Proud new slave to a Blue and Gold

I've acquired a 23ish year old blue and gold macaw. Previously owned by a friend's grandmother for his 23 years. Unclipped wings, doesn't fly though, generally healthy, doesn't talk, generally a quiet bird. I really lucked out with this one. I would love to teach him to fly and talk, but since I'm new to bird ownership, this is something that I'm going to have to work on.

Pretty sure he was fed just sunflower seeds and various other seeds his entire life, so I'm in the process of switching him over to ZuPreem since this is the only hard food he has taken an interest in.

He gets along with all of the rest of my animals, which is fantastic.

Happy to be owned by a macaw, excited for the new adventure.

Welcome to the forums.

Okay, not to be negative, but his feather condition shows his diet hasn't been the best... I've seen much, much worse, but you can tell he's been lacking vitamin A.

He needs to get lots of vitamin A foods, and I would recommend a change of diet, and a course of Aloe Detox.

My best advice to you is to handle this bird a lot. They are attention oriented.

Awww, very handsome fellow! Congratulations! Thank you for adopting an older bird! Enjoy the adventure!

We have a great group of Macaws and their humans. I'm sure the humans will be willing to answer your species specific questions!

Birdman666 said:

Welcome to the forums.

Okay, not to be negative, but his feather condition shows his diet hasn't been the best... I've seen much, much worse, but you can tell he's been lacking vitamin A.

He needs to get lots of vitamin A foods, and I would recommend a change of diet, and a course of Aloe Detox.

My best advice to you is to handle this bird a lot. They are attention oriented.

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Thanks for the advice!! I love and welcome any I can get. His feathers may look a little rough bc it was super windy when I took him out and the wind was blowing through his feathers.

I do agree with the diet change, as mentioned I'm pretty sure he's been on nothing but seeds his entire life. He came with a giant bag of sunflower seeds and instructions to give him a bowl full every day... I've changed this. ZuPreem is the only hard food with added vitamins that he will eat. He wont touch a pelleted food that is brown, although he has access to it at all times. He gets a very tiny handful (like maybe, maybe 20-25 seeds) of sunflower seeds morning and evening. I'm lowering this as time goes on. Any suggestions on to how to get more Vit A in?

What is this Aloe Detox you speak about?

He gets handled a lot. As much as I can between school and studying. My husband handles him when I'm at school, as much as he can between work (luckily he works from home). He likes to chill out on the back of my chair when I study in the evenings (I'm needing to build him a perch that can be moved around the house), and he sits on the back of the couch while we watch movies. We are still working on the bonding thing. He's generally OK with me, but still just a tad standoffish. But the bond will come with time, I assume.

Thanks for the help!

Oh, also, he doesn't really ever want to eat fresh foods, like fruits and veggies. I've had people tell me that macaws LOVE citrus, he wont touch it. I've tried papaya, pineapple, carrots, lettuce, peppers, celery, peaches, and probably some other things. He wont eat any of it. He will occasionally eat bananas though.

Yeah, it's not the wind, it's the stress bars. He's loaded with them. That's indicative of bad diet.

Aloe Detox is something that helps detoxify the liver where the bird may be suffering from the long term effects of bad diet. Sunflower seed diets are a leading cause of liver disease in pet parrots. Detoxifying his liver will do wonders for him physically. This link talks about it and contains some other links that may be helpful:

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/52562-please-help-liver-disease.html

With a macaw? The best way to get vitamin A into that bird is to simply bake a plain sweet potato. let it cool down. Cut it up into cubes. Give him 3-4 cubes a day. Hand feed it to him. Mine don't just eat that stuff. They DEVOUR IT! If he gets that, it won't be a problem any longer. That little bit is enough to insure he's not vitamin A deficient...

One sweet potato will last you a whole week, and you just zap in in the microwave for 20 seconds or so. (Not too hot or you'll burn his crop!)

Thank you so much! I really really do appreciate it! I will get right on the sweet potato business. Hopefully he will chomp it down.

I had noticed that a few of his feathers were looking a little rough, and I'm still very new to bird ownership. I've been around many many animals, and am currently actually a veterinary student, but don't have too much experience with birds. Very new to this world, but super excited about it and learning all about it.

Another question that I had, while I've got your attention, some of his feathers are spikey, like little spikes with a wax covering. I read somewhere that this is due to diet, which led me to researching putting him on a new diet and what not. Will the spikes start to stop now that he's on a better diet (and once I get more Vit A in him)?

Those are called pin feathers.

Those are actually new feathers coming in. When they're grown in the waxy covering comes off, and the feather emerges from it.

Sorry, what I meant is that some of these pin feathers stay pins for a long time. For instance, I got him about 3-4 weeks ago, and he had some that were there when I got him, and are still there.

saphirefire88 said:

I had noticed that a few of his feathers were looking a little rough, and I'm still very new to bird ownership. I've been around many many animals, and am currently actually a veterinary student, but don't have too much experience with birds. Very new to this world, but super excited about it and learning all about it.

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If you clean up his liver, and start bathing him once a week, his feathers should clean up. By his next molt, they'll be glowing.

A good soaking will also loosen up the wax coating and make those feathers easier to open. My macs are both water babies! Getting them in the shower is not hard...

All that black in those blue feathers should not be there, and his greens are kinda dull. That tells me vitamin deficiency just by looking at him. Usually it's vitamin A. It also can be a sign that the liver isn't functioning as well as it should be. With a sunflower seed diet... gee, I wonder why?!

It doesn't mean he's sick, it's just a sign that the diet needs to be improved. And cleansing his liver with aloe detox after 20+ years of sunflower seeds, can only be beneficial to his health...

Liver values are a key thing to track in terms of diet related illnesses.

saphirefire88 said:

Sorry, what I meant is that some of these pin feathers stay pins for a long time. For instance, I got him about 3-4 weeks ago, and he had some that were there when I got him, and are still there.

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Well, some of those he might not be able to reach.

The ones on his head you have to help him with. Just use your finger nails as you scratch his head. Be gentle cuz pin feathers can hurt when you open them. You'll get the hang of it. And your bird will let you know immediately if you're being too rough.

Here is another link for you:

http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/50620-tips-tricks-first-time-macaw-owner.html

Re: pinfeathers: you can crush off the keratin with your fingernails (don't twist - that hurts) if he'll let you. Usually this is needed on the head and neck where they can't reach.

Re: fresh food - have you ever tried eating it in front of him? After all those years on seeds, he might realize fresh food is really food. My BGM sometimes doesn't recognize a new food as "food" until I eat it front of her, making yummy sounds. Makes them curious and envious that you're enjoying something they're not getting, and at least it might urge him into tasting it.

Try broccoli...i don't have a macaw specifically. But angel seems to not like most fruits/melons i give her. But will eat broccoli like she loves it. Carrots to she likes.

Carrots, Broccoli, Chillies, green beans, lentils and orange juice! It might be harder for you but maybe try having a glass of (preferable fresh) orange juice or something nice like that. Then offer a bit to your bird? this is easier when your bird can fit in the cup but maybe pour it onto something or in a bowl? it might help encourage trying similarly coloured fruits and juices.... It worked for my green cheek conure, although new issue of having a bird in my cup when i drink juice with him out, "you're sharing this juice with me now, thanks".

Edit
Pear? apple? cut off a piece and have then see you eat it, then give them a shot? I let my bird share my pears sometimes and although i have to give him a spot to start he loves trying to eat something twice his body mass.