B & G rescue

[wwendy104]

Hello All,

Yesterday me and my husband brought home a rescue B & G who we were told was 6 to 7 years old and female. She looks to be healthy but some not all of her feathers are very barbered on her tail and some on her wings. The ends of the feathers appear ok its just the middle of them like she has been over preening. She was also on mainly a seed diet and I don't think she was out of her cage ever since the play area on top her cage looks as though it was never used at all. She has lots of new feathers coming in and appears to be molting. I have other bird and lots of experience just not with Macaws and currently I have her in quarantine until she sees the vet on Jan 7th. She needed to be rehomed by Jan 1st so we took her right away.

She ate immediately when we got home and hasn't stopped so maybe her nutrition was lacking or she was bored she only had one toy which the foster people put in the cage right before we picked her up, poor thing. Could there be any other reasons for the feather damage that I should be immediately concerned with? She doesn't appear to be sick and I have started her on a ACV mist and some added to her water since our vet told me that it was good to add for our CAG.

Just looking for some macaw experts to advise.

Thanks!

 

[plax]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new family member! Can you post a pic of her feather damage?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Welcome Wendy...another Wendy here.

Thank you for giving a Mac a home.

Pictures are always very much treasured

 

[wwendy104]

Here are some pictures, please let me know what you think.

 

[wwendy104]

Sorry I always planned on putting picture but I couldnt get them to post for some reason. Sorry I thought they were attached and then they weren't there. Despite the feathers I just couldn't turn her away, I felt so terrible for her.

 

[JerseyWendy]

She looks a bit raggedy, but I think a nice, warm bath may fix her right up

Have you seen her preening herself?

My Mac's feathers look like this after rough & tumble play.

 

[plax]

I appears that her feather barbs are all unzipped. I think there's a likelihood they have been damaged from infrequent to no bathing, perhaps in conjunction with poor nutrition. Her preening efforts may have as well played a role. One of the things that may help some of her feathers zip back are frequent misting sessions (ACV water mix is fine) and an adequately adjusted diet. And certainly ask your avian vet for his/her opinion and follow any advice given. Her feathers will likely never look entirely normal until she molts them out.

 

[wwendy104]

Thank you so much. I can say that she had poop on her tail feathers and I don't think she got baths ever maybe. She has been constantly preening since we brought her home yesterday poor thing. I have started her on Zupreem, fresh fruit and veggies, and I still gave her some of the seed mix they gave me but she only eats certain seeds and loves the big pelets in the mix.

I haven't showered or misted her yet since she is still very untrusting but I have been able to touch her and feed her by hand. We are making great progress and she hears my CAG from the other room and keeps saying hello pretty bird. Its been interesting to say the least. I do have a heart for rehomes and rescues which all of my birds are and I love them dearly. Can't wait to be able to handle her she so wants to step up but ends up pulling her foot back and just staring at me. Taking it slow for now! Thanks for all the comments!

 

[plax]

Thank you so much. I can say that she had poop on her tail feathers and I don't think she got baths ever maybe. She has been constantly preening since we brought her home yesterday poor thing. I have started her on Zupreem, fresh fruit and veggies, and I still gave her some of the seed mix they gave me but she only eats certain seeds and loves the big pelets in the mix.

I haven't showered or misted her yet since she is still very untrusting but I have been able to touch her and feed her by hand. We are making great progress and she hears my CAG from the other room and keeps saying hello pretty bird. Its been interesting to say the least. I do have a heart for rehomes and rescues which all of my birds are and I love them dearly. Can't wait to be able to handle her she so wants to step up but ends up pulling her foot back and just staring at me. Taking it slow for now! Thanks for all the comments!

Your quite welcome.

Sounds like you've got a good handle on things. As for diet, I would offer her a few nuts as well (almonds, pecans, cashews, brazil nuts, walnuts, etc. - all unsalted). The fats in those nuts are quite good for Macaws.

When you mist her, adjust the spray to its finest mist setting and spray upward so the mist falls onto her, rather than jets toward her. That should help her acclimate to the experience.

 

[Merlee]

I couldn't get a close up of the feathers, but I agree with the rest that bathing would be the first thing to try. It's amazing what a little water can do.

 

[MarciaLove]

my Green Cheek Conures feathers looked exactly like that when i got them and i put a bowl of warm water in their cage and they took a bath themselves and that fixed their feathers right up! and to keep their feathers healthy i make sure to give plenty of fresh fruits and veggie and they love peanuts and almonds!