Help Baby Macaw keeps throwing up

[nblitzkreig]

I posted on here before and said I had a GW macaw, but as it turns out, he or she is not. I took Raiden to the pet store I got him from and they told me he was under a GW macaw when they took him. Then they told me that breeders tend to move eggs around if they aren't getting warm so the whole thing was a miss understanding. They offered to switch mine for a GW but I chose not to as I've grown attached to the little guy over the last few weeks. The guy told me that he may either be a harlequin or that the breeder he ordered him from used to get a Harlequin with a Scarlet hybrid which I later found out is called a Tropicana Macaw so it should be interesting to find out what it is in the coming weeks. The problem is that about 3 or 4 days ago he was not emptying his crop as quickly as he used to. This may have been my fault as I was giving him 11% of his bw of formula per feeding which translated to around 90 cc. So I ended up calling the breeder which told me to wait till he empties feed him yogurt and a bit of formula and if he empties on time, continue feeding normally but to cut back from 4 feedings a day to 3 feedings a day. So I did that and everything seemed fine. Then he started throwing up. Raiden doesn't throw up all of his food, so I considered it spitting up more than throwing up, but he was still doing it and I didn't like it. Since he is only 6 weeks old I didn't think he should be doing that. So I wanted to ask what I should do. Ive been now feeding him 3 times a day (8 hours apart) and he seems to throw up at least a little around hour 6 or 7. He's done that 3 times in the last 2 days and I am worried because he's obviously not getting all his food. (He lost 7 grams and is back to weighing 893 grams). If there is any advice I would gladly take it. I'm looking at going to a vet ASAP. Also I was wondering if I should go back up to 4 feedings a day and if he throws up, should I feed him as scheduled, or should I feed him right there and then if he's empty?

 

[nblitzkreig]

Also wanted to know if I should give him pedialyte (unflavored) to replenish his electrolytes

 

[thekarens]

I'd find an emergency vet and take him in. Birds go downhill very quickly.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

This sounds like sour crop . FIND A VET . Mine died in 48 hrs [lots of throwing up . ] Read my thread in bereavement '"My Macaw Died ". Listen to us [not the store owner]

 

[nblitzkreig]

Ok thank you, I will go in first thing tomorrow, and only because I can't find a vet open on Sunday... hopefully he stays strong and doesn't go down hill

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Try to pm Mikeytn. I know yow can flush out the crop with baking soda . Mikey would be able to direct you.

 

[MikeyTN]

Is the crop emptying at all??? Never feed when the crop isn't completely emptied! What kind of bedding substrate are you using? IF the crop needs to be emptied you need either original Alkaselzer or baking soda solution to flush the crop with. It's NOT a easy process to flush their crops!!! I really would suggest you to find a emergency vet cause there can be yeast infection and such that needs to be treated.

Be aware this is the reason why we do not promote folks to get an unweaned baby!

 

[MacawLoverOf3]

This baby is so far underweight and should have been checked out by an AVIAN vet a while ago.

A pet shop that would sell an unweaned baby, especially at that age, is not reputable in the least. It is a huge responsibility which takes a lot of knowledge on all the things that can and do go wrong with hand feeding and for a store to sell babies unweaned should not be allowed to, that is just mind boggling..

To top it off, they are responsible for not even knowing what species they sold and to give the excuse that the breeders tend to move the eggs around is a bunch of hog wash.

My only advice to you is to take that baby back to the shop as what they sold you and what you paid for was not a GW. I would not get another bird from them but go somewhere else that only sells WEANED babies. And do this QUICKLY before it dies on you.

 

[nblitzkreig]

I took him to the ER today and so far what seems to be happening is that I've been over feeding him (probably because I thought he was a baby GW and was underweight). He is at his appropriate weight according to both the breeder and the ER vet. Tomorrow I take him to the actual vet to get his first check up first thing in the morning.

 

[nblitzkreig]

Btw I forgot to add that his crop does empty and other than the occasional spit up, he is completely normal. So, so far the story is he is eating too much per sitting.

 

[GW.Joe]

Btw I forgot to add that his crop does empty and other than the occasional spit up, he is completely normal. So, so far the story is he is eating too much per sitting.

Well if that info and all the facts stated are correct you are very lucky!

 

[MikeyTN]

If you over fed they will vomit back out. You should observe the crop sac but since you haven't done it much you wouldn't know what a full crop sac really looks like....but do cut the feed amount and feed a little bit at a time and if he starts to vomit or don't want anymore then you should observe on the syringe to see how much he's eating. Then check him every so long to see exactly how long it takes the chick to empty the crop then feed according to the schedule you have figured out on your own.

 

[MonicaMc]

I was going to suggest feeding less food per sitting, and if need be, feed less more often.


However, I don't have much experience raising chicks so was hesitant to suggest this, especially if he might have been underweight.


Glad to know he's doing ok and you're getting onto the right track in caring for him!

 

[Birdman666]

Selling unweaned baby macaws to inexperienced hand feeders is one of my largest pet peeves. BABIES ARE VERY FRAGILE THINGS. THERE IS A 50% MORTALITY RATE WITH BABY MACAWS!!! THIS IS DELICATE STUFF...

Not your fault, but, this shouldn't be allowed in my opinion.

I'm glad your baby is okay.