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Anyone know how to make neck tubes

Jenphilly

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In preparing for Max's upcoming surgery, thinking of how to prevent him from picking at the incision. I prefer to use a neck tube instead of a collar. My daughter recalls they would make the tubes at the shelter, but never was involved with that so want to ask if anyone has any experience or can walk me thru making a few!? Or if anyone makes them, let me know!

Few pics I grabbed from Google as examples!

Thank you!!

Thank you!
 

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Macawnutz

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This is where I buy mine from.
 

Jenphilly

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This is where I buy mine from.
We have those from our Folger years, Max does the flop and roll if you put one on him :laugh: the shelter birds were much more receptive to the tubes, no dramatics,think the neck tube will be much safer to use right after surgery so he's comfy, can easily get his beak into food and water bowls from a nested seated position.... hope that makes sense, or it's just too early for me to get my brain trying to explain anything :p:confused:;)
 

Jenphilly

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Macawnutz

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We have those from our Folger years, Max does the flop and roll if you put one on him :laugh: the shelter birds were much more receptive to the tubes, no dramatics,think the neck tube will be much safer to use right after surgery so he's comfy, can easily get his beak into food and water bowls from a nested seated position.... hope that makes sense, or it's just too early for me to get my brain trying to explain anything :p:confused:;)
Jen, she makes the tubes.... ;) While it's called parrot petals she also makes the velcro neck collars. Well Made!
 

Jenphilly

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Jen, she makes the tubes.... ;) While it's called parrot petals she also makes the velcro neck collars. Well Made!
I couldn't find them, I looked thinking that's why you shared :roflmao::laugh::(:roflmao:

We have some of her wide collars from years ago with Folgie.
 
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Macawnutz

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I couldn't find them, I looked thinking that's why you shared :roflmao::laugh::(:roflmao:

We have some of her wide collars from years ago with Folgie.
You can email her. I think the neck bands are $15 and $9 for shipping. Of course I buy for an amazon and not a macaw. You can pick colors and everything is well made. Strong little neck collars and fast shipping.
 

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When my previous B&G chewed her leg the vet put an acrylic bubble collar on her. She got it off. Next he put a acrylic Tube with a flange collar on her. She got past that one too. So long story short we made her one from a man's tube sock & strips of a hand towel. The downside is she couldn't eat with her feet, so I had to sort of hand feed her. We cracked nuts for her & made sure she could lean far enough to pick up food with her beak. She just couldn't hold any food in her feet to eat. I fed her veggies/fruits/etc off a fork. She managed quite well, as you will see in the pics I posted below. These are pics of JaJaBinks with her collars on:

She injured her leg on her pipe bell after a shower. She was kicking he bell & had wet skin, which got a slight cut. Then she chewed it. Later, due to pain, she ripped it open more, while wearing the collars the vet had used. Vet refused my request for pain meds.
jjblegFeb25, 2006.jpg

The 1st collar. The Bubble Collar. She managed to get the tape off & pulled it apart.
jjbcollar2.jpg

The 2nd collar. I guess you can call it a "T" collar. It was screwed together. She was able to get to her leg with this collar on as well & tore the long piece of skin off her leg. Both these collars irritated the base of her neck due to rubbing.
jjbcollarFeb17,2006.jpg

We tried to modify the 2nd collar by adding a wider acrylic disc. She got past that too!
jjbmodcollarFeb25, 2006.jpg

Both acrylic collars rubbed her neck & you could see they were causing irritation. SOOOOO....
I found this way to make a collar....it's a Sock & Towel Collar. Very comfy, no irritation, she could not get to her leg & she wore it for several weeks with no issues. As you can see it's thick & goes from jaw to base of neck.
jjbtowelcollarFeb27, 2006.jpg

Her she is climbing into my freezer & drinking from the dogs water dish. The collar didn't stop her from doing things:
jjbfreezerMarch25, 2006.jpg jjblegdogdishmarch16, 2006.jpg

I had taken her to a different vet, who said this was the most humane collar she'd ever seen on a parrot. She took x-rays, which the previous vet didn't & put her on pain meds. Here's how you make the Sock & Towel Collar:

You need a man's crew sock & a thick terry hand towel. I suggest white, just to prevent any issues with dyes. My husband is a size 9 shoe/sock, just for measure. Cut the top part of the crew sock off about 1.5 inches below where the elastic ends. It will measure roughly 5.5 inches total. The elastic part on mine is about 4 inches long. It measures 3.25 inches across the top edge. Next cut the towel. The strips I have measure 4 inches in width & 19 inches in length. You need 2 strips. This is the measurement for my previous female B&G macaw. I got the towel width measurement by using my hand, gripping her neck, then measuring my hand. It needs to be from under jaw to base of neck, wit neck stretched a bit. Now comes the fun part...putting it on:

I suggest a 2nd person to help. Wrap the towel strips one at a time, around the birds neck, overlapping the ends, but make sure the overlap is not in the front. Wrap it just so it lays well, but not too sung or tight. Pull the sock top over your hand, so it's now inside out. Then take a hold of the birds beak/head & pull it down over the towel strips. The cut end should be to the bottom. The top edge should be just above the towel strip. Tuck the bottom end up under, overlapping the edge of the towel strips. Take a pencil & reach down inside & push the feathers back in place. Now check to make sure you can easily slide your thumb under the front bottom, above the crop. If it slides in easy you are good to go. If not & the bird seems to have trouble swallowing then the towel strips are too tight & you need to start all over again & make them a little looser. The collar will slide down a tiny bit, but should be big enough to prevent the bird from bending its neck & getting to the incision. Of course no removing it or showers while wearing the collar. It should be left on until the incision is fully healed. As you can see in the pics my macaw did fine with hers on for several weeks. You may need to assist your bird eating, as this collar prevents them from bending the head & neck.

Here's her leg fully healed.
jjblegApril16, 2006.jpg

I know it sounds like a lot, but trust me this collar will work & be very humane.

Best wishes.
 

Jenphilly

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When my previous B&G chewed her leg the vet put an acrylic bubble collar on her. She got it off. Next he put a acrylic Tube with a flange collar on her. She got past that one too. So long story short we made her one from a man's tube sock & strips of a hand towel. The downside is she couldn't eat with her feet, so I had to sort of hand feed her. We cracked nuts for her & made sure she could lean far enough to pick up food with her beak. She just couldn't hold any food in her feet to eat. I fed her veggies/fruits/etc off a fork. She managed quite well, as you will see in the pics I posted below. These are pics of JaJaBinks with her collars on:

She injured her leg on her pipe bell after a shower. She was kicking he bell & had wet skin, which got a slight cut. Then she chewed it. Later, due to pain, she ripped it open more, while wearing the collars the vet had used. Vet refused my request for pain meds.
View attachment 426309

The 1st collar. The Bubble Collar. She managed to get the tape off & pulled it apart.
View attachment 426310

The 2nd collar. I guess you can call it a "T" collar. It was screwed together. She was able to get to her leg with this collar on as well & tore the long piece of skin off her leg. Both these collars irritated the base of her neck due to rubbing.
View attachment 426311

We tried to modify the 2nd collar by adding a wider acrylic disc. She got past that too!
View attachment 426312

Both acrylic collars rubbed her neck & you could see they were causing irritation. SOOOOO....
I found this way to make a collar....it's a Sock & Towel Collar. Very comfy, no irritation, she could not get to her leg & she wore it for several weeks with no issues. As you can see it's thick & goes from jaw to base of neck.
View attachment 426313

Her she is climbing into my freezer & drinking from the dogs water dish. The collar didn't stop her from doing things:
View attachment 426314 View attachment 426315

I had taken her to a different vet, who said this was the most humane collar she'd ever seen on a parrot. She took x-rays, which the previous vet didn't & put her on pain meds. Here's how you make the Sock & Towel Collar:

You need a man's crew sock & a thick terry hand towel. I suggest white, just to prevent any issues with dyes. My husband is a size 9 shoe/sock, just for measure. Cut the top part of the crew sock off about 1.5 inches below where the elastic ends. It will measure roughly 5.5 inches total. The elastic part on mine is about 4 inches long. It measures 3.25 inches across the top edge. Next cut the towel. The strips I have measure 4 inches in width & 19 inches in length. You need 2 strips. This is the measurement for my previous female B&G macaw. I got the towel width measurement by using my hand, gripping her neck, then measuring my hand. It needs to be from under jaw to base of neck, wit neck stretched a bit. Now comes the fun part...putting it on:

I suggest a 2nd person to help. Wrap the towel strips one at a time, around the birds neck, overlapping the ends, but make sure the overlap is not in the front. Wrap it just so it lays well, but not too sung or tight. Pull the sock top over your hand, so it's now inside out. Then take a hold of the birds beak/head & pull it down over the towel strips. The cut end should be to the bottom. The top edge should be just above the towel strip. Tuck the bottom end up under, overlapping the edge of the towel strips. Take a pencil & reach down inside & push the feathers back in place. Now check to make sure you can easily slide your thumb under the front bottom, above the crop. If it slides in easy you are good to go. If not & the bird seems to have trouble swallowing then the towel strips are too tight & you need to start all over again & make them a little looser. The collar will slide down a tiny bit, but should be big enough to prevent the bird from bending its neck & getting to the incision. Of course no removing it or showers while wearing the collar. It should be left on until the incision is fully healed. As you can see in the pics my macaw did fine with hers on for several weeks. You may need to assist your bird eating, as this collar prevents them from bending the head & neck.

Here's her leg fully healed.
View attachment 426323

I know it sounds like a lot, but trust me this collar will work & be very humane.

Best wishes.
Thanks for this! Laying in bed scrolling thru Facebook I had a brain fart idea we are playing with. Totally unrelated posts complaining about the new gift Carnival Cruise is giving out in their loyalty program, made me realize the last gifts might be a great option to use for a neck tube. They are can slap coozies, like the kids bracelets, but can size and thick soft foam. We have 3 or 4 in the luggage from our last cruise, cut one in half and definitely a workable option. But i like the thought of the soft towel fabric! I do am interior 'layer' so your towel explanation might be perfect! Pic of the initial try/sizing .. it does not close up much on its own, so no worry about it closing too much when he's sleeping. This is super easy and quick on and off, which works for using for the recovery. He barely paid any mind once on, just gave me that 'really mom' look, but he's use to ridiculous things in this house!

Thank you again!!!
 

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Jenphilly

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That's because you have one of the best BG in the world! Just sayin....
Well I definitely won't argue that! But I'm way biased. Thankfully my hubby agrees and loves Max just as much and has been onboard with whatever it takes to save Max, long as he's not suffering or in pain, can't imagine daily life without Max, but still can't allow us to let him be miserable.... but I don't think any of us were expecting such a massive bill BEFORE surgery. Who needs a vacation or retirement, long as Max is still worth us :wacky::eek::lol::shakehead::shakehead::imok:

I type this as I unpack a new 'playpen' that will be his hospital setup after surgery :zipped1:
 

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Toy

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Hummm thinking if you need to use a towel strip under the cozze get one of those self closing velcro straps/tape & wrap around it to hold it all in place. It would be easy on/off. The whole point is it needs to be thick enough to not to allow her to bend the head or neck, thus preventing any chewing of the surgery site.
 

Jenphilly

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Hummm thinking if you need to use a towel strip under the cozze get one of those self closing velcro straps/tape & wrap around it to hold it all in place. It would be easy on/off. The whole point is it needs to be thick enough to not to allow her to bend the head or neck, thus preventing any chewing of the surgery site.
The can coozie is quite thick, he was not reaching much with just that. The slap coozie will be the outer layer, it stays closed, does not pop or open (it overlaps about 50% of itself). I want the inner lining more for comfort for him and limit how far it can wrap around itself.
 
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