Any Tips For Blue and Gold Macaw?

[Ein]

So the person I help foster for is currently hand feeding a Blue and Gold Macaw baby. I normally like staying away from such big babies just because I would be devastated if I lost one, not saying losing any baby is easy but I don't know with Macaw babies they are so interactive etc its easy to fall in love easier.

Anyways here's the problem, and I told her I'd ask you all out there and see if maybe any of you could give some insight. The bird is about four weeks old, at first thriving and doing good. However now a couple weeks later since getting the bird, the bird is now lost weight (even after thickening the formula) and weighs less than when the bird was received. That's not the only problem, the bird's crop is not emptying very well, and it's very slow. She has medicated the baby already once and it seemed to help a little bit but came into the problem again.A breeder told her to try some apple cider to help "restart" the crop but as you can imagine she's a little "iffy" about this. The person taking care of the bird has been up every night for the last three nights to check on the baby and ensure that the baby doesn't aspirate and that the crop empties or at least is starting to go down, but she's running out of steam so I'm hoping someone here may have some insight and some suggestions that could help her with this baby.

Thanks in advance!

 

[JerseyWendy]

The chick must see the vet ASAP.

If the B&G is now about 4 weeks old and weighs LESS than when he came into your friend's care, then this is QUITE the critical situation.

Baby should have been vetted at first sign of weight loss and crop issues.

 

[Ein]

That's what I told her the other day, when she first brought this up to me. I called her this morning to check on the bird and I think she's going tonight after work.

 

[Birdman666]

This is beyond critical!!! Get vet care asap. These guys go south in a hurry and there is no saving them once they get past a certain point...

INEXPERIENCE PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE HAND FEEDING BABIES! THERE IS A 50% MORTALITY RATE WITH THES GUYS AS IT IS...

 

[Ein]

This is beyond critical!!! Get vet care asap. These guys go south in a hurry and there is no saving them once they get past a certain point...

INEXPERIENCE PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE HAND FEEDING BABIES! THERE IS A 50% MORTALITY RATE WITH THES GUYS AS IT IS...

This person has hand fed over a hundred birds and is anything but inexperienced. She is getting the bird to the vet however I said I would ask for any other tips and I have.

Thanks.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I don't mean to sound harsh, Ein, but if your friend has indeed handfed 100s of birds, then she should have KNOWN to take baby to the vet at the very first sign of trouble.

I truly hope she didn't wait too long. Like I said in my initial post, when such a young bird starts LOSING weight he should have been vetted immediately rather than trying home remedies such as ACV (apple cider vinegar).

 

[MikeyTN]

There's a big possibility for crop stasis! The crop will need to be flushed out. The baby could have digested foreign objects such as bedding. What kind of bedding is she using??? IF she have handfed hundreds of babies, she should know about this! I have hand fed hundreds and I know what to do when this problem arises. Vet care is definitely needed!!!!