Macaw Adventures 2023

[Kiwi's Dad]

I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better

 

[Kassiani]

I'm glad for your two negative tests! I'm sure you are anxious to spend some time out of the house. Don't over do! Lol!

 

[BrianB]

I have been trying to get Christopher in for a beak and nail trim for the last 2 months, but the universe conspired against me to keep it from happening. I had a few free hours today so I finally got her to the groomer for a touchup. Her nails have been like razors and that makes it really hard to try to handle her. We know she's not overly fond of me and that makes it even worse. The poor girl also molts heavily and she looks ragged right now. She has dropped several tail feathers and a few flight feathers too. The other day I went into the kitchen and she was not on her stand. There was a blue feather laying there on the floor, and when I looked to the left there was another one. I turned a bit and there she was on the floor with a third feather. They are all secondary flight feathers, and now she has a gap in her wing where it looks like she's been clipped. I guess she slipped or something because she never gets down on the floor on her own. Silly girl. She was putting on a good show about being offended by the whole thing, but she was quiet when the groomer had her wrapped up in the towel and was working on her nails. Chewie screams and carries on like it's the worst thing ever. Once she was done I took her over to the toys so she could pick one out. Chewie just pouts but she showed interest in one so I bought it for her. Here she is after getting her beak and nails done.

 

[Kiwi's Dad]

Christopher is so cute
Chewie sounds like quite the character

 

[Dartman]

Thanks. This is day 4 and I'm still testing positive. It's more annoying than anything. I don't feel bad, just run down and I tire easily. I hate that I need to stay home when there are things I need to do. I can get anything I need delivered, but I would like to get out of the house too.

I was playing with my phone the other day when Chewie was sitting in the living room with me. I'm not sure how I captured this one but here he is in black and white.

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My sister and I both got it right at Thanksgiving, and we both had it in February 2020. Second time was easy, first was like a flu for about two weeks and lost sense of taste and smell. This time like a mild cold and lost sense of smell but could still taste most food. We had every shot but the last one too and even the old folks one. I think at least it really lessened the time and severity so that is a plus. If your using home tests they are pretty dumb and as long as you have traces of dead covid around inside you'll test positive even though your not contagious anymore. Once my fever was broke for a week I went back to work and masked up for another week just in case.

 

[Kassiani]

The horror is all over for now, Christopher!

She looks good in spite of her molt.

 

[BrianB]

Here is Baby Bo. She turned 6 months yesterday. We've been dealing with a crop infection, but she's recovering really well. Her crop has always been slow to empty and with the infection, it was even slower. The vet gave us some antibiotics and another medication to help the crop empty faster and it worked very well. It's an injection twice a day, but she's so easygoing that I've been able to give it to her without any fuss on her part. She gets antibiotics in the morning, then the injection and some formula. She has pellets and chop along with fresh water that she eats during the day. In the evening she gets another dose of antibiotics, an injection, and another syringe of formula. Her siblings were all weaned by 6 months but she lost a little weight with the infection so we started giving it to her again along with a high-calorie supplement to bring it back up. She's back to her usual silly self. Both she and Enzo are very different from Freya. She was very serious and focused. Enzo was just a silly boy who acted like a puppy. Bo alternates between being serious and goofy. After giving her the antibiotic, then the injection and formula I tried to get her to step up onto my arm and she rolled over on her side like a puppy. When I got her up she latched onto my fingers and about beat me to death flapping her wings. Those nails are just daggers and they desperately need to be filed but it's going to have to wait until she gets the all-clear from the vet. My arm will probably look like ground beef by then.

 

[Icey]

Here is Baby Bo. She turned 6 months yesterday. We've been dealing with a crop infection, but she's recovering really well. Her crop has always been slow to empty and with the infection, it was even slower. The vet gave us some antibiotics and another medication to help the crop empty faster and it worked very well. It's an injection twice a day, but she's so easygoing that I've been able to give it to her without any fuss on her part. She gets antibiotics in the morning, then the injection and some formula. She has pellets and chop along with fresh water that she eats during the day. In the evening she gets another dose of antibiotics, an injection, and another syringe of formula. Her siblings were all weaned by 6 months but she lost a little weight with the infection so we started giving it to her again along with a high-calorie supplement to bring it back up. She's back to her usual silly self. Both she and Enzo are very different from Freya. She was very serious and focused. Enzo was just a silly boy who acted like a puppy. Bo alternates between being serious and goofy. After giving her the antibiotic, then the injection and formula I tried to get her to step up onto my arm and she rolled over on her side like a puppy. When I got her up she latched onto my fingers and about beat me to death flapping her wings. Those nails are just daggers and they desperately need to be filed but it's going to have to wait until she gets the all-clear from the vet. My arm will probably look like ground beef by then.

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What a sweetheart. I'm so happy the meds are working and she's getting better.
Don't you love being a human pin cushion for them?

 

[Xoetix]

Oh. My gosh.

She an absolute stunner.

 

[BrianB]

What a sweetheart. I'm so happy the meds are working and she's getting better.
Don't you love being a human pin cushion for them?

My arms are constantly scratched and bruised from bird's nails or beaks. A customer once said she noticed I had a lot of scratches on my inner forearm and she wanted to know if she could suggest someone I might want to talk to because I needed a different outlet for my stress. We have this saying at the bird store - "We aren't cutters, we work with birds." My niece turned her thigh into a roadmap of scars as a teenager, so I'm not making light of anyone who may be struggling with mental illness.

 

[aooratrix]

I've felt that pain before. Those nails are like needles, especially when a big bird like a GW gets in some flapping aerobics and REALLY grips. Ouch.

 

[BrianB]

I took Chewy to work with me today. He shares a double macaw cage with Poppy and she's been horrible lately. We've locked the divider into place because he has pulled it out a few times and then the two of them start screaming at each other. She spent her whole life with her wings clipped and when she came to us we decided she wouldn't get clipped again. Her beautiful flight feathers have finally grown back in and now her wings are bigger than she's been used to. She's frustrated with her wings bumping into things and she's hormonal. Her first hormonal period wasn't that bad but it's in full force this year and she's just nasty right now. So I took Chewy to work because she's been so mean to him. Even though they aren't physically together, she sometimes grabs his tail feathers through the bars and when she has them she will not let go. I decided Chewy needed a break from her so I packed him into the carrier and off we went to work. He ended up on a large tree not far from the window where the light hit him just right and gave me a stunning picture of him. Being at the store usually left him over stimulated by the time I was ready to go home and he would get nippy. More than once he grabbed my thumb and gave it a good crunch. Today he was very well-behaved. No crunching my thumbs, and only a few screams. I made sure to give him lots of treats in return.

 

[Kassiani]

His colors are so vibrant in that light. His feathers are in great condition!

 

[Emma&pico]

I took Chewy to work with me today. He shares a double macaw cage with Poppy and she's been horrible lately. We've locked the divider into place because he has pulled it out a few times and then the two of them start screaming at each other. She spent her whole life with her wings clipped and when she came to us we decided she wouldn't get clipped again. Her beautiful flight feathers have finally grown back in and now her wings are bigger than she's been used to. She's frustrated with her wings bumping into things and she's hormonal. Her first hormonal period wasn't that bad but it's in full force this year and she's just nasty right now. So I took Chewy to work because she's been so mean to him. Even though they aren't physically together, she sometimes grabs his tail feathers through the bars and when she has them she will not let go. I decided Chewy needed a break from her so I packed him into the carrier and off we went to work. He ended up on a large tree not far from the window where the light hit him just right and gave me a stunning picture of him. Being at the store usually left him over stimulated by the time I was ready to go home and he would get nippy. More than once he grabbed my thumb and gave it a good crunch. Today he was very well-behaved. No crunching my thumbs, and only a few screams. I made sure to give him lots of treats in return.

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She’s so gorgeous just something about their faces

 

[zoo mom]

He is stunning.

 

[Icey]

Chewy you are absoltely gorgeous and I'm glad you didn't give daddy a hard time today.

 

[BrianB]

I was able to get Poppy out this morning for a few minutes so I could try to get some pictures of her. She's all over the place but I managed to get a few pictures. Her wings look fantastic now that most of the flight feathers have grown back in. I see one feather that's still waiting to be replaced, but she looks so much better than she did when she joined the flock. Her wings looked like little stubby things and now they are beautiful. If you look at the picture they were trimmed just past the yellow band. Now she has several inches of feathers that were never there before. I can understand why she gets frustrated when they bump into things. I'm guessing she's weighing in right around 1000 grams. She's small but dense. Chewy is right at 1400 grams.

 

[aooratrix]

Poppy is gorgeous!

 

[BrianB]

Bo went for her follow-up visit today. The gram-negative bacteria is back to an acceptable level However, the 24 days of antibiotics also wiped out all the good bacteria and now she has a slight yeast infection. Luckily we caught it very early and we have a week-long course of anti-fungal medication and a general pro-biotic to get things back in balance. This little girl has put some weight back on which made the vet happy. She pretended to be shy and put up a fuss when she was being examined. As soon as the vet left the room she got over herself and tried to eat the window cover and gave me attitude when I told her no. We have a follow-up appointment next Sunday and if everything is where it should be, we'll work on getting her weaned again so she can go home to her momma. Maybe she will grow into those feet before that.

 

[Pixiebeak]

BO is so cute!
How old?