lorna

[lorna13]

Hi everone,
I dont know anything about parrots / bird, so youll be woundering why im here ! to cut a long story short i have been looking after a 10 month old hahns macaw for 2 weeks and l could have it for some time, scarey stuff considering i have no idea wht im doing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! help!!!!!!!.
( im cat person i Have 2 who are scared of the bird)

 

[antoinette]

Welcome Lorna, you have come to the right place
Scary having a bird, not knowing what to do
Feel free to ask any questions, many Macaw guardians on this forum, who will willing give you advise etc
Ps .... don't let the bird out when the cats are nearby

 

[lorna13]

Thankx Antionette,
Im going to tell you wht my routine with the bird is daily and maybe peeps can tell me if this is ok or wht im doing wrong
I let him/her out in the morning she has toast and peanut butter she hangs around my neck for an hour , i then put her back in cage , she probably our for around 3-4 hours a day , it would be longer only she dosnt leave my shoulder or neck, when i open cage she flys straight to me and dosnt leave. I make up 2 bowls of food a day Morning: toast rice crispies banana dried fruit baby sweetcorn apple, evening: potato red pepper brown bread pasta peas carrots wild rice . I have also given her occasional piece of pancake which she loves but bread seems to be her fav food . she also has a parrot seed mix I dont know what kind it came with the bird. when she first came she bit me a lot she still does this to my daughter but not me, i get occasional nip if i have temerity to use phone while she on my shoulder lol. one more thing why does the bird stay with me constantly and not fly about ?
thanx for any forthcomming advice

 

[Bobby34231]

Hi lorna and welcome to the forum, you might want to give thought to a little better diet for your feathered friend, as far as feeding people foods you'll want to make sure their low on added sugars and salt, peanut butter is high in both, breads and pastas, I would suggest you use whole wheat products instead of those made from white (bleached) flour, as they have at least some nutrients in them, fruits and veggies, some seed and nuts and if available a pelleted diet made specificly for parrots would be whats needed as a good diet, if the potato your feeding is a white potato (no nutrition, only starch), maybe think about switching that to a sweet potato (cooked), brown rice, beans (serve both also only cooked) pretty much all green leafy veggies, and most fruits, things to avoid...chocolate, avocado, mushrooms and onions.....I'm sure others will weigh in with good diet suggestions, hope you enjoy your stay

 

[lorna13]

Thanks for the info Bobby , will stop the peanut butter and change the bread to wholemeal, is there anything else i can put on her toast like olivio or low fat unsalted butter or somthing?
I have a few more quetions
1. do they need their claws clipped
2.how often do they moult and what does it involve
3 ive noticed the past few days shes not using her beak to balance is this a problem she may actually be avoiding using her beak it seems to be tender
4.,is 3-4 hours out of her cage a day enough
5. Is there a reason why she dosnt fly about and just stays on my shoulder?
6.should hse bathe
7. should i cover her cage at night and how long do they sleep
8.can she drink anything other than water like veg juice fruit juice etc
9.what would i be looking for in a sick bird.

 

[antoinette]

Lorna, Bobby has given some great advise High five Champ !!!!

Below are two links pertaining to hahns macaw
Sure you will find these extremely useful

Hahn's Macaws - Hahns Macaws as Pets - Hahn's Macaw Species Profile

http://www.lafebercares.com/knowledge/birds/macaw.html

Anything further please just ask

 

[_Cass_]

An answer to your question about what else you could put on his/her toast? Well you can try organic macadamia nut butter. It has no additives and it just fresh macadamia nuts. I used to give this on a small piece of whole wheat bread to my late Hyacinth Macaw.

 

[lorna13]

thanx cass
great links antionette

 

[Bobby34231]

Hey lorna, I'll give those a shot, some birds nails grow quicker than others, and some manage to keep them less sharp, but in most cases birds do need their nails trimed periodicly, the first molt usually happens around the time the bird is about a year old, after that it can molt a couple times a year, molting is the process where new feathers replace old and warn feathers, it can be light or sometimes heavy, when heavy it can look as though someone has plucked a chicken with all the feathers both the outer and downy feathers in the cage, for a bird there could probably be no such thing as "to much" out of cage time, with some folks having busy schedules we have to try and work around life and do what we can, make the 3-4 hours your able to allow him out quality time vs the quantity of time, probably the reason he doesn't fly around is because he has found a comfort zone on your shoulder, this however is not the best practice, but is one that I feel should be left to the birds caregiver, a few stories of being bitten in the face from birds on shoulders here lately on the forum has changed a few minds, I bathe my birds usually every day weather permitting, some birds really hate getting wet, mine love it, so for me its pretty easy, you just have to make sure its warm enough when you do it, about 75F degrees, either inside or outside, many actually let the birds use the shower, birds should get 12-13hrs of uninteruped sleep a night, basicly sundown to sun up just as in the wild, if your bird sleeps in an out of the way place where there is little to no activity around him, the you don't have to cover him, if it gets cooler in your house in the nightime by all means cover him, birds can drink jucies, just make sure their natural, ones without added sugars, if you can squeeze your own that would be great, then you now exactly whats in it, birds tend to hide the fact their not feeling well pretty good, its sometimes hard to tell, when you get to know the bird and how he acts its sometimes easier to tell by observing odd behavior, look for signs of listnesses, not eating or drinking, stooping or sitting with head down, not perching, going to the bottom of the cage, loss of weight and monitor the birds stool for changes, these are just a few, there are many sites on the web available to give you other warning signs, hope this book I just wrote helps answer some of your concerns

 

[Bobby34231]

missed the first one on peanut butter replacement, try using fruit blended in a food processor as a spread, such as strawberry or mango

 

[lorna13]

thanx bobby great info you should consider publishing and im sure i can give you inspiration for second book lol 1 more when you say you bathe your birds every day do you mean you just spray them with the shower?







































ng me out with the typing lolu can see the bird is helpi

 

[Bobby34231]

Well a couple of things help me, one I live in Florida where the weather is usually pretty nice for most of the year (I don't usually bathe under 75 degrees), and I have outdoor cages as well as indoor cages for all my birds, the outdoor cages are pretty much there just so that they can get their showers and dry off and get the benifits of the natural sunlight, I first started out with a spray bottle and misted them till they were pretty well soaked (that kills your hands pretty quick), just like they would be if they were still in the rainforest, I now use the hose, I have a selectable nozzle that has a mist feature on it, you don't have to bathe them everyday, a few times a week would be just fine

 

[lorna13]

Once agian many thanx bob, ill put central heating on and spray her, lucky you with the weather !! in Scotland we are so so cold Brrrrrr

 

[lorna13]

hi everyone
looking for advice again !!!!!!!!
its now about 2 weeks since ive been on (modem trouble fixed now
As you may have read from previous posts i am new to birds, i have now learned the basics feeding health etc (thankx bob antionette
i now have a more worrying problem , our home is now run by a bird! seriously! the major problem is agression , she comes to myself my partner and my daughter mostly me, and as i said previously hse lives on my shoulder dosnt fly anywhere however she continualy nips me she trys to get in my teeth all the time and when i dont let her she bites my lips , when i tell her no she starts bobbing from side to side and squaking at me she dosnt seem to be afraid of anything she then lunges and bites me anywhere , this bossing and biting everyone is almost non stop only time she dosnt do it is when she is eating from you or for the first half hour in the morning . when it gets too much i put her back in cage and she says whos a good girl clever girl? the only thing that stops her for a few minutes is if i show her the spray water bottle , this makes her back up on my shoulder but the minute i put it down she right back in my face nipping away (incidently she hates getting bathed , she loves getting dried with the hairdryer )im not allowed to pet my cats either she runs down my arm and bites them the minute they come near me . hope someone can advise me on this as im really fed up with it

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Sorry to say it but she needs to be clipped ( wings I mean lol )
clipping her wings means 1stly that she won't be able to reach your face to bite it
and it means that she must learn to stay where she was put
it makes her more dependant on you for the things she wants and makes her realise if she misbahaves she dosent get those things

Other members can elaborate more but I wish you luck

 

[lorna13]

thanx for advice but i dont think i could take away the very thing that makes a bird a bird!!!!!!!!! any other ideas would be welcome
and if i try and all fails ill find a good sanctuary were perhaps she can partly do what shes supposed to do meet a mate and fly

 

[SharonC]

Well....I'd advise to not allow the bird on your shoulder at all. He's not trustworthy, and can do some damage. You need to establish some "guidelines" for him... that is show him what is acceptable and what is not. I have to wonder if it would be kinder to "clip" the wings temporarily until you establish "the "rules" , rather than place him in a sanctuary.

 

[triordan]

I agree with Sharon

 

[lisamarie973]

I know clipping sounds mean, but, think of it this way... Act as though the bird is "childlike", which they very much are, you can't discipline a bird the way you would a child, however, you CAN take some independence from them, in order to establish some ground rules in YOUR home. You don't have to continue to clip the bird, but, she has found out that SHE is the boss and Macaws can be bossy by nature, but if allowed to be THE BOSS for any length of time, the habit will be MUCH harder to break, whether by you or any NEW human she gains. If you can think of it like taking a "privelage" away, but for only a temporary amount of time, while she learns what she needs to learn. Maybe, it won't seem so mean to you then. She wouldn't survive the wild well, she's been taken care of all her life, she must rely on you to take care of her, reminding her of that sometimes, isn't mean, it's establishing rules and a routine to abide by. I wish you the best of luck, I'm sure this is a very trying time for your family, I only hope you don't give up on her, she needs you.