney function and overall-health and tell you if he has Fatty Liver Disease, Kidney Disease, Gout, is Diabetic, has any Thyroid issues, etc. It will also give you his "Baseline" levels to compare to each year when you take him for the same complete Wellness-Exam with his Avian Vet (must have this done once a year at the least), and also you'll have his Baseline-levels to compare to if he ever becomes sick, so that you'll know what "his normal" is...This is extremely important with a 30 year-old parrot...

You want a low-fat, low-sugar, high-protein diet for him, so if he's being fed any Seed-Mixes that contain ANY Sunflower Seeds, Peanuts, or Dried pieces or kernels of Corn, then that needs to be changed (really ALL NUTS should be treats only and not a part of a captive/pet parrot's daily-diet because they aren't flying miles each day, or at all right now in the case of your new bird, so this is what will commonly cause Fatty-Liver Disease; Peanuts are horrible for them, full of fat and actually carry a strain of mold that is toxic to birds, so absolutely NO Peanuts)...You want a Seed-Mix that is low-fat, high-Protein, doesn't contain any of the above, and is extremely varied in it's ingredients, containing different lower-fat seeds, grains, legumes, herbs, and veggies...As far as Pellets go, if he's being any type of "Fruit-Flavored" Pellets that are lots of wonderful, bright colors, then that needs to change too, because the Fruit-flavored pellets are also loaded with tons of sugar that turns into fat. You want him eating a "Natural" pellet, the best being Harrison's and TOPS, and also Zupreem Natural. He should also be getting a large portion of fresh veggies (anything but the Onion family, like all Onions, Leeks, Chives, etc., as they are all toxic to birds), and lots of fresh Dark, Leafy Greens (NO watery Lettuces like Iceberg or others, but rather lots of Dark, Leafy Greens, same goes for the fresh Veggies, no Celery, it's all water and no nutrition).../

***Fresh Fruit is NOT interchangable with fresh Veggies and Dark, Leafy Greens, and they should not be given Fruit every day, but rather as an occasional treat maybe 2-3 days a week and in small portions, as all Fruit is loaded with sugars/carbs...So while he needs lots of fresh Veggies and Dark, Leafy Greens every single day, the fresh Fruit should be limited (and NO Avocados, they are toxic to birds, as well as very, very little or NO Citrus Fruit such as Oranges, Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, etc., as Vitamin C enhances the body's absorption of Iron, and birds cannot handle and do not need much Iron at all; they will develop a condition called "Iron Storage Syndrome/Disease" if they absorb too much Iron, which can be fatal. So if you must feed him Citrus Fruit as an occasional treat, make it a very small piece one time a week maximum; any other fruit is fine like Apples, Bananas, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Seedless-Grapes, etc...

The only comment I can make to you about your housing-plans is that while the spare-bedroom you're building-up for him sounds extremely nice, it may not be the best place to keep him in your home, at least not at for the first few months to a year anyway...Parrots are obviously Flock-Animals and are very social, especially B&G's and other Macaws, and the fact of the matter is that the best place to locate your bird's main-cage in your home is in the "main-room" of your home, meaning the room where you and the others who live in the home spend most of their time whenever they are home. Most of the time what people find when they do exactly what you have done by building a wonderful, beautiful "Bird Room" for their new parrot, that is big and open and has tons of stuff to do, play with, climb, swing on, a window with a view to look out of, etc., is that there new parrot doesn't care one bit about any of it (especially when they are first brought into their new home), and they end-up spending most of their time spent in their new "Bird-Room" or "Indoor-Aviary" like you're building screaming their heads off for hours at a time, stopping only whenever someone comes into the room with them...They can also start exhibiting Feather-Destructive Behaviors when they are put in a special room away from where their people/Flock are, especially if they are prior-pluckers...So that room sounds like a great place to put him whenever no one is home, but whenever someone is at home I'd advise you to put either his main-cage (if he is coming with one already or you're buying him an actual cage) or some type of stand/floor-perch in the main-room of your home, where you and the rest spend your time when you're home...Just allowing him to be in the same room as you and the others whenever you're at home and simply watching TV, Reading, on the Computer, Gaming, Talking, Eating your Meals, etc. will not only make him feel like he's a part of your Flock and keep him from continually screaming all day long, but it will certainly also help the bonding/trust-earning process quite a bit (remember, Flock-Animals always want to be with their Flocks and not off in some other room, regardless of how nice it is)...If he knows you are at home/can hear you but he's off in his spare-bedroom Aviary by himself, chances are that he's going to let you know just how much that isn't going to work...So it's a great place to keep him when you're not at home, but as soon as someone is home, he should be moved into your Living Room, Family Room, TV Room, etc., wherever you and the rest of your family spend time together when you're at home...

As far as rehabbing his wings goes...He may never fly again, it may be a matter of muscle-atrophy, it may be a matter of he was kept in a tiny cage for 30 years and he literally doesn't know how to fly, it may be that his original breeder never allowed him to fully-fledge in the first-place, and then he was shoved inside that tiny cage, so he has never flown before at all, nor does he realize that he can...These are all very common scenarios, unfortunately, and how you approach helping him and seeing what he actually can physically and mentally do is going to depend upon how much you are going to be able to handle him, whether he'll step-up for you right away, etc. Just doing simple "Flapping" exercises, where he is standing on your hand/arm and you raise him up and down, while he spreads his wings out and hopefully is able to at least flap them is a great exercise for building-up wing strength...And then also just keeping him that large "Aviary" room whenever no one is home will most-likely also help out some, because as long as he has the room to do so, he will eventually start to at least try to use those wings...I would also highly suggest that you have full X-Rays done by your Certified Avian Vet/Avian Specialist Vet, because you need to know what his Bone-Density is like, what his muscles look like, whether he has any ligament/tendon damage, etc. Just because there are no active-fractures showing doesn't mean there aren't lots of other Orthopedic, Neurological, or Vascular issues that are keeping him from flying, and that needs to be checked-out. And if his overall Bone-Density is bad, then there are medical treatments/nutritional changes that need to be made to start to correct that.

(See .... EllenD to the rescue at least she knows what she is talking about. I am just winging it! / whoops, no pun intended)

Thank you very much for all that information both of you. I am based in the UK and will look for a CAV 'nearby'
I will buy his foods today, I had already planned his fruits and veg (always looking at toxic and safe foods on google) and his seeds as I had read somewhere about fatty foods and like you said as hes not flying at all let alone miles upon miles I realised hed need a less fatty diet so it's great to know I had the right idea in terms of nutrition.

The room I have built him is for when I go shopping and horse riding (about 2 times a week) He also has a perch in the living room and I had intended to have him follow me around the house if he so wishes as I 'work' from home and will always be pottering about and with him. I would never have a bird especially an intelligent one if I thought he would be shut away in a room But I'm so glad you said that asit further confirms to me I've got the right idea and heading in the right direction!

Thank you again so much for all your help! I cant wait to get him CAV checked and get him on the right path health wise!
I cant thank you enough for all that information and I will keep it close to heart and in mind and probably re read it quite a few times a day Haha!!