Advice for an abused macaw

[CeliaCelie]

My sister works at a vet that has been housing a Blue and Gold Macaw for the past three years. She's a rescue case that was dumped by an abusive family but her quality of living has not improved much since being left at the hospital.
She's not socialized and has plucked her chest bare. She's never been let out o her cage due to aggression and the cage she is in currently isn't even big enough to stretch her wings. She is not receiving a proper diet or the stimulation she needs.
My sister is now looking to take her in.

I'm asking for any advice any of you may have for handling such an abused bird. They're not expecting to be able to interact with her much in terms of handling due to her condition but want to do what they can to get her on the road to healing.
They're also looking to keep her in an outdoor aviary if anyone here has had experience with that as well.

Any little bit helps.

 

[SailBoat]

Wow, starting from a -150 below a baseline is no easy task.

Does your sister have the 'money,' 'time,' 'deep interest,' and 'long term willingness' in making this happen? To take this Parrot from where it is now and place it somewhere that is barely a bit better does this Parrot no really good.

Outside aviary with a Parrot starting where this one is, is commonly a good way to forget that Parrot when things do not improve within the Human's Timelines and Expectations.

For this Parrot, it needs to be center, but a bit off to the side of the center of activity of this Family and that is not outside! This allows it to see, hear, and become part of this family! This represents the foundation of the process.

Read everything by Birdman666 regarding MACs!

Commitment is Life Time or not at all! Regardless of whether its over a very long time it becomes better or nothing at all!

Then it is a sit down heart to heart discussion! That is every hour of every day forever more!

 

[wrench13]

A vet doesn't feed this bird properly? A vet houses this bird in a too small cage? Strange. 'Boats is right, as usual. Your sister needs to think, hard, on adopting this B&G. Is she ok if he never improves over the years?

 

[CeliaCelie]

God, trust me I know it's not a pretty situation.
(Don't get me started on the vet- I'll spare you the details but they've got two greys and an amazon in house as well. They're doing better than the macaw but by no means are being cared for properly (pure seed diets, no toys etc). The issue is the owner won't let anyone take the birds or send them out to proper rescues so they're left rotting- they asked her to take the macaw after the bird started warming up to her but they'll only turn it over if she's the one keeping it - and here we are one disgusting story on parrot abuse later.)

She's okay with the birds personality never improving, she's looking to improve her quality of life. I'm just not sure if it'll be enough.
I guess- do you think it's worth the risk to take her out of the bad situation she's in now and bring her into this new one? It's not ideal and she won't get all the attention she deserves. But it'll be more than what she has now and the proper food and space...?

 

[chris-md]

Here's the thing - if Mark (birdman666) has taught us anything it's that this bird has the potential to be a phenomenal cuddly bird. Many rescues turn into the biggest mush macaw.

In order for that happen your sister HAS to put in the training work. Absent the strong desire not to own, but to train, id strongly advise against it.

 

[SailBoat]

At the risk of over-stating one point and totally missing another equally as important point. One can never underestimate the power of Love. And, if this MAC has identified your Sister and she the MAC, thats a good stating point.

The general fear is that your Sister and just as importantly her family will loose the 'feeling' and turn their back and walk away.

Have her read Birdman666, everything you can find on his writing on MACs and that includes writings in the Information Forums also. As Chris so very well stated: They have it within them to be true Cuddly bundles.

With our Amazon's, the turning point is commonly three long extensive effort years in to the process. But there is no assurances with any of these Parrots. I truly believe they have the want to Trust a Human Again, to be Loved and Love a Human Again. Its all tied to a deep want to be part of a 'Forever Home,'

I have added this as part of so many Threads that too others it may feel stale: It's NEVER the fault of the (MAC) Parrot! It's ALWAYS the fault of the Human. When that is the vantage point, the Human can more quickly determine what they are doing wrong and correct!

The Words 'MY' MAC: Doesn't Love Me, Doesn't Like Me, Doesn't Care For Me, Hates Me can never cross her lips! This process is 99% on the Human and 1% on the MAC!

The outside storage box is totally out of this thinking. The MAC must be the Center and in the Home.

Can this all turn around. The Short Answer is YES! But, it is always at the Parrot's speed, timeframe and its own expectations! This MAC has no belief that Life with Humans can be any better and has been deeply hurt and therefore has no reason to trust another Human.

The MAC is clearly not going anywhere. So, your Sister had the time to think this though and assure that she will provide a Forever Home.

I am not committing any other members here. But, if your Sister elects to take this 'Baby' into her Heart and commit fully to a Forever Home. I will provide what knowledge I have to her effort. That, all based on her becoming a Member and providing a Forever Thread of the Life of Her MAC!

 

[Dopey]

Please have your sister log on to this forum and read the MACAW forum. There is a lot of advice on the forum. It can be over whelming.

I love macaws and I specifically have a heart for plucked macaws. Two of my macaws were really plucked when I got them. Their feathers are coming back in. When they get on a good diet things change. When they get fed a consistent diet their attitude changes.

OMG - please save that bird. And please - if you can - have your sister get toys into the cages of the other birds. Then - if she can - have her slowly change over the diet of the birds at the vets. Birds want good food. She can bring apple slices or bananas or veggies every time she comes to work there.

True story - this morning I was giving my birds their usual food. A newly acquired macaw that I have likes the fruity pellets (ugh - they stink). So, not to stress her out more than she already is I have been giving her the pellets she likes but also a 1/4 cup of the pellets I feed my other macaws. Within the pellets are some dehydrated apples. She put her beak all the way into the bowl - moved her head around a bit and came back up with the dehydrated apple. They want (and will) eat the good for them. They just have to have it offered to them.

Save the macaw.

 

[Kentuckienne]

If the person left the birds at the vet for that long, they can probably be considered legally abandoned. Are they paying for room and board? What is the vet's written policy on abandoned animals? Is the owner a family member or friend of the vet, or just some influential rich schmuck they don't want to offend?

This infuriates me. The macaw is being abused and mistreated, and by a VET? It's inexcusable. I don't care who the owner is or how important they are. I want to cry when I read things like this because the vet KNOWS BETTER and enables the birds to suffer.

 

[BeatriceC]

We took in a macaw in similar straits not quite a year ago. The biggest difference is that Charlotte was with people who were trying to do the right thing for her but couldn't. They'd rescued her from a situation as dire dire as you described, but were unsuccessful in rehabbing her. She wasn't just aggressive, she was violent. She couldn't be approached to even feed her or clean her cage without protective gear. It's been a lot of hard work, and heartbreaking at times, but she's doing a lot better now. She loves MrC to bits, but she's still not completely trusting. It's still one day at a time with her. She's a full time project. We spend hours directly working with her every day and are indirectly working with her at all times during daylight hours.

So the question for your sister is if she's going to be like the people who first rescued Charlotte, who did love her and did, at least, provide a safe and healthy environment, but couldn't get through to her, and is she going to be okay with that if that's all she can do.