?fledgling wants to eat on his own?

[BibaDiba]

Hi all!

I am an owner of a now 14 weeks and 3 day old blue and gold macaw, he's usually an absolute sweetheart, but lately he's being a bit of a weirdo. He took his formula greatly and was very calm and still. Now he's just acting crazy.
I'm pretty sure he started fledging, flapping his wings as if all depends on it, even flew just a little and obviously crashed (luckily not high at all)
But now he's also sometimes refusing formula, this obviously made me a bit concerned.

What I did notice was that all the pellets and nuts I keep in his cage were crushed up and most of it gone, half of his chop I offer him at all times was also gone. So he ate, as it's nowhere else to be found, in the morning before formula-feeding he has healthy poops too.

My question is, is this normal?

 

[Hankmacaw]

It is quite normal for a macaw to restrict heir food consumption when fledging. They need to get lighter in order to fly. Thid too shall pass - he's gong through the normal growing/development stages.

 

[BibaDiba]

Thank you!!

 

[BrianB]

Sounds normal and right on schedule. Some macaws will refuse hand feeding for a few days and then take it as if they've never eaten before. Some will take less and less each day until they are weaned. Keep track of the weight each day. There is always some weight loss to be expected when they switch from hand feeding to eating on their own. They will drop some weight and then start to put it back on. They are burning off baby fat and replacing it with muscle. If there is a large drop in weight in a short period of time then that might be a concern, but it all sounds normal.