Macaw not eating

[Skittergitchy]

I'm new here so please forgive me if I post wrong but I am desperate. My 30 yr old military macaw has stopped eating. She is still as ornery as ever...still screams bloody murder but has decided not to eat. I've offered everything on every parrot help site I could find..fresh fruits and veggies, granola, boiled eggs, peanut butter on toast...nothing. She does drink some watermelon puree but not much .This bird has been on seed and nut diet mostly but now will crack open the favorite nuts , chew off chunks of nut and spit to ground. Had vet appt but this morning she was going at the feeder and I cancelled. Turns out she was just picking food around bowl . Past week...stress in family as our dog died, new grandchild born .Her window was open next to her cage and my husband burned trees and leaves. She has never flown and mis stepped and fell from her high perch .never occured to her to flap wings. She scrapes the sides of her beak on perch a lot .No exposure to other birds other n amazon companion of past 5 yrs. Vet appt rescheduled but until then can anyone help us with any input?

 

[Macawnutz]

Sounds serious. If you can't get anything in her you need the vet as soon as possible.

Keep trying any of her favorites, even garbage like some ice cream, mashed potatoes... Make sure she is drinking, fruit juice if you have too. Keep her warm, above 75 if possible.

 

[rocky'smom]

Mashed sweet potatoes with a little pineapple juice and Ceylon cinnamon in it.

 

[Skittergitchy]

Ok .Gave her tsp of vanilla ice cream. She dove into it. I put small seeds in it and she ate them. We have vet appt tomorrow aftnoon..just need to get food in her til then. I gave her a warm shower the day before this started but we have 80 to 90 degree weather.

 

[Skittergitchy]

Loved the ice cream and seeds. Drank some oj .Ate few slurps of mashed sweet potatoes and pineapple juice .First food all day. Actually went to bowl and ate a couple of bites of her nuts and seeds. Still wiping beak furiously. Thank you guys for responding to me .I'm thinking of getting baby food fruit as she seems to like the mushy stuff. Is that ok for her?

 

[rocky'smom]

Ok just spit balling here she may have irritation in her beak. Kinda like us having a canker sore, not comfortable eating but we need food.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Baby food is fine at this point in time. In general you want to be sure to get iron free or low iron baby food. I would recommend that you try vegetable baby food first - peas, corn, green beans, sweet potatoes, spinach. Fruit has a lot of sugar and right now she needs something more substantial.

I hope the vet appointment is successful and when you get back from the vet please come back and let us know how she's doing and so we can talk about her diet .

 

[rocky'smom]

Baby food is fine try to stick to organic and low iron. Baby cereal (oat meal) mixed with fruit or veggies would work.

 

[msplantladi]

Please, Please get her to a vet ASAP. Birds are very good at hiding illness. Just my humble opinion but seeds are so bad for birds, she would benefit from pellets so much better then seeds...But most importantly a visit to a good bird vet so you know exactly what you are dealing with. A full CBC panel will tell you alot. I so hope you have caught it in time. Best of luck

 

[Mizzely]

Usually only baby cereals and stuff with grains is fortified with iron. I've yet to see a jar of veggie or fruit baby food with added iron. I definitely would use baby food, and if possible, crush up pellets to add to it for extra sustenance.

 

[msplantladi]

I so hope I am not breaking any rules but for the sake of your bird please read the information from this site. I have had great success by following these guide lines. https://www.parrotproblemsolving101.com/diet-101

 

[Hankmacaw]

@msplantladi I've sort of surveyed that site and it looks excellent. It is especially good for a new or recent owner who needs information and substantiation about "things" they have heard. I'm going to bookmark it and read through it as I have the time.

 

[rocky'smom]

How is your macaw?

 

[Shinobi]

Past week...stress in family as our dog died, new grandchild born .Her window was open next to her cage and my husband burned trees and leaves. She has never flown and mis stepped and fell from her high perch .never occured to her to flap wings.

The death of the dog could have been a trigger then add the grandchild, smoke and the fall. These changes to her environment may upset her enough to put off eating. But to be on the safe side I would still have the vet check her out.

 

[msplantladi]

I was so hoping to pop in here & see a update about your macaw-I have had her on my mind. Hope the vet date went well.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Hope all will be well with your macaw.