My 6 week old Baby Blue & Gold Macaw-Cosmo

[brandy2103]

Hey Mercedez or anyone else who knows,

I sent you a message about my baby blue and gold. When he sleeps his breathing is irregular. I called the breeder she says it's normal. Have you seen this before. He seems to be doing great. Growing EVERY day. Eatting great, no problems at all. No coughing or sneezing with his feeding. Taking 70 cc four times a day. Do you think stuff should be added to the Kaytee Macaw Formula. I read people in the Macaw section saying to add fat, but some say don't add anything to the formula. He is 6 weeks old now. Thanks!
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As I am watching him now, I guess it is because he is dreaming. He will breath differently, then make little noises and jump, but he is still asleep. I touched him and he kinda hissed and screamed. I had to hold him until he calmed down. I scared him. Musta been a bad dream.

 

[brandy2103]

Here is a picture of Cosmo this morning. He is sooooo adorable, but I guess I'm a little partial!

 

[brandy2103]

Cosmo is eatting great, no problems at all. No coughing or sneezing with his feeding. Taking 70 cc four times a day. I give one scoop formula to two scoops water. Do you think stuff should be added to the Kaytee Macaw Formula. I saw some people in the Macaw section posting to add fat, but some say don't add anything to the formula. He is 6 weeks old now. Thanks!
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[Bokkapooh]

1 scoop of formula to two scoops of water? That sounds a bit runny. On the kaytee packaging it says for 5weeks-wean, you want to handfeed with 1 part formula to 1 1/3-2 parts water. So that age (when they start to get feathers in) I give 1 part formula to 1.5 parts of water. I make it a bit thicker. I make it like medium-thick gravy The thicker as they wean.

 

[Bokkapooh]

BTW!! Your baby is GORGEOUS! I cant wait to see pics of her when she is older! She is soo cute!!

 

[marian]

Brandy you baby is adorable.I know nothing about macaws...Just that is one cute little baby.Good luck... keep showing us pics as he starts this journey with you.

 

[brandy2103]

ok, I will thicken it more next feeding. What is BTW?

 

[brandy2103]

thanks Marian! I gotta figure out how to post picts, right now I only know how to do it by changing my sig.

 

[Bokkapooh]

ok, I will thicken it more next feeding. What is BTW?

btw= by the way

 

[hotfoot jackson]

Oh you just HAVE to love baby birds...that sure is a cutee.

 

[tracie]

ohhhh what a cutie! Love that little beakie! It won't be small for long

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Aw what a cutie she is!

 

[Renae]

What an adorable face!

 

[jinh]

awwww I remember those days...before the mischief begins!

 

[Wasabisaurus]

How precious!

 

[brandy2103]

Jinh and Tracie, did you hand feed your as babies.They are gorgeous, it's hard to believe my clumsy, big footed little one will look like that soon!! Are yours really sweet? -I can handle mischief if he stays sweet. LOL

 

[PerfectlyParrot]

Brandy you can puree some veggies and add that to the formula, just make sure anything you add is not in big chunks so that it is easier to digest. You can also soak some pellets in juice or water and start offering those to him in a bowl so he can start experimenting with other things. I did not add any extra fat to my formula as some others have said, but I don't think that sounds like a bad idea.

I wouldn't worry about the breathing thing either, Winston did the same thing and sometimes some of the positions he slept in had me wondering if he was still alive! I never knew they could twist like that lol.

He's very precious by the way, but to me all baby macaws are .

 

[brandy2103]

Jinh and Tracie, did you hand feed your as babies.They are gorgeous, it's hard to believe my clumsy, big footed little one will look like that soon!! Are yours really sweet? -I can handle mischief if he stays sweet. LOL

 

[brandy2103]

Will the baby keep eatting even if it is full? He is 6 weeks old. I read they don't know they are full until 8 minutes after feeding, is that true? I think he may need more, but I don't want to overfeed. His crop was pretty well empty 3 hours after I fed him today. He is taking 60-70 cc three or four times per day. Depending on how late at night his last feed is or if I am working in which case he is fed at 5:00 am. Thanks!

 

[tracie]

Sorry Brandy, I am just catching up to this thread. I did not hand feed Jack, but I am handfeeding Lexi my 12 week old Catalina macaw. She is currently on 3 handfeedings a day at 155 cc's a feeding. They do not know they are full for about 10 minutes (not exact, but you will know by behavior), so you cannot continue to feed because they are begging. Are you making it thick enough? Pancake batter, applesaucey? You might need to increase the amount, I judge by the feel of the crop. You don't want it tooo tight. I am by no means an expert, I just have my own experience. I personally add about a teaspoon of natural flavored yogurt or babyfood (apple,banana,strawberry, applesauce etc), just to make it more palatable in my own mind. I think we are going to start on with some small veggies in the bowl, like corn, peas, finely chopped broccoli and carrots. I will also take a hammer or rolling pin and crush pellets and finely chop walnuts for an afternoon snack. It is important that you dont try anything very big, because at first they will be curious and eventually swallow some and you don't want it to be to big to choke them, but I will continue the handfeedings.

Your baby is just precious, maybe someone will come on and tell you exactly how much you should be feeding at that age. We are all here for you!