Wow, 51! And captured as an adult, poor birdie. I am going to try pellets again, maybe after all this trauma, Max will have a change of heart about them.I have had my macaw 51 years. He was a wild-caught adult, so age unknown. I estimate about 55+. My bird hates pellets as well. He used to tolerate the ZuPreem nut-flavored pellets for large birds, but then they discontinued them! The version for small birds was unacceptable to his discriminating palate.I have tried so many brands and varieties of pellets and he would rather starve than eat them! I figure that he has made it this long on his diet (fruit, veggies, oatmeal, nuts, the occasional bit of egg, etc.), that pellets were just not meant to be.
He is in great health. You would never guess his age by looking at him! My vet agrees with your comment about wild-caught birds having a stronger constitution than captive bred birds. Survival of the fittest!
I think that is a good idea. I could not be more thrilled with the genuine caring I felt from the team who cared for Max. I could have taken him to Penn Vets (part of PennUniversity vet school in Philadelphia) but the place I went also has an excellent reputation, and both were about a 45 min drive, and I really didn’t want to drive into the city, so Max had his surgery at NorthStar Vets. They have a few locations, one in Philly, one in south Jersey, and the one I went to, in Robbinsville, which is central New Jersey, near Trenton. Oh, and the last quote I got for the surgery was I think $7000-$9000 - but it turned out to be less, less than $6000, around $7000 if you count the X-rays and bloodwork on the consult day, and around $50 in gas with all the trips back and forth. So, always nice to have things turn out to be cheaper!
I would have been ok with them keeping him another night, but they said he was eating and drinking and everything looked good, so here he is! So now I am just going to balance rest with showering him with tons of love, making him all his favorite things to eat, and keep praying he makes it through the recovery process and we can get back to a somewhat normal life!Wow, home already! That's awesome, I'm so happy for the two of you!
This warms my heart.
You two have been through so much! I would be tempted to call in sick for the next week so I could keep my eye on the prize. Clearly, you are a more dedicated employee than I ever was (now retired).
Aw, if only I could take off work! We just had a new company take over at my job. One of the first things the new owner did was rip out 40 year old trees, flowerbeds, and shrubs in our beautiful courtyard, where we had bird houses and bird feeders and where so much wildlife sheltered year round. We begged them not to do it. They don’t care about animals. They aren’t going to care about me and my bird. I lost all my accumulated PTO when they took over. I have already dropped down to part time, because I am no longer happy there, and I’ve already taken 3 days off for this, I risk losing my job if I take any more time. (Which wouldn’t be the worst thing…but that’s a whole other conversation!)This warms my heart.
Keeping my fingers crossed for a speedy and uneventful recovery!
I believe he has stitches that will need to be removed at his follow up in 10-14 days. There is a bandage over the surgical site, I am supposed to remove it Monday. Not going to be easy. He has never been the kind of bird that I can just do what I want.
You don’t have any idea how such a bad break could have happened?
