Lay it one me. **Sad Update**

[rocky'smom]

Ill try the mister again. She didn't like when I sprayed it at her, but who would.

I'm getting the impression sweet potatoes are the magic pill, but she doesn't show any interest! With my son (human), sometimes you just have to get some in there. Are birds the same way? She is doing the slow nod constantly, but she doesn't show anymore interest in food when I offered than she usually does.



Ill try this as well. When you guys say mashed. Do you mean almost to baby food like cream?

Heading to the vet now!

I just cooked them until fork tender, drain the water off, add a little dole pineapple juice ( 1teaspoon) and mash them up leaving little chunks.

 

[Fia Baby]

Stress marks are pretty typical in young macaws, so that alone isn't concerning, but her apparent lack of eating is troubling. Are you weighing her daily? It's the only way to determine how much she's eating. I wouldn't recommend leaving her at the vet, but I would have a culture done to see if she's picked something up in the stress of moving. It can happen in the best of cases. You need to do this sooner rather than later. Birds are very good at hiding illness (that's where weighing her daily for the time being comes in), and you don't want to let her go any longer than necessary. She should be eating. And she should definitely be eating some of the warm mashed foods you've offered her. They LOVE that stuff, and are normally very happy to be fed by their people. What do her poops look like? Do you see a normal amount of fecal matter? If you're not sure what that is, post a picture here for us to see. I really have a feeling that there's something going on with her at this point - but you can definitely deal with it with you're vet's help. Do you have much bird experience? You may need to medicate her, but it won't be too hard.

 

[Fia Baby]

If she shows interest in anything in particular, make sure she gets it at this point. Offer other stuff, but make sure she has the preferred. She'll only be open to trying new stuff when she's fairly well-fed to begin with.

 

[MILITARYMACAW]

The vet mentioned a culture but said that if I did it less than a month after the move they might miss something doing this soon.

 

[Fia Baby]

Well, that may be but she seems to have something going on now, that won't allow you to wait. If she has clinical symptoms then any labs done should also show it. I'd talk with the vet again about her lack of appetite, your attempts to feed her, and her weight status, and see what he says. Maybe he/she has some other insight. (Personally, if I felt strongly that she wasn't eating enough, and I knew her weight continued to decline, I'd do it now.) Continue to monitor her weight. She shouldn't lose any more. You should see her gaining weight. What about her breeder? Is this person a resource for you? This is stressful, but she can come through this.

 

[MILITARYMACAW]

I had the same thought as you. I’m more of a “we will need to do one test now and another in a month to cover what the first possibly missed.” Kind of person.

She has been eating some today. I also saw a small amount of fecal matter in her bathroom.

 

[rocky'smom]

You could moisten her pellets with little unsweetened apple juice. And try warming them up a little, kinda like what we do with human baby food.

 

[faislaq]

Went to the vet. She weighed 607 grams. He thought she was thin. He said her chest should be more flat and less v shaped at this point. He tried feeding her Harrison's mix from a big syringe and she wasnt interested. He sent me home with some and told me to try it everyday but not force it. I have tried each day and she doesn't want it. Honestly she doesn't seem to want anything. She drinks water, picks at the pellets, and thats it. She also has the marks on her feathers that indicate stress or trauma.

Its super stressful that i cant do anything when i know she clearly needs it . the thought of running her back n forth from the vet or leaving her there stresses me out thinking about how it could stress her out. I gave her bath today in the sink with warm water and she seemed to enjoy it, but no preening afterwords. She clearly is stressed from changing homes. I hope her poor condition with the previous owner combined with the move isnt too much.

Any tips for bonding exercises?

Let me rephrase... Im looking for any tips or suggestions. Ill do ANYTHING.

@Macawnutz will have an idea or twelve up her sleeve!

 

[MILITARYMACAW]

I took her to the vet again this morning. Her weight was 585 grams. 3 days prior it was 604. He fed her using a 10 g stainless steel curved crop needle. He also taught me how to use it and I have fed her once since then. He was an excellent teacher and spent about two hours demonstrating and answering my questions.

I’m to feed her three times daily using the crop needle while still offering her normal food items.

She has gone to bathroom this afternoon and it looked as it should. Within an hour of the first feeding she was a different bird. Different all in good ways.

One correction to a previous post...I said they had not performed any test at the first visit. They did check her fecal matter at the first visit and again today and everything looked good both times. The test he was referring to when he said to wait a month was a blood test of some sort.

 

[Just-passn-thru]

I took her to the vet again this morning. Her weight was 585 grams. 3 days prior it was 604. He fed her using a 10 g stainless steel curved crop needle. He also taught me how to use it and I have fed her once since then. He was an excellent teacher and spent about two hours demonstrating and answering my questions.

I’m to feed her three times daily using the crop needle while still offering her normal food items.

She has gone to bathroom this afternoon and it looked as it should. Within an hour of the first feeding she was a different bird. Different all in good ways.

One correction to a previous post...I said they had not performed any test at the first visit. They did check her fecal matter at the first visit and again today and everything looked good both times. The test he was referring to when he said to wait a month was a blood test of some sort.

You're on the right track...to responsible "aviancompainship " kudos to you!
You are her voice ...

 

[Shezbug]

That must make you both feel so much better to know she has eaten enough. Your vet sounds great.

 

[faislaq]

I would be so nervous about feeding a bird like that. But you've already done it! And now your girl is perking up. I'm glad our vet is such a patient and thorough teacher.

 

[Macawnutz]

I had a feeling your vet would suggest that. Not the greatest bonding experience and it really teaches them nothing as far as eating but she needs to get her weight and strength up. Offer normal food and syringe food first. The goal is to get her to eat enough on her own.

Did the vet show you how to syringe feed also? Macaws have a reflex spot ( kinda like a button ) on their top beak that instigates pumping.

 

[Fia Baby]

What a relief - I was really starting to worry about her situation! When they reach a certain point in their hunger, they'll stop looking for food, stop trying to eat, just living in a state of distress, so hand feeding her in way that let her be totally passive may have been the only thing that would work at that point. You're lucky to have a good vet - I'd have to travel at least 4 hours to find a vet with comparable bird skills!

 

[MILITARYMACAW]

I would be so nervous about feeding a bird like that.

Its pretty terrifying.

Not the greatest bonding experience and it really teaches them nothing as far as eating but she needs to get her weight and strength up

You can say that again. She has decided to remove step up from her repertoire and has replaced it with talk to the back.

This week has really sucked. I hate putting the crop needle down her throat. My son has never been critically sick, but I'm sure this is what it would feel like or pretty damn close to it. If she could only say something or if i could get on the magic school bus and go inside her and see for myself! I'm staying calm around her as best I can, but honestly my stomach jolts every time she moves because I'm thinking this is it.

We go back to the vet first thing in the morning, and I cant wait. She is eating and there is fecal matter in her waste, but I'm just not certain that we are moving forward from a health perspective. Emotionally I'm certain she likes me less after this week. Shes had her best day since I began feeding her, but also had one of worst.

 

[faislaq]

 

[Just-passn-thru]

I hope things continue to improve . Keeping you in our thoughts, that your efforts to give her very best care, will have a positive outcome.

 

[Shezbug]

Its pretty terrifying.


You can say that again. She has decided to remove step up from her repertoire and has replaced it with talk to the back.

This week has really sucked. I hate putting the crop needle down her throat. My son has never been critically sick, but I'm sure this is what it would feel like or pretty damn close to it. If she could only say something or if i could get on the magic school bus and go inside her and see for myself! I'm staying calm around her as best I can, but honestly my stomach jolts every time she moves because I'm thinking this is it.

We go back to the vet first thing in the morning, and I cant wait. She is eating and there is fecal matter in her waste, but I'm just not certain that we are moving forward from a health perspective. Emotionally I'm certain she likes me less after this week. Shes had her best day since I began feeding her, but also had one of worst.

I am sorry you are having to do this with her but on the flip side it is the best way to help her and get her health up, so even though it may not feel like it you are doing for her what is best. I can feel the stress and pain it is causing you and that is sad but she will forgive you once she is better and some time has passed.

 

[Macawnutz]

t

Its pretty terrifying.


You can say that again. She has decided to remove step up from her repertoire and has replaced it with talk to the back.

This week has really sucked. I hate putting the crop needle down her throat. My son has never been critically sick, but I'm sure this is what it would feel like or pretty damn close to it. If she could only say something or if i could get on the magic school bus and go inside her and see for myself! I'm staying calm around her as best I can, but honestly my stomach jolts every time she moves because I'm thinking this is it.

We go back to the vet first thing in the morning, and I cant wait. She is eating and there is fecal matter in her waste, but I'm just not certain that we are moving forward from a health perspective. Emotionally I'm certain she likes me less after this week. Shes had her best day since I began feeding her, but also had one of worst.

I know... and you are doing something that I refused to do myself. When my little guy was ill I kept him hospitalized for feedings, I couldn't do what you are doing.

At her age you should be able to only do it twice a day. once in the morning and once before bed. Try to interest her in food before feedings. Warm food, babies like warm food and some won't eat if it's a few degrees off. Too hot and you can burn her crop, too cold and she can get infections. try to hit 105 degrees without using a microwave. ( hot spots ) Consistency matters too. Too thick and it causes infections, too thin and there is no nutrition. Do you know what kind of formula she ate before you got her? That would be best to use right now.

Give her lots of love before and after feedings. Let her just sit with you and and help her preen. Preening is bonding. Do you have a scale yet?

 

[MILITARYMACAW]

Sister did not make it through the night. I want to thank everyone for their advice and words of encouragement. Even though I don’t know any of you guys, I wanted to tell you all first.

We went to the vet yesterday morning and her weight was down even even after I had been feeding her with a crop needle 3 times a day.

607g first visit
585g three days later
499g one week later

The vet decided we would up the feedings. He mentioned in our second visit he was concerned it was something greater. After our visit Saturday he indicated that suspicion was growing.

He also mentioned the possibility of someone selling her knowing she was sick. I knew that was a risk I was taking when choosing her, but I guess that doesn’t really matter at this point.

My mother came with me and we spent another hour going over best practices for using the crop needle. We used a different needle that he thought I might find easier for me to use.

After the vet on Saturday was the most “textbook Macaw” I’d ever seen her. She was preening, standing on one foot and scratching her head etc. All behaviors I’d never seen before.

At 7pm I gave her the evening feeding and it went the best it had ever gone. The new needle and training had me a lot less shakey than before.

I installed a camera and checked it at 11pm and everything appeared fine. At 11:45pm I checked again and couldn’t see her. She was on the bottom of the cage, and not in a position I think she would have chose.

She was breathing heavily. That was a topic I read about earlier In the day. Most of my free time has been spent reading ebooks about macaws and reading older forum conversations so I was aware this was not a good sign. I took her out and let her cuddle up on the chest on the couch. Her head was up and she was making an occasional sound like a goose mixed with a dove. I wasn’t sure if she sounded exhausted or content.

I hoped the heavy breathing was from the stress of being uncomfortable at the bottom of the cage and that it would subside but it did not.

At 3am her condition had not changed. I dozed off on the couch. At 5am I woke up and she was on my chest in the exact same position, but no longer alive.

She wasn’t the smartest choice when choosing a lifetime companion, but at least I gave her a chance she might not have had with someone else.-

I feel like I’m a Macaw person now, but I don’t have one anymore.