inexperienced macaw owner

[umeirsatar]

Hello there, I need advice..

I recently bought a blue and gold macaw from a breeder (about 3ish months old) the problem is that I am inexperienced at the moment and I had little to no help from the breeder at all which I initially thought was gonna walk me through the whole process of raising the macaw itself, the macaw when I first got him he weighed around 1kg and I was feeding him 80ml 3x a day formula, every 8 hrs, then I changed to 2x a day for within 1.5 weeks of having him, then I noticed he's starting to lose some weight so I called up the breeder and he told me to increase the dosage to around 120ml per feeding and not feed him anything else until he's grown more feathers etc, so now I feed him 120-140m and sometimes 150ml per feeding and he seems to eat well, walks around a bit but doesn't do much else, (he weighs about 735g empty and 810g full, is this normal?) now I'm worried about the whole weaning process because I'm inexperienced as it is, what are some of the foods I should offer him and I dont even know if he'll accept? because I tried offering small bits of apple and he didnt even put it in his mouth or anything and when I see when a b&g macaw starts the weaning process online I see around 16 weeks but mine is much older? so can any of you tell me what to start offering him to teach him to eat on his own and how I take him off the syringe gradually like a general advice about the whole situation and especially his weight would be nice, thank you in advance...

I also work during most of the day, but I get some with him in the morning before I leave, and when I'm on my lunch break and when I come home at 6pm.

 

[LaManuka]

Welcome to the forums to you and your baby macaw!

It would seem however that you have a bird who really is too young to have been sold to you. The breeder should NOT have sold this bird until it had been eating solid adult food for a minimum of two weeks, which is your bird's case would be more like around the age of 18 weeks or more. Even then, many parrots can regress and go back to begging for handfeeding.

This is a very precarious time in your baby bird's life so I would strongly urge you to contact the breeder for support, or even contemplate taking the bird back there to complete the weaning process correctly. It is highly irresponsible indeed for the breeder to have sold this bird at this immature age. The following link may provide you with some insight as to how to feed in the meantime...

http://www.parrotforums.com/breeding-raising-parrots/74363-so-you-bought-unweaned-baby.html

I don't know which part of the world you live in but this link may help you find a veterinarian who can assist...

https://www.aav.org/default.aspx

If there are no avian specialists available, you could try a zoo or bird sanctuary if you have one near you.

Thank you for reaching out for help and i wish you all the very best!

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and your young macaw! Perfect advice above from LaManuka. Please consider the linked threads. Not only is your bird's life in potential jeopardy, but personality development is linked to proper weaning. I realize you have the very best intentions, sadly unethical breeders greatly complicate matters.

 

[umeirsatar]

Many Thanks to everyone who replied, I gave the bird back to the breeder and he's agreed to take care of him and wean him off properly for a fee, I'm now just worried about the bird bonding with me when he comes back to me(1.5-2monthish) when he's learnt to eat on his own, any advice on this, you guys reckon he'll bond in well with me?

 

[Ira7]

Many Thanks to everyone who replied, I gave the bird back to the breeder and he's agreed to take care of him and wean him off properly for a fee, I'm now just worried about the bird bonding with me when he comes back to me(1.5-2monthish) when he's learnt to eat on his own, any advice on this, you guys reckon he'll bond in well with me?

You’ll be fine.

 

[noodles123]

It's a myth that birds bond best with the person who hand-feeds them...in fact, somtimes it can harm the bonding process. So you were wise to give him back. In the meantime, you should research, research, research and make sure your home is safe for your future baby!
Bonding is a process..it takes some time-- babies are more chill than adolescents, but as babies mature, they do push away some and their personalities can change as well (not in a bad way, but different). Just move at your bird's pace and take it slow---if your bird is comfortable stepping up etc, that's fine but it sometimes it takes longer to establish trust, so just be patient and try not to stress him out by getting him his face or trying to be physical if he is showing signs of tension or moving away etc.