Green wing Macaw weight weaning worries!

[arjanbunt]

Hi,

I have 2 macaws. the blue & gold is 17 weeks and is about 1050 grams. A big boy already!

Now i have also a greenwing macaw and she is about 14 weeks i guess.. i used to give him 2 a day formula ( kaytee ) except now she wont take it anymore. she eats the seeds/pellets. ( at least she's trying ).

Her weight now is 830 grams, it seems this is way to low for a greenwing. i see that most greenwings weigh above 1000.

Please help me with this issue, i am worried about it.
She is perfectly healthy, responsive, playfull. she has been tested also.

how can i get her weight up? she is refusing most of her feedings with the syringe.. at night she will take 50 cc max the last couple of days.

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[robopetz]

Sounds normal. She is at the stage where she wants to wean so will refuse the feeding but doesnt entirely eat on her own yet. Plus all the activity and wing flapping and all that comes into play too. It is normal for them to lose weight and be smaller than they are supposed to be when weaning. Someone here will jump in and explain it way better than I can lol

Beautiful birds! What are their names?

 

[Birdman666]

She looks perfectly healthy. Just a small-ish greenwing, where you're used to a "Bolivian" B&G.

My guess is she'll still gain some yet. As long as she is not rapidly losing, and is eating and drinking normally, I wouldn't worry too much.

Have you tried oatmeal on a bent spoon yet?

 

[arjanbunt]

i feed her twice a day now with the syringe.. yesterday she takes it again.. 90cc.. at one feeding.
her weigh remains the same some days 20 gram less than other days...
830to870.. shall i say.

i tought greenwings were much bigger than B&G.. but in the end it doesnt matter to me.

i added a couple of pictures.

 

[Birdman666]

They're both beautiful, and look both healthy and happy...

Size depends on the origin of the macaw's parents/grandparents. (What part of South America they originated from.)

The true "Bolivian" greenwings are actually the smaller ones (Bolivia, and Paraguay). The much, much, much larger ones came from the interior of Columbia. At that time, Columbia, on paper, made it illegal to export macaws... so the smugglers sent them out through Bolivia. These giant Greenwings, and B&G's then became known for their 1/3 larger size... and were marketed here in the States as "Bolivian" birds - because people paid a premium for big 'uns! and the term stuck. So it was a marketing ploy... and actually, a great many of these were smuggled birds.

But "Bolivian" Greenwings (and B&G's) are actually from the interior jungles of Columbia.

Some greenwings are only slightly larger than a scarlet. (And most of those are true "Bolivian" greenwings.)

Others (Mine for example! 1735 grams!) are only slightly smaller than a Hyacinth. Those originated in Columbia, and parts of Brazil. (Deep Jungle.)

Just as the coastal african grays are tiny, and weigh less than 400 grams, and the interior african greys are HUGE and can weigh over 550 grams.

Same bird, different point of geographical origin. The interior birds flew longer distances and became stronger, found more food inland, and evolved larger. It's basic Darwin...

Your B&G is one of those "Columbian-Bolivian" birds. Your Greenwing is one of those "true Bolivian" smaller ones...

So my guess is your B&G will end up being the same size or bigger... than your GW.

 

[arjanbunt]

thnx for your help! i love them both!

Can u post a picture of your greenwing ? your biggest? just for comparison

 

[Birdman666]

I had a full body shot with her in a tree, where she took up a significant portion of it. That had the best size perspective. Unfortunately, I think that was on the photodisks that got destroyed in the garage flood.

These are pics I've posted before. Not sure they give you much in the way of size perspective. Put it this way, Maggie is a little bit more than THREE TIMES the size of Sweepea, my red fronted macaw. The cage in the background of the lipstick photo is a Kings Double Macaw cage... (approx 6x4x7) So, yeah, she's a big goofy girl!

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Birdman, She is absolutely GORGEOUS! Love the lipstick!

 

[Birdman666]

Birdman, She is absolutely GORGEOUS! Love the lipstick!

Yeah, Sarah was wearing greenwing red that day...

She is just THE SWEETEST bird... macaws are just personality plus!

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Birdman, She is absolutely GORGEOUS! Love the lipstick!

Yeah, Sarah was wearing greenwing red that day...

She is just THE SWEETEST bird... macaws are just personality plus!

I want one so so bad! Always have, but not being rich and knowing their cage and diet requirements, and living in an apartment, I have to wait. Maybe I'll win the lottery some day!

 

[Birdman666]

I got Maggie as someone else's throwaway... the perks of having done parrot rescue.

The cage I got second hand from someone upgrading to stainless steel.

Maggie actually doesn't vocalize that often. (But when she does, the windows vibrate - along with your skull!)

Food, is roughly double what your amazon eats. Their nutritional requirements aren't all that different, though they get a diet that is higher in fat than a zon. (As do toos.) I have five birds, and buy everything in bulk. And with the fresh stuff, a lot of that would go to waste anyway if I was only feeding one or two birds... so the expense isn't all that much different.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

I got Maggie as someone else's throwaway...

The cage I got second hand from someone upgrading to stainless steel.

Maggie actually doesn't vocalize that often. (But when she does, the windows vibrate - along with your skull!)

I would rescue, if and when the time comes. and the noise doesn't worry me, as long as it wasn't all day everyday that I could deal with. I try several times a day to get Zilla to be a bird and make noises. She is terrified to be loud, her previous owners really did a number on her with the spray bottle when she made noise.

I am more concerned with space in the apartment to put a large cage, cause I would absolutely HAVE to get the biggest one I could find! Look at what Zilla is in, I could put 2 or 3 of her in it and they would be fine! LOL

I do waste a lot of fresh food, just because Zilla only eats so much! She only weighs 350 grams!

 

[Birdman666]

Maggie is in a king's double macaw cage! It's five or six feet wide, four feet deep, and seven feet tall.

All my other birds are in 30x40 playtops. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Although, with mine "in" is a relative concept. They have them. They only go "in" them to eat and play.

 

[Birdman666]

I think mine are 385 and 335, respectively. (Lila's about 10 gms. overweight. Food is a favorite hobby with that bird.)

Frankly, a lot of the fresh foods I give my birds are just what ever I am making for us for dinner. I just make enough extra for them.

Last night it was salmon and wild rice! (Salmon was on sale, so I bought a hunk o fish...)

Plain pasta, rice, potatoes, chicken, fish, pasta, etc. and what ever veggies are on hand. Not expensive. No real extra preparation time involved since you're preparing it for yourself anyway. (Just what ever it takes to put it in their treat cups and distribute it.) Plus, it keeps them busy while we are eating...

Those little red and yellow potatoes work really well, and can be nuked in the microwave for a few minutes. Let them cool down, and there you go. One of those itty bitty potatoes cut in half would do it for two zons... (though both of mine will gladly devour a whole one.)

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

I have cut down on the waste by making "chops" and freezing them in single serve portions. They are all kinds of pasta, rice, beans and veggies. I now have about 4 different "kinds" in the freezer! She also really really LOVES oatmeal with cinnamon, raisins and dried cranberries, I've been making that for her breakfast a couple times a week. I even "share" some of hers for my breakfast sometimes!

She almost always gets something I am having for dinner in the evenings (if I don't share I get the total "stink eye" treatment) She is on a "limited" protein diet now with the kidney problems, so she gets upset with me most nights for not sharing my chicken or fish (she would very happily eat chicken & fish everyday for the rest of her life) She only gets a very small piece twice a week and a bit of scrambled egg once a week now.