Big Macaw Eye ColorColor

[Marti36]

I was wondering when Macaw's eye colors generally change. Everywhere i look it says in the first 2 years but when i see even 6 month old macaws their eyes seem to be very close to the adult brightness. On the other hand my scarlet, Saffron, is turning 1 year old in about 2 weeks and her eyes are almost as dark as when she was only 3 months old. Could this be a result her early poor nutrition when I got her from her previous owner?

 

[Fia Baby]

Her eyes are very dark still, but I doubt it's from nutrition. I've seen a few others, mainly green wings, who still had dark eyes as adults, so it may be a variation of normal. Does she have normal vision, based on your own observations?

 

[Marti36]

Yes she seems to have perfectly normal vision from what I can tell. When I take her for her next yearly checkup in a couple months I'm going to ask to make sure though.

 

[Marti36]

When I got her at 3 months her feathers were extremely dry and washed out looking almost as if they were dunked in chlorine. I still dont know how that happened so hopefully her eyes arent related to that.

 

[Marti36]

This is the state of her feathers at about 4 months old before her big molt. I posted it in an earlier thread but I figure there's no harm in posting it again lol.

 

[Fia Baby]

Hmm. That probably was nutrition/husbandry. Scarlet feathers can fade in lots of bright sunlight, from what I've read, but that wouldn't have been the case at 3 months old. She looks great now - vibrant and beautiful. If she does have vision changes due to early malnutrition, that damage has already been done, and you've already corrected her diet and improved her health. You can check for pupil dilation/contraction at home, with a bright flashlight. I don't know that your vet would do anything more than that for a routine health check. She looks great though!! I have a green wing who's turning 3 this summer. I've had her since 3 months as well, and I think that in many ways she's sweeter and much easier to handle now that when she was a youngster. Hopefully this remains the case as she matures....

 

[Marti36]

Thanks Fla! Her eye dilation is completely normal .

 

[Marti36]

Saffron is becoming more and more gentle as tome goes by too . She is finally learning to tolerate people other than me as well.

 

[Fia Baby]

Babies are hard on their feathers and can have a lot of stress bars and look quite ratty. One source I've read from said that every stress bar can be directly correlated to some stressor that happened while that feather was growing - even something as minimal as having house guests that interrupt the normal routine.

She sounds like a great girl!!

 

[Marti36]

She is VERY territorial over me but is slowly getting better. Probably because she was kept in a cage for 2 months with almost no interaction as a baby. I dont think she will ever be as independent as some other macaws are though. She has a hard time if i put her down on a perch and walk across the room as if I'm never coming back. It breaks my heart sometimes.

 

[Hankmacaw]

She will get better about abandonment as she gains confidence. The one thing you need to watch for (but not yet) is making her into a dependent, velcro bird.

I seem to remember that @Macawnutz ,Scarlet, Maui, had dark eyes for a long time. Maybe she has pictures of him at Saffron's age of 1 year. Jasper's eyes were darker until she was 2 1/2 to three years old.

 

[Macawnutz]

I will look through pictures when I get home from work.

 

[Marti36]

Thanks Hank! I'm trying to get her used to doing things without me. She likes to walk around on the floor and explore/terrorize our cat as long as she knows I'm sitting on the couch and won't move lol. I would much rather her be more independent than she is.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Try to keep the cat away from Saffron. Even is the cat lashes out in defense and scratches Saffron, it could be a death sentence for Saffron. Cats carry the Pasteurella bacteria that almost always cause the death of a bird.

 

[Marti36]

Yeah I know. I watch them very closely and make sure they dont come into contact with each other. It's pretty much always the cat lounging on the floor and saffron starts walking towards him and he runs away. If the cat doesn't move on his own I put him upstairs.

 

[Marti36]

Here is the best picture I have been able to get of ine of her eyes yet. She moves alot once she see's the camera and wont stop saying hello xD. (The only reason she is ouside without her harness is because I am holding her feet and she is 5 feet from our backyard door.)

 

[Macawnutz]

Going through pictures my scarlets were never quite as dark as yours but my BG was. This was Maui at a year and a half so you can see the light darkness is still there.

He also had a terrible skin infection at that time so no laughing at him. ( @Hankmacaw how long ago was this OMG remember me calling you crying about the 75 little needles they gave me? )


I wouldnt worry about your eye color. In fact I wish it never went away.

 

[Marti36]

Thanks! His face does look swollen, that couldn't have felt good. :0

 

[Marti36]

Wow if only the darkness on the inside goes away and her eyes keep the outer bronze color they will be the most beautiful macaw eyes I will have ever seen! No matter what she is my beautiful baby girl though lol. XD

 

[aooratrix]

You're going to have to start rewarding Saffron for playing independently. Harry was very clingy, and still can be, but I have made it a point to reward him for playing on his own. You might have to figure out a contact call you can respond to when you're out of the room. I never respond to screaming except for the "I'm going to get hurt if you don't help me" scream. When my birds talk to me or whistle from another room, I always respond.