Harlequin Macaw

[rbtlyn]

Hello
I have a 16 week old Harlequin Macaw and he started flying 3 days ago and more importantly he stopped eating his am formula. He eats very minimal real food and is starving at his 5 pm feeding. Has this happened to anyone and what was the outcome.

 

[itchyfeet]

I think your safest bets are to contact your breeder or your AV. you Harlequin is a stunning bird and anything serious would be tragic for you both.

 

[itzjbean]

Hello and congrats on your Harlequin, I love hybrids!!

Your macaw is starting to wean. As it's starting to refuse formula, it's now time to start presenting all sorts of different foods to him now -- bird-safe fruits, veggies, legumes, grains, pellets, etc. As time goes on you can also present nuts for them to start exploring with and using their beaks to break open. Try to softer fruits and veggies first, there are so many out there, some birds develop a favorite, maybe he just hasn't found one he likes yet. There are lots of different combinations you can try to entice your bird to eat these foods instead of the morning feeding. Present these foods at your normal feeding am time. Over time, if all goes well he should stop eating formula altogether and eat the food you give him.

 

[LordTriggs]

yes does sound like they're starting to wean. Just offer as many different safe foods and keep offering the feeds. try eating different bits of food that he can have in front of him at feeding times. He'll get interested very quickly in whatever you have

I do have to ask though why you got an un-weaned bird? If you're not trained up on hand-feeding it is extremely dangerous and is illegal in many parts of the world to sell one before they're ready

 

[rbtlyn]

Unfortunately all the places around me only sell unweand birds. They all say it's a bonding thing. I did take a feeding class though.

 

[Sandy19]

When Peanut was weaning I would put out a variety of fruits, legumes and veggies and some pellets mixed with a few unsweetened Cherrios. She would pick at it like she was at an all you can eat buffet, but most of it seemed to end up on the ground instead of her crop. Meanwhile I continued to offer her the morning, afternoon and evening formula feedings in case she did want it. Sometimes she'd take a little and sometimes not at all. Eventually they just turn their beaks up to it altogether and start eating more of the food you put out. You'll also find out what their favorites are. Peanut likes garbonzo beans, apples and brussel sprouts.

 

[psychocircus91]

Are you weighing? It is normal for birds to decrease formula intake and lose a little weight at this stage. As mentioned, varieties of foods should be mentioned. With all that being said, I would visit your avian vet.

 

[LordTriggs]

Unfortunately all the places around me only sell unweand birds. They all say it's a bonding thing. I did take a feeding class though.

really where abouts are you in the world? Some places have laws against selling unweaned pets. Definitely nonsense that it's a bonding thing, it's a wallet thing, that formula costs money after all. Essentially you become the parent when you hand-feed and think about what a bird does in the wild, when they fledge they leave the parents. Either way what's done is done.

Just keep offering feedings, offer lots of interesting foods, eat some out of the bowl and offer to your bird they should learn pretty quickly. Not common for a bird to willingly starve themselves to death at least as far as I'm aware