Good morning friends! How are you guys? Sorry for not updating in a while. School has me so busy.
(warning long post)
STATS
Age: 7 months
Weight: 930g (he is getting much thicker and looks more like an adult but no weight gain, just less fatty and more muscular girth)
Plumage: Molt began 1 month ago, feathers dropping all day and hundreds of pins growing, no tail or wing feathers dropped yet
Illnesses: None
Appetite: Huge
Wean: Started 2 months ago, eats formula and solid food
Formula: Harrison's juvenile Morning and evening, 30ml each meal
Food: Harrison's High Potency Pellets, 2 bowls of fruit, 1 bowl of vegges, 1 bowl of sunflower seeds (his favourite), 1 bowl of water, 1 bowl of assorted nuts (1 macadamia, 1 Brazilian, 10 pine)
VIDEO
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exMLOdY-ftw"]Green Wing Macaw daily morning michief - YouTube[/ame]
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF PRINCE ROBERT
by Chad
The alarm wakes my wife and I at 5 am. As the lights go on, Prince Robert becomes vocal (no speech yet, just sparse words), takes a massive dump, then flies down from his perch unto our bed. He pulls the covers from over us and cuddles up begging for playtime. Sometime we pretend to be still asleep and he flies to the curtains above our bed and flaps his powerful wings in our face while screaming loudly. We are forced to 'wake up' as he may wake the neighbours at 5 am. We pray and then play with him for about 30 mins. As I exit the bed, he follows me and then stops at the edge of bed quarreling with 1 foot reaching up as he begs to come along. One would think he can't fly right? Once he is picked up, he flies off to all the areas of the house. He flies and flies until he reaches the kitchen. That's when it all starts.
We then prepare his food as detailed above in stats. His food takes about 30 mins to prepare every morning. During that time makes mischief with everything in the kitchen. And If you stop him he will protest and quarrel, then 2 mins later, he is back to mischief. We love Robert so much...eh hem... Prince Robert! His food is then placed in his cage and we begin making his formula. My wife prepares the cage while I prepare his food. Teamwork! As soon as I pick up the cup his formula is made in, he quickly jumps to my shoulder and silently looks on. This makes me nervous like when a manager comes looking over your shoulder. I guess he wants to ensure I don't forget any steps. Lol.
Up until 5 weeks ago, Robert was drinking 90 ml of formula x3 times a day. That is a decrease from 120 ml x4 times a day just 2 months ago, just before he became interested in solid food. He started refusing his morning 90 ml. He would literally take his foot and push away the syringe and protest. Most lunch times I cannot leave work/clients to come feed him. So I dropped his lunch time meal and after 2 days he decided he wants his morning meal as lunch time is no longer on the table. 1 week ago, he decided he only wanted 30 ml of formula morning and evening. Most days he would watch me make it and then refuse to eat it. Mind you, his formula is only made when he asks for it. So I make it, he watches the entire process then runs away as it hits the syringe. So at that point I turn to the sink to empty the syringe and wash up his utensils, and guess what? He jumps into the sink and opens his mouth with a feeding response! I feed him and he then begs to go to his cage so he can each his 'real' food. These games he plays. Beg for formula, watch me make it, runs from me, refuses to eat, then begs as I proceed to throw it away.
It seems he doesn't really want formula again but just wants the security that he can get it whenever he needs it. He maybe wants to know that I didn't forget about that aspect of our relationship. Because he begs for formula at the strangest time sometimes. Then when I make it, he eats 1 ml (yes 1) and then laughs and begs for playtime again.
By the time we reach home on evenings, he is protesting to come out of the came. He paces up and down the cage silently. When he is inside, he screams and screams for 1 min as if upset we came home so late. We give him some solid food when he devours and then he begs for formula by doing the head bob on my shoulder and crying in my ear. He doesn't play with night time feeding. No games at night. He sits silently on his perch in the kitchen and anxiously waits. The food disappears at the back of his throat. He then starts crunching his beak and begs for play. After 5 mins of play, he rudely interrupts, jumps down from his perch and goes to our bedroom. I put his perch in there and he slowly drifts off to dreamland.
Sometimes he haunts in the room for something to run through his beak, destroys it then falls asleep. He sleeps with a fan on him all night. Is that okay? Also he like the AC on at 26 deg Celsius.
Enjoy the 2 pictures below.
After the hunt, he destroys his prey
Sleepy time