Feather damage in baby macaw

[Jess&Kiki]

Hey guys!
So I went to a bird shop near me today- just to look- and in the course of my stay I met and got to play with a pair of 5 month old b&g macaws (not related to my knowledge), one of which was gorgeous and perfect with stunning perfect feathers and a shiny, sleek baby beak. The other was the opposite- nearly all her feathers are ragged, and her upper mandible is slightly bumpy (nothing drastic, other than the drastic difference between hers and the other chick), with slight dips and valleys. When I asked the girl working there why her feathers look the way they do, she just said (and may have been wrong) that she had been kept in an incubator. Nothing more.
So my question is- does this happen, and has anyone else seen this in their young ones? (If so, they'll grow out of it with the next molt, right?) or is this a sign of something more serious that ought to be treated (on the business owners end) and/or stayed away from (on mine)?
I gotta say, I haven't spent too much time around baby macaws but ugh, was she the sweetest thing! I keep telling myself that it wouldn't be that way forever- the snuggling, the gentleness, that doe-eyed baby factor- but I can see how easy it is to get sucked in! (Don't tell anyone, but I said "I love you, see you later" as I put her back when I went to leave.)
Thanks for your insight!

 

[Hankmacaw]

Hard to tell without a picture. Baby macaws play very enthusiastically and have rough feathers up to about two years old.

 

[Jess&Kiki]

Hard to tell without a picture. Baby macaws play very enthusiastically and have rough feathers up to about two years old.

I'll get a picture the next time I'm there, and while I'm sure rough baby play does damage feathers, hers are Ragged. And that applies to nearly all of them- head, back, wings, tail, abdomen. The only ones in good/decent shape are a few under her wings. She also isn't as coordinated as her buddy, which I only noted and could easily just be because she's a baby. I don't know!

 

[parrotluv]

Sounds abnormal to me. Especially the beak. Could possibly be a disease like beak and feather disease

 

[Jess&Kiki]

Sounds abnormal to me. Especially the beak. Could possibly be a disease like beak and feather disease

That's what came to mind when I noticed it, though what popped up when I did a little research didn't exactly match up, so for her sake, I hope it's not that!

 

[PiPeter]

Can't blame you for falling for the babies! Please send pics of the little, ragged one.

 

[melissasparrots]

Baby macaws are known for playing hard and their tail feathers especially can take a beating. However, if you see a lot of stress bars on the feathers and if that stress was so bad that it also caused growth problems in the beak, then I'd assume the baby was ill, poorly nourished or stunted.

 

[Jess&Kiki]

Ok so I got to go back today and took some photos. In the third picture, the baby in question is on the left, other baby is on the right and you can kind of see how different the condition on their beaks are, and in the fourth picture their positions are switched and you can kind of see how different in their feather condition. I hope for her sake it is just the stress of being a baby, but it looks pretty extreme.
Has anyone known a baby like this as they grow up? Can these things be corrected with time and proper nutrition and care, or does a rough start like this set them up for hard times as they grow?

 

[supersloth]

Oh that poor baby looks so scraggy! I wonder what happened to him? I'm not an expert in baby birds but it definitely doesn't seem normal... I hope someone more experience can chime in and advise.

 

[WendyN]

 

[melissasparrots]

Was the baby in question still wet from a bath in those pictures or are his feathers frizzled like that all the time? The only time I've ever had a baby with super poor feather condition it was because the baby nearly died or needed some medical procedure done to it at an early age and required several days to recover and catch up. I don't breed macaws though. I know macaws are very prone to having stress show up in their feathers. I think this bird had some serious medical or nutritional problems early on. I'd be very hesitant to buy it unless with a very large discount and vet check including blood work and culture from a vet of my choosing. The two babies I had that looked like that, I advertised them at a very low price and then let the person take the bird home for free when they showed up and it was a good match. In my case, one of the babies swallowed a pine shaving, no vet was open over a holiday weekend and it took a few days for me to get it out of the crop. Baby was dehydrated and malnourished but caught up. I had another that popped an air sac. The vet was hesitant to do anything right away on such a small baby, but the air cell started to push the crop to the side, which affected crop emptying and nutrition. We got it worked out, but his first feathers really showed the stress. Both babies molted normally and were gorgeous as adults. I just don't know if there were any further consequences such as kidney stress from the rough beginning. I certainly would not spend much money on a bird like this unless you have plenty of money and compassion to spare. Since it appears that whatever affected the feathers, also affected the beak, I'd be doubly concerned.

 

[Hankmacaw]

@Macawnutz It looks to me like the feathers have not matured properly or he hasn't preened them. Except the feathers on his chest and head look ok. I'd sure have a vet look at him before I took him home. The beak doesn't look horrible - just rough and a little large as if he has a problem with keratin???

Ditto what Mellisasparrots.

 

[Jess&Kiki]

I wouldn't be surprised if both of you were right, @Hankmacaw and @melissasparrots, and she doesn't look healthy to me either. To me, she also seems like she has a little coordination issue too- especially compared to her nest mate, who is supposedly the same age.
I worry for her, and have compassion to spare, just not the funds. I think they're asking 1700 for the b&g babies?
Thanks for all the wonderful input, it's great to have confirmation when you're not quite sure what you're looking at. You guys are the best!

 

[Macawnutz]

I also wondered if the baby was wet. Very strange feathers but the pictures are also blurry. I can see stress bars... while everyone runs the opposite way of these poor souls these are the ones I buy. Korbel looked about that awful when I got him.

 

[Jess&Kiki]

I also wondered if the baby was wet. Very strange feathers but the pictures are also blurry. I can see stress bars... while everyone runs the opposite way of these poor souls these are the ones I buy. Korbel looked about that awful when I got him.

She was bone dry! That first day we played and explored for a while (and she was totally boring a hole through my iron clad will to not fall in love with her). Just tremendously sweet.
And I'm with you on that one, @Macawnutz. The "runts/not the favorites" always tug extra hard on my heartstrings, too, and sometimes I just can't resist!
Did your Korbel turn out just fine despite an ugly duckling period, or have you run into any health-related obstacles along the way?

 

[Macawnutz]

She was bone dry! That first day we played and explored for a while (and she was totally boring a hole through my iron clad will to not fall in love with her). Just tremendously sweet.
And I'm with you on that one, @Macawnutz. The "runts/not the favorites" always tug extra hard on my heartstrings, too, and sometimes I just can't resist!
Did your Korbel turn out just fine despite an ugly duckling period, or have you run into any health-related obstacles along the way?

Oh gawd, Korbel is more than fine. He had a VERY rough start. Came to me with a respiratory infection from formula aspiration ( overfed and suspect aspiration from laying on his full crop ). Korbel also had avian gastric yeast which is not common in macaws and it was pretty advanced. His feathers were a mess but mostly caused by medications. Simple medications can cause stress bars in macaws, especially BG's. Maui my scarlet had quite a few stress bars and very poor feathers, he came from a very good breeder that is a wonderful friend of mine. The bird looked as if he had been run over by a lawn mower.... twice! Goes to show you how easy macaws can get stress marks and how completely rough they are on feathers. Both birds are so beautiful and healthy now.

I would ask the store why his feathers appear how they do and why they are different from the other baby. Could be something as simple as he got into something sticky and needs a bath. Ever handfed a macaw? Shoot! It would not be difficult to spill a cup of formula or something on one if you were not a veteran at feeding one. It could also be something medical... My mind does not always jump to the worst case scenarios. Simple bacterial infections or yeast can cause quite a host of symptoms and are very quick and easy to treat. Ugly feathers molt and they have quite a lifetime to be beautiful.