Long and weird RFM story (get coffee)

[Aisa]

History: I have a Red Front Macaw named Frisco. He is about 11 years old and we got him at Parrot Jungle in Miami when he was a baby. We suspect his crop was burned back then because I found stitches on his chest when I brought him to a vet for an initial check-up. Frisco has been and is very healthy. He plays, eats well, does tricks, poops nicely and is very active, affectionate and responsive. He loves to cuddle and craves attention. He eats mostly veggies and some fruits with pellets and 2 - 4 nuts a day as treats and healthy human food pretty often. He stays mostly on his large play stand (wings clipped) and has recently been spending time (2 hours a day) in his 'cave' ... an enclosed shelf that he plays in. There HAS been some dust from attic construction in that area.

The issue: About 2 weeks ago he started occasionally puffing up one side of his chest (right side, front). This would happen maybe 3 or 4 times a day and last 1 to 15 minutes. Since it did not happen often, analysis by us was ongoing...was it even happening? I started suspecting he might be sucking air into his crop, but was that even possible?

Actions: We went to a local exotics vet after the first few days and had an X-Ray done and an exam (no blood work). The X-Ray was looked at by 2 vets (one was Dr Divers) and the X-Ray was perfectly normal. So was Frisco and he did not puff up during the exam. He did show signs that he'd been...ummm...masturbating. The vet said the bump was an air sac issue and said to watch him and that he could not be doing this on purpose. I thought he MIGHT be doing it to get attention. And I thought at this point that I had heard sounds from his mouth like sucking in and releasing air. I was told that we should give Frisco flax seed oil and use a humidifier. And that if the underlying cause of this wasn't found and corrected, Frisco probably had 2 years to live.

This completely freaked me out and I called our ex-vet in Colorado, where we used to live. She calmed me down considerably and said that it could be a ruptured air sac and birds can live for many years with one. She did a great job of explaining air sacs and said forget the humidifier and keep an eye on him.

I was still concerned and wanted another 'in-person' exam, so made an appointment with the Knoxville Vet Hospital that is part of the Vet University. There is a special clinic for exotics. The vet tech and vet were wonderful! By then I was highly suspecting that this bump was indeed being done by Frisco sucking in and expelling air ... I just wasn't sure if it was on purpose or as a reaction. Again, the exam showed Frisco to be in excellent condition. The vet said it was rare but certainly possible that Frisco was doing this on purpose and that she would not rule out that he was sucking air into his crop! Again, instructions were to watch him...and to work on a behavior modification. If he puffed up, ignore him.

Open questions remain (and can't be answered without more invasive look at Frisco, which I am not ready for):
Is it an air sac, or crop issue?
Is he doing it on purpose and will behavior modification work?
Is it a reaction (to me??)?
Is there an underlying health issue?
Or is this a non-issue and just a safe trick (with no consequences) he's learned to do?
Is it hormonal?

A final observation is that it SEEMS he puffs up only around me. We're watching for that and so far it seems to be the case. He's also seeming to be more aggressive towards me.

I am wondering, has anyone else had anything like this happen or heard of such a thing? And, I wanted to document this in case someone else has this experience.

Thanks so much for reading all this....

 

[noblemacaw]

I have a RFM myself so I had to read your thread. Valentino will be two years old in August.

Your RFM's issues reminds me of a problem my Illiger's macaw breeder had with one of her first hatched chicks. I got my Illiger's macaw from a breeder out in California in 2002. This breeder wrote about the ruptured air sack problem she had with a baby Illiger's and the story was published in Companion Parrot by Sally Blanchard. This was in issue #55 in the section "Friends of the Mini macaws" The article was called "The Exceptional Illiger's" and was written by Jane McKee. She recounted the story of the baby Illiger's ruptured air sack. I am not sure if you can get a hold of a magazine that was written in 2002 but I will say that your story reminds me so much of Jane's story. I think with your parrot being older than a neonate with maybe the same problem probably presents not as dire or bad.

Also back in the 1990's I had a cockatiel that use to "blow up his crop". I would hear the sucking and blowing sounds and watch his neck get blown up like a balloon. He did it for attention because it use to freak me out. LOL

Although Jane had to seek vetenary help for her baby chick with the ruptured air sack and had to do some "maintance" to keep the chick alive the problem was eventually healed and the baby Illiger's lived. She ended up keeping him as a pet and I did end up meeting "Foggy" during my trip out there to pick up Diego my Illiger's macaw I purchased from her.

It is really hard for me to say if Frisco has a ruptured air sack or is he just displaying for you. Valentino is not yet 2 years old and I am NOT looking forward to the hormones coming. I wonder how he will weather them and if that next stage of growing up will change our relationship.

Would it be possible to take a picture of Frisco doing it and post it here so I can see it? You mentioned you can hear sucking and blowing noises when Frisco's "bulge" appears. I think that he might be able to "blow up his crop" verses him having a ruptured air sack.

 

[Aisa]

Thanks so much for your reply! I did manage to post a photo of Frisco and his bump in the gallery. The angle of the photo is odd...his head is not really larger than his body. :52:

Yes, almost all of what I found on the internet about ruptured air sacs was in regard to the babies. What I can say for sure is that he is able to suck air in and put it in either his crop or an air sac and he can also deflate it. It feels like air if I gently push on it. It comes in small, medium and large sizes. He seems to be able to adjust it.

I can also say that if this is a trick, I've sure encouraged it up until now.

Please let me know what you think of the photo and I'm going to go look up that article you mentioned....

Thanks again!!

 

[Birdman666]

I have worked with several foster big macs that have had ruptured air sacs, and aside from looking a bit strange, they went on to live normal healthy lives.

It happens from time to time. I've fostered three and worked with dozens that had this, and they were otherwise healthy. (My vet was Dr. Spears by the way, who is about as reliable a source as you can find in the business.)

The vet that told you the bird has two years to live because of this should be shot... I don't know where she came up with that one, but it sounds like it's a bad guess on her part - and just flat wrong!

I wouldn't do anything invasive if I were you. That's riskier than it's worth...

By the way, I also have an RFM... They are such fun little birds! [Little being a relative concept.]

 

[noblemacaw]

From the picture you put up of Frisco I think he is blowing up his crop. LOL. Such a weirdo huh?

I really enjoy Valentino as I am sure you enjoy your Frisco. I do think that what Frisco is doing with his crop is not going to hurt him. I would be careful not to put pressure on it and pop it. LOL.

You gotta love RFM's. Valentino's new thing is to climb to the top of the couch and slide down into face/neck into a puddle of mush while I am lying on the couch. He also likes to stand on my chest right in front of my face to block my view of the TV and say right in my face "I love you." What a character. LOL

Here is a picture of my boy. You gotta love the RFM's

 

[Aisa]

Valentino is just as gorgeous as Frisco! They are so funny...Frisco loves to play BoogaBooga...he gets under the covers (husband holds them up with his knees) and I stick my head under from the side of the bed and yell BoogaBooga and Frisco jumps up and down like a wind up toy and launches himself at me and gets right in my face...then he does his 'prat fall'.
He s l o w l y lifts a foot and s l o w l y falls over....it is a riot! He also loves to sit on his dad's finger and chase me around the house. I hide behind doors and he pokes his head around looking for me and if I'm there he screams and laughs his fool head off!

Well, we have come to one semi-conclusion....he puffs up only for me. We'll keep watching, but so far that seems to be the case. I'm thinking crop also. But it's just a guess for now. I want to try to get a big meal into him and see what happens. Hopefully not an explosion!! For now we'll just ignore it. Act like nothing is happening and pay more attention to his other antics and tricks. The plan was to put him back on his stand, but the stand isn't nearby, or it seems wrong to haul him out of a red front cuddle - I'm hoping my lack of freak out and drawing all attention to his bump is enough. Maybe it's a hormonal thing?? And will go away after his hormones settle down?

FWIW, Frisco had NO hormonal issues at all until he was about 7. Then it was slight. Just a bit more nippy and a little bottom rubbing.

What toys does Valentino like best, BTW? Frisco has a toy box with wood, some stainless steel nuts and bolts, foot toys galore...and once a day he gets a small paper sandwich bag with foraging treats (like an almond in a birdie bagel) which he LOVES, plus his hanging toys, etc.....He loves to take apart nuts and bolts.

 

[Aisa]

Birdman, hi! I somehow missed your post....
Thank you for replying. I have a couple questions, please. I have been watching Frisco and more and more things are becoming obvious. He seems to puff up only for me. (A lovely gift that has cost me $600 so far!!) I'm seeing him do a head bob and he's sucking air into the air sac or crop...to a pretty good size, maybe the size of a golf ball, enlongated?? Hard to tell with the feathers. And then he deflates when I'm gone. No one ever sees him inflated when I'm not there with him. Does that sound like an air sac? Wouldn't an air sac be random? Or could he control an air sac to this degree?

Thanks for any input!

The good news is that I'm no longer walking around with horrible dread waiting for him to die....

 

[Birdman666]

Birdman, hi! I somehow missed your post....
Thank you for replying. I have a couple questions, please. I have been watching Frisco and more and more things are becoming obvious. He seems to puff up only for me. (A lovely gift that has cost me $600 so far!!) I'm seeing him do a head bob and he's sucking air into the air sac or crop...to a pretty good size, maybe the size of a golf ball, enlongated?? Hard to tell with the feathers. And then he deflates when I'm gone. No one ever sees him inflated when I'm not there with him. Does that sound like an air sac? Wouldn't an air sac be random? Or could he control an air sac to this degree?

Thanks for any input!

The good news is that I'm no longer walking around with horrible dread waiting for him to die....

Well, I'm not a vet, but the birds I have fostered with ruptured air sacs have had what appears to be a small ball in their throats area. Sometimes when they puffed up their chests looked a bit lopsided...

It's not unheard of, but it isn't fatal.

 

[Aisa]

Did it seem like they sucked air in thru their mouth and could control it? Or was it more a random internal thing?

 

[Birdman666]

All mine had a little ball sticking up on one side pretty much all the time, but it was a ruptured air sac. It made them look a bit lopsided.

On one, it wasn't very bad, and you could only tell when the bird got excited.

But they were still feathered mushballs... so I didn't care.

 

[Aisa]

This helps! Since Frisco usually does not have the bump and only bumps situationally, I am further suspecting he's sucking air into the crop. I have a letter in to an avian vet asking about this. As soon as I am fairly confident that what he is doing won't hurt him in the short or long run, I can sleep soundly again!! I couldn't bear to loose my feathered mushball!