Captain Flapjack

[PetoftheDay]

Bless you for adopting him, poor guy sounds like he had a rough go here for a while. That he is not angry with the world suggests that maybe the owners did love and interact with him some, just were ignorant about his care. We are look forward to what the vet has to say.

 

[MimiBlue152]

Glad he's been doing well. Parrots, even macaws, are small animals and (compared to human meals) don't really eat a lot. Especially if you're providing a huge dish full of food. It may appear he's barely touched it when in fact he's eaten plenty for his caloric/nutritional needs. Some birds also aren't social eaters so you may rarely see your bird eat if he's one of those types, even though he does when alone. If he's pooping, he's eating. Parrots have fast metabolisms and digestive systems, so they run out of fuel quickly if they don't eat enough.

It is not essential you get one right now, but most bird owners own a special perch scale for weighing their birds regularly (at least once a week, preferably several times). It's a good way to ensure the bird is eating enough. If they maintain weight, even if you don't see them eat much, they still are. Also a good way to monitor for the first signs of illness, which in a parrot is often rapid weight loss.

Thanks! We did buy a scale and my husband is going to make a stable perch for it.

 

[MimiBlue152]

Flapjack talked today! I missed it, but my husband heard him. He said, “step up, step up for daddy. Come on buddy, step up.”
Lol. I feel better about his previous owner now.
I’m excited to hear him say more!

 

[MimiBlue152]

Update on Jack:
He passed his vet Appt with flying colors. The vet could tell he was in a better place now because he had new feathers coming in that he was not picking at. No respiratory issues and overall good condition even though he'd obviously had a stressful past.
We weighed him with the scale I got and he's gained 31 grams in the last week and a half.
He's also got quite a vocabulary. He won't talk to us, but when we are busy doing other things, he chatters away. We have heard, "step up, good boy, c'mon boy, hello, Roland, Julie, Clyde, ha ha ha, come here." I think that's it. his other macaw friend was named Clyde, so we understand that one. The "Roland" and "Julie" he hollers as if he's yelling for them. It's pretty funny. He also takes a different tone of voice when he does, so I wonder if he's mimicking his owners yelling for each other?
He's doing really well with his cage aggression also, he steps up without too much fuss and is super friendly. He likes to sit on my husband's shoulder and preen his bald head. ha ha
His feathers are looking about 30% better now and should be really good after a good molt.

 

[Kentuckienne]

Yay and hooray

 

[Birdman666]

I'd increase bathing and see if that doesn't take care of the feather chewing. It's probably related to the smoking...

Increased toys helps. Phone books are great, and can give them something to chew up that will occupy them for hours WITHOUT any cost to you. Wood toys of course. All pluckers should have at least one big interesting preening toy.

That isn't the classic plucking pattern I've seen. That's chewing. Probably because of the smoke making his feathers icky...

 

[Tami2]

Wonderful news, thanks for the update. Looking forward to many more photos as his new feathers replace the old ones. :heart:

 

[Kentuckienne]

didn't even think of that kiwibird! Good save

I did just take a look online about this and the only thing I saw was a thread about a Too with exactly the same problem, although that bird was far more angry with the world than Jack. Some people talked about just giving baths with a small amount of dawn soap mixed in (why do we not have that stuff over in England!?)

Definitely wait to see what the vet says, they may have a better idea of what to do

Sorry for hijacking cap’n Jacks thread but you can get excellent Dawn in the UK!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultra-Dishwashing-Liquid-Original-Scent/dp/B004SC9NCC

 

[GaleriaGila]

I am so happy for you and the Captain!

Good for you for saving this darling.

I'm glad you found us, and I'm glad you're sharing this story.

My two cents on food...
Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. 30-ish years ago, Harrison's was still a small company. My vet was actually able to talk to Dr. Harrison about my bird's species and status, and they decided on the High Potency. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff. My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Captain Jack...and his partner Salty?





Jim

 

[Sarge]

Hi guys it’s the mr of the house. Update on the Ol Capitan.
His cage aggression is almost gone, he went from not wanting to leave it to “I don’t want to go into it for sleeping”. Hahaha. Total 180. Which by the way he only spends the nights in there to sleep for his safety due to the dogs having the roam of the house.
He has quite a vocabulary and a few naughty words but that is ok by me. 😜
As for the feather chewing, he is still up to his shannanigans, he has plenty of toys and I make him things for him to destroy like boxes and toilet paper rolls filled with whole walnuts and that crunchy paper, he enjoys throwing a party.
I read that water softeners are a no no for birds so I’ve moved to those jugs of spring water for bathing and drinking hopefully it helps.
Lately he’s been enjoying having a humidifier under his daytime perch for the humidity (I’m assuming). I just don’t like him staying there all day without much handling. I spritz him when he’s away to keep him somewhat pleasant. He seems to chew less when he’s damp/spritzed . I’m sure we’ll find the right combination.
Just wanted to drop a quick update.