Ill-looking macaw baby?

[~Drini~]

I have decided to add a macaw to my household and went to see some babies (9 months old). They had scraggly feathers but I was told it was due to rough play, and I ended up putting a deposit down on one.

When I went to visit my baby today, I witnessed him regurgitate maybe 4-5 times. The woman who handfed him told me that he just views me as his mate. I also noticed that the insides of his thighs (an area I would not expect to be affected by rough play?) are bald. Furthermore, he has an open ring band (was told that they missed the window to band them with closed rings when they were chicks).




My questions are:

• Can it be possible that this 9-month-old baby views me as a mate after only 3 hours total of interaction? He is sweet but the rest of his behavior towards me does not align with pair bond behavior.
• Is his feather condition normal for a baby of this age?
• Do I have significant reason to be concerned about his health?

My heart is already getting attached to this little guy and if he was even mildly sick I would still consider bringing him home, but I am very nervous about the risk of avian bornavirus and the threat to not only him but also my 2 conures. My plan was to take him to my vet immediately after pick-up to have bloodwork and disease testing done, but I am not sure I could force my heart to return him if he turned out positive for anything (and he’d also have to stay in my home during the interlude). I just don’t know how to navigate this situation.

 

[April]

I'm no expert but I feel like that's to young to view you as a mate. In the wild at this point they wouldn't even be sexually mature yet to seek out a mate. He does seem a bit rough looking even with the fact he's a baby.

Id be a tad nervous to bring him home if I had other birds at home unless he was fully vet checked first.
Let me tag some knowledgeable Macaw folks and others to help.
@Macawnutz @BrianB @Toy @Greylady1966 @Shezbug @Nnbal @Pixiebeak @Mizzely

 

[April]

@Holiday

 

[~Drini~]

It might be completely neurotic of me but I could collect fecal samples and send them to the lab for bornavirus testing before bringing him home…

 

[~Drini~]

R

I'm no expert but I feel like that's to young to view you as a mate. In the wild at this point they wouldn't even be sexually mature yet to seek out a mate. He does seem a bit rough looking even with the fact he's a baby.

Id be a tad nervous to bring him home if I had other birds at home unless he was fully vet checked first.
Let me tag some knowledgeable Macaw folks and others to help.
@Macawnutz @BrianB @Toy @Greylady1966 @Shezbug @Nnbal @Pixiebeak @Mizzely

Right? The pair bond explanation does not sit right with me. Is there any benign reason for him to be regurgitating??

 

[BrianB]

There are a few things that stick out to me as questionable, and please don't take this as fear-mongering. I'm no expert, but I would request a full panel of disease testing before you put down another penny, and if they won't, ask for your deposit back and walk away.

A 9-month-old baby macaw has no idea what a mate is and won't form that kind of bond for years. Macaw chicks wean on their schedule, but being hand-fed at 9 months seems a little long. This is clearly a hybrid, and what holds true for a pure species doesn't always apply to them. My green wing chicks wean on their own between 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 months. The longest I've had a baby macaw take hand-feeding is 8 months, but this was an unusual situation with a crop infection. As I said, this being a hybrid may change that. The lighter eyes catch my attention. Macaw eyes don't lighten until they are several years old. My blue & gold macaw is around 4 1/2 and her eyes are starting to lighten. It seems very unusual for a 9-month-old to have eyes that are not completely black. An open ring leg band is very odd, almost a red flag. Closed ring bands are usually put on baby macs at 16 - 24 days. Beyond that the legs are too big. Vets don't recommend open leg bands because they are dangerous. Young birds are notorious for getting themselves into trouble as they explore their world. It could caught on a toy, or a cage wire. The idea that someone would do that worries me. The last thing is the body condition. Those feet and legs look very thin, and the feather condition is rough. Much worse than I would expect from birds playing with each other. The inside of the thigh would not be bald either. There is a lot here that sticks out as unusual.

 

[Macawnutz]

When babies learn they can regurgitate some just do. It's kinda a fun thing BUT I'm not going to lie and say I didn't take mine to a vet the first time I saw them do it. Korbel used to lean off his net and spill it on my head.

He does not view you as a mate. Don't listen to the store owner, just silly. His feather condition is barbering behavior. Most babies look rough from rough play but clearly your sweetie is bartering. Why is unknown. It could be rough baby play and most likely you would think that the cause with his age.

Just quarantine your sweetie for 30 days keeping as much space as possible from your others. Separate room, separate spaces. Keep yourself clean between interacting.

 

[~Drini~]

Thank you so much for the taking the time to write such detailed responses.

@BrianB What % certainty would you say this guy is not 9 months old? He is not being handfed, he is fully weaned, I just need the time to set the vet appt and put together his enclosure before bringing him home. It would be bizzare for them to be lying about his age, as the store does sell older birds (some multiple decades old) with no problem. He is definitely very active, does not like to sit still, is always going around beaking things.

Man, I hate that my heart has gotten involved in this. I could walk away now, but he is still just a bird looking for a home regardless of discrepancies in his history. I think my only hard no’s would be a positive bornavirus test or him being significantly older.

 

[Macawnutz]

Drini, Korbel is the love of my life and he was on deaths door when I picked him up.

 

[April]

Oh let me tag @MiniMacaw as well with what she went through with Bowser.

 

[~Drini~]

Drini, Korbel is the love of my life and he was on deaths door when I picked him up.

Oh man. Thank you for this.

 

[BrianB]

@BrianB What % certainty would you say this guy is not 9 months old? He is not being handfed, he is fully weaned, I just need the time to set the vet appt and put together his enclosure before bringing him home.

my mistake. I thought the woman had just finished hand feeding him. My fault for telling from my phone.
The eyes being light bother me as do the very thin legs. He’s far too young for his eyes to be that light, however he is a hybrid and the normal growth schedules get thrown out the window with them. If he’s barbering he may have just chewed those infer thigh feathers off. The big question is why would a bird that young be barbering their feathers? What has caused that? I have a grey who came to me that way, and by sheer luck we figured out she did it because there was violence in the home. It’s a complex thing but something caused it and it’s concerning that a 9 month old bird would do that. It sounds like he has plenty to keep him busy so it’s not boredom. Please go through with the vet check and get a full disease panel. If he isn’t what you expect him to be then choose what to do from there. Ask the vet about the band as well. They will probably recommend removal. I would suggest a microchip instead.

 

[Macawnutz]

He is young and there is no way of knowing why his feathers are as they are. Maui looked like he was run over with a lawnmower twice at that age.
I handfed Korbel until he was 2 years old. I don't have Mary Lynn or Becky to back me on why but I did what I felt was best for my baby and would do it again if needed.
ABV testing is more accurate with bloodwork. Of course if do enough reading close to 40% of birds carry it without symptoms. Do more reading before focusing on solely that.

 

[~Drini~]

my mistake. I thought the woman had just finished hand feeding him. My fault for telling from my phone.
The eyes being light bother me as do the very thin legs. He’s far too young for his eyes to be that light, however he is a hybrid and the normal growth schedules get thrown out the window with them. If he’s barbering he may have just chewed those infer thigh feathers off. The big question is why would a bird that young be barbering their feathers? What has caused that? I have a grey who came to me that way, and by sheer luck we figured out she did it because there was violence in the home. It’s a complex thing but something caused it and it’s concerning that a 9 month old bird would do that. It sounds like he has plenty to keep him busy so it’s not boredom. Please go through with the vet check and get a full disease panel. If he isn’t what you expect him to be then choose what to do from there. Ask the vet about the band as well. They will probably recommend removal. I would suggest a microchip instead.

I will definitely take him to the vet immediately after pick-up and do the whole array of tests. I don't have a photo of the leg band but it is kinda crazy. The open band is quite literally very open. It's a centimeter gap. On his brother, the leg band seems so closed tight as to cut off his circulation. My conures are microchipped and that's what I would do with him as well.

 

[Toy]

He's a hybrid. B&G and ? He does look a bit rough. Could be hard play with other macaws. Usually they break tail feathers off as well. My B&G (JaKhu) played a lot on her back. She'd roll around on the floor grate of her cage, my lap, the floor, etc. She was heavily clipped & very clumsy when I got her. She broke off all her long tail feathers pretty quickly.

As far as no feathers on the inside of his legs....my B&G Macaw's legs are like that. She just turned 4 years old & is just getting a few feathers on the inside of her legs. My previous B&G's legs were not like that.

JaKhu's (my B&G) eyes were starting to lighten at 4 months when I got her. They weren't totally dark, she had some of the white outer ring. It was more like dark grey then, like this birds are in the photo. His beak looks like the right size for 9 month old.

His feet do look a bit thin. At his age they should still be plump. Some do lose weight when they wean. Yep get the leg band removed & get him micro-chipped.

If it were me I'd ask about a written health contract. You should also get a hatch certificate.

 

[~Drini~]

He is young and there is no way of knowing why his feathers are as they are. Maui looked like he was run over with a lawnmower twice at that age.
I handfed Korbel until he was 2 years old. I don't have Mary Lynn or Becky to back me on why but I did what I felt was best for my baby and would do it again if needed.
ABV testing is more accurate with bloodwork. Of course if do enough reading close to 40% of birds carry it without symptoms. Do more reading before focusing on solely that.

You're right, I should read more on ABV. I am really very scared about bringing home a bird that is potentially ABV-positive without doing the testing beforehand, and I cannot take him to the vet for bloodwork until I bring him home. I think I would normally be okay just bringing a bird home and straight into quarantine, but with his current appearance, I keep imagining scenarios where my conures become infected and I think that would be just about the end of my world.

I will check with my vet if disease testing results could be expedited to a 1-2 day turnaround.

 

[~Drini~]

He's a hybrid. B&G and ? He does look a bit rough. Could be hard play with other macaws. Usually they break tail feathers off as well. My B&G (JaKhu) played a lot on her back. She'd roll around on the floor grate of her cage, my lap, the floor, etc. She was heavily clipped & very clumsy when I got her. She broke off all her long tail feathers pretty quickly.

As far as no feathers on the inside of his legs....my B&G Macaw's legs are like that. She just turned 4 years old & is just getting a few feathers on the inside of her legs. My previous B&G's legs were not like that.

JaKhu's (my B&G) eyes were starting to lighten at 4 months when I got her. They weren't totally dark, she had some of the white outer ring. It was more like dark grey then, like this birds are in the photo. His beak looks like the right size for 9 month old.

His feet do look a bit thin. At his age they should still be plump. Some do lose weight when they wean. Yep get the leg band removed & get him micro-chipped.

If it were me I'd ask about a written health contract. You should also get a hatch certificate.

I was told that he is a milliQUIN. Not gonna lie, I thought he was a milliGOLD when I first saw him. He doesn't look like other milliquins I've seen, but I chalked it up to the random variation that can be seen in hybrids. He does play very rough with his brother, I've seen those two go at it.

There is a 72-hour health guarantee (so have to take him to the vet within 72 hours). I didn't realize it, but they also do disease testing upon request, which I will take them up on.

 

[Macawnutz]

A rough playing brother would account for a world of messy feathers.

Breath Drini. I think you are stressing more than need be.

 

[~Drini~]

It sounds like he has plenty to keep him busy so it’s not boredom.

I also meant to add, today I noticed that his enclosure at the store is pretty bare. No toys. He is incredibly curious about everything and goes nuts when I do offer him toys, so I would not be surprised if he is in fact bored.

 

[~Drini~]

A rough playing brother would account for a world of messy feathers.

Breath Drini. I think you are stressing more than need be.

I will try!