Blue and Gold Mcaw

[Sanders]

I got my Mcaw as a baby 10 years ago and she has bonded to me like a mate.

My problem is that she eats a tremendous amount of food and regurgitates huge amounts every day. This has been going on for months. She also drinks a lot of water. Her quart water bottle lasts 2 days.

I feed her dry parrot feed ZuPreem FruitBlend plus Smart Selects. I include a few peanuts and a couple of saltine crackers twice a day. Sometimes I give her a few grapes or a orange slice.

She seems happy, very affectionate and playful.

I’m just concerned about the excessive regurgitation.

Any suggestions?

Sanders

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums! A bonded macaw is a wonderful experience, congratulations for earning her trust!

Regurgitation as a sign of affection is typical, but excessive may suggest a hormonal "mating" ritual. A checkup by a certified avian vet may identify the cause and ensure proper health.

Zupreem FruitBlend is a popular pellet and can be part of a healthy diet. (the only pellet my birds will eat!) Not sure what Smart Selects are, but saltine crackers have no nutrition and unwanted salt. An ideal feed would be a high proportion of fresh vegetables, some fruits, and pellets. Some seed is acceptable as macaws require a bit more fat than most parrots. Whole unroasted/unsalted almonds, walnuts, and even macadamias are loved.

Check out our Parrot foods, recipes, and diet Forum: Parrot Food, Recipes and Diet - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community
The first 8 "sticky" threads are invaluable!!

Excessive water consumption can be a sign of medical issues. Hard to know how much is ingested from the bottle. Depending on the source and climate, water ought be changed at least daily to prevent microscopic nasties from breeding!

 

[MonicaMc]

Diet could be improved.

I agree that it would be a good idea to have an avian vet checkup with bloodwork to ensure your bird is healthy.


After medical reasons have been ruled out, then work on training. Instead of having a dish full of food, make her work for her meal! Teach her how to forage for her food, so she spends more time eating.

Then also work on teaching new behaviors that could be incompatible to being hormonal. Things like turn around, fetch, drop a ball into a basket/hoop, or any other number of behaviors. These behaviors can keep her mind stimulated and busy, so she has less time to think about making babies.

 

[wrench13]

Scratch the peanuts. They can harbor mold which is quite poisonous. Better, for Macaws , is a whole walnut, which they can crack easily, and brasil nuts, which take more effort.

Go to the Macaw subforum and read all the stickies at the top, severa; times. Birdman666 is our resident Macaw expert and his stuff is really valuable for macaw owners.